Scottish Rugby

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Scrum coach Pieter de Villiers says Scotland have "grown consistently" against Ireland and now is the time to beat them.

The sides meet in round two of the Six Nations at Murrayfield on Sunday, having opened the championship with bonus-point victories over Italy and England respectively.

Scotland have lost their past 10 meetings with Ireland but De Villiers says the belief is there that they can end that run.

"Ireland are a team who have been consistently up there with the top teams in terms of the world rankings, so it's always a great excitement for us to play them," he said.

"Over the years, we've grown consistently against them. So it's time for us to go and look for a win against them, and it's important for us to go into the game with that kind of mindset.

"Believing in it and making sure for 80 minutes you get everything in every department right. That is what Ireland tend to do as they are very consistent in all different areas of play.

"So that firstly is going to be important and then secondly is the belief. Going out there and really believing that we're going to go and do it. I think the players are all in a good place with regards to that."

Ireland legend Gordon D'Arcy joins Tom English and Andy Burke on the BBC Scotland Rugby Podcast to preview Sunday's Six Nations showdown at Murrayfield.

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Ireland hooker Ronan Kelleher believes the side's last visit to Murrayfield showed the "mentality" of the back-to-back Six Nations winners.

Simon Easterby's squad head to Edinburgh for round two of the championship but, when they were last visitors there in 2023, were victorious despite ending the game with flanker Josh van der Flier throwing into their line-out and prop Cian Healy scrummaging at hooker.

Dan Sheehan was Ireland's starter in the number two jersey that day but was forced off injured after 18 minutes. His replacement Kelleher soon picked up a shoulder problem of his own but lasted until the 48th minute before he too had to be replaced.

"I just remember coming in at half-time, there was no panic," said Kelleher.

"I just remember a few people laughing, like 'this is wild'. Just a next-man-up mentality. Church [Healy] obviously went in, did unbelievably well in the scrum, Josh did unbelievably well at the line-out throws, but there was no panic, no sense of dread or anything really.

"It was just more of the funny situation, but people were willing to step up and I thought we did well as a squad to get through that."

Despite the injury upheaval, Ireland won the game 22-7 and, a week later, clinched the Grand Slam at home to England.

"It was a brilliant day and we were obviously delighted," added Kelleher. "It led to a big Grand Slam win the following week, so yeah, it was massive."

Ireland and Scotland both won during the opening weekend of the 2025 championship but Gregor Townsend's side have not beaten Sunday's visitors since 2017.

"Scotland are always very difficult to play against," Kelleher said.

"They have some class players throughout the team."

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Gregor Brown aims to grasp his chance to shine in the second-row for injury-hit Scotland during the Six Nations.

The 23-year-old began his career as a back-rower but has been used regularly as a lock at Glasgow Warriors since the tail end of last season.

Richie Gray's move to Japan and injuries to clubmates Scott Cummings and Max Williamson opened up a place on the bench for Saturday's 31-19 victory over Italy at Murrayfield.

And Brown won his fifth cap as a replacement for Jonny Gray, coming on in the second half with the game level at 19-19.

"I'm just trying to keep improving and keep moving forward," he said when asked about the prospect of keeping his place for the visit of Ireland.

"It's so great to have Jonny Gray, Grant Gilchrist and other boys in and around the squad.

"Second row is still a position that I'm getting to grips with, you could say, but to have those two in the camp, they've been so helpful."

While Brown views himself primarily as a back-rower, he is enjoying his early steps on the international stage.

"There's certain aspects of the game that you're focused on a little bit more at second row," he said. "So my line-out and stuff like that has been a real working point for me the past couple of months.

"But at the same time I also see it as adding value to when I do play in the back row. So just adding those skillsets and really tuning up on that is something that I'm keeping working on."

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Edinburgh lock Sam Skinner has been called up to Scotland's squad before Sunday's Six Nations match against Ireland.

Both Gregor Townsend's Scots and Simon Easterby' Irish opened the championship with victories on Saturday.

Skinner, 30, has been capped 35 times and bolsters Townsend's second-row options in the absence of Scott Cummings, who has been ruled out of the tournament.

Ireland visit Edinburgh for a 15:00 GMT kick-off on Sunday.

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Ireland scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park says there is "no reason" Scotland cannot beat Simon Easterby's side in their Six Nations meeting on Sunday (15:00 GMT).

Both sides won their opening fixtures last weekend. Ireland overturned a half-time deficit to beat England in Dublin, while Scotland survived an Italian fightback in Edinburgh.

Gregor Townsend's side have not beaten Ireland since 2017, a 10-game run that includes seven Six Nations games, two World Cup pool meetings and an Autumn Nations Cup clash.

"They're a classy side," said Gibson-Park.

"They're playing good footy, and they're stacked full of really good individuals, so it will be a tough challenge. I know it's been a long time since they won [against Ireland] but there's no reason they can't."

Victory for Ireland would equal the longest run of wins in this fixture, set by Scotland between 1882 and '93, but Gibson-Park does not feel the hosts will be more motivated than any other opposition.

"I think that's the case for a lot of teams now," he said when asked whether Scotland's desperation for victory would be a factor in the game.

"We've kind of been near enough to the top of the rankings now for a while and, like, I know myself that if I'm coming up against a quality side you want to put your best performance out there. Next week will be no different I think."

Despite a scare, Scotland eventually proved too strong for Italy in their Six Nations opener at Murrayfield.

With a bonus-point win secured and a game against old foes Ireland next on the cards, do you have any questions for our rugby writers Tom English and Andy Burke?

Send them in via this link, external and they will be answered on this page later in the week.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Jonny Gray admits he feared his international career was over and says he feels "blessed" to be back in a Scotland jersey.

The Bordeaux lock made his first Test appearance in two years in the Six Nations victory over Italy after overcoming a succession of injury problems.

Gray could have returned to the national fold in the November internationals, but declined a call-up to Gregor Townsend's squad to focus on regaining fitness with club side Bordeaux after 16 months sidelined by injury.

Townsend said at the time he was "angry" and "disappointed" by the decision, and Gray explained why he made that call.

"I was out for a long time and I managed to play a bit of rugby before that [November series]," said the Bordeaux lock.

"Firstly, it was a decision I made. It was a hard decision and I think every 15 minutes, I was questioned if I was making the right one or not because obviously I managed to get back to playing rugby and then came the opportunity, potentially, to play international. So I made myself unavailable. I spoke to the club and spoke to Gregor and I can understand the frustrations here.

"At some points, I thought I wasn't going to get back to rugby. So I thought the best way to put myself in good shape to sustain (myself) going forward was not to play in the November window. But trust me, it wasn't an easy decision.

"I love playing for Scotland. When you watch it, I've been a fan and when you get back to playing rugby, you want to be a part of it. Thankfully, I got that opportunity."

We asked for your views on Scotland's bonus point Six Nations victory over Italy at Murrayfield.

Here is what some of you said:

Gordon: Just more of the same again from Scotland, place a little pressure on the team and then panic sets in. There is no evidence this team can tighten up and control the game. Gregor Townsend can't move this squad forward or indeed extract the results which the squad on paper should achieve. I suspect this is the best squad Scotland have ever had too?

Jamie: I had very high hopes for this campaign but injuries and this performance have dented those. After a great start, we made too many mistakes, especially silly penalties to allow a dangerous opponent a lifeline. We need to be more mercenary and dominate for 80+ minutes. Thankfully, Huw Jones, Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham provided the quality needed at key moments.

Adam: A great Scottish win with a crucial score at 19-19 which showed a developing strength of character within this team. The forwards linked well with Finn Russell on attack and Ben Whites' box-kicking was exceptional. We look forward to next weekend with some confidence.

Ronnie: Heard a couple of commentators saying yesterday that it was a "good" performance from Scotland. Bar the opening 15 minutes and the last 20, I'd say it was a pretty lacklustre performance. Ireland will comfortably take the game away from us next week if we play like that.

Roy: Only Scotland can score five tries and still make the game a struggle. That said, Italy are a much tougher prospect nowadays but we have to learn to put teams away when we are in the ascendancy.

Bobby: Well Tom English, what was that you were saying about Dave Cherry's selection? Thank you for motivating the Edinburgh hooker!

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Scotland co-captain Finn Russell says they "have to be a lot better" than they were against Italy if they want to succeed in the Six Nations.

Despite some nervy moments, Gregor Townsend's side were 31-19 winners at Murrayfield on Saturday afternoon.

Scotland face Ireland in their next match on Sunday 9 February and Russell insists they'll have to put in a much improved performance come next week.

"It was good to battle at the end for the win but we'll need to be a lot better if we want to do anything in this tournament," he said.

"For me personally my mistake was frustrating. The mistakes, the looseness we had, were probably individual [errors] which will be easier to fix. We'll come back Monday or Tuesday and sort a few things out.

"Huw [Jones] was outstanding today. I thought Stafford [McDowall] was really good at 12 as well. The backs worked really well together, created a lot of chances and if we're going to do anything in this tournament we have to try and finish those off.

"There were probably four of five tries we left out there today."

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Dependable Darge to the fore again

Huw Jones grabbed the headlines with his hat-trick of tries, but Rory Darge was arguably the best player on the pitch.

The Glasgow flanker is perhaps a victim of his own consistence excellence. It's rare he ever delivers anything less than an eight out of 10 performance and as a result, we often take for granted just how good he is.

His display against Italy had everything – the opening try, crucial turnovers, excellent carries and some superb defence in key moments.

As always seems to be the case, the competition for spots in the Lions back-row is probably the fiercest of any area in the team, but Darge should be in the conversation.

Cherry justifies Townsend's faith

The selection of Dave Cherry to start at hooker ahead of Ewan Ashman - his first Test appearance since the 2023 Rugby World Cup - raised more than a few eyebrows, but the Edinburgh man more than justified Gregor Townsend's faith with an excellent performance.

It was Cherry as much as any player who set the tone for Scotland's fast start, carrying hard and often into the heart of the Italian defence.

His set-piece work was cited by Townsend as the big reason for giving Cherry the nod and the lineout and scrum functioned well to give Scotland an attacking platform.

The entire front row put in a colossal shift, with Pierre Schoeman and the outstanding Zander Fagerson getting through a mountain of work with and without the ball.

There's a case to suggest Ashman's more dynamic ball-carrying will be favoured against Ireland, but Scotland will need that set-piece foundation to stand a chance, and that could tip the scales in Cherry's favour to keep hold of the number two jersey.

McDowall or Jordan – who starts at 12?

There was a lot of pressure on Stafford McDowall's shoulders against Italy, filling the huge void left by the injured captain Sione Tuipulotu.

McDowall did fine. He defended well against the talented duo of Juan Ignacio Brex and Tommaso Menoncello, though he did not offer as much going forward as he might have done.

The backline looked sharper in attack when Tom Jordan came off the bench and it poses a fascinating dilemma for Townsend ahead of the Ireland game.

Did Jordan's display prove he should be in from the start? Or confirm that he brings exactly the kind of impetus from the bench that will be required against the defending champions?

With Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose looking strong against England, it's a selection the head coach simply has to get right.