Simon Easterby urges Ireland to be wary of dangerous Scotland
Ireland's interim coach Simon Easterby believes Guinness Six Nations rivals Scotland are capable of being one of the most dangerous sides in world rugby.
Following a 27-22 bonus-point win over England in round one, Ireland continue their pursuit of an unprecedented third consecutive championship crown on Sunday afternoon at Murrayfield.
The back-to-back champions have dominated recent meetings between the two countries, winning 14 of the last 15 fixtures, including 10 in a row, dating back more than a decade.
Scotland have registered a number of statement results during the eight-year reign of head coach Gregor Townsend but struggled for consistency and not won the tournament since the final Five Nations in 1999 – 12 months before Easterby made his championship debut as a player.
"It's going to be no different in terms of the physicality and the attritional nature of the game that we saw out there for the first 35 or 40 minutes," Easterby said, referring back to the England game.
"But the last few years under Gregor, they’ve brought a huge amount of intent in their attacking play.
"They’re a very good attacking team and make it harder for teams to get momentum because of the way they stick in the tackle and they make it slow.
"But certainly the way they attack and the way they approach the game is as good as anyone on their day."
Ireland’s defence was caused plenty of problems by England during a first half which they finished 10-5 behind.
In Easterby’s first match as stand-in head coach, the hosts wrestled control in the second period before a couple of late lapses allowed Steve Borthwick’s visitors to pinch a losing bonus point.
Scotland, meanwhile, won 31-19 at home to Italy in their championship opener.
"I guess defensively we