Here are the areas Scotland need to fix to beat Ireland - including four changes to the starting XV

Scotland made a winning start to their Six Nations campaign with a bonus-point victory over Italy, but they've got a few things to work on for the visit of Ireland this weekend. I think that's pretty evident.

To begin with, Scotland need to fix their breakdown. You can't go into a game against any top team, but especially Ireland, when you're vulnerable at the breakdown, particularly in what we call the gold zone, the finishing area. I think Scotland gave up three or four clean turnovers. And while some were down to questionable refereeing decisions, they still gave up multiple scoring opportunities inside the opposition 22 because they couldn’t resource their own breakdown.

A lot of the issues came from a disconnect between the ball carrier and his support and it might be in part due to Scotland’s attack system. The forwards are a little wider spaced than some other systems. In theory, it stretches the defensive line, creating more ‘seams’ in-between defenders but it can also create a disconnect between the carrier and his support.

Scotland's Jonny Gray (back) and Rory Darge in action during the Six Nations win over Italy at Murrayfield last weekend. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group) | SNS Group / SRU

Another improvement will need to be on the floor. At times Scotland’s ball presentation could be better, often getting stuck in the ruck making it messy for the scrum-half to play off. These may seem like small details but at Test level they are usually the difference, especially this weekend where Ireland will look to spoil everything on the floor.

I think there is also a bigger issue which is that Scotland struggle to break teams down when they get into phase shape. It was noticeable against Italy. Scotland were brilliant off transition attacks and turnover attacks. Their set-piece attack was also good, particularly off the scrum, and we know how good Scotland are off kick return.

But their phase shape attack did not function as well as it should. When it gets to over four or five phases, they really, really struggle to break teams down unless there is a bit of individualism.

A big factor in Gregor Townsend's attack shape is that you need people to punch holes in the opposition defence, particularly the forwards. Zander Fagerson carries an absolute shed-load and so does Pierre Schoeman. Jonny Gray and Grant Gilchrist give you a lot of industry, but Scotland need more from their front five in terms of gainline breakers - they can't just rely on the back row to try and give them that punch.

Another area Scotland will look to tidy up is the scrum. It doesn't look as stable and dominant a platform as it has done in the past.

Schoeman has not been scrummaging as well as he can over the last 12 months. Dave Cherry is solid, but not really an aggressive, powerful scrummaging hooker. It is an area that Scotland should really be targeting for dominance this weekend.

Scotland's Pierre Schoeman in action during the Six Nations win over Italy at Murrayfield last weekend. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group) | SNS Group

Ireland will probably be without the injured Tadhg Furlong and that changes the dynamic for them. Finlay Bealham, their second-choice tighthead, got injured against England but trained fully on Wednesday and his availability will be important. They certainly won't be comfortable starting Tom Clarkson in a Six Nations game.

Tadhg's unavailability certainly weakens Ireland’s scrum. Bealham is a ‘lock it down’ type of tighthead, rather than a ‘go and dominate the opposition’ type. Andrew Porter, on the other side of the scrum, will be as aggressive as he always is but if you can attack Bealham, then Porter becomes vulnerable and often looks, and is, illegal.

It's going to be a really interesting part of the match. I actually thought that Scotland looked much more of a solid scrummaging unit in the second half against Italy after Ewan Ashman, Rory Sutherland and Gregor Brown came on.

It would be a bold call to start Sutherland over Schoeman but I think it would be the right one. I would also start Ashman at two. Ewan’s lineout work is still developing but Scotland are going to need more power and physicality from the middle of the front row to be able to challenge, particularly when you consider the quality that Ireland have in the middle of theirs with either Rónan Kelleher or Dan Sheehan.

Gregor Brown has been fantastic all year for Glasgow, and I thought he was excellent when he came on against Italy on Saturday. He was powerful, carried well, produced really quick ball and he's been brilliant in and around set-piece. I would really love to see him start alongside Grant Gilchrist, but I think Gregor Townsend will keep his second-row combinations the same and rely on Gregor’s impact from the bench.

Scotland's Ben White during the Six Nations defeat to Ireland at Aviva Stadium last year. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group) | SNS Group / SRU

Up front I’d also start with Jack Dempsey at No 8 and move Matt Ferguson to six in place of Jamie Ritchie.

The counter argument will be that if you make all these changes, you could significantly weaken Scotland's bench for the crucial last 20 to 30 minutes. Ireland are going to have a huge impact off their bench given the quality they have there and so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Scotland go for a 6-2 split to try and counter the Irish power.

The only change I would make in the backs would be to bring in Tom Jordan at 12. Stafford McDowall was excellent against Ireland last year and I thought he was good in the Italy game at the weekend but we didn't see that much of him. He was solid and probably did the job that was asked of him but I think TJ's physicality will be used to try and counter the threat of Bundee Aki.

TJ's not as tall as Stafford, but he's as big as a back row. If you ever stand next to him, the guy's huge. He's powerful and he's strong, and has an aggressive mindset. But he also has that ability to step up as first receiver and take a bit of the pressure off Finn Russell. TJ’s passing range is unbelievable. We talk about Finn being probably the best passer in world rugby, but TJ showed at the weekend how comfortable he is as a dual playmaker, not surprising because he's been playing there every week for Glasgow. The pass off his left hand to Huw Jones for his hat-trick try was brilliant.

Tom has been performing week in week out for Glasgow over the last two years so it was no surprise how he took to test rugby in the autumn, but he continues to get better and better with every minute. In the words of a former Scotland head coach, he’s a proper ‘Test match animal’.

Scotland's Jack Dempsey and Tom Jordan could both start against Ireland after impactful substitute appearances in the win over Italy. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group) | SNS Group / SRU

It was interesting to hear Gordon D’Arcy saying Ireland will not have the same level of emotional intensity for this as Scotland. I’m not sure about that. I never played an Irish team that wasn't right up there emotionally for every single game.

I think both teams will be at the same level, to be honest. The danger for Scotland is becoming too emotional. They haven't beaten Ireland since 2017, they're at home and it’s probably almost the last chance saloon for Gregor Townsend and some of the players. It's a huge game for Scotland, even if you forget about the context of the Six Nations.

I certainly don't think Ireland will be any less up for it than Scotland. They're going for another title, so they can't afford to be.

The Scottish players need to tap into their big game experience. You look at Glasgow's ability to go away from home last season and win play-off games three times in a row to win a league. You're possibly talking about the intensity that Scotland brought for the first 50 minutes against South Africa. They'll need that, but they'll need it for 80 minutes.

For Scotland to win, they will need to produce their best ever performance under Gregor Townsend. There have been some monumental performances under the coach. Going away and winning in Sydney in 2017 sticks out. Beating France in Paris in 2021 and beating England at Twickenham twice as well. Smashing Wales at home a couple of years ago was also big as well as winning away in Cardiff last year.

But there have also been some top performances in the big, big games where Scotland never got over the line. I’m thinking about South Africa, the New Zealand game at Murrayfield in 2022, World Cup matches against Ireland in 2019 and 2023 as well as Japan in 2019.

I think when you look across the two squads, there's some excellent players in that Scotland team, but in terms of the 23, that Ireland squad is a much more rounded and complete team, and full of winners.

If Scotland are to win, it's going to have to be the most complete 80-minute performance that they have ever delivered.