Speed of the backs to win it for Irish

A September weekend in Edinburgh - probably the favourite haunt for a Six Nations championship match - felt as odd yesterday as it sounds.

Aside from not seeing your breath in sub-zero temperatures for a change, you could walk down Princes Street and not see a single replica rugby jersey. If there is to be a championship match at Murrayfield come 3.00 today, there was certainly no sense of a build-up.

In another sense, too, it all seems a little unreal. Man for man, Ireland look the better team. The provinces have done incomparably better in the Celtic League. Ireland's championship form guide, such as it is, looks significantly superior too.

Ireland are warm, warm favourites, according to virtually every Irish pundit and in the eyes of the bookies, by at least five points or more. This is all very disconcerting really.

Recall the preamble to most of those eight successive defeats in Murrayfield and the backdrop probably wasn't all that dissimilar. At yesterday's final press conference Irish coach Warren Gatland also admitted he was worried following another relaxed, ultra-asssured run-out for his squad in Boroughmuir. Nothing had gone wrong all week, he explained. There hasn't been a single hiccup. Oh dear, we're in trouble, it's all going to plan.

As assistant coach Eddie O'Sullivan put it: "We're pretty much set up for failure if you think about it. Scotland are coming out of a situation that they are most comfortable in. They're underdogs with a couple of injuries.

"It's a one-off in Murrayfield, so they've nothing to lose and I think they're going to throw the kitchen sink at us. The thing is we know that and it's up to us to get our heads around it and deal with it. If we don't there's every chance we'll lose the match and we know that."

The fear is that, once again in this fixture, there might not be sufficient fear. Then again, it goes with the territory of being a talented, accomplished outfit. Ireland are going to have to start living with this mantle of favouritism more regularly.

It's a bigger game for Ireland really. A win would keep them interested in all the championship's prizes. What's more it would continue the team's development, essentially from losers to winners.

There'd be a comfort factor in having Mick Galwey in the team, to be honest, and perhaps Peter Stringer too, important symbols of Ireland's rejuvenation. Then again it's time for the Jeremy Davidson-Malcolm O'Kelly ticket to deliver. So, winning without the spiritual leadership of Galwey and with a more form-driven, pacier team could be interpreted as a significant step forward.

Given two ring-rusty sides, whoever sets the tone will go a long way toward winning it. "The important thing for us in the first 20 minutes will be to get our hands on the ball as often as possible, and hang on to it, and take any of the fizz and pop out of their game that they had ready," ventures O'Sullivan, who expresses the valid hope that compared to previous Irish teams in Murrayfield this one doesn't look inclined to panic.

Nonetheless, a concern would be how Scotland approach this game. Coach Ian McGeechan was tetchy at their press conference yesterday, rounding harshly on one local scribe, but despite his repeated assertion that his only interest is in winning, ominously Scotland can afford to swing more freely from the hip.

For them, there is no putative championship, grand slam, triple crown, unbeaten record or even wooden spoon at stake. It's a re-arranged, one-off seasonal opener, with them at home and underdogs.

As O'Sullivan implied, Scotland could run everything, even from their own 22, take quick tap penalties all afternoon and basically make it fast, fancy and free; and the less structure or pattern the better.

And then there's the Gregor Townsend factor, which wouldn't have applied last year but demands that Ireland close down him and those around him; primarily John Leslie.

It's liable to be a tasty dish. Ireland have made a calculated gamble on form, flair and even more space, but as O'Sullivan also says the gameplan is a bit more complex than getting the ball into the wingers' hands.

"A ball in the winger's hands with three cover tacklers and a yard of space is as useful as a trap door in a canoe. You still have to put the ball into their hands in space so they can do something."

Flanker Kieron Dawson could be the pivotal player. As important as the middle-of-the-line clash is, and those at half back, the key could well be the speed of the ruck ball.

Given quick possession from the rucks, and provided scrumhalf Guy Easterby doesn't overplay his hand, then Brian O'Driscoll and the speed merchants can give Ireland the greater potency. Especially with a little help from a potentially high-impact bench.

Ireland to win? Yikes.