'Not intimidating': Scotland back themselves despite past Aviva Six Nations anguish

The match is one of two which will settle the outcome of this season’s Six Nations Championship, as France, Scotland and Ireland all vie for the title.

The Triple Crown is also at stake in Dublin, a prize the Scots haven’t won since 1990 but which will be awarded to the winners at the Aviva, with both teams having already beaten England and Wales.

Clinching the Triple Crown would be “huge” for Scotland said Darge but the bigger objective is the championship itself.

The game in Ireland starts at 2.10pm but the victors won’t know whether or not they’ve won the Six Nations until the conclusion of the France v England match in Paris which kicks off at 8.10pm GMT. France and Scotland are joint top of the table on 16 points, with Ireland on 14 and the French are overwhelming favourites to clinch the title because of their superior points difference.

11-in-a-row

Ireland are second favourites despite trailing Scotland in the standings and that is largely due to their record against the Scots who they have defeated 11 times in a row. You have to go back to 2017 for Scotland’s last win over Ireland at Murrayfield and 2010 for their last victory against them in Dublin, a game which was played at Croke Park while the Aviva was being built on the old Lansdowne Road site.

Darge, the Scotland vice-captain, has had his fair share of disappointments at the Aviva with both the national team and Glasgow Warriors but is not fazed by the test that awaits the squad on Saturday.

“It's not intimidating,” he said. “It's one of those ones that you know the challenge you're going into. I don't know how much of that is the stadium and how much of that is just the team that you're playing against. I think we know how difficult it is going to be at the weekend. Ireland have been fantastic, and particularly at home.”

Darge was co-captain when Scotland they lost 17-13 to Ireland at the Aviva in the final round of the 2024 Six Nations. He also played in 2022 when the Irish won 26-5 at the Dublin ground. There have been tough times too at the Aviva with Glasgow, most notably the 43-19 loss to Toulon in the 2023 Challenge Cup final and last season’s 52-0 thrashing by Leinster in the Champions Cup quarter-finals. The same opponents beat the Warriors 37-19 in the semi-finals of the URC last June.

But Darge feels Scotland have been building throughout their Six Nations campaign, beating England, Wales and France after losing the opener to Italy. Scotland endured two tough defeats in the autumn, against New Zealand and Argentina, after putting themselves in positions to win both games. Darge thinks the squad have learnt from the setbacks with last weekend’s stunning 50-40 win over the French at Murrayfield providing compelling evidence.

“I think we built belief going into that performance and all through the campaign and off the back of the autumn which was obviously a couple of tough experiences for us,” he said.

“It's been good to be able to show some of the things that we've spoken about and proven on. Obviously, we're fully aware of the challenge that lies ahead. I think Ireland are an outstanding team and our record against them hasn't been great. We know it's going to be difficult, but we've got to back ourselves.”