Scotland ace Grant Gilchrist insists team will give their all as they eye upset against Ireland in Rugby World Cup clash

EARLIER this week Gregor Townsend declined to answer when asked about Ireland’s failure to go beyond the World Cup quarter-finals.

It was a sensible approach given that the Scotland coach has a dire last-eight record of his own hanging around his neck like a millstone.

Scotland’s last win over Ireland, in 2017, was on Vern Cotter’s watch.
Townsend has come up second best to Joe Schmidt and Andy Farrell every time since.

Only two of the eight losses have been one-score contests, with the average margin of victory more than 14 points, something that must play on their mind.

However, lock Grant Gilchrist shrugged: “This team has gone and done things other Scotland teams haven’t done before.

“We know beating Ireland on the big stage is something we’ve not done. That’s what excites us and why we’ve got to go out and give our all for our country and ourselves to get to the quarter-finals.

“This is as big a moment as you’ll get in your career, it’s all or nothing, it’s the stuff of dreams for a player to go out in an arena like this with everything on the line. Don’t be scared of it, embrace it.”

WINNING EXPERIENCE

Bot Gilchrist and Huw Jones — who was in the side which beat Ireland in 2017 — spoke about how losses of focus for five to ten minutes had been costly for Scotland.

They made fixing that almost sound easy when that is the difference between a good and a great team and the Scots still look some way short of bridging that gap.

And, for all the improvements that they have undoubtedly made, it does not mean they have come any closer to Ireland, who have been lengthening their stride under Farrell.

You have to go back only as far as last March for evidence that Ireland can be some distance from their best and still beat Scotland comfortably.

Back then in Murrayfield, Ireland lost Caelan Doris, Dan Sheehan and Iain Henderson to injury before the break, at which point they led 8-7.

Sheehan’s replacement Rónan Kelleher was later forced off — as was Garry Ringrose — forcing Cian Healy and Josh van der Flier to assume hooker duties at scrum and lineout respectively.

Yet they kept Scotland scoreless in that second half, bagged two converted tries through James Lowe and Jack Conan and almost claimed a bonus point but for James Ryan’s knock-on.

IRISH PERSPECTIVE

Van der Flier is not preparing for a repeat but acknowledged the confidence that experience gives to the group.

He said: “With the lineout throwing I’m always messing around and practising. We do the odd bit here and there, just preparing for scenarios like that, I guess.

“It wouldn’t be at every training, in the odd week I might throw a couple.

“It’s a testament to the group that looking over the last three or four years.

“We’ve ended up in loads of difficult situations and we’ve managed to have a few people playing out of position, or maybe a man down, or whatever happens.

“We’ve had a lot of adversity, with people dropping out late and injured in warm-ups, that kind of thing, and the gr