Ireland v Scotland: Scottish player profiles

15 Stuart Hogg

Age: 25

Height: 5’11”

Weight: 93kg (14st 6lbs)

Caps: 58

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Points: 97

He is lethal if given a sliver of space, a beautifully balanced runner with top end speed and a kick like a mule.

14 Blair Kinghorn

Age: 21

Height: 6’3”

Weight: 95kg (14st 10lbs)

Caps: 1

Points: 0

The Scots have been hugely enthused and with good reason by this young player who can also play fullback. He is big, quick, strong in the air and has excellent feet.

13 Huw Jones

Age: 24

Height: 6’1”

Weight: 102kg (15st 12lbs)

Caps: 14

Points: 50

His two tries against England encapsulate the great qualities that he possesses, sharp, alert and quick to appreciate any flaw in the opposing defence.

12 Peter Horne

Age: 28

Height: 6’

Weight: 92kg (14st 4lbs)

Caps: 31

Points: 29

He is a superb team player whose discipline and focus brings out the best in those around him and if opponents switch off on him, he can punish too.

11 Sean Maitland

Age: 29

Height: 6’2”

Weight: 101kg (15st 9lbs)

Caps: 32

Points: 40

He possesses that cruising speed that offers an appearance of gliding rather than sprinting but is an excellent finisher who appreciates where the space is on a pitch.

10 Finn Russell

Age: 25

Height: 6’

Weight: 91kg (14st 3lbs)

Caps: 35

Points: 114

He demonstrated against England that when given time and space he possesses lavish attacking gifts and a finely varied kicking game. Ireland will need to get after him as Wales and France did successfully.

9 Greig Laidlaw

Age: 32

Height: 5’9”

Weight: 80kg (12st 8lbs)

Caps: 61

Points: 607

He rarely misses with the placed ball once it’s inside a certain range and gives his team clever direction but he’s not always the quickest to rucks or clearing ball and Ireland will have noted that.

1 Gordon Reid

Age: 31

Height: 6’2”

Weight: 119kg (18st 7lbs)

Caps: 29

Points: 5

There was some concern prior to the tournament about how the Scottish scrum would fare but there hasn’t been a mention since. He’s typically energetic around the pitch.

2 Stuart McInally

Age: 27

Height: 6’2”

Weight: 108kg (17st)

Caps: 15

Points: 15

He started out his rugby career in the backrow but the switch to hooker has been hugely successful. He’s a fine athlete with good hands and as he showed against the English very strong over the ball at rucks.

3 Simon Berghan

Age: 27

Height: 6’3”

Weight: 116kg (18st 2lbs)

Caps: 7

Points: 0

At six foot three inches he is quite tall for a tighthead prop but that hasn’t compromised the New Zealand born player’s ability to lock out the scrum and his ball carrying quality is always conspicuous.

4 Grant Gilchrist

Age: 27

Height: 6’7”

Weight: 117kg (18st 4lbs)

Caps: 21

Points: 5

He won the first penalty of the match against England underlining his effectiveness at the breakdown and is also noted for his work ethic.

5 Jonny Gray

Age: 23

Height: 6’6”

Weight: 120kg (18st 8lbs)

Caps: 41

Points: 20

He invariably leads the tackle count in every match that he plays and is a fine lineout option with the general athleticism to match too.

6 John Barclay (capt)

Age: 31

Height: 6’2

Weight: 102kg (16st)

Caps: 69

Points: 25

He won three penalties at the breakdown in the game against England and also nabbed turnover ball too. He is a key player for Scotland in every respect.

7 Hamish Watson

Age: 26

Height: 6’1”

Weight: 102kg (15st 12lbs)

Caps: 18

Points: 10

He is an old fashioned openside flanker who thrives on poaching ball, runs good support lines and is a dervish in defence.

8 Ryan Wilson

Age: 28

Height: 6’3”

Weight: 103kg (16st 2lbs)

Caps: 35

Points: 0

Another excellent athlete, he did much to disrupt England’s lineout maul, not always legally, but very effectively to complement his other qualities.