It may have been Hogg with the schoolboy error but Ireland's report card is clear: must do better, writes Brendan O'Brien.

Stuart Hogg has apologised to his Scotland teammates for messing up what should have been a certain try against Ireland in Saturday's Six Nations opener at the Aviva Stadium.

Stuart Hogg’s cock-up at a crucial moment was in stark contrast to Ireland’s new skipper Johnny Sexton, writes Simon Lewis.

Scotland threw everything at the hosts in the closing stages but some heroic defence saw Ireland hold on.

Tadhg Furlong is nominated for the third year in a row.

Brian Ashton was a prophet in a land that couldn’t understand his message when he took over as Ireland head coach in the 1990s.

Head coach Dave Rennie will almost certainly leave Glasgow Warriors at the end of this season, most likely to take charge of Australia, although he has also been linked with the New Zealand and Italy jobs. His legacy in Scotland will depend almost entirely on how his team fares in this European Champions Cup campaign, which kicks-off when Sale Sharks visit Scotstoun tomorrow afternoon.

Simon Lewis previews the 20 teams aiming for glory as the Champions Cup kicks off this weekend.

Head coach Dave Rennie will almost certainly leave Glasgow Warriors at the end of this season, most likely to take charge of Australia, although he has also been linked with the New Zealand and Italy jobs. His legacy in Scotland will depend almost entirely on how his team fairs in this European Champions Cup campaign, which kicks-off when Sale Sharks visit Scotstoun Saturday afternoon.

Forty-five minutes before kick-off, Joe Schmidt and Gregor Townsend shot the breeze on the side of the pitch while their respective squads warmed up in intense humidity behind them.

TOKYO — It has been decidedly low-key this week in and around the Scotland team base in the opulent Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa in the Shinagawa area of Tokyo. Not in a bad way. It just feels like after nearly three months of training camps and ever-increasing hype, there is nothing left to say or do — it is now time to get into the action. And while they might not be shouting it from the rooftops, there is definitely a deep-rooted sense of belief within the group that tomorrow’s World Cup opener against Ireland is a match they can win.

Gregor Townsend has opted to name an experienced line-up ahead of Scotland’s World Cup opener against Ireland.

Two days out from their all-Six Nations World Cup 2019 opening showdown, and the game is afoot.

Dan McFarland will be up early this Sunday morning, like most Irish rugby fans around the country.

Scotland bounced back from last weekend’s humiliation in Nice with a gritty 17-14 win over France at Murrayfield.

O’Brien missed what should have been his final game for his home province due to a hip injury but captain Sexton asked the Tullow Tank, who will depart Leinster for London Irish after the World Cup, to take the captain’s role and lift the trophy after a hard-fought victory in Glasgow.

Leinster have won the Guinness PRO14 final after beating Glasgow 18-15 at Celtic Park.

Leo Cullen vented his anger last week at what he perceived as suggestions in some media outlets that Jonathan Sexton had been ‘dropped’ for the semi-final win over Munster. He need not have bothered as Sexton’s selection for today’s decider was always going to refute such spin.

Reasons to be fearful for Leinster today?

Johnny Sexton has been recalled to the Leinster team for tomorrow's Guinness Pro14 final against Glasgow at Celtic Park.

As British parliamentarians are proving with almost daily inefficiency, leaving Europe can be complicated but as far as Stuart Hogg is concerned, the swift and summary elimination of Glasgow Warriors earlier this season has been the best thing that could have happened to his club.

Felipe Contepomi has stressed the need for Leinster to strike the perfect balance between free-flowing and high-pressure rugby as they attempt to negotiate Glasgow Warriors’ self-styled defensive “brutality” in Saturday’s Guinness PRO14 final.

Glasgow will have the benefit of home advantage at Celtic Park after romping past Ulster 50-20 to claim a place in the Guinness PRO14 Grand Final.

Glasgow Warriors reclaimed top spot in Conference A of the Guinness PRO14 with a fantastic five-try 39-24 win over fellow table toppers Leinster at the RDS.

A disappointment? Definitely.

Quite what impact Saturday’s Murrayfield result has on the next time Ireland meet Scotland in September’s key opening World Cup pool game in Yokohama remains to be seen but, right now, Joe Schmidt has more immediate problems to address, writes Donal Lenihan.

Joe Schmidt hopes Johnny Sexton will shake off a head injury in time for Ireland's Guinness Six Nations trip to Italy.

Ireland bounced back from their painful home defeat to England as they got their Guinness Six Nations title defence back on track with a much-needed victory at Murrayfield.

Losing may not be a habit for this Ireland team, and certainly not as far as James Ryan is concerned, but pinpointing the reasons for defeat and moving quickly to improve is as much a key to success as knowing how to string together victory after victory.

Gregor Townsend’s side got their Six Nations tournament off to the perfect start.

Connacht 26 Glasgow Warriors 27

We look back at a fascinating 2018 tournament. 

Greig Laidlaw's last-gasp penalty ensured Scotland avoided a final-day slip-up.

With a third Six Nations Championship in five seasons already safely tucked away, Ireland head for Twickenham on Saturday without the requirement for any added extras.

Considering that everyone has been in such a rush to give Ireland the title, it seems only right that the new champions should now be in line for a golden handshake.

That Ireland could be crowned Six Nations champions by 7pm this evening will not enter the thinking of anyone inside Joe Schmidt’s bubble as kick-off approaches this afternoon.

You don’t have to be an incurable optimist to support Scotland but it helps. Year upon year of sky-high hopes being dashed when reality hit home could make even the most fervent fan start to wonder if that gleam they see in the distance is the light at the end of the tunnel or just another train coming to crush their dreams.

Blair Kinghorn will make his first start for Scotland on Saturday after being named in Gregor Townsend's side for their pivotal NatWest 6 Nations clash against Ireland in Dublin.

“We know we’re going to have to be better than we were last Saturday.”

The loss to Argentina may be the defeat that itches away at Joe Schmidt more than any other but Ireland’s defeat to Scotland at the foothills of last season’s Six Nations was, in some respects, a far more frustrating affair.

It may have escaped many people’s notice that, as word emerged yesterday of Jamie Heaslip’s decision to retire from the game he had graced at the highest level for a decade, the Scarlets were announcing the end of another rugby career.

Scotland registered their first victory over England in a decade to reignite their NatWest 6 Nations title aspirations and leave the champions nursing a conclusive 25-13 defeat.

Greig Laidlaw booted 22 points on his return to Scotland's starting line-up as Gregor Townsend's men kick-started their NatWest 6 Nations campaign with a 32-26 win over France.