Ireland v Scotland Prediction, Preview & Odds - Six Nations

We have an Ireland v Scotland prediction for you plus a breakdown of the betting odds, team news and matchups ahead of the final round of Six Nations fixtures.

How To Watch Ireland v Scotland

When is Ireland v Scotland

4.45 pm, Saturday, March 16th

TV Channel

Virgin Media One and ITV 1

Live Stream

Those in Ireland can stream the game on the Virgin Media Player.

Those in the UK can stream Ireland v Scotland on ITVX.

Who are the officiating team?

Referee: Matthew Carley (RFU)

Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (RFU), Christophe Ridley (RFU)

TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

Where is Ireland v Scotland

Aviva Stadium, Dublin

Ireland v Scotland Odds

Ireland are heavy favourites of 1/10 to beat Scotland and secure a 2nd consecutive Six Nations this Saturday.

Scotland on the other hand are big underdogs at 6/1 to earn what would be a surprise win in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.

The draw has been priced up at long odds of 33/1.

Handicap Betting

Ireland: -16 @ Evens

Scotland: +16 @ Evens

Handicap Draw: -16 @ 18/1

Click Below For Our LIVE Ireland v Scotland Odds

Team News

Ireland Team News

Ireland Head Coach Andy Farrell has named an unchanged starting XV from the one that started in last weekend’s defeat to England.

The big news is that Ireland will have a 5/3 forward/back split on the bench on Saturday afternoon, a change from the 6/2 split that ended up working against Ireland in the loss to England after an early injury to winger Calvin Nash.

Forwards

1. Andrew Porter

2. Dan Sheehan

3. Tadhg Furlong

4. Joe McCarthy

5. Tadhg Beirne

6. Peter O’Mahony

7. Josh van der Flier

8. Caelan Doris

Backs

15. Hugo Keenan

14. Calvin Nash

13. Robbie Henshaw

12. Bundee Aki

11. James Lowe

10. Jack Crowley

9. Jamison Gibson-Park

Replacements

Rónan Kelleher (Leinster), Cian Healy (Leinster), Finlay Bealham (Connacht), Ryan Baird (Leinster), Jack Conan (Leinster), Conor Murray (Munster), Harry Byrne (Leinster), Garry Ringrose (Leinster).

Scotland Team News

Scotland Head Coach Gregor Townsend has opted to make 2 changes to the team that lost to Italy in Rome last weekend. Stafford McDowall is set to make his debut at centre while Ben White will return to the starting XV at scrum-half.

Scotland, like Ireland, will also revert to a 5/3 forward/back split after going with a 6/2 split last weekend against Italy.

Forwards

1. Schoeman

2. Turner

3. Z. Fagerson

4. Gilchrist

5. Cummings

6. Christie

7. Darge

8. Dempsey

Backs

15. Kinghorn

14. Steyn

13. Jones

12. McDowall

11. Van der Merwe

10. Russell

9. White

Replacements

Ewan Ashman, Rory Sutherland, Elliot Millar-Mills, Sam Skinner, Matt Fagerson, George Horne, Cameron Redpath, Kyle Rowe.

Ireland v Scotland Weather Forecast

Decent conditions for rugby are expected on Saturday afternoon, with little rain and a moderate breeze expected.

Temperature

The temperature is predicted to be roughly 12°C throughout the game.

Wind

There is expected to be a moderate breeze in the region of 22 km/h a

Rain

There is expected to be a 45% chance of rain during the game.

Ireland v Scotland Preview

Ireland’s Form

Ireland entered the 2023 Rugby World Cup as the World Number 1 side, and despite another Quarter-final stage exit, they remain in the top two in the world rankings behind only World Cup winners South Africa. The highlight of that campaign was an 8-13 pool stage win against eventual World Cup winners South Africa.

Ireland opened up their defence of the Six Nations title with a dominant 38-17 win against France in Marseille on the opening night. The nature of that victory had the Irish on course for what would have been a historic 2nd consecutive Grand Slam.

Facile home wins against Italy and Wales left Ireland with 3 wins from 3 going into the final 2 rounds of fixtures. A date with England at Twickenham wasn’t expected to be a massive challenge according to the betting odds that had the Irish as massive favourites. However, the English played spoiler with a deserved 23-22 victory which would dash Irish Grand Slam dreams.

Ireland will have a point to prove this weekend after that poor performance at Twickenham last time out.

Scotland’s Form

Scotland entered the Rugby World Cup following a strong third-place finish in the 2023 Six Nations. However, they were disappointingly dumped out of the tournament at the pool stage coming 3rd after losses to Ireland and South Africa.

Scotland got off to a blistering start in the Six Nations as they raced out to a big lead against Wales. They did however struggle in the 2nd half but ultimately clung on for a 27-26 opening round win.

Next up for the Scots was a clash against France in Murrayfield. The French would prove victorious after a controversial TMO decision on the try-line at the end meant France would hold on for a 16-20 win.

Scotland would prove too good for England next time out, once again at home in Murrayfield, the final result being 30-21 in their favour.

Gregor Townsend’s side travelled to Rome last weekend where they were big favourites and just needing a win to give themselves a chance of taking on Ireland in a Six Nations decider in the final round. As it transpired, they would be undone by an Italian job as Italy pulled off a shock 31-29 win at home to all but dash Scotland’s Six Nations aspirations.

Ireland Attack v Scotland Defence

Ireland at the RWC had a solid attack by all accounts with their 221-point total across 5 matches only bettered by New Zealand's 336 and France who had 238 in 5 games. Their total was even more than RWC Champions South Africa’s total of 208.

That form has continued into this tournament with 127 points scored an average of 31.75 points per game so far along with 17 tries an average of 4.25 tries per game. That ruthless scoring streak saw them secure winning bonus points in all their first four matches. However, they had to settle for a losing Bonus Point against England last weekend in a 23-22 defeat.

Scotland had the second-best defence in the tournament coming into the round of fixtures last weekend (albeit very marginally). However, following their “shock” 31-29 defeat against Italy last weekend they have now the fourth-best defence in the competition and have only conceded 7 points less than Italy and 21 less than Wales.

Scotland Attack v Ireland Defence

Scotland are the second-highest scorer in the tournament with 102 points scoring an average of 25.5 points per match and have the second-most tries along with 11. Interestingly they have the top points scorer in the tournament Finn Russell with 47 along with the top try scorer in the tournament Duhan Van Der Merwe with 5.

However, they’re due to come up against the strongest defence in the tournament Ireland who have conceded 47 points in the tournament at an average of 11.75 points per game. To put their dominance in perspective the other teams’ totals are England (90), France (91), Scotland (98), Italy (105) and Scotland (119). However, their 23 points conceded against England last weekend accounts for 48% of their tournament total of points conceded.

Ireland v Scotland Rugby Head-To-Head

All-Time Head-To-Head Record

Ireland and Scotland have played each other at rugby union in 141 matches, with Ireland winning 70 times, Scotland winning 66 times and five matches drawn. Since 1989, the teams have competed for the Centenary Quaich during the Six Nations Championship.

Head-To-Head Results Last Five Matches

2023: Ireland won 36-14 in the Stade de France

2023: Ireland won 7-22 in Murrayfield

2022: Ireland won 26-5 in Aviva Stadium

2021: Ireland won 24-27 in Murrayfield

2020: Ireland won 31-16 in Aviva Stadium

Trends

Ireland have won 9 of the last 10 games against Scotland having not lost since 2017.

Key Players

Dan Sheehan – Ireland

The Leinster Hooker (25) has come alive for his country not just for his performances but also for his try-scoring run. Coming into the tournament Sheehan had 5 tries for his country in 21 test matches, but he has since come alive scoring 4 tries in 3 games this tournament so far with 1 against France, a brace against Italy and one against Wales. A big performance was expected of him against England but he put in a poor showing. He remains a serious outlet for Ireland though.

Duhan Van Der Merwe – Scotland

Duhan is the top try scorer in the tournament so far with 5 in what has been a brilliant tournament for him thus far. He is second in the tournament for Metres Gained with 277.9 and joint third for Most Line Breaks with 6. His finishing threat will be crucial for them to stand a chance of a result against Ireland.

Ireland v Scotland Prediction & Best Bet

Prediction: Ireland 23-10 Scotland

Ireland faltered their lines last weekend against England with their 23-22 defeat against England ending any Grand Slam aspirations. However, while England played relatively well Ireland on their off-day still came close to winning.

Scotland were on course for another impressive Six Nations showing this year but will have been shocked by their defeat against Italy last weekend albeit Italy have shown signs of improvement.

Ireland will be out to set their story correct this weekend with a win and secure another Six Nations Championship and they should have enough but odds of 1/10 is far too short to discount Scotland.

Best Bet: Scotland +14 @ 21/20

Click Below For Our LIVE Ireland v Scotland Odds

*Prices are subject to fluctuation.

Remember, always gamble responsibly. Here’s our Safer Gambling Guide.