Triple Crown decider ‘type of pressure’ Irish want

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell says Saturday’s Triple Crown decider against Scotland in Dublin (14:10 GMT) represents an opportunity to see how his side handle the pressure of needing a big result with the World Cup just a year and a half away.

The Irish are aiming to complete a trio of Six Nations victories over England, Wales and Scotland for the second successive year, while Scotland will try to achieve the feat for the first time since 1990.

Scotland’s win over France on Saturday also threw open the possibility that the winners of the encounter at the Aviva Stadium could lift the Six Nations title were England to beat the French in Paris.

“You should never underestimate going for a Triple Crown. It’s huge and it means a lot to us, but it’s also going to mean a lot to them as well,” said Farrell after watching his team defeat Wales 27-17 on Friday.

“What’s coming down the line in the next 18 months, coming into the last week with the Triple Crown on the line, it’s going to be the type of pressure that we want to be able to deal with.”

Scotland have not beaten Ireland since triumphing at Murrayfield in the 2017 Six Nations, but Farrell says that sequence is of no consequence going into this weekend’s showdown.

“The record [against Scotland] becomes irrelevant when next week comes around, because they’re a great side, a talented side, they’re well coached, they’ve had some big wins.

Farrell also praised the adaptability of Ulster prop Tom O’Toole, who performed admirably at loose-head against Wales on Friday, instead of his usual position at tight-head.

“It’s amazing what he’s done. It’s a lot more difficult than what people would think,” reflected Farrell.

“What’s been really impressive has been how he committed to not having any excuses in his own mind. It’s very easy to do that. You could say, ‘well that’s not the position I’ve been playing’.

“Everyone knows how difficult it is to switch but he committed to it and we’ve seen that type of scrummaging performance in training, and he got us a few penalties on the back of that.”

Farrell welcomed the flexibility that O’Toole’s ability to play either side of the scrum brings.

“There’s always things going on in the back of your mind of what could happen down the track. Different permutations that could happen injury-wise, do you need a double adaptor in the World Cup, all that type of stuff.

“He’s trained there for us before but to be in there at the deep end, I’m sure he and John Fogarty wouldn’t have thought six months ago that he’s be starting at loose-head in a Test match.

“But I think that’s a fantastic story for us going forward.”

The 2025 British and Irish Lions coach concedes he may have a selection headache on his hands when all his front row personnel are fit again, including Andrew Porter.

“It’s huge [in terms of possible World Cup selection]. The dynamics are going to keep unfolding in front of our face but you’ve got ‘Ports’ [Andrew Porter] who can play both sides, you’ve got Tom O’Toole, who can do that, and you’ve got all the young lads there at loose-head who are going to keep competing.