Give Irish plenty pain

SPORTS Strauss feels Scots should employ England’s tactics

JOSH Strauss has pressed the case for Scotland to take on Ireland in the physica l it y sta kes on Saturday after presenting compelling evidence for a full-blooded approach.

The Scots will be looking to dish out a fresh serving of pain to Joe Schmidt’s men at Murrayfield this weekend after the 2018 Grand Slam winners were swiped aside by England in their Guinness Six Nations opener.

Eddie Jones’ side dominated in Dublin thanks to powerhouse performances from Manu Tuilagi and Mako and Billy Vunipola, running up four tries on their way to a bonus-point triumph.

Strauss was impressed by the tactics utilised by the English at the Aviva Stadium as it sparked memories of Ireland’s last Edinburgh visit.

The Sale No 8 was i n the Scotland XV for that 2017 clash, a match that saw the Dark Blues lure the visitors into a series of early traps set inside their own 22 before applying the squeeze.

The Irish fought back but two late Greig Laidlaw kicks saw the Scots edge it 27-22.

And it is those two performances which have convinced Strauss the Scots must take the fight to the Irish again.

He said: “I wasn’t involved last year in Dublin but we’ve watched a lot of the clips leading up to this year’s match trying to see what we did well and where we could do better.

“Physically we didn’t match them as a team last year but in 2017 we fronted up very well. We’ll need to take a similar step this week because we’ve seen what England have done.

“If you match that you will probably get something out of the game.”

Losing last week means Ireland’s title ambitions are already on the line.

Stuart Hogg touches down during Scotland’s win over Italy. The physical side of Scotland will also be crucial against Ireland.

Josh Strauss in the thick of it against Fiji. He feels a tough approach will be required if Scotland are to win this weekend.