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Townsend knows Scots need 'something special' against Six Nations leaders Ireland / Photo: © AFP/File
Townsend knows Scots need 'something special' against Six Nations leaders Ireland
Gregor Townsend accepts Scotland will have to "do something special" against Ireland if they are to end the Six Nations by winning a first Triple Crown in more than three decades.
The Triple Crown, the prize one of the four 'home nations' of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales gets for beating all the others in a single championship season, has eluded the Scots since 1990.
They are now two-thirds of the way there following wins over Wales and England.
But they will arrive in Dublin on the back of a dramatic 31-29 defeat by Italy in Rome. And having suffered an agonising 20-16 loss at home to France in the second round, another reverse on the tournament's concluding 'Super Saturday' could see Scotland finish the Six Nations in fifth place if other results go against them.
Reigning champions Ireland will kick-off smarting from a 23-22 defeat by England at Twickenham that denied them consecutive Grand Slams but with the title still very much in their sights.
To make matters even tougher for Scotland they must somehow overcome the mental barriers associated with a run of nine straight losses to Ireland, including a comprehensive 36-14 defeat by Ireland at the World Cup five months ago where the Irish surged into a 36-0 lead before the hour mark.
"We know how tough it's going to be," Townsend said Thursday after naming his side.
"They (Ireland) are one of the top two teams in the world and at home they've been virtually unbeatable the last few years so it's going to require something special from our players."
For Townsend, whose side were denied what would have been a match-winning try against France with the last play of the game following a lengthy video review, there is a sense of sadness that Scotland are no longer travelling to the Irish capital as genuine title-contenders.
"The frustration is that we're not going to Dublin on the back of four wins," he said.
"We feel we had a win taken away from us against France, and obviously Italy deserved their win but we feel we could have been better that day.
"But we have this game ahead of us to show our best performance of the season.
"We're still playing for something, not just a place in the table, it's for a trophy (the Triple Crown), and also we're playing one of the best teams in the world so that's got to inspire us to deliver our best rugby."
Townsend has made just two changes to the team beaten in Rome, with Glasgow centre Stafford McDowall replacing Cam Redpath and first-choice scrum-half Ben White returning instead of George Horne.
Townsend's tactics were criticised following the Italy game, but the coach was adamant he was under no extra pressure this weekend.
"No, I feel massive responsibility and privilege being in this job," he said. "It's a huge purpose in my life.
"I've got a fantastic coaching staff and a great group of players around me and I love being in this role. It's disappointing when you don't get your best performance but there's another game to work towards this weekend."
A. Lefebvre--BTZ
