NATWEST 6 NATIONS SCOTLAND v IRELAND We’ve Laid the foundations but now it’s time to Dublin the stakes
GREIG LAIDLAW last night insisted the Scotland players don’t suffer from a mental block which has prevented them winning away from Murrayfield in the Six Nations.
But the scrum-half conceded that for too long the international side have “let themselves down” on the road as he spoke of changing their fortunes ahead of their trip to Dublin for Saturday’s season-defining match with Ireland.
Since Italy joined the tournament, Scotland have won just six times in 46 matches away from Edinburgh and the last away win which didn’t take place in Rome came in Dublin back in 2010.
Should Laidlaw and his teammates upset the odds and triumph in the Aviva Stadium tomorrow, they would give themselves the first real opportunity to win the Championship since their last triumph 1999.
When asked whether the Scots did have a mental problem given their poor record on the road, Laidlaw said: “I can see why you would ask that but it doesn’t feel like that in the team.
“You look back to the Wales game at the start of this Championship and we actually started very well in the first 10 minutes. But then we just switched off and it comes back to the quality of the opposition.
“If you do that, if you are not putting in your best performance on the day, you are probably going to come up short. We can learn a huge lesson from three games ago.
“It has been very frustrating. Clearly it’s difficult and we are playing against good teams but we have probably under-performed and that is the worst thing. You can probably accept if you go away from home, play your best game and get beaten by a better team.
“We understand we need an excellent performance at the weekend.
“Everything is getting pushed towards Ireland, gearing towards getting our ultimate performance.”
Scotland are looking to win three games in a row for the first time since the victorious 1999 campaign and the hope for Gregor Townsend and his play- ers is that they can keep up the momentum built up on the back of their successive wins over France and England.
IRELAND are going for a Grand Slam and Laidlaw, who will win his 61st cap, admitted that this match was the biggest test his team could face when playing the northern hemisphere sides.
He said: “In the context of the Six Nations now, this weekend is a bigger challenge than the England game. If we are serious about challenging for the title then we need to win this game and clearly Ireland are unbeaten.
“It’s going to be a huge test for us and one which we need to meet head on and we are looking forward to it.”
Laidlaw and halfback partner Finn Russell were a joy to watch in the Calcutta Cup and will need to be nothing less than world class against the Irish due to the quality of opponents Connor Murray and Jonny Sex- ton. You never quite know what Russell will do or say – he is something of a one-off and is as different a character from Laidlaw as you could find. However, they are good for one another.
“It’s brilliant to play alongside Finn,” said Laidlaw. “The players around him, in the back division and the forwards, love having him there as he has such a sharp pass. When he’s in that confident mood, we feel as though we can break any defence in the world.”