Off Topic » the scrummaging department himself - will

We look at five talking points ahead of Irelands Six Nations clash with Scotland on Saturday. Who needs it more?Before their win over Italy in round four, Scotland were under enormous pressure. Their Six Nations run of defeats were piling up, dating back to 2014. But the relieving win was joined by another, and Cotter is convinced his side is on the verge of realising their potential. Ireland also started the Six Nations on the back foot. The departure of a legendary captain was just one reason the defence of their title would be a difficult one.Although they started well in the opening 20 minutes against Wales in round one, its been a struggle since then. Will Joe Schmidts job be under threat if Ireland lose to Scotland? A loss for Ireland would leave them in second-last place at the end of the tournament, a sharp slide from the previous year. But even worse, six of Irelands next seven internationals are against the top three sides in the world.A three-test tour against South Africa is followed by a friendly against New Zealand in the US before facing the All Blacks once more in the autumn internationals to go with their showdown with Australia in the same series.Bluntly, fifth place in the northern hemisphere is no way to prepare for that many games against the southern hemisphere.Should Scotland win it would likely leave them in third place unless France dismantle England by a sizeable amount, while Ireland could finish fourth - even with a win.Weir ahead of Horne Weir gets the nod ahead of Horne When Finn Russell left the field early against France, his replacement Peter Horne performed brilliantly to steer Scotland to a 29-18 win.However, with Russell still ruled out this week, its Duncan Weir who has been given the nod ahead of Horne. It is by no means a bizarre call given Weirs experience, but does seem slightly harsh on last weeks capable replacement. In announcing his side, Cotter was keen to point out how much of a collective effort Sundays win was: We were pleased with our sustained effort against France.I was happy with the way we adapted to losing Finn so early in the game. The team came together and was rewarded for their endeavour with the end result.Peter played really well when he came on. It wasnt easy for him.He gets himself back on the bench and were hoping hell bring the same contribution whether its 10, 12 or 13 during the game.Attacking 15s Simon Zebo looking to attack for Ireland Stuart Hogg was in superb attacking form against the French, orchestrating the winning try with a flick to Tim Visser, but his defensive capabilities have been called into question in the past.Despite the perceived frailties, Sky Sports Stuart Barnes backed the full-backs credentials in his column this week.The balance of attacking pluses can outweigh the odd defensive negative as Hogg gloriously emphasised, Barnes wrote on Monday.Hoggs opposite number this weekend is no stranger himself to a microscope hovering over his tackling technique.Simon Zebos ability to unlock opposition defences is well documented, but hes not as effective without the ball, which is partly why Rob Kearney is most often preferred ahead of him.This weekends match could see two of the worlds most exciting full-backs with ball in hand go head-to-head, as they bid to prove that scoring tries is the most important element of rugby.Battle up front WP Nel anchors the Scotland scrum It will be a great scrum battle as two in-form front rows come up against each other.Alasdair Dickinson was superb for Scotland against France and really applied the pressure onto Rabah Slimani. Dickinson will be up against Mike Ross on Saturday who has also impressed this campaign.WP Nel may have been bumped off by France full-back Scott Spedding but he has fast become the anchor for Scotlands scrum.He will be up against Jack McGrath who has held off the experience of Cian Healy for the starting loosehead jersey. Both are excellent scrummagers and have good work rates around the paddock too. Nel will also need to be on his game because Healy - no slouch in the scrummaging department himself - will at some stage be thrown into the fray.Tommy ODonnell v John Hardie munsters Tommy ODonnell will have a fierce battle with Hardie Another player who stood out against France was Scotlands John Hardie who stood out in defence and in the breakdown. His 13 tackles against France were the best of the day for Scotland while he was a key man in the turnovers as well.ODonnell gets his chance after Josh van der Flier was ruled out with an injury and it is a chance for him to really stake his claim on the No 7 jersey.Van der Flier has been excellent for Ireland and has proved his worth as an excellent scavenger. Like van der Flier, ODonnell is very much in the mould of the more traditional No 7 and his battle with Hardie at the break down will play a huge role in who wins this game.Ireland: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Andrew Trimble 13, Jared Payne, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 1 Jack McGrath, 2 Rory Best (capt), 3 Mike Ross, 4 Donnacha Ryan, 5 Devin Toner, 6 CJ Stander, 7 Tommy ODonnell, 8 Jamie Heaslip.Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Nathan White, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Fergus McFadden.Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Duncan Taylor, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 1 Alasdair Dickinson, 2 Ross Ford, 3 Willem Nel, 4 Richie Gray, 5 Tim Swinson, 6 John Barclay, 7 John Hardie, 8 Ryan Wilson.Replacements: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Moray Low, 19 Rob Harley, 20 Josh Strauss, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Peter Horne, 23 Sean Lamont. Clearance Authentic Jerseys . Tottenham claimed top spot in Group K by winning 2-0 at Tromso after defender Adnan Causevic scored an own goal before Mousa Dembele put the result beyond doubt. Valencia made sure it will finish first in Group A with a 1-0 win at Swansea thanks to an early goal from Dani Parejo. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Authentic . The (14-15-5) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 33 points. They trail sixth place Nashville and fifth place Dallas by two points. http://www.cheapnfljerseysclearance.com/. Mohamed Diame put West Ham ahead in the 47th minute before goals by substitutes Carlton Cole and Joe Cole condemned Fulham to a fifth straight defeat, keeping the visitors in the bottom three. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . Right-hander Todd Redmond took the loss. Jose Bautista hit his second home run of the spring. Here are a handful of tidbits from around camp: Hutchison impressive The Blue Jays are being cautious when talking about their young arms but internally, excitement is building over the way Drew Hutchison is looking and performing this spring. NFL Jerseys China . - Erick Torres scored his 10th goal of the season on a stunning volley, and Chivas USA edged 10-man Real Salt Lake 1-0 on Saturday night. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- A convicted match-fixer denied a report in a German magazine Tuesday that he predicted the result and details of a World Cup football match. Cameroons football federation said it was investigating the report in der Spiegel magazine that Wilson Raj Perumal accurately predicted in an online chat with one of its journalists that Cameroon would lose 4-0 to Croatia and would have a player sent off in the first half. And that is exactly what happened in the June 18 match. Cameroon midfielder Alex Song was sent off before halftime for striking Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic in the back. Der Spiegels claims rang alarm bells because Perumal is the best-known match-fixer in football. He was convicted of fixing matches in Finland and suspected of fixing other games in Africa and involving African teams. He also isnt averse to self-publicity, having recently published memoirs with two journalists as co-authors. Perumal denied having predicted the outcome. "The Facebook chat with the Der Spiegel journalist took place a few days after the match - June 21st, as confirmed by my Facebook log," his statement said. "At no time did I make reference to four goals being scored or to a red card being issued. At no time did I suggest that I had any way of corroborating or substantiating what was meant to be an educated guess based on my extensive match-fixing experience. Last but not least: at no time was I informed by the Der Spiegel journalist that our chat was going to end up in the German publication." "I am shocked and amazed that a respected magazine such as Der Spiegel would go so far as to fabricate statements by yours truly with the visible aim of stirring the row over match-fixing," he said. "I apologize to the Cameroon FA and to its fans if I inadvertently offended them; it was not my intention.dddddddddddd I strongly believe that Der Spiegel should also do the same since they placed words in my mouth that I did not utter." One of the Spiegel reporters involved, Rafael Buschmann, said the magazine stood by its story. "We firmly stand by our assertion that Mr Perumal wrote in a Facebook chat with der Spiegel some hours before the world cup match Croatia vs Camerooon, that the result of the match will be a 4-0-victory for Croatia and that a player of Cameroon will get a red card in the first halftime," Buschmann said. Earlier, Cameroons football federation had said it instructed its ethics committee to open an investigation. The federation, Fecafoot, evoked the possibility that seven players on its team may have been corrupted. "Recent allegations of fraud around Cameroons three 2014 FIFA World Cup preliminary games, especially Cameroon vs. Croatia, as well as the existence of seven bad apples (in our national team) do not reflect the values and principles promoted by our administration in line with the FIFA Code of Conduct and the ethics of our nation," Fecafoot said in the statement. "We are strongly committed to employ all means necessary to resolve this disruptive matter," the federation said. FIFA President Sepp Blatter confirmed that a probe was underway, telling reporters: "Yes I have been told about this but let them do their work on this investigation." That game was the low point of a disastrous World Cup for Cameroon, which conceded nine goals and scored just one in its three games. The Croatia match was also marred by an argument between Cameroon teammates Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Benjamin Moukandjo that ended with Assou-Ekotto head-butting his teammate. ' ' '