Impossible is not XV of the thistle? Scotland, thanks to its improved victory and its seven tries against Tonga (45-17), then its walk in the park against Romania (84-0 and 12 tries) gave itself the right to dream of qualifying for quarters. He must now defeat the Irish, invincible for more than a year. The challenge is immense. Expiatory victims of the Irish since 2017, the Scots have not beaten the world number 1 in the World Rugby rankings for eight matches and have only won once in their last thirteen confrontations…
The Scots have never been closer to success than in 2021 at Murrayfield. That day, green icon Johnny Sexton scored a penalty at the end of the match to give his team a 27-24 victory. This time, not only must Gregor Townsend’s men bring down Andy Farrell’s men, but they must also not concede the defensive bonus point. “Why wouldn’t I believe it? We’ve already had some great performances in matches where we weren’t favourites, whether it was winning in Paris, winning at Twickenham, or beating England who we hadn’t beaten for six or seven years.” recalled the Scottish coach.
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Impossible mission ? Ireland remains on 17 consecutive victories on the international scene, a series launched with a bang by two victories in New Zealand in July 2022, winning a tour with the All Blacks for the first time. The fifteen of Clover won the Grand Slam without trembling in the Six Nations Tournament and offered themselves a striking victory against the South African world champions in their third match (13-8). A new success this Saturday at the Stade de France against the current fifth nation in the world would guarantee them first place in Group B.
A feat if not nothing. The Scots, third in the last Tournament, risk returning empty-handed, like in Japan in 2019, where they stopped in the first round after two defeats against Japan (28-21) and against… Ireland (27-3 ). Gregor Townsend’s team sees the return of captain Jamie Ritchie to the third wing position, while Andy Farrell has made two changes to his starting XV. Iain Henderson replaces James Ryan in the second row and Dan Sheehan takes Ronan Kelleher’s place at hooker.
After the big success against Tonga, Towsend quipped: “Hearing the comments, it looks like Ireland are already in the quarterfinals against New Zealand.” Steve Tandy, defense coach of the XV du Chardon, tries to believe it. “I am aware that, over the last few years, we have not been able to bring down Ireland but it will eventually happen. » And the emblematic captain of Ireland Johnny Sexton warned: “Scotland and they are a superb team, frustrated to have lost against South Africa.”
Beaten from the start by the Boks (18-3), the Scots competed physically with their opponents before cracking in the first quarter of an hour of the second half. Facing the Irish rocks, “we will have to be on top until the end, reducing weak times and staying in contact,” declared second row Richie Gray. There’s just…
