Scots need another show like last week

Scotland are sitting pretty in the top half of the Six Nations table after last weekend’s epic victory against England.

Next weekend they travel to Dublin to take on Ireland, who sit top of the table, undefeated and with a home record the envy of many.

It is a long, long time since Scotland have beaten anyone, other than Italy, on the road in the Six Nations.

To consider yourself a truly great team, you have to be consistent in your performances and able to win matches away from home.

Scotland have achieved the latter on tour – as recently as last summer when they beat Australia in Sydney, while deprived of their British & Irish Lions.

Yet their inconsistency let them down a week later when they lost to Fiji, a team ranked well below them and their other vanquished opponents.

Inconsistency has bugged them this year, too.

Compare and contrast Scotland against Wales and England. The performances were very, very different – as were the outcomes.

Scotland beat Ireland last year at Murrayfield when they showed they could compete in every phase of play and in particular, countering the Irish trademark “choke” tackle brilliantly.

To stand a chance in Dublin next week, Scotland will require a similar performance.

The Scottish scrum, despite the concerns over injured props, has been solid as a rock.

It has to be that sound again. The lineout has been more hit and miss – it needs to function effectively in Dublin – and be rock-solid on Scotland’s own throw in.

Scotland’s defence also needs to be sound, recreating the ‘never say die’ attitude of last weekend rather than the inconsistent showing in Cardiff.

Key, is the breakdown. Barclay, Mcinally and Watson dominated last weekend against England and they need to dominate again – or at the very least, seek parity.

The Irish back row has a better blend than England had – they were too one-paced and paid the price.

If Ireland get an edge here they will have the advantage in the match.

Ireland have suffered from their own long list of injuries, the latest being centre Chris Farrell, who requires knee ligament surgery.

They have lost the impressive Robbie Henshaw from the centre as well as Jared Payne, so their own depth will be challenged in this area.

Ireland will start as favourites in Dublin, of that there is no doubt.

For Scotland to be competitive, it will require another performance similar to the first 40 minutes at Murrayfield last week, demonstrating they can be consistent.

I wouldn’t bet against it.

To get a result in Dublin, the breakdown is key for Scotland