The closing match of the Six Nations, featuring Ireland facing off against Scotland, is scheduled for Saturday, March 16th at the Aviva Stadium. Kick-off is set for 4.45pm. TV coverage from Virgin Media commences at 4pm and live commentary will be provided by RTÉ Radio.
Regrettably, the potential for a Grand Slam victory slipped away for Ireland following a remarkable performance by England in their clash at Twickenham. Despite this setback, however, Ireland maintains their favourite status for the Six Nations title. With a current tally of 16 points, four points ahead of England, Ireland will secure the championship with a draw or, of course, a win.
Interestingly, even a loss where two bonus points are achieved — for losing by less than seven points and for scoring four tries — would secure the title due to Ireland’s significant points differential of +80. Even a single losing bonus point would make the championship almost certain for Ireland.
Assessing recent performance, both Ireland and Scotland are recovering from surprising defeats; Ireland to England in Twickenham, Scotland to Italy in Rome. The question remains: who can overcome and regroup stronger. Although both England and Italy delivered impressive performances last weekend, a loss to Italy is likely the more mental shake-up.
In respect to head-to-head encounters, Ireland proved dominant the last time these two teams faced off, at the World Cup. Indeed, Ireland has maintained a winning streak against the upcoming opposition since 2017, spanning nine games, including two times at the World Cup.
The final Six Nations match for 2024 will feature an unchanged starting lineup as planned, announced by Andy Farrell for Ireland. Meanwhile, to accommodate Harry Byrne and Garry Ringrose, the bench has been adjusted to a 5-3 divide.
For Iain Henderson, who is unavailable to participate in the match, Ryan Baird will serve as the second-row substitute. A head injury last week resulted in Ciarán Frawley being ruled out; this injury occurred in the 23-22 loss against England. In light of this, Byrne will serve as a replacement for the outhalf position and will assume goal-kicking duties.
Gregor Townsend, on the other hand, has made two adjustments to his team. Stafford McDowall has been selected as centre and Ben White will take his position as scrumhalf. They will step in for Cameron Redpath and George Horne, who have been relegated to substitute roles following Scotland’s 31-29 defeat to Italy. This loss in Rome has significantly impacted Scotland’s chances for the title.
The team from Ireland consists of Hugo Keenan, Calvin Nash, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki and James Lowe from Leinster; Jack Crowley and Peter O’Mahony from Munster; and Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne, and Caealan Doris. Substitutions will include Rónan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Finlay Bealham, Ryan Baird, Jack Conan, Conor Murray, Harry Byrne, and Garry Ringrose.
Representing Scotland are Blair Kinghorn, Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Stafford McDowall, Duhan van der Merwe, Finn Russell as co-captain, Ben White, Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, and Zander Fagerson; Grant Gilchrist, Scott Cummings, Andy Christie, Rory Darge as co-captain, and Jack Dempsey. The replacements will be Ewan Ashman, Rory Sutherland, Elliot Millar-Mills, Sam Skinner, Matt Fagerson, George Horne, Cameron Redpath, and Kyle Rowe.