Six Nations 2025: Ireland braced for more Murrayfield chaos in Scotland showdown

In recent years, the Murrayfield Stadium has consistently been the backdrop for dramatic events involving the Irish team. Seven years ago, the infamous "bus gate" incident occurred, where the team's transportation to the stadium was delayed, cutting into their warm-up time and infuriating head coach Joe Schmidt, known for his meticulous approach.

In that match, Scotland defeated Ireland 27-22, thanks to several late penalties from Greig Laidlaw. Ireland failed to fully recover from that opening defeat, and England ultimately won the championship. Two years later, the reigning Grand Slam champions' hopes of victory in Edinburgh were again threatened when their key fly-half, Johnny Sexton, was injured after just 24 minutes, but Schmidt's team ultimately prevailed with a 22-13 win.

In 2021, after another tense afternoon, Ireland needed a late, coolly taken penalty from Sexton to narrowly win 27-24. In 2023, Murrayfield reached peak chaos. With the Grand Slam just two wins away, Ireland's starting hooker, Dan Sheehan, and his replacement, Ronan Kelleher, both went off injured, leading to a hasty reshuffle that saw prop Cian Healy take on hooker duties and flanker Josh van der Flier in charge of lineout throws.

Caelan Doris and Iain Henderson also departed injured within the opening 25 minutes, but, as they often do, Ireland found a way through the disorder and won 22-7. Earlier this week, scrum coach John Fogarty recalled his panic during the 2023 match and head coach Andy Farrell's surprisingly enjoying the moment.

While Farrell is temporarily relieved of the pressure of organizing players for the Six Nations, his temporary successor, Simon Easterby, had to adjust the lineup on the eve of the match, as Mack Hansen withdrew from the game and Calvin Nash was promoted to the squad. Easterby will hope that Hansen's trouble is not a harbinger for Sunday's game, as Ireland aim to overcome a major hurdle in their quest for a third consecutive title. England's thrilling victory over France on Saturday only added to the stakes of the match. A bonus-point win for Ireland at Murrayfield would see them take the lead before the rest week.

As has been widely discussed this week, Ireland's recent record against Scotland is exceptionally strong. They lead 21-4 in the Six Nations and have won the past 10 matches, the latter streak including several World Cup victories and a success in the Autumn Nations Cup. In fact, Scotland, then coached by Vern Cotter, have not beaten their Celtic cousins since that infamous match in 2017.

However, the Irish team has been keen to distance itself from this week's talk of winning streaks and psychological advantages. Much has been said in the past, but there has certainly been no pre-match war of words this week. "Given the respect we have for them, I don't think there's any room for complacency," Ireland captain Doris said on Saturday. "You hear external noise about the record we have against them, but that hasn't been spoken about in here, and we've been preparing for a real test."

Doris is correct to point to Scotland's recent form. After losing to Ireland in the final match of last year's Six Nations, they have won eight of their past nine test matches and snatched victory from Australia in November, the week before Ireland narrowly defeated the same opposition. The strength of the Scottish backline – even without injured center Sione Tuipulotu – is also a significant point of concern. "Their attack is very dangerous," added Doris, who made his debut for Ireland against Scotland in 2020. "They attack with quite a bit of width and flair. Their counter-attack, especially the wingers and back three. You see some of the tries that Duhan van der Merwe scores, Darcy Graham is a huge threat as well, Blair Kinghorn as well. We'll have a lot of challenges."

To counter the Scottish threat, Easterby has reinstated the fiery flanker Peter O'Mahony for his first start since last summer. O'Mahony has history in this fixture, and given that this will be his first start since being replaced as captain by Doris, the Munster veteran will not be short of motivation. "He loves these games, obviously he loves the Six Nations, he loves representing his country, he's always going to add something different, something special," Doris observed. "He's got 110 caps, 111 tomorrow, so a wealth of experience and a good guy to have around camp. Last week, even though he wasn't involved, he was brilliant. He's added that bit of edge this week as well. He's always someone I love having alongside me in the back row."

O'Mahony's return adds further experience to an experienced Ireland side, with the 23-man matchday squad boasting a combined 1,220 caps, compared to Scotland's 864. Fly-half Sam Prendergast is the exception. This will be the 21-year-old's first time representing Ireland in an away match, and the Scottish team will undoubtedly be looking for ways to unsettle him. Ireland's experience was evident against England, particularly in the dominant second half, with Jack Conan and Dan Sheehan making a significant impact off the bench.

Scotland are not short of test experience either, and they have also been hardened by previous pain at the hands of the Irish. Townsend adopted a defensive posture in Dublin last year, but spurred on by their home crowd, his team may go all out to make it another frantic afternoon for Ireland. It wouldn't be something the Irish haven't encountered before in the Scottish capital. Finding a way through the disorder again, they will be the big winners this weekend.