Scotland should make it a winning finale if Richie Gray rises to the occasion

IRELAND cannot retain their title, and Scotland cannot win the Championship, but make no mistake, this is still a massive game for both teams.

From Scotland’s point of view, today’s match should provide an accurate measure of how well we have progressed over the course of this Six Nations campaign, and how much strength in depth Vern Cotter now has to work with given the injuries he has had to contend with.

Duncan Weir comes in for Finn Russell at stand-off, having been preferred to Peter Horne because Vern wants an out-and-out 10. Pete did everything right last Sunday against France, and came off the bench very early to put in a performance that was outstanding both physically and mentally, and he can still have a big role to play today whether he comes on at fly half or centre.

Duncan plays in a different way to both Finn and Pete, but that should be seen as a benefit. Vern might have wanted to go for slightly different tactics in this game in any case and, at this stage of a tournament, it’s no bad thing to vary things a little and keep the opposition guessing.

At No 8, the choice of Ryan Wilson over Josh Strauss is probably horses for courses. Josh did very well last week, when the nature of the game against France called for his immense physicality, while Ryan did really well in the previous game against Italy. Ryan will ensure we keep up a high tempo in attack and Vern has said that his fresher legs played a part in the decision to start with him rather than Josh, but there will still be a role for Josh as well.

The third change again sees one Glasgow Warrior come in for a clubmate, with Tim Swinson replacing the injured Jonny Gray at lock.

Jonny has had a terrific tournament, and the performance last week from he and his brother Richie was one of the key ingredients of Scotland’s win over France. What Jonny brings, at the age of 22, is incredible both in terms of his individual play and as a leader. And in the sort of form he is displaying just now, any team in the world would miss him.

But, having said that, it’s not just a case of Tim coming in and trying to fill the massive gap left by Jonny on his own. Richie also has to rise to the challenge, and I’m sure he will.

Richie stepped up his game last week – he was aggressive, he carried very well and he got through a huge amount of work. And he will have to step up again today because he has the added responsibility of calling the lineouts as well.

I’ve no doubt he’ll do well, but it is an added pressure on him compared to the France match. But as long as Richie can get the lineout going well, whatever hole Jonny has left will not all need to be filled by Tim on his own. Tim will want to take this chance to show how good he is. He’s a big, physical player; when he hits a ruck it stays hit, and when the Irish come around the corner he’ll be there to drive them back.

Then we have Rob Harley on the bench, another player who will be desperate to take this opportunity to show what he can do after not getting into the squad earlier in the campaign. He was also extremely unlucky to miss out on the Rugby World Cup squad last year and this call-up is the reward for some exceptional performances for Glasgow.

Rob has an unbelievable work rate – probably above and beyond that of anyone else I’ve played with. However long he gets, he will give absolutely everything he’s got. He’s developed his game a lot over the past few years and he’s a real option in the lineout now as well as carrying a lot of ball.

For me, Rob is a 6 who can play in the second row as opposed to the other way round, but he can easily fit in at tighthead lock. I would hate to play against Rob Harley – I even hated doing that in training for however many years it was – because he always manages to frustrate you. He’ll get a few penalties out of Ireland by frustrating them; he just never goes away.

I’m really pleased to see Henry Pyrgos get back into the squad too and no matter how limited his game time may be today, he will benefit from the experience of being back in an international environment. That’s the thing about the Six Nations; everyone goes back to his club as a better player. Let’s hope that our own players return to their clubs on the back of a third successive victory in the Championship.