Jamison Gibson-Park: No reason Scotland can't compete for title
Jamison Gibson-Park doesn't see any reason why "classy" Scotland can’t compete for the Guinness Six Nations title.
Gregor Townsend’s Scotland, who out-scored Italy five tries to one in their 31-19 victory, have been steadily improving in recent seasons.
Townsend, who took over in 2017, has led Scotland to multiple wins over England and France but consistency across the championship has eluded the Dark Blues, last winners of the title in 1999.
Saturday’s victory over the Azzurri added to autumn wins over Fiji, Portugal and Australia.
Scrum-half Gibson-Park was player of the match as Ireland opened their campaign with a 27-22 bonus-point win over England on Saturday and was asked if he believed Scotland, who host Simon Easterby's side on Sunday, were genuine contenders.
"100%, they’re a classy side," he said.
"I didn’t get to see much of their match today but they’re playing good footy, and they’re stacked full of really good individuals, so it will be a tough challenge.
"I know it’s been a long time since they won but there’s no reason they can’t."
Ireland have been Scotland’s bogey team since 2017, winning 10 games in a row across the Six Nations, World Cup and Autumn Nations Cup.
The New Zealand native, who scored the first try against England on his 39th cap, knows that Ireland, ranked two in the world and back-to-back champions, always have a target on their back.
"That’s the case for a lot of teams now," said the 32-year-old (below) .
"We’ve kind of been near enough to the top of the rankings now for a while and like, I know myself that if I’m coming up against a quality side you want to put your best performance out there as best you can.
"Next week will be no different.
"Potentially [it’s the best Scotland team], yeah, but what