As the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations progresses, anticipation builds for the upcoming clash between Scotland and Ireland in Edinburgh on Sunday 9th February.
Head-to-head
There have been 142 fixtures between the two sides with the first dating back to 1877. Ireland have won on 71 occasions while Scotland have won 66 (drawn five).
Ireland have won seven of their last Six Nations encounters against Scotland – winning 10 across all competitions – which is their longest winning run in this fixture.
Scotland have won just four of their 25 matches against Ireland in the Guinness Men’s Six Nations (L21), with their 16% win rate in this fixture being their lowest against any nation in the Championship.
Scotland’s last victory over Ireland came in 2017 as they snuck a 27-22 victory at home. In 2024’s Super Saturday, Ireland ran out 17-13 winners at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on their way to being crowned back-to-back Champions.
Current form
In their opening match, Ireland secured a hard-fought 27-22 victory over England. Interim head coach Simon Easterby praised the team’s performance, highlighting the hard work shown by his team and the bench’s ability to add power. “The guys who started laid a good foundation as it wasn’t easy,” he said. “It was physical and all you’d expect. The bench benefited from the work done.”
Easterby stressed the importance of the Scotland game, saying: “It sets us up for a huge challenge in Murrayfield. They are off a good result as well. It is an important place to go and get a result. It will be incredibly tough.”
Ireland heads into this match having won 13 of their last 14 fixtures in the Guinness Men’s Six Nations (L1), although their solitary defeat in that run came in their most recent away match, against England in 2024.
Scotland saw off a resurgent Italian side, with the game finishing 31-19 to Scotland. Their lethal backline was to the fore, spearheaded by a Huw Jones hat-trick, and while they may have looked slightly nervy in patches, they now look ahead to taking another step towards claiming their first Championship title since 1999.
Stats dive
Scotland put in an impressive all-round display last weekend versus Italy, as they made the most carries (162) and gained the most metres (529) of any side in the opening round. They were also impressive in defence, being the only team to concede fewer than 400 metres (381).
This fixture will see both teams battle to keep hold of the ball, as Scotland and Ireland had 58% share of possession against Italy and England respectively – the highest rate of any nation last weekend.
Scotland’s Huw Jones scored three tries in Round 1 and has now scored 15 in total in the Guinness Men’s Six Nations. Two more would see him become Scotland’s top try-scorer in the Championship, overtaking Stuart Hogg (16). Jones has scored a try in each of his last three Six Nations games against Ireland.
In addition to assisting three tries, Ireland winger James Lowe also gained the most metres (123) of any player across the opening round of the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations, just ahead of Scotland duo Blair Kinghorn (111) and Darcy Graham (105), who were the only two other players to gain 100+ metres.
Cian Healy could make his 66th Guinness Men’s Six Nations appearance for Ireland in this match, moving him past Brian O’Driscoll (65) as the player with the most Championship appearances for Ireland. Only Alun Wyn Jones (67 for Wales) and Sergio Parisse (69 for Italy) have made more for any nation.
FACTS
● Scotland have won just four of their 25 matches against Ireland in the Guinness Men’s Six Nations (L21), with thei r 16% win rate in this fixture bei ng their lowest against any nati on in the Championship.
● Ireland have won each of their last 10 Test matches against Scotland, their longest ever winning run in this fi their last defeat agai nst Scotland came in the Six Nations at Murrayfield, however, a 22-27 loss in Round of the 2017 edition
● Scotland defeated Italy in the opening round of this year’s Championship and will be aiming to open a Men’s Six Nations campaign with two victories for just the second time after 2023; this is just the second time they’ve started their campaign with back-to-back home games after 2019, when they defeated Italy in the opening round before losi
● Ireland have won 13 of their last 14 fixtures in the Guinness Men’s Six Nations (L1), although their solitary defeat in that run came in their most recent away match in the Championship (v England in 2024) – they had won five in a row on the road before that defeat, their best ever run in the Six Nations.
● Scotland made the most carries (162) and gained the most metres (529) of any side in the opening round of this year’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations and were also the only team to concede fewer than 400 metres last weekend (381).
● Scotland (13/13) and Ireland (23/23) were the only teams to retain possession from 100% of their lineouts i of this year’s Guinness Men’s Six Nati ons – in fact, Irel and’s 23 lineouts without l n Round 1 osing any was the most by any team to maintain a 100% success rate in a Six Nations match.
● Scotland recorded a 58% share of possession against Italy in their opening Guinness Men’s Six Nations match, while Irel and recorded a 58% share of territory against England, with both rates being the highest of any nations last weekend.
● Scotland’s Huw Jones scored three tries in Round 1 and has now scored 15 in total in the Guinness Men’s Six Nations, two more would see him become Scotland’s top try scorer in the Championship, overtaking Stuart Hogg (16); Jones has scored a try in each of his last three Six Nations games against Ireland.
● In addition to assisting three tries, Ireland winger James Lowe also gained the most metres (123) of any player across the opening round of the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations, just ahead of Scotland duo Blair Kinghorn (111) and Darcy Graham (105) who were the only two other players to gain 100+ metres.
● Cian Healy could make his 66th Guinness Men’s Six Nations appearance for Ireland in this match, moving him past Brian O’Driscoll (65) as the pl ayer with the most Championship appearances for Ireland – only Alun Wyn Jones (67 for Wales) and Sergio Parisse (69 for Italy) have made more for any nation.
Previous results
2024: Ireland won 17-13 in Dublin
2023: Ireland won 22-7 at Murrayfield
2022: Ireland won 26-5 in Dublin
2021: Ireland won 27-24 at Murrayfield
2020: Ireland won 31-16 in Dublin
2020: Ireland won 19-12 in Dublin
2019: Ireland won 27-3 in Yokohama
2019: Ireland won 22-13 at Murrayfield
2018: Ireland won 28-8 in Dublin
The teams
Scotland: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge (cc), 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Jamie Ritchie, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Stafford McDowall
Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 James Ryan, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Garry Ringrose
Venue: Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: James Doleman (NZR)
Assistant Referees: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR), Pierre Brousset (FFR)
TMO: Richard Kelly (NZR)
FPRO: Andrew Jackson (RFU)
