AFTER CHEERING SCOTLAND on last Saturday as Gregor Townsend’s men wrecked France’s Grand Slam dream, Ireland have now turned their attention to smashing the Scots’ own hopes of silverware.

Scotland’s win against les Bleus denied the French a chance to seal the Six Nations title last weekend, which means Ireland’s hopes of winning the championship remain alive after their bonus-point win against Wales on Friday night.

Having recorded a thrilling 50-40 win over France, the Scots also come into Super Saturday’s final round with their title dreams intact.

France remain favourites to beat England in Paris and wrap up the Six Nations title, but Ireland and Scotland will be fighting to leave themselves positioned for any further French slip-up when they meet in Dublin on Saturday afternoon.

There’s also a Triple Crown trophy on the line when the Celtic rivals clash at the Aviva Stadium.

All of this makes for an excited atmosphere in Ireland camp this week. Having been well beaten by France in their opening Six Nations game last month, Andy Farrell’s men have fought their way back into contention.

“It’s an amazing buzz,” said Ireland assistant coach Andrew Goodman after training today.

“It’s great to be part of a last week when there’s plenty on the line. As you can imagine, there was some quite loud roaring for Scotland on Saturday afternoon.

Andy Farrell with Jamie Osborne. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

“So, it was great to sit back after getting the five points [against Wales], still knowing that we didn’t get the performance we were chasing down, but it creates a good edge for the week.

“And we know there’s a Triple Crown within our control, and then who knows what’s going to happen the way this competition’s been going.

“What a great advertisement for the game. And I think it has to be one of the best Six Nations for a long time, with the competition week to week. So it’s been great to be part of.”

While Ireland confirmed yesterday that loosehead prop Jeremy Loughman will not return from his calf injury for this clash with Scotland, the rest of their wider Six Nations squad trained at the IRFU’s high performance centre in Dublin today.

Scotland have had to deal with woes on this front, with starting locks Scott Cummings and Gregor Brown both ruled out after injuries against France.

So having a healthy squad to pick from is a nice luxury for Andy Farrell, all the more so given that Ireland believe their changes from week to week in this Six Nations have left them with a couple of selection headaches for Saturday.

“I think what Faz has done with the selection has created real competition within the group,” said Goodman.

“And if you were able to see the training today, there was that carrying on today.

Niall Annett, now an elite player development officer with Ulster, attended Ireland training. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

“So there’ll be some good discussions with the coaches tonight. And I’m sure there’s going to be some really tough decisions to be made.”

Scotland wing Darcy Graham has said they believe Ireland are “there for the taking” this weekend, underlining how their self-belief has been boosted by the win against France.

However, Ireland have a strong record against the Scots and will be aiming to extend their 11-game winning streak against the visitors.

“I’d say listening to what they’re saying as a group, their belief is as high as it’s ever been, according to everything that’s coming out of the group,” said Goodman.

“So it should be, the way they’ve performed over the last three weeks, it’s been good rugby.

“So I’m sure it’ll be up there with one of the better teams that have travelled over to these shores.”