Back in 2010, Andy Robinson’s Scots were seeking a victory to avoid the wooden spoon. They had lost their first two games, to France and Wales, and then gone down to Italy in Rome. They bounced back to draw 15-15 with England at Murrayfield but had found tries hard to come by throughout the championship and relied heavily on the boot of stand-off Dan Parks.
Parks was the hero in Dublin, kicking a drop goal and five penalties as Scotland won 23-20 at Croke Park. The game was Ireland’s final match in their temporary home and, like this season, they were chasing a Triple Crown. The Gaelic Games stadium was being used while the Aviva Stadium was being built on the site of their old Lansdowne Road home.
Ireland outscored Scotland two tries to one, with Brian O'Driscoll and Tommy Bowe touching down for the hosts. Johnnie Beattie scored the visitors’ try.
Then, as now, Johnny Sexton was Ireland’s stand-off but the great No 10 had an off day with the boot and was replaced in the second half by Ronan O’Gara.
Scotland’s 2010 win in Dublin was their first there in 12 years, hopefully an omen for this weekend.
Here are the players who secured a famous victory at Croke Park.
17. The coach
For Andy Robinson, pictured with Dan Parks and Hugo Southwell, the win over Ireland meant Scotland avoided the wooden spoon in his first Six Nations campaign at the helm. Robinson was the first, and so far only, Englishman to take charge of the national team. His reign included a series win in Argentina later than year and home victories over Australia and South Africa. But a Six Nations wooden spoon in 2012 followed by a home defeat by Tonga in November of that year signalled the end. Photo: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images