Triple Crown is well within reach
The pair know there is massive expectation, with the bookmaker making it a 14-pointer in the handicap and the side almost unmatchable favourites for a fifth Triple Crown in seven years.
But O’Driscoll and Kidney are well aware Ireland are rarely at their best in such a situation. True, Scotland look a good bet for the dreaded “wooden spoon” and Ireland certainly have had that winners’ look about them the longer the campaign went on. But the Scots have been decidedly unlucky in at least two of those games and are almost certainly a better side than one draw from four games would suggest.
Kidney invariably makes talking up the opposition a key part of his press conferences and he was at it again yesterday.
“They were missing three or four forwards last year and (we) only broke them down once,” he warned. “You only have to look at the history of the Triple Crown to see how hard it is to win these three matches. We’ve lost more of these third matches than we’ve won. You have to be careful or you could be 14 points behind after 10 minutes and struggling for the rest of the day. So we need a good start.”
As a team, Scotland haven’t clicked this season and most certainly have lacked a cutting edge but it’s not just blind patriotism that convinces many knowledgeable Scots that the potential is there. Look at their back-row. Even though the likes of Jason White and Alasdair Strokosch are ruled out by injury, they still possess a powerful looking unit in Kelly Brown (who has recovered from the effects of a horrendous clash of heads with Ugo Monye last week), John Barclay and Jonathan Beattie. They were outstanding against England and will test the outstanding Irish trio Jamie Heaslip, Stephen Ferris and David Wallace.
Furthermore, Jim Hamilton and Alastair Kellock make a useful second-row pair capable of giving Paul O’Connell and Donncha O’Callaghan a run for their money. The front-row struggled last week but Northampton’s Euan Murray should be a lot more influential on this occasion.
Accordingly, I don’t believe the Scots will give too much away in the forward battle but after that they don’t seem to have a whole lot to offer. True, Robinson is fortunate to have Chris Cusiter and Mike Blair available at scrum-half but with the possible exception of left wing Max Evans, the remainder of the back division doesn’t seem to carry too much threat.
Andy Robinson was a member of the 2005 Lions coaching team in South Africa that ended so disastrously for Brian O’Driscoll. The Irish captain has a lot of time for the Englishman even though he claimed he had little contact with him on that ill fated trip to South Africa.
“There were about 150 on that tour and I didn’t have much contact with any of them,” he quipped. “But in fairness Andy has done a great job with Scotland just as he did with Edinburgh, making them very hard to beat and building up a very strong work ethic.
“Steady (Graham Steadman, Scottish defence coach) knows us well from his time here and defensively they have been excellent and undoubtedly been unlucky with a few of their results. Nor should we forget that they beat Australia in November. There’s no doubt they’re capable of a big performance and will see this as a great opportunity.”
Silverware, the Irish camp insists, is crucial to their progress from season to season and if it can’t be the Grand Slam or the Six Nations Championship, then they regard the Triple Crown as a more than desirable consolation.
And quite rightly so, too. Any year in which a little country like Ireland with a relatively small pool of players beats England, Scotland and Wales has to be a very special one and if and when Brian O’Driscoll leads his players around Croke Park with the Triple Crown trophy held aloft, they will be fully deserving of a rapturous reception.
THERE was a time in the 1990s when Scotland were very much Ireland’s bogey team. There is no doubt that the Scots will be resolute opponents and difficult to break down and the margin may be a lot closer than many have predicted.
But as their recent record shows, this Irish team knows how to close out matches and they have a huge stream of key players in great form going into the game. All three rows of the scrum are in tremendous fettle and even if debate continues to rage about the best out-half option, the entire back line is moving very much in the rightdirection. It may not be pretty but expect Ireland to do enough to clinch that fifth Triple Crown in seven years by more than one score come the final whistle of South African referee Jonathan Kaplan.
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