Scottish Rugby

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Scottish co-captain Rory Darge has been speaking to BBC Sport.

On the loss of Finn Russell and Darcy Graham in the first half: "Obviously it's tough to deal with. Two very important players going down.

"Hopefully they're all right. I think they're both OK but I'm not sure."

On the difference between the two sides: "The boys hung in there but we're obviously disappointed with the result in the end.

"The difference was probably their clinicalness in the finish zone. We had a few opportunities, showing a little bit, but not taking them or converting them into scores."

On preparations for England next up: "Initially with the week off, get some time away. That's a sore loss we've to take on the chin.

"But by the time we come back into camp, make sure that we're ready to go."

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Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend: "When they had the ball, they scored. The yellow card made it tough for us to get back in the game. Then the injuries disrupted things.

"I felt the players were building back into the game, but once Ireland got back into our 22 they showed how clinical they are. When you are behind on the scoreboard against a quality side, you need to make sure they don't get more opportunities.

"We'll get learnings. Accuracy would be the number one thing."

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Scotland fell to a second successive defeat in the Under-20s Six Nations as Ireland proved too strong in Edinburgh.

The visitors raced into a commanding early lead, with winger Charlie Molony scoring a hat-trick and Billy Corrigan crossing to secure a bonus point inside 21 minutes.

Scotland hit back through a Fergus Watson try before half-time, and narrowed the gap further after the break when Joe Roberts scored off the back of a lineout maul.

Oisin Minogue scored Ireland's fifth try to quell hopes of a Scotland comeback, before Scotland replacement Hector Patterson scored a magnificent individual try.

It wasn't enough though, and Ireland ran out 33-15 winners.

Ireland were beaten by England in Cork last week, while Scotland began their tournament with a loss against Italy.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Rory Darge has backed Glasgow Warriors team-mate Tom Jordan to excel on his first Test start at inside centre against Ireland on Sunday.

Jordan, 26, has been a mainstay in the Warriors team at fly-half, leading Glasgow to the URC title last season.

He made his international debut at full-back against Fiji in November and started at 15 the following week against South Africa.

After an impressive appearance off the bench against Italy, Jordan has been selected to start at 12 against the Irish, and Darge has backed his clubmate to continue his rapid rise.

"It's been pretty whirlwind, hasn't it?" Darge said.

"He's just gone from strength to strength. He's already shown that he can play at Test match level. Last week when he came on, he brought real energy. For his first cap, he was playing at full-back. He slotted in really well and did a job.

"He'll be really excited to go out and play at 12, where he's probably played most of his rugby. But then at Glasgow, he's played a lot of 10. It just shows the sort of quality player he is, that he can cover and play to a really high standard in all those positions."

"With Sione [Tuipulotu] being out of the squad, everyone has to bring a little bit more of their leadership because he's a massively important player to us in terms of leadership and his performances. I'm really excited to see Tom go."

We asked for your thoughts on Scotland's team to face Ireland.

Here's what some of you said:

Anon: Good positive attacking team. Tom Jordan at 12 tells me they are going for it. Good bench. Good luck boys, we're going to need it against the green machine.

Alan: This is the best team available. I cannot think of any permutations that could improve it other than the injured players recovering.

Rusty: The team is about as strong as we can put out with Sione Tuipulotu missing. So glad to see Jordan stepping into 12. It could be a Titanic battle in the centres, let's hope it's the Irish ship that sinks. The back row is abrasive. 15 v 15 is very matched but Irish have the advantage across the 23 v 23. Hopefully, the starting boys can get the job done early, I fear not.

Stair: The omission of George Horne seems odd. To my mind, he is the second-best scrum half in the competition, behind Jamison Gibson-Park. Brave to start Pierre Schoeman on the bench. I understand the impact theory but the first half against an Irish team is critical. However, a strong bench will help to drive towards an 80-minute performance.

Andrew: Great team to face Ireland, however, a bit surprised to see Schoeman on the bench. Great to have Jordan in at 12 for the three playmakers, him, Finn Russell and Blair Kinghorn.

Chris Paterson joins Andy Burke for the latest Six Nations offering from the BBC Scotland Rugby Podcast.

Can Scotland end a long wait to beat Ireland on Sunday?

Listen in to the big match preview.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Gregor Townsend says Scotland must deal with the inevitable difficult moments that will come against Ireland if they are to finally end their long winless run against the Six Nations champions.

The Scots have not beaten the Irish in 10 attempts and Townsend wants his team to stay focused even when they come under pressure from one of the world's top teams at Murrayfield on Sunday.

"You're going to get times where you don't execute what you want to do and sometimes you get away with that," the head coach said.

"Your defence tidies up and opposition don't score, but you've just got to adapt to what situation occurs and you can't dwell on it, you've got to move on.

"We get back to the reason why we play, is to score more points than the opposition at the end of the day, that's what it is.

"If you deny the opposition opportunities to score and even getting them creating less opportunities, then that's going to be easier.

"And the flip side, if you can create more opportunities and take more of them, then you've got more chance of getting those winning points."

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Gregor Townsend has been speaking to the media after naming his team to face Ireland in the Six Nations at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Here are the key points.

• Ireland are one of the best teams in the world and "clearly favourites" on Sunday, says Townsend.

• His team does not focus on the 10-match losing run to the Irish: "I think you only lean into it once you've ended it."

• Tom Jordan, Jack Dempsey and Rory Sutherland will bring speed and energy having been promoted to the XV and all "deserve to start".

• Townsend is expecting a "special atmosphere" against a team that will bring a strong away support. The Murrayfield crowd "means a lot" and Scotland have benefitted from the "familiarity" of playing six home matches in a row.

• Townsend does not buy into the notion Scotland v Ireland has become a fierce rivalry.

• He adds: "I think teams want to build up something to provide extra motivation, so maybe it's more on the Irish side or the Irish media side that there's this rivalry or needle to give them extra motivation on why they want to win again."

Gregor Townsend has named his Scotland side for the upcoming Six Nations match against Ireland.

Rory Sutherland comes in at loosehead prop and Jack Dempsey is at number eight, while Tom Jordan is chosen at inside centre.

Pierre Schoeman, Jamie Ritchie and Stafford McDowell drop to the bench following last weekend's opening win over Italy.

Matt Fagerson switches to the blindside flank to accommodate Dempsey's return.

Sam Skinner is among the replacements, having been added to the squad this week, and Jamie Dobie is preferred to George Horne as back-up to scrum-half Ben White.

Scotland: B Kinghorn, D Graham, H Jones, T Jordan, D Van der Merwe, F Russell, B White; R Sutherland, D Cherry, Z Fagerson, J Gray, G Gilchrist, M Fagerson J Ritchie R Darge, J Dempsey.

Replacements: E Ashman, P Schoeman, W Hurd, S SKinner, G Brown, J Ritchie, J Dobie, S McDowall.

Let us know your thoughts on the Scotland XV here, external

Edinburgh fans, we asked for your views on Jamie Ritchie leaving the capital club in the summer for French side Perpignan.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Lewis: A massive shame for Edinburgh but I think he was one of the only players putting the effort and soul into it every week. So enjoy sunny France and thanks Jamie.

John: Ritchie is a player who should have gone abroad years ago. He has stagnated there and this move will hopefully bring the improvements to his game that we have seen with Blair Kinghorn since his departure. It frees up space for new talent to emerge and creates more depth for national team.

Michelle: Absolutely gutted that Jamie is departing for pastures new. Always fronts up every single match whether that's for Edinburgh or Scotland. He will be missed by the fans, he always had time for a quick blether. After a decade at the club it will leave some huge boots to fill at flanker. Thank you Jamie!

David: Jamie Ritchie - really good player who, this year, is showing how good he is. The captaincy of Scotland maybe didn't work out as well as he hoped, but he has always given his all as a player. It's good that he has a fresh challenge in France and he can enjoy this time with his young family. I do think it's a positive for both Jamie and Edinburgh.

Jack: He deserves to experience another league and get his payday. He's long been excellent in a poor Edinburgh team. Playing in the most physical league in the world will only make him even better while freeing up the club's backrow slots. Rory Darge moved and emerged but it's worrying that SRU/Edinburgh haven't seen the benefit of getting young players more gametime.

Geoff: Ritchie has been an excellent player but perhaps is not consistently scaling the heights previously reached. The move could invigorate his career and push him out of his comfort zone whilst Edinburgh have plenty of quality younger players who need to step up, such as Ben Muncaster and Freddy Douglas. This move should really suit all parties.

BBC Scotland's chief sportswriter Tom English has been answering some of your Scottish rugby questions.

Mark asked: When Sione Tuipulotu plays it feels like pressure is taken off Finn Russell and allows him to play a more understated, free-flowing role. Arguably his absence on Saturday led to Russell having one of his most disappointing performances. The Irish will no doubt target Russell. Nothing against Stafford McDowall but would Tom Jordan be a better option at 12?

Tom answered: That's the big selection for me. It's important Scotland get off to a good start and don't fall miles behind, as they have done too often in the past.

It's also important that they have a strong bench to come on in case it's close. Ireland's bench, in most areas, is extremely strong.

So how best to utilise Jordan? I'd pick him from the start at 12 and hope he can help rattle Ireland and build a lead. Scotland have to get 10, 12, 14 points ahead because that Irish bench will come at them with a vengeance.

Jordan's an exceptional player who has the skill-set to step in and out of 10 as well. His presence gives Scotland the chance to use Russell as a decoy.

There are a lot of chances to throw a bit of deception at Ireland when Scotland, effectively, have two 10s looking at them, both of them capable of unlocking defences with their passing, kicking and running game.

Gregor Townsend has a chance to throw something different at Ireland and picking Jordan at 12 is it. I can understand why he might want to use him off the bench but what happens if the game is all but over when he starts to turn to that bench?

Best foot forward with Jordan at 12, I think.

Blair asked: If you could only pick one Scottish winger for the Lions tour, who would you select between Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe and why?

Tom answered: If I'm the boss then I don't have to limit myself to either/or so I'm picking both along with James Lowe and either Kyle Steyn or Imannuel Feyi-Waboso, if he's fit - or both, depending on squad size.

Darcy, as we saw again against Italy, is an absolute game-breaker and one of the most devastating runners in the Six Nations. He'd be an exceptional Lion.

Duhan is just a freak and can do things none of the others can do. He has flaws, but his X factor moments are just impossible to ignore. I'd definitely pick both.

BBC Scotland's chief sportswriter Tom English has been answering some of your Scottish rugby questions.

Simon asked: Hi Tom, when listening to most Irish rugby media channels, I don't think Scotland need to turn up, as they have an Irish team that's so superior to Scotland. Your thoughts?

Tom answered: That's a bit unfair. Nobody I have listened to, or read, in Ireland believes this is going to be a walk in the park. They all believe Ireland will win, with good reason. They've won the last 10 against Scotland and are back-to-back Six Nations champions.

The strong sense I get from the Irish media is they are expecting a tough game and that Ireland will have to win the physical battle in order to neutralise the world-class Scottish backline. They're confident the team can and will do that, but they're fully aware of the dangers that Scotland pose if Ireland are not close to their best.

On occasion, a bit of arrogance can creep in over there. No doubt about that, but it's the exception rather than the rule.

Graeme asked: For me it's a hooker, but what position would you say if we had a world-class player to slot in would have the biggest impact?

Tom answered: I'd agree, a world-class hooker would make a difference. Dave Cherry did really well against Italy and Ewan Ashman is a fine player.

But when you look at what Dan Sheehan does for Ireland you can see the difference. He's three or four players in one. He's a technically sound hooker, he has the dynamism and power of a great back-row, he can distribute like a top-class centre and he can finish like a winger.

He was out injured for five months and scored twice on his comeback and scored again in his second game, which was last weekend against England. He was involved three times in that move for his try. Astonishing.

Jordan asked: We are repeatedly hopeful of a result against Ireland, yet we never quite manage it and often don't even turn up. What actually needs to happen for us to beat Ireland? What tactical approach should Scotland take and where will the key battles be?

Tom answered: Jordan, if you look further down this page you'll find a column I wrote on that kind of thing.

As regards key battles? I don't want to be smart, but there are 15 of them. Genuinely, every head-to-head is utterly critical and you could make a case for every single of them being the most important.

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Edinburgh fans, how big a loss will Jamie Ritchie be?

The Scotland back-row will depart the capital club in the summer to join French Top 14 side Perpignan.

Edinburgh tried in vain to keep the 28-year-old, who has spent his entire career so far at the club, but is now intent on a "new challenge in a new country".

Having been a first-team mainstay since his debut 11 years ago, Ritchie will exit as an Edinburgh centurion.

How big a void does he leave and how might he be replaced?

Let us know your thoughts, external