Scotland v Ireland: Youthful Scotland side need stand-off to defy the gulf in experience

Published on Saturday 26 February 2011 10:22

WHEN the players take to the field today they will have neither the time nor the inclination to ponder the recent history between these two teams. But it is worth revisiting all the same. Throughout the 1990s Scotland played Ireland 11 times and never once lost. The solitary draw came in 1994 when the teams slugged out an uninspiring 6-6 stalemate.

Surely the winning streak couldn't last, surely it didn't. The year 2000 was a pivotal one in more ways than one and heralded Ireland's first triumph over the Scots for 12 years. Out with the old and in with the new. The change in Scottish fortunes was as brutal as it was abrupt.

Scotland played Ireland 12 times from 2000-2009 and lost ten of those fixtures with the two wins coming at Murrayfield in September, 2001 (in the match rearranged due to the foot-and-mouth outbreak) and in August, 2007 in a World Cup warm-up against a weakened Irish XV.

Ireland will, understandably, start as favourites for this afternoon's encounter but their coach Declan Kidney has promised there will be no complacency from his side because he knows his history. "For me, and I suppose a lot of the players too, it's only eight years ago we had our first win in Murrayfield in 20 years. Twenty years is a long time to go without winning at Murrayfield and 12 months is a long time to wait to try and undo last year's match at Croke Park."

Actually it was just the 18 years, the wait for a win at Murrayfield, but the point is well made. An entire generation of Irish players grew up expecting to lose to Scotland and now the boot is on the other foot.

Hope and expectation rests on the shoulders of the stand-offs this afternoon, the Scots hope Ruaridh Jackson delivers while the expectation rides with Ronan O'Gara. The pair belong to different generations and may as well come from separate planets so little do they have in common. The audacity of youth against excellence fired by experience. There is over a decade between them, with O'Gara turning 34 in eight days time, while Jackson was 23 on the day of the Welsh match (his birthday present was not being thrown into the fray).

The Irishman is known for his brilliant game management, his ability to slide the ball into the unmanned corners of the field and let the opposition try to escape the stranglehold. Jackson is known for his willingness to take the ball to the line and to carve out half a yard of space for those around him. It's a ironic that, as Robinson ditches his percentage player, Kidney recalls his.

O'Gara has one Grand Slam and two Heineken Cups to his name, today marks his 106th cap and he has already accumulated 987 Test points, which is exactly 982 more than his opposite number.

• Analysis, interviews and reports from our rugby writers

• Photo galleries of each Scotland match

• Our regular Six Nations blog

• Play our Six Nations Predictor for a chance to win tickets

• Follow our Six Nations coverage on Twitter

Appropriately enough, O'Gara made his Test debut against Scotland back in the pivotal match of 2000 that marked the start of Ireland's domination. In contrast, the Scot makes his first-ever Test start this afternoon after three caps off the bench. Did the 12-year-old Jackson notice that dramatic shift in power back in 2000 on O'Gara's debut? Probably not. No-one else did at the time.

The gulf in pedigree between the two playmakers is repeated elsewhere. Former Lions leader Paul O'Connell is up against a 21-year-old novice in Richie Gray. Another Lions' skipper, Brian O'Driscoll, captains Ireland for a record breaking 73rd time. He wins his 110th cap today and is one try shy of Ian Smith's championship record of 24 touchdowns. His opposite number, Nick De Luca, is yet to score after 21 caps and Al Kellock leads Scotland for just the fifth time. It doesn't look a fair fight on paper, although that's not to say that Scotland can't win, just that they will need to be at their best to do so. But, like the Ireland team of 2000, every side has to kick-start a winning sequence and it's just possible that the pendulum is starting to swing Scotland's way. Perhaps Jackson can do in the next decade what O'Gara has done for Ireland in the last ten years. Certainly some of Ireland's best players are edging towards the twilight of their careers while, for the most part, Scotland are a young side, hungry for some of the success that Ireland have achieved.

But it's early days, perhaps too early. The bulk of Andy Robinson's squad will peak for the next World Cup rather than this one. The same cannot be said of Ireland, who start seven players the wrong side of 30. From one perspective Jackson may look like a risk but some would argue that the bigger risk lies in not picking him and, anyway, true sportsmen welcome risk, embrace it, it's what they do for a living.

"If you risk nothing, you'll win nothing," was Kidney's take on his own side last week but he could equally well have been talking about any test team. Unsurprisingly, Gregor Townsend has backed the young playmaker to rise to the challenge but even he suggested that a change at stand-off did not entail a wholesale strategic rethink. "Ruaridh has different strengths than Dan," said the backs' coach last week. "When you select the team you want the players to play to their strengths and you have to adapt to what they do best. Ruaridh's big strength is that he can pass and fix defences so yes, we will play slightly differently."

Slightly. Jackson will still put the boot to the ball in the right areas and, while he likes to run, that is not to say the Scots are going to attack from anywhere. They know very well how turnovers can hurt a team especially in their own half. The youngster will kick high and he will kick long. He will invite Sean Lamont to have a tilt at O'Gara and, only when the time, is right will he look to attack with width.Presuming Johnnie Beattie can rise to the challenge, Scotland field a better balanced pack that will provide plenty of ammunition, the key is putting it to good use and much will rest upon Jackson's decision making inside the Irish third of the field.

Scotland's problem has been turning pressure into points but, if Jackson can find the composure, vision or even a moment of magic to do just that, he will give that pendulum a big nudge in the right direction.

If he can't, Scotland will have lost three from three with a daunting trip to Twickenham next up.