Scotland have been through 'hell and back' - we deserve this shot at Six Nations glory

A tilt at the Six Nations title looked a million miles away when Gregor Townsend’s side lost their opening match to Italy in a Roman deluge in early February. But Scotland have won three in a row since and go into Saturday’s match against Ireland in Dublin with a chance of both the Triple Crown and the Championship.

Chances like this don’t come along often for the Scottish national team who have won just two Triple Crowns since 1938. And their record against Ireland is hardly a cause for optimism, with Townsend’s team losing 11 in a row.

However, Tuipulotu thinks the streak could work against the hosts who will be under pressure to avoid being the first Irish team to lose to Scotland since 2017. He also feels his own squad are ready to seize their chance.

“There's obviously a bit on the line and maybe it's a little bit of foreign territory for a Scottish team to be in the last week [of the Six Nations] and there still be a lot on the line,” said the Scotland captain. “But we've earned that privilege. We're really excited about it and there's a feeling in the group that it's a little bit sad that this is the last week together before we gather up for the summer.

“So we want to make this last week count and work hard for each other. There's a lot on the line with the Triple Crown and a chance to stay in the Championship but we want to progress as a team and that's the most important thing.

“The main thing is the 80 minutes of rugby ahead of us, and it's been like that since the start of the tournament. We've been playing knockout rugby since we lost to Italy.

“We've got 80 minutes ahead of us for us to take another step forward as a group and play better than what we did against France. Hopefully that puts us in good stead.

“The way I’ve put it to the group is that we've earned the right to be in this game and for those things to be on the line. But those things are not going to consume us or stop us from playing our game. We're going to go out there and live and die by our identity.”

What Scotland need to win Six Nations

After losing in Rome, Scotland bounced back by crushing England at Murrayfield, then ground out a win over Wales in Cardiff before an extraordinary match against France in Edinburgh last weekend which the Scots won 50-40.

It means they go into the final weekend of the tournament tied with France at the top of the standings on 16 points, with Ireland third on 14. The French still hold the upper hand because of their points differential which is 58 better than Scotland’s and 63 better than Ireland’s.

With Ireland v Scotland kicking off at 2.10pm, France will know exactly what they need to do when they take on England in Paris at 8.10pm. It means the title is out of Scotland’s hands to a certain extent but the Triple Crown is very much in their control and is a straight shootout between them and Ireland.

It’s an honour the Scots haven’t won since the 1990 Grand Slam season and the chance to make history is an opportunity that excites Tuipulotu but won’t define him.

“Of course [history] is a big factor, we want to be the first of our kind and that's a big motivating factor,” said the Scotland captain. “But it's not the be all and end all, definitely. Over the last five years, in certain aspects we've been to hell and back together. So that's where my strength comes from, and our strength as a team: the hard stuff we've been through. The ability to be resilient in those times is what gives me the most confidence that we'll be the best version of ourselves tomorrow.”