There is no substitute for experience as man-of-the-match Peter Stringer showed with a fine performance on his return to starting duties on Saturday and Ireland must draw heavily on that this week as they prepare for their biggest match since March 13, 1948 when they won their only Grand Slam. Their team at Murrayfield boasted over 750 caps and they must now bring all that nous to bear in the most important rugby week of their lives.
Declan Kidney and Brian O'Driscoll may have been studiously downplaying any Grand Slam talk over the last fortnight – and they made a half-hearted stab at it again after the match – but to treat Saturday's match against Wales as just another game would be to miss the point dangerously. Such opportunities have to be greedily recognised and seized.
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Ireland beat Scotland to set up chance of first Grand Slam since 1948
Ireland beat Scotland to set up chance of first Grand Slam since 1948
