Johnny Sexton convinced Ireland are heading in right direction

Captain Johnny Sexton insists Ireland are on the right path regardless of whether they end up as Guinness Six Nations champions.

Victory over Scotland this weekend will guarantee the Triple Crown, but Irish dreams of topping the final standings are also reliant on England avoiding defeat to Grand Slam-chasing France in Paris.

Andy Farrell’s men kept themselves in title contention going into the final round with a stuttering 32-15 success away to Eddie Jones’ 14-man side.

Three-time Six Nations winner Sexton wants to improve on Saturday’s Twickenham showing as Ireland attempt to underline recent progress with a memorable end to the tournament.

“I remember talking to you guys (the media) 12 months ago or longer and things weren’t going great from a results point of view, but we were sticking in there and our confidence levels were the same as they are now,” said the 36-year-old

“We’re confident in what we’re doing and where we’re going.

“Will silverware make that any better or worse? It might validate it a little bit, but I still think we’re on the right path.

We showed some great things against England, but we hope we're a lot better this week- Ireland captain Johnny Sexton

“We’re not really thinking like that. We’re thinking it’s a great opportunity for us and we need to keep building, keep improving every game we play.

“We showed some great things against England, but we hope we’re a lot better this week.”

Ireland kick off against the Scots in Dublin just over three hours earlier than England run out at Stade de France.

Irish hopes of a Grand Slam were wiped out by a narrow 30-24 round-two defeat in the French capital, but they have sufficiently recovered from that setback to remain in hot pursuit of Fabien Galthie’s