Confident Ireland ready to finish on a high

Ireland take on Scotland in their final match of the Six Nations on Saturday and they’ll be looking to build on the positives from last weekend’s rout of Italy. Ireland needed that win badly – and they needed it in the style with which it was achieved too. When you’ve had a campaign like they have had it’s only natural that the pressure builds and the team maybe starts to question what they’re doing.

Those questions were certainly being asked from outside the group and that can filter through. Thankfully they finally put in the performance they’ve been looking for, although against Italy you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. If they’d struggled to a victory people would have been questioning them; after they won with plenty to spare the quality of the opposition became the focus: it was only Italy. Regardless of the opposition, they needed to win and needed to score tries and the difference that will make to the atmosphere in the camp this week shouldn’t be underestimated. There’ll be a buzz in the group and it’ll be needed in the build-up to what will be another tough game against Scotland.

We had a good record against Scotland in my playing days but that certainly wasn’t always the case. My first cap was against them in 2000 and that was the first time we’d beaten them in 12 years. It’s 15 wins to five in the years since but Saturday’s encounter is a tough one to call.

When the fixtures came out for this campaign, the Ireland players would have chalked this match down as a possible title decider so it’s not the finale they would have wanted. Having said that, the game certainly won’t be lacking in intensity even though that’s not the case. After watching Ireland’s win over Italy I would have been very confident in our chances last Saturday evening but Scotland’s win over France on Sunday has tempered that slightly. They showed that they’re a decent side in beating France and will be full of confidence coming to Dublin. They don’t fear playing in the Aviva and, like us, they’ll want to end their campaign on a high.

As has been the case for most matches in this tournament, predicting the outcome is a tough task. One thing that won’t be lacking when the game kicks off on Saturday though is motivation. Both sides have had a tough time of it since the World Cup and there has been plenty of pressure on the players and coaches.

A win for Ireland on Saturday would set us up nicely before the summer tour to South Africa. There’s been plenty of calls for experimentation during this tournament but there’s no doubt that the No 1 priority for Joe Schmidt and the IRFU has been putting wins on the board. Victory at the weekend would likely secure third place for Ireland and with the injuries and retirements we’ve had that’s about par.

Playing in the Aviva on consecutive weekends is a huge boost and having an extra day’s rest won’t do any harm either. If we reach the same level as we did against Italy – which looked pretty close to our A game – then we should have enough to get a win, but I certainly wouldn’t be expecting a comfortable score line. While the Scots were fighting for victory over France on Sunday, the Irish lads will have had their feet up. The recovery would have continued into Monday and there won’t be any major changes before the weekend. The players have been in camp for the guts of two months at this stage and they’ll just be concentrating on getting the bodies and minds right one more time.

I’ll be there to support them again on Saturday but mine is very much a watching brief these days. I’d send the odd text message to the lads I played with to wish them well in games but I certainly don’t hang around the squad. When you’re done, you’re done. It’s one thing I’ve always been very conscious of: you get your time at it and it’s a brilliant place to be but when it’s over, it’s over. I was lucky in that I had a long stint in the jersey and stayed clear of injuries throughout my career, but it’s up to the current crop to carry the jersey now.

It hasn’t been a vintage Six Nations tournament as a whole and certainly not a patch on last year. Maybe you can put that down to teams making changes and a World Cup hangover (reasons or excuses – take your pick) but there hasn’t been anything to frighten the southern hemisphere sides before the summer tours. England are champions but they’ve huffed and puffed their way through games. Even when they were 16-0 up against Wales last weekend you still felt Wales were in it. They’ll go to Paris on Saturday night chasing a grand slam against a pretty bad France side who’ve yet to turn up but as is ever the case with France, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they were able to put on one last great show.

Saturday night in Paris, 9pm kick-off local time and the English jersey in their sights: it has all the ingredients for something out of the ordinary. There is no reason to expect anything from this French team but that’s exactly why you expect it. Long before I ever watched a game of rugby I’d heard about French teams and what they can do. It’s England, their traditional rivals and it’s the one clash where the word hatred isn’t out of place. They’d love nothing better than to spoil England’s grand slam party.

If England turn up with everyone fit there can be only one winner but I’ll certainly be tuning in. I’m waiting for France to be France. And if they can do it at least the tournament will get a send-off to remind us of how great it can be.