Off the back of their defeat to Italy the buzz around Scotland seems to have faded. They’ve been seen as there or thereabouts for a number of years now but have been unable to capitalise upon it during the Six Nations.
This weekend, though, they can make some tangible progress and get a trophy in their cabinet that has so far eluded them in the Six Nations era.
Scotland have a trophy to play for with every other nation in the Six Nations but the Triple Crown has been out of their grasp thus far.
Six Nations decider?
The Triple Crown is handed out to a home nation who beats the other three in the same Six Nations campaign.
And given The Scots have beaten both England – at home in the Calcutta Cup – and Wales – away in the Doddie Weir Cup – they’re the only nation who can pick up the title.
A win against Ireland, who themselves lost their Triple Crown defence when England beat them in round four, would hand Scotland the Triple Crown for the very first time in the Six Nations era.
“I forgot about [the Triple Crown] after Saturday night, to be honest,” said Scotland defence coach Steve Tandy. “But we’re playing for a trophy – I don’t know how many years it is since we have been playing for a trophy.
“That’s the beauty of sport, the fact you can be down at the lowest of lows, but now we have the potential to be at the highest of highs, which is exciting for us.
“We know we’re going to have to play really well to get what we want, but it’s a game, anything can happen.”
A victory for the Scots could help England, too, who are still in the fight for the Six Nations title.
They need Scotland to win and deny Ireland a bonus point – both try scoring or losing – to give them the best chance of snatching the title at the death.
Super Saturday is always fun in the Six Nations but with three teams vying for big trophies, it’s Scotland and England versus Ireland.