RTÉ Rugby World Cup Podcast: Rory Lawson and James Downey look ahead to Ireland v Scotland showdown

Neil Treacy is joined by former Scotland scrum-half Rory Lawson and James Downey as the build-up to the defining Pool B clash between Ireland and Scotland begins to ramp up.

Neil is with the Ireland camp in Tours and has noticed the self-confidence that exudes from the Irish players, thanks in part to the work of performance coach Gary Keegan.

Rory does not think Scotland will be at all daunted by facing their Six Nations rivals, despite the recent record against Ireland, given the nature of knockout rugby (6:43).

Rory sees a huge difference in the Irish approach since Andy Farrell replaced Joe Schmidt, saying the simplicity and freedom to adapt is admirable (27:46).

James cannot see too many changes to the Ireland team that beat South Africa, despite the growing calls for Conor Murray to start at scrum-half after his huge cameo in Paris (30:20).

Rory looks at the couple of approaches that Scotland could take, with the selections in midfield like to be the telltale (34:10).

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Listen to live commentary of Ireland v Scotland on Saturday on RTÉ Radio 1, or follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News app.