Possession stats don’t worry Scots

Scotland lock Tim Swinson insists his side will have no problem living off scraps against Ireland in the Aviva Stadium on Sunday.

Ireland dominated last year’s meeting at Murrayfield to such an extent that they claimed 78% of the possession and 80% of the territory during a bruising first half for the Scots.

Yet Declan Kidney’s side failed to take their chances and lost out 12-8 after a Greg Laidlaw-inspired display by the hosts.

The Irish will be desperate to make up for that loss but Swinson says Scotland have no reason to worry.

“Ireland had 78% possession and 80% territory – so what?” he asked.

“We still won. At the end of the day, people remember the victory. It was a great defensive display that day. Now we need to add to it with the things we’ve been working on over the last six months.

“There is nothing to be daunted about taking on Ireland. Their players are all pretty familiar to us. We play them often enough for our club sides in the Pro 12, and we’ve got a lot of guys who have played against Ireland before in the Six Nations.

“We have got to focus on ourselves and our own performance. We feel we have a side that can go there and win and improve as the Six Nations goes on. That’s what we’ve got to focus on, rather than being blindsided by someone else.”

The 26-year-old Glasgow forward has three caps to his name but will make his Six Nations bow in Dublin.

Swinson admitted he struggled to control the butterflies in his stomach during his first few outings as a Dark Blues international. But he claims the calming influence of Montpellier’s 50-cap line-out specialist Jim Hamilton stopped the occasion getting the better of him.

“I’ve got better with the nerves,” he said. “Everybody gets it before games. It helps when you have got players around you who are in a good frame of mind and who have been there before. I had Jim Hamilton beside me in the second row when I won my first cap and it was great to have him there. Hopefully it will be the same on Sunday.

“I’ve also tried to take a lead from Al Kellock as well. He’s been a huge influence on me over my last year and a half at Glasgow. He has helped me and Johnnie Gray and a few other second rows coming through. He leads by example and if I can do the same I’ll be doing well.”