Players feel weight of Gatland's expectation

Whatever about Ireland expecting at Murrayfield tomorrow, Warren Gatland clearly does. As the sun poured through the high windows of the splendid Balmoral Hotel in the heart of Edinburgh, Gatland all but named the individuals seeking redemption.

When discussing the back row, the coach said: "We're expecting a big improvement from one or two players, and from one player in our back row in particular." Could this, by any chance, be Andy Ward?

Nor was this hope confined to one player or one sector. Gatland played down the jibe from Richard Cockerill that the Irish pack could talk the talk but couldn't walk the walk, on the basis that it had been the media who had built up Ireland's supposedly peerless tight five and not themselves.

Nonetheless, he added: "Some of the tight forwards weren't happy with their performance and we're expecting some definite improvement from one or two players on Saturday."

There was a swift response from Gatland when asked where the game would be decided. "I think it will be won and lost up front. It's as simple as that. We were disappointed with our forward display against England. We've got to be really focused, because we expect the Scots to come at us in a tough battle, to ruck well and take us on up front, and we've got to be geared for that battle."

And if the going gets rough, then there's always the call for the tough, namely one Trevor Brennan. The balance of the replacements' bench has shifted significantly with the inclusion of Brennan at the expense of Mick Galwey, effectively signalling that the Irish management now consider Brennan, in part, as cover for the second-row. However, Donal Lenihan also intimated that Victor Costello fell into that category.

Jim Telfer singled out David Humphreys in the Irish side, but Gatland countered by saying Gregor Townsend was "the best thing that happened Scotland". "The fact that Townsend has come in at out-half has given them definite attacking options that they may not have had," he added.

Describing Scotland as a close, well-coached, quick-rucking team who play flat out for 80 minutes, Gatland added: "For a team without high profile names they've performed very well." Regarding Ireland's 11-year wait for a victory against the Scots, Gatland maintained: "For us it's an issue but for them it's probably not an issue at all."

This is a massive game for Ireland, given they had targeted the two away matches for wins. "They are huge test matches for us," conceded Gatland, "and the most important for us" as a stepping stone for the Australian tour and the World Cup.

By comparison, the Scottish press conference in an otherwise deserted Murrayfield (where the only sound was the wind whistling through the passageways) was a low-key affair. Jim Telfer turned 59 on Wednesday, and he maintains that he intends to retire at the end of the World Cup. Ireland, perhaps more than most, will be glad to see the back of him, for when Donal Lenihan ventures that Scotland have had an edge off the pitch during the '90s, most of that edge came from the Northern Hemisphere coach of the '90s, Telfer.

Seeing him off with an Irish win would be a boon for the visiting team but the Scottish press expect a win, and Telfer nods gravely at the risk of complacency amidst this overwhelmingly blase mood of expectation.

"That's a problem. I think most of the Welsh journalists and spectators expected Wales to win (against Scotland) - that they just had to turn up. We have that problem to overcome because some of the players have played against Ireland before and they'll think that it's the same Irish team. But I don't think it is. I think they're far more fired up. "Some of them (the Scottish wins over Ireland) have been lucky, to be quite honest," he added. "I've been involved in some of them and I remember in 1990 we were trailing for most of the game. Last year Ireland had us under the cosh for long periods, and two years before that I remember them scrummaging for a long time on our line and thanks to the referee, he didn't give a penalty try under the posts. There's been a bit of daylight in other games, but we've been quite lucky in a few."

Telfer sees Ireland as purveyors of a "percentage type game" through the kicking of David Humphreys, "who's more of a traditional-style stand-off compared to Neil Jenkins or an English out-half. He's on top of his game and does keep the forwards going forward and they certainly have a very good pack."

Both Ireland and Scotland have made massive strides since the Scots shaded things last year, maintains Telfer, who cited Ireland's improved discipline under Gatland. "Against Wales, it was a very disciplined display that day. Wales were flying fists all over the place so I think that was strange for an Irish team in many ways, 'cos they've got one or two fiery characters in their pack who've been in trouble before. And maybe a focus, and simple plan to play the game.

"He's not a dogmatic coach, he'll allow the players express themselves and just have a certain core value that he wants them to hold."