I DO NOT understand why the IRFU decided to announce the appointment of Brian Ashton as coach of the Irish team from April 1st to the conclusion of the World Cup in 2003, last Thursday, just two days before this afternoon's championship match.

Even though the contract has been signed, I think it would have been more appropriate for them to wait until next week to make that announcement. The focus should have been entirely on Saturday's game.

I suppose it is, in its own way, a reflection on how little is at stake, with both sides wishing to avoid the Wooden Spoon. An Irish victory could 5 them finishing third in the table behind England and France, even though the final arrangement of the first two positions is still to be decided. Being behind these two teams is no disgrace but, of course, what is of major concern is the huge gap which now exists between these two teams and the other three in the championship.

The last outing for both Ireland and Scotland in this Five Nations Championship was against the same opponent, England. The pattern in both matches was similar with neither of today's sides having the physical strength in their forwards to resist the English pack. The Scots, however, have had a month to get over the disappointment and they will be extremely anxious to redeem themselves before the Murrayfield faithful.

I am not quite sure if the Irish side have had long enough to recover from the psychological damage inflicted by the English at Lansdowne Road two weeks ago. That disappointment was all the greater because of the enormous hype beforehand and the unrealistic expectation of a win which was based on one victory over a poor Welsh team and the arrival of a new coach.

In many ways in fact, the performance of the Irish side against Scotland this afternoon will be a far better measure of the effect that Brian Ashton has had on the side than the previous three matches.

In regard to changes in the Irish side, the changes at scrum half was widely expected after the decision to withdraw Niall Hogan in the English match. In the few minutes available to him, Brian O'Meara, threw some excellent passes, but his performance today will be very dependent upon the quality of the ball presented to him by the pack and the protection he gets against the Scottish back row.

I must confess that I was surprised at the selection of Ben Cronin at number eight for this match. I saw him play in a match against England A and I though that, on form, Anthony Foley was the better bet. The Scots, traditionally, play a rucking game and the Shannon player is more physically suited to counteracting this. The extra height at the back of the line-out of the Garryowen player was given as a reason for his inclusion, but I certainly don't see Ireland throwing a lot of ball to the back of the line-out because throwing is not one of Ross Nesdale's more obvious strengths.

Paul Flavin gets a chance to prove that Nick Popplewell can be replaced on the Ireland team and, while he has to concede a lot in terms of experience, he should improve the mobility of the front five. He is also lucky in that Scotland are one of the more preferred opponents to get one's first (real) cap.

I was not at all surprised by the re-introduction of Kurt McQuilkin in the middle of the field as he has been in superb form all season. Anybody who saw him play for Lansdowne against Young Munster last Saturday in Limerick would have to agree with his selection

It will be interesting to see how Jonathan Bell gets on as a winger. He played there very successfully a few years ago but, since then, has become much more of an aggressive straight-running centre and while this may stand to his advantage on the wing, I wonder if he has the agility to turn quickly in defence.

I think we may have some difficulty coping with the experience of Brian Red path, Craig Chalmers and Gregor Townsend. If they are given a decent supply of the ball they are capable of creating space both for themselves and for the players outside them.

I think both sides will probably secure their own line-out possession without too much difficulty and neither is likely to impose any great pressure on the opposing scrum. The deciding factor will then probably come down to two areas, organisation and the desire to win.

Brian Ashton has now had more time to familiarise himself with the players and they are playing opponents of similar standard. From a long-term point of view, the manner in which we perform is as important as the result itself.

The will to win, however, is imperative if we are to succeed. The best organisation in the world will not survive unless the players have the desire. There is no doubt that the players will go on the pitch believing that they have this desire but they will really only find out as the game progresses, especially if they find themselves in arrears.

Most of our success in the last few years has been achieved with Niall Hogan and Eric Elwood at half back and while one can criticise certain aspects of their game, their aggression, enthusiasm and, in particular, defensive qualities, have been of great benefit to their team-mates.

A lot will depend on how their replacements perform today. O'Meara and Humphreys are, without doubt, very skilful players but international rugby is as much about temperament as about skill.

The championship will be decided at Twickenham. The English must start as favourites and I believe that current form will see them through. The French have been badly upset by injuries. It makes for a fascinating prospect that, for a change, France will want to beat the English by moving the ball wide rather than by forward domination which has brought them such success in the recent past.

Although their desire to play total rugby is a high-risk strategy, neither of their coaches, Pierre Villepreux or Claude Skrela will be deflected from their chosen path by fear of failure.