Scrum coach Pieter de Villiers says Scotland have "grown consistently" against Ireland and now is the time to beat them. The sides meet in round two of the Six Nations at Murrayfield on Sunday, having opened the championship with bonus-point victories over Italy and England respectively.

That was followed by Scotland convincingly defeating Italy with a 31-19 scoreline thanks to heroics from Huw Jones. It was the same old story for England, as they gave up a half-time lead to succumb to a narrow 27-22 loss to Ireland.

"Cheap points" is a term used by successive Scotland captains against Ireland. Over the 10 games this kind of wounding error is a theme. In 2022, while trailing 14-5, Stuart Hogg got stupidly greedy when going for the corner while Sam Johnson was free inside. Hugo Keenan put him into touch. A certain try was gone.

Ireland interim boss Simon Easterby has warned his Six Nations title-chasers that Scotland are capable of unleashing a formidable attack against them this weekend. Ireland can step up their pursuit of an unprecedented third consecutive Six Nations crown when they face Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.

AN EIGHT-DAY turnaround after a bonus-point win on the opening weekend of the Six Nations is just about the dream scenario. The extra day of recovery will help any Ireland player carrying the usual bumps and bruises that come with taking on a fired-up England team.