Scotland hooker George Turner insists that he and his team-mates will not be intimidated by the physical challenge they will face in Dublin next weekend. 

They are up against an Ireland team who are still in with a chance of finishing top of the Six Nations table this year, if they beat Scotland on Saturday afternoon and England manage to get the better of France at Stade de France that evening. With so much at stake, there is zero chance of Andy Farrell’s side taking their eye off the gas, so the Scots will have to play to the peak of their powers for the full 80-minutes if they are to have any chance of causing an upset. 

The boys in blue didn’t manage that against Italy on Saturday, but Turner insists that there were aspects of the team’s performance at the Stadio Olimpico which provide encouragement for the challenge ahead. 

“It’s great to get a win, it makes next week’s prep much easier with the confidence that you get from that,” he said. “It wasn’t the complete performance from us, but it was good at times, and we know what we have to work on this week. Rome is not an easy place to play and Italy are a passionate team, so to win with five tries was very gratifying. 

“We’re going to need an absolutely complete performance against Ireland, that’s for sure,” he continued. “Nothing else is going to do because they’re a huge team in contact and set-piece, and we felt we weren’t up to our best standards in that area when we played France, who are very similar in that regard. 

“But we have competed physically with powerful teams like England and France before and there’s no reason why we can’t do it against Ireland. We all know what’s coming from Ireland, there will be a lot of phases from them, putting us under pressure, and we have to stay patient and trust in our defence, and keep our discipline. 

“Against Italy, there were sometimes elements in the contact that weren’t quite right, we made a couple of bad decisions or went on our own once or twice. We can’t afford to do that against Ireland.” 

Turner was one of the best performers in Scotland’s pack on Saturday, with his line-out darts throughout the game and contribution with ball in hand particularly impressive, but he knows that a starting place next weekend is far from guaranteed given that Stuart McInally also showed up well off the bench.  

While every player wants to spend as much time on the pitch as possible, Turner says he is comfortable with the rotation policy preferred by head coach Gregor Townsend. 

“I think we can both have a real impact for the team no matter who is starting or coming off the bench,” he reasoned. “Stuart brings that experience and dynamism when he comes on and I can do the same. We’ve worked closely together for a few years now and I expect that will continue.” 

One moment which will weigh in Turner’s favour when the coaches sit down to finalise selection this week will be the powerful carry he had during the lead-up to Scotland’s first try, scored by Sam Johnson. 

“I was just hanging out there on the wing a bit much, I suppose, then got the ball and had a decent break down the touchline, and Ali [Price] popped up on my inside,” he shrugged modestly, before turning his attention to praising the overall impact of Price, who was named man-of-the-match on the occasion of his 50th appearance for Scotland.  

“Ali is always a great leader, and he’s had such a great last year or so going on the Lions tour and playing so well there. He had a great game today, his pace and his breaks were outstanding. He also kept them honest with his kicking game.  

“His intercept [which triggered Scotland’s length-of-the-park second try] was a key moment. We know we can hit from anywhere on the field when we get it right and that was a good example.” 

Scotland will be looking for some more of that attacking elan next weekend in Dublin, but they will also be acutely aware that they need to be better at building through phases than they were in Rome. Four of Scotland’s five tries came from counter-attack or turnover ball against Italy, but Ireland will make them work much harder for their points.