Defence the focus for Bundee Aki ahead of trip to Scotland

Bundee Aki has warned that Ireland can't afford to switch off against Scotland like they did in the final stages of Saturday's 27-22 win against England.

Simon Easterby’s side had been cruising towards a win when they gave up two soft tries in the final five minutes last weekend, as Tom Curry and Tommy Freeman ran in for late scores.

With the second of those tries coming while the clock was in the red, the scores had no material effect on the result, but it did take some shine off what had been an impressive Irish win, while it also allowed England pick up a losing bonus-point.

The Ireland interim head coach showed his frustration at that late lapse in concentration after the game, and Aki has doubled-down on that message ahead of Sunday's meeting with the Scots (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player).

"I think the boys rectified it and spoke about it. We said that obviously if we switch off like that, in any part of the game, against Scotland, they will rip you apart," the Ireland centre (below) said.

While Scotland made heavy work of their 31-19 win against Italy, their backline did pull the Italians apart, with centre Huw Jones scoring a hattrick.

And with Finn Russell's ability to get quick width on the ball to his wingers Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe, Aki says Ireland must be switched on defensively.

"If Finn Russell sees those things he will absolutely take you into the gutters, and same as Duhan van der Merwe, Huw Jones, Darcy Graham. If anyone sort of switches off, they will absolutely cut you apart.

"We've just got to make sure that we're mentally prepared, mentally sharp and make sure we're on top of it from the first whistle to the last.

"Their threats around the park are unbelievable so if you try to take your foot off