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9th March 2021
03:01pm GMT

"After 15 minutes," he says, "we lost one of the best lineout jumpers in the Six Nations, so it's been a real challenge around every single corner. "But there's no doubt, Scotland are an excellent side. I think any team that's coached by Gregor Townsend attacks really well. Going back to his Glasgow (coaching) days, they always had an incredibly physical edge."[caption id="attachment_225514" align="aligncenter" width="1280"]
Ireland forwards coach Paul O'Connell watches his players during the warm-up prior to the Six Nations match against France at the Aviva Stadium. (Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile)[/caption]
Ireland beat the Scots at Murrayfield in their last outing at the ground, in 2019, but fell to them in a Six Nations opener in 2017. Paul O'Connell was part of an Ireland side that delivered a 40-10 beating on the way to the Six Nations title in 2015.
"It's the best Scottish team I've ever gone up against, as a coach as or a player. They're very well coached, they're very physical, and they've got some real X-factor players as well - Finn Russell, to name one, and Stuart Hogg, to name another. "They're in a very, very good place, and we're aware of the challenge. I think we've taken confidence from some of the things we've done in the last three games. We've probably been unlucky, in some regards, and we haven't helped ourselves in other regards... we've given sides a leg-up when we've played against them. That's something we can't do, going forward."As for the injury update from Ireland camp, Leinster flanker Josh van der Flier is undergoing his Return To Play protocols while 'everyone else has trained and is available for selection'. We have heard similar from the Ireland coaches, in previous weeks of the championship, only for fitness issues to rear their head around selection day. Given their rough start to the Six Nations, this group could do with a break or two.
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