Gregor Townsend says he does not view Scotland's Six Nations showdown with Ireland on Sunday as a "needle game", and insists ending a 10-match losing run to the Irish provides no extra motivation.
The Scots have not beaten Ireland during Townsend's reign as head coach, with their last victory in the fixture coming in 2017 under Vern Cotter.
Much has been made of the rivalry that has developed between the two sides in recent years, but Townsend says Sunday's match at Murrayfield carries no more significance for his side than any other in the Six Nations.
Scotland have lost the past 10 meetings with Ireland, with just one victory in 15.
"Teams want to build up something to provide extra motivation, so maybe it's more on the Irish side or the Irish media side that there's this rivalry or needle to give them extra motivation on why they want to win again," he said.
"Obviously they've won this fixture a number of times but we say this every game, we respect Ireland a lot, admire what they've done over the last few years, but it doesn't stand out as a needle game for us."
Comments
Post a Comment