Attitude key if Irish to prevail over Scots
Andy Farrell says Ireland must stifle Scotland’s speed of play to prevent Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg starring with their “dinner suits on”.
Farrell’s men travel to Murrayfield today seeking their first meaningful success of this year’s Guinness Six Nations.
Fly-half Russell and captain Hogg have been instrumental in the Scots’ recent resurgence and were standout performers during last month’s shock Twickenham success over defending champions England.
Ireland head coach Farrell believes denying the hosts quick ball will be key to containing the influential duo.
“Like any game with topclass backs that are quite quick and dynamic in how they want to play the game, control the unpredictability, you’ve got to control the game up front, there’s no doubt about that,” said Farrell.
“Those two players will either play with their dinner suits on or not because of the speed of ball that they will require to be able to play into space.
“And it’s up to us to make sure that we slow that ball down for them so we can put some pressure on them ourselves.”
Ireland continue their salvage operation in Edinburgh after hopes of the title were swiftly extinguished by successive defeats to Wales and France.
The Irish have dominated the fixture in recent years, winning nine of the past 10 meetings between the countries.
Farrell feels the mindset of his squad will be crucial to maintaining the stranglehold. “We need to make sure we turn up with the right attitude and if you don’t, you get burnt, it’s as simple as that,” he said.
After a run of six games without a win, the Lions of Livingston were finally roaring again yesterday.
Their 2-1 victory over Hamilton Accies confirmed their place in the top six.
And manager David Martindale (below) insists he now has his sights set on a place in Europe.
For the visitors, however, the defeat left Brian Rice’s side in a relegation dogfight with Ross County, who lost to Hibs, and Kilmarnock.