Ireland vs Scotland preview:

Ireland would want to put their quarter-final exit in the World-Cup behind them and try to get their Six Nations campaign of and running. They have most of their star players in the team and is looking to take control of the competition by making a big statement early on. Scotland also has a great team lined up even tho they left out one of their best in Finn Russell because of not following team protocol. They do still have a very dangerous backline and if given space they will exploit it. It is going to be an exciting game to watch and the Scottish won’t be a walkover like they were a few seasons ago. They will definitely be very tough competition this season and it is going to be one of the most tightly contested Six Nations competitions in a while.

Key match ups:

CJ Stander vs Hamish Watson: These two are both strong running and hard hitting loose forwards. They will both look to carry hard and break through the defensive line of the opponent to give their team front foot ball. Every team in the world needs one player like them to get over the advantage line, and these two are some of the best in the world. The one of them that is able to get their team going forward will give them an advantage in the bigger scheme of things.

Bundee aki vs Huw Jones: They are not the same type of center but they are both integral parts of their teams attacking prowess. Bundee will be wanting to make up for his blunder in his last pool stage and not being able to play in the quarter finals. He will also look to carry hard and play the way the Irish did the past few seasons with their hard running and forward dominated game. Huw on the other hand hits the gaps at full speed and then shrugs of the defense trying to hold on to him. His speed is another attribute that he brings to the game and it allows him to hit the gaps draw the defenders, and then offloads to his wingers running on to him.

Jordan Larmour vs Stuard Hogg: These two are very similar types of players. They are both fleet footed, and great on the counter attack. Even if the game is going against either of their teams they will be able to turn it around with one great jinking run and fire up their team. If the efences don’t close down either of these players their team will concede a five pointer and have to kick of again. I believe it is going to be one of the best mach ups in whole competition.

Teams:

Ireland:

Starting XV: 1 Cian Healy, 2 Rob Herring, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 4 Iain Henderson, 5 James Ryan, 6 CJ Stander, 7 Josh van der Flier, 8 Caelan Doris, 9 Conor Murray, 10 Johnny Sexton (c), 11 Jacob Stockdale, 12 Bundee Aki, 13 Garry Ringrose, 14 Andrew Conway, 15 Jordan Larmour.

Bench: 16 Ronan Keller, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Peter O’Mahony, 21 John Cooney, 22 Ross Bryne, 23 Robbie Henshaw.

Scotland:

Starting XV: 1 Rory Sutherland, 2 Fraser Brown, 3 Zander Fagerson, 4 Scott Cummings, 5 Jonny Gray, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 7 Hamish Watson, 8 Nick Haining, 9 Ali Price, 10 Adam Hastings, 11 Blair Kinghorn, 12 Sam Johnson, 13 Huw Jones, 14 Sean Maitland, 15 Stuard Hogg (c).

Bench: 16 Mcknally, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Ben Toolis, 20 Cornell du Preez, 21 George Horne, 22 Rory Hutchinson, 23 Chris Harris.

Prediction:

I believe it is going to be a good game to watch, but I believe that Ireland will have the firepower and the forward pack to overpower the Scottish.