Fraser Brown: How Scotland can fix their line-out issues and defeat Ireland to reach World Cup quarter-finals

The destiny of Pool B at the Rugby World Cup was always going to come down to this weekend's game in Paris and Scotland will have to do something they have not done in their eight previous matches against Ireland.

Scotland lock Sam Skinner (top) catches a line-out during the win over Romania. (Photo by Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP) (Photo by SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images)

They’re without a win in this fixture since 2017 so it's long overdue but easier said than done against the world's top-ranked team, especially when the margin of victory has to be at least eight points for Gregor Townsend’s side to reach the quarter-finals.

Scotland need to play their own game and deliver a performance that is the equal of anything they have produced previously. Scotland have their own identity and a way they want to play which best suits the players in their squad. At times in the big games, it feels as though Scotland move away from this identity to counter what the opposition bring. Of course, there will always be tactical changes depending on the team but sometimes you can pay the opposition too much respect rather than focusing on what you do best. Ireland are one of the favourites to win the World Cup and on a run of 16 consecutive victories, but respect them too much and you forget to focus on what makes Scotland one of the top teams in the world.

We saw it against France in the summer, against England in various games, against Wales in the Six Nations - Scotland are at their best when the forwards are confrontational. They run hard, direct lines, with multiple running options which challenges opposition defenders. They create one-on-one collisions which in turn create quick ball, allowing the likes of Finn Russell and Sione Tuipulotu time to pick out the right options. They have some serious firepower in the back three and given time and space in the wide channels they can be devastating.

Scotland’s game has always been based around tempo and physicality at the breakdown. Without necessarily being dominant by winning collision after collision, Scotland’s ability to create quick ruck ball has primarily been based on attacking the seams between defenders and preventing two-man tackles.

For the first 45-50 minutes of the Six Nations match against Ireland, Scotland played well because they did just that, the forwards were direct but attacked the space in between the ruck defenders with footwork, smart running lines and little tip passes.

They weren't looking for an arm wrestle but understood that to create space in the wider channels they first had to be direct. Whenever they created momentum with forward carries either off nine or 10, Ireland were unable to slow down Scotland’s ball and it narrowed the defensive line just enough to give Scotland a little bit of space out wide.

The other area I’d really like to see Scotland try and dominate is around the set-piece. Scotland have clearly had lineout troubles at this World Cup. Sometimes you look to win the ball away from where teams defend and that can compromise your drill and I feel that's happened to Scotland. Against South Africa and even Tonga they looked to win the ball where there was space in the lineout to try to get away from defences, against South Africa choosing to go to the tail or beyond to escape the Boks’ defensive system. It sounds like an obvious tactic but when there are a lot of moving parts it can disrupt your drill, affecting the lift, jump and throw.

Scotland need to back their drill. They've got big, athletic lineout jumpers in Richie Gray and Grant Gilchrist and good options in the back row with Jack Dempsey and Jamie Ritchie, so take Ireland on at the set-piece. Be confident you can win the ball on top of Ireland with best drill. How a team will defend against you is always the unknown, the only thing you can truly control is the execution of your own drill so back yourself to win the ball where you want to. When Scotland have done this in the past the lineout has been excellent and has been the foundation for famous Scottish victories.

There is also a real opportunity at scrum time. Tonga put the Irish scrum under pressure. Tadgh Furlong and Andrew Porter are good scrum operators for Ireland and Porter in particular has scrummed better, or should I say more legally, at this World Cup than he has in the last couple of years. Ireland have struggled for top quality back up for Furlong and Porter. I think Scotland have better depth in the front row and in Pieter de Villiers they have an excellent scrum coach.

Scotland need to play to their strengths. They have been such an excellent team over the last four years. Their defence has been outstanding, and their attack is one of the best in the world. Their set-piece is up there too. So I want Scotland to trust those systems. Go with what you know and what has worked well for you. That way the players will react instinctively and do what they have practised time and time again, all they need to focus on is being physical, bringing intensity and executing for 80 minutes.

In terms of selection, I think the front row picks itself. Pierre Schoeman, George Turner and Zander Fagerson are nailed on to start. The replacement loosehead comes down to a straight choice between Rory Sutherland and Jamie Bhatti who have both started matches and they've both played well but I have a sneaking suspicion Suz might just nudge Jamie off the bench. Rory has always played well against Ireland and, knowing Gregor, he has consistently gone back to players who have played well against certain teams. I have experienced that myself.

There have been questions asked around selections in the back row, Hamish Watson played excellently against Romania and Matt Fagerson has performed consistently in every game of this World Cup.

Scrum-half too has been a position debated this week. Ben White has been one of Scotland’s top performers since he first came into the side but has not quite reached the heights we saw during the Six Nations. George Horne has been superb every time he has stepped onto the field and has cemented himself (rather unfortunately) as the perfect bench option. And Ali Price showed last weekend why he was a Lion in 2021.

There has been a bit of talk about the outside centre berth but for Scotland to play their best game I'd stick with the Huw Jones-Sione partnership that has worked so well over the last year. The only possible change would be to bring in Chris Harris at 13 and whilst Chris played well against Romania I don’t think Huw has performed badly, he just hasn’t had the number of involvements as we all would have liked.

On the wings, Duhan van der Merwe is obviously going to play because he was rested for the Romania game and you can't leave out Darcy Graham after his four tries in that match. It's extremely harsh on Kyle Steyn who has been excellent but Darcy has that X-factor about him. Give him the ball in space and he'll create something. He's also powerful and defensively strong.

The one question mark around the back three is their aerial capabilities. Ireland will have Johnny Sexton putting in those high, long cross-field kicks and whichever scrum-half is picked will bombard the back field with box kicks from the ruck.

How efficiently Ireland exit at the weekend will be a massive part of determining the final outcome and for Scotland to win they really need to put Ireland’s exiting game under pressure. Pressurise Sexton's foot and the nine's at ruck time and try to put pressure on the left foot of James Lowe.

Beating the No 1 team in the world who are on a 16-match wining street may seem like a tough enough challenge but to progress in the tournament Scotland also need to win by eight points. A daunting enough prospect and

something which can be a distraction if too much focus is placed on it. For those players and coaches on Saturday evening, the sole focus must be winning the game, not the margin of victory. If Scotland can get themselves into a position with 15 minutes to go where victory is possible then they can start to construct a way to win by eight points or more. It will be up to Jamie Ritchie, Finn Russell and the coaching box to manage the situation.

The replacements will have a role to play as well and it will be interesting to see what they do with the backs subs. Scotland have reacted to what the opposition have done recently in terms of a 5-3 or 6-2 forwards-backs split on the bench. I think they need to go back to what suits Scotland best and that's 5-3 so you can have a nine, a 10 and a utility back on the bench and that would allow you to include among the

replacements Ben Healy whose kicking against Romania was outstanding.

Scotland have been preparing for this game for three years. It will take Scotland’s greatest ever World Cup performance to come away with victory which would rank as one of our best ever. I can’t wait for what will hopefully be an incredible match.