After losing to France, even a rampaging victory over the old enemy was only hugely enjoyable for the Irish. The zenith of Ireland's season had come when Ronan O'Gara gave them the lead against France, and had gone again when Vincent Clerc weaved his way through for that crucial try. Everything thereafter was old hat in comparison. Ireland have done Triple Crowns before.

Certainly an away match in Scotland ought not to fill the Irish with much beyond a quiet confidence. Not any more. As the old millennium ended and the new began, so Ireland suddenly turned the tables on a team they had previously not beaten since 1988. Now the Irish haven't lost for five years.

Frank Hadden's Scotsmen have lost the surge of adrenaline that carried them to their famous victories at the start of the former Edinburgh coach's tenure.

There are huge problems building still in Scottish rugby at present. The player exodus from the cash-strapped Scottish regions continues despite the best efforts of the SRU and Hadden to keep the players local. What must worry even more is the exodus of players from Edinburgh, the franchise privatised ostensibly in order to free up funds across the board to help with player retention. It seems not to be working. Where to next?

Losing players across the border means Hadden losing elements of team control that his Celtic counterparts enjoy, and with Scotland already struggling in terms of depth of class, Hadden's loss of influence can only be detrimental as the coach searches for the right blend and tactic to compensate that.

There isn't much to be said about Ireland's team that hasn't been said already. It is settled, experienced, and top class. As Hadden still chops and changes in key positions - especially fly-half - so Eddie O'Sullivan pastes a new team-name over last week's opposition on the team sheet, and then photocopies.

Looking at Saturday's team-sheets, there isn't an area where Ireland don't have the edge. Chris Cusiter is still finding form after his injury, while Peter Stringer's service has rarely been better. Chris Paterson, superlative though his form may be, will meet his match in the huge galloping form of Shane Horgan. Sean Lamont has left behind the highs of last season - he doesn't get the ball as often - but needs to find a variation to his game to match either Denis Hickie or Horgan.

Plusses for Scotland? They can dismiss the defeat to Italy as a freak occurrence. Chasing a game is not suited to the Scots, and once 21-0 down to those bizarre tries, there could only be one winner. They might like to look back on how the Welsh were ground into the Murrayfield mud as a source of inspiration.

But with Ireland so fresh-looking and in-form, it is hard to see anything other than an Ireland win, and the scoreline could get a little gruesome for those in blue.

Ones to watch:

For Scotland: Scotland are now the nation with the big problem at fly-half, and with Phil Godman cast out into the cold as a result of his lukewarm display against Italy, the onus is back on Dan Parks - he who was so tortured by Jonny Wilkinson a month ago - to step into the breach once more. Parks offers more with the boot, and it appears Scotland would like to close the Irish down. Will it work?

For Ireland: One of the more curious stories of this tournament has been the criticism from some quarters of lock Paul O'Connell, which drew a stinging retort from O'Connell himself against England, and from team-mate Donncha O'Callaghan to the press. In a match likely to be won ugly first, his engine-room operations will be vital to Ireland, particularly against a beefy Scots second row. We think O'Connell has always been at his best... watch him on Saturday and find out!

Head to head: Clashes everywhere, but if Scotland have been strong in one area over the past couple of years it is the back row. It will be a benchmark game for the Scots against the furious running, tackling, and driving trio in green this time.

Prediction: Ireland by 15 points. At least.

Recent results:

1992: Scotland won 18-10 in Dublin
1993: Scotland won 15-3 in Edinburgh
1994: Drawn 6-6 in Dublin
1995: Scotland won 26-13 in Edinburgh
1996: Scotland won 16-10 in Dublin
1997: Scotland won 38-10 in Edinburgh
1998: Scotland won 17-16 in Dublin
1999: Scotland won 30-13 in Edinburgh
2000: Ireland won 44-22 in Dublin
2001: Scotland won 32-10 in Edinburgh
2002: Ireland won 43-22 in Dublin
2003: Ireland won 29-10 in Edinburgh
2004: Ireland won 37-16 in Dublin
2005: Ireland won 40-13 in Edinburgh
2006: Ireland won 15-9 in Dublin

The teams:

Scotland: 15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Marcus Di Rollo, 12 Rob Dewey, 11 Chris Paterson (c), 10 Dan Parks, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 David Callam, 7 Kelly Brown, 6 Simon Taylor, 5 Scott Murray, 4 Nathan Hines, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Dougie Hall, 1 Gavin Kerr.
Replacements: 16 Ross Ford, 17 Allan Jacobsen, 18 Jim Hamilton, 19 Allister Hogg, 20 Rory Lawson, 21 Andrew Henderson, 22 Rory Lamont.

Ireland: 15 Girvan Dempsey, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Denis Hickie, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Denis Leamy, 7 David Wallace, 6 Simon Easterby, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Rory Best, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements: 16 Jerry Flannery, 17 Simon Best, 18 Mick O'Driscoll, 19 Neil Best, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Paddy Wallace, 22 Andrew Trimble.

Date: Saturday 10th March 2007
Time: 13.30 GMT
Venue: Murrayfield
Weather: Rain, 10°C, strong westerly wind.
Referee: Dave Pearson (England)
Touch judges: Nigel Owens (Wales), Tim Hayes (Wales)
Television match official: Hugh Watkins (Wales)
Assessor: Michel Lamoulie (France)