Scotland Six Nations boost as key trio passed fit for Dublin decider

A victory for the Scots in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday will see them clinch the Triple Crown for the first time since 1990. More significantly, it would also put them in the frame to win the championship for the first time since 1999 but they would need England to do them a favour in the late game against France in Paris.

France and Scotland are tied at the top of the Six Nations standings on 16 points going into the final round, with Ireland two points further behind. All three can win the title, making it one of the most eagerly anticipated Super Saturdays of recent times.

France are hot favourites because they have a much better points difference (+79) than Scotland (+21) and Ireland (+16).

But Scotland’s cause has been boosted by the availability of Steyn, Jones and Dempsey. All three played in the stunning 50-40 win over France at the weekend but the former two came off early while Dempsey had to play through the pain barrier having suffered a serious arm injury in the match against England three weeks previously which looked as if it would rule him out of the remainder of the tournament.

He’s going to be big for us

Steyn, who scored two tries against the French and was named player of the match, was taken off on a medical cart in the 66th minute after sustaining a deep cut to his thigh while trying in vain to stop Antoine Dupont scoring a try.

“Steyno will be good – it was an unbelievable effort when he picked the injury up,” said Lee Radford, the Scotland defence coach. “The effort chasing back was phenomenal. He’s been big for us and he’s going to be big for us on Saturday as well.”

Jones also had to be replaced in the second half after feeling his Achilles. The centre underwent surgery in the summer to repair a long-standing issue in that area but Radford was confident he would be fine for Dublin.

“Huw will be good, he's trained this week,” said the assistant coach. “He just needed a bit of TLC on the Achilles.”

Dempsey’s recovery has surprised even the hardened Radford. The No 8 ripped a tendon in his bicep in the Calcutta Cup win but returned against France and played the full 80 minutes.

“It has been an incredible effort from him,” said Radford. “He was done three weeks ago so to not only put his hand up for selection but put in that performance as well, that was inspirational. He's had a big tournament so far, and obviously it's such a boost getting him back.

“He’d seen a couple of specialists and the feedback was it'd be tough [to come back so soon]. Basically it's gone, you've snapped it so it's a matter of biting your teeth and biting into your gum shield. It's going to hurt so you can get on with it or not. On any other weekly fixture in the URC or the Prem, I think Jack would have stood down until it was recovered but obviously because of the size and the magnitude of the fixtures coming up, he was quick to put his hand up.

“He seemed to grimace every now and then, for sure. And it's just getting through it.”