Six Nations: Scots pressure can choke Irish hopes of revenge TWO teams who started the RBS Six Nations Championship with eyes on silverware go head-to-head in Dublin's Aviva Stadium tonight knowing that another slip-up will leave them fighting to avoid a wooden spoon. It is an indication of how close the northern hemisphere's leading nations are at present and might make a mockery of the fact that Andy Robinson's side currently sit in 11th spot, four places behind Declan Kidney's, in the IRB world rankings, were it not for the rather important statistic of zero wins in the Scotland chart. Ireland have only won one game, at home to Italy, drawn with France and lost to Wales, so if the Scots were to finish with victory here tonight and in Rome next weekend, they would overtake Ireland. The Irish should be clear of a wooden spoon contest, but were the Italians to finish with a win and a draw it remains a possibility, albeit remote. Scotland have shown enough in this championship to believe that if they can dominate Ireland for longer than they have England, Wales and France, carrying first-half performances that have left all three nations looking a pale shadow of their best through the second half, they can strike a first victory of the year. They have also shown enough to leave Ireland confident that a solid display free of errors would be sufficient to claim revenge for what was labelled locally as the "Croke Park Choker" of 2010. A fascinating match lies in wait between two sides given to exciting brands of rugby. There are always variables - it is what makes the sport thrilling and attractive - but there are also a couple of extras thrown into the equation on Ireland's side this week, that merely deepen the intrigue around this 126th clash of the Celtic nations. The first lies in Declan Kidney's side taking the field for their third Test match in three weeks, due to the reorganisation of their postponed game with France. We are regularly told that players these days require ten days to recover fully from a match of Six Nations intensity, such is the beating their bodies endure colliding with 18-stone monsters, frequent rucking and significantly increased ball-in-play time. They can perform close to optimum after seven days if they have been injury-free apparently, but the Irish squad have had six days to recover from a bruising and strength-sapping clash in Paris, following just eight days from the Italian game the week before. And a handful of their players have hardly trained at all this week due to knocks. By contrast, the majority of the Scotland squad have enjoyed two weeks" rest and recovery since they lost to France at Murrayfield, and they have named one of their strongest and most experienced replacements" bench of all time, crucial, one imagines, if Scotland are still in the game in the second half. This could be a great test of what a rugby player can withstand in the modern age. The second imponderable is Ireland's loss of talisman Paul O'Connell, on-form scrum-half Connor Murray and flanker Sean O'Brien. O'Connell's predecessor as skipper, Brian O'Driscoll, was lost to the side before the tournament started with a long-term injury and so this will be the first occasion that Ireland have taken the field without either of the two great pillars of their "golden generation" for a decade. Another, Ronan O'Gara, is in the squad, but having just turned 35 this week is only up to a support role in the second half. It can be significant, nonetheless, considering his pinpoint accuracy with the boot, and nose for match-winning drop-goals, but if he had to appear earlier in the game it would be another major test for the hosts. Eoin Reddan, coming in at scrum-half is not detrimental as he is a fine, quick player, with Tomas O'Leary on the bench should they require a more physical presence. But up front there will be pressure on Munster newcomers Donnacha Ryan and Peter O'Mahoney. Both have been in fine form for their province and O'Mahoney, in particular, is expected to enjoy a long career in the Test arena, but the law of the rugby jungle says that under pressure they are more likely to make mistakes. And that is the great golden key to this battle between two closely-matched sides - pressure. Who exerts it and where, and for how long. Scotland coach Andy Robinson has praised his side's improvement, the solid lineout, excellent defence for the most part, slicker attack and finish with three tries in the past two games, but he has pinpointed their ability to invite pressure with missed tackles and errors in possession, the odd slack scrum and lack of consistency at the tackle area as being the most destructive elements in Scotland's play. The contact area is key because in every single one you can turn over possession and it's a great position to attack from, and determines whether you can get into your rhythm. I have a lot of respect for the Irish pack. The fact that O'Mahoney has come in ahead of Shane Jennings [named on the bench] shows he's obviously a quality player. Donncha O'Callaghan, I worked with in the Lions and he has a great mentality, and has better handling skills than people give him credit for at times, so I can see him taking over from Paul's [O'Connell's] running game. They're a good side and [Jamie] Heaslip and [Stephen] Ferris are quality players if they're given time to do what they want to do. Our back row has gone well, but it's all about the next game. You can't be patting yourself on the back as a back row because you're going to be challenged every time you play and we have to get out there and, one, the back row has to be given a platform to play, but, two, they have to be getting in the faces of the Irish attack. From the scrum and lineout, where Scotland have the players to nullify Irish strengths at source simply by depriving them of ball, to the ferocious back row battle and the much-talked-about "choke" tackle approach of the Irish defence and bids by both sides to slow each other's attack, this game will captivate. The back lines are full of exciting runners and Robinson also cast his eyes to the contest for possession when Ireland's much-vaunted back three of Rob Kearney, Tommy Bowe and Andrew Trimble try to out-kick and outrun Stuart Hogg, Lee Jones and Sean Lamont. The Irish aerial threat stems largely from Rob Kearney, whose childhood growing up as a Gaelic footballer has been revealed in his fearless and hugely skilful ability to chase high balls, time his jump and grasp them on the run. Robinson said: "They have worked on a 60 per cent rate of getting the ball back, so we're told, and Kearney is the best in the world at being able to kick and catch, or for Sexton to put the ball up in the air and Kearney getting underneath it. You watch him and he gathers pace and doesn't stop lose pace all the way onto that ball and there's a really good hang-time from Sexton on that ball. So we've got to be able to win the ball in the air. That is potentially a platform for us to be able to play off, however, if Ireland, as they did against France and Wales, if they catch the ball it is an attacking source for them, and is a ploy they use very well. Stuart [Hogg] in the air is good. He gets very good height. In fact, I saw him take a ball off Kearney against Leinster in the Heineken Cup. It's about committing and dealing with each one on its merit. Commitment will not be lacking and Kidney admitted the memory of losing two years ago, when Ireland were, as now, favourites to win, remained fresh. We went down this road two years ago, didn't we? He said yesterday. At the start of the championship, I thought Scotland were in a prime position to move very well and if you look at the thin margins that are there and the thin margins that have affected our own results, it's been the same for Scotland. They've been right in every game and have performed well and if it clicks for them they'll be an unbelievable challenge. We just have to be ready for that. It will be a full Test match and sometimes we under-rate the strength of this competition. Every game is different. Everything here is a different challenge and every game has thrown up different scenarios and that's what makes it a fantastic competition. I think this will be another one of those games. We've three points, there's two matches left, so four points available for everybody below us. We have to work hard ourselves. The stage is set again for duelling Celts, which is not as clear-cut as some fearful Scots might believe.