Ireland vs Scotland Betting Preview, Odds & Predictions

Ralph Staniforth

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Last updated: 13 Mar 2026

Ralph Staniforth 13 Mar 2026

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Ireland and Scotland compete for the Six Nations title.
Scotland seeks its first-ever title, Ireland maintains a strong record.
Match outcome likely influenced by set piece and team injuries.

Expired

Scotland can run Ireland close in Dublin (Getty Images)

This Ireland vs Scotland prediction preview looks ahead to the final round of the Six Nations where both teams still have a chance of winning the title. Scotland are level with France at the top of the table on 16 points with Ireland two points back – the winner here will go top with France due to kick off later on Saturday evening.

Match Details
Recent Form
Head-to-Head Record
Team News
Key Stats
Match Analysis
Betting Markets to Watch
Latest Odds

Scotland are looking for their first-ever Six Nations title while this match will also be the decider on the Triple Crown considering both Ireland and Scotland have already beaten England and Wales.

Match Details

Match	Ireland vs Scotland
Competition	Six Nations Championship
Date	14 March 2026
Time	16:10 SAST
Venue	Aviva Stadium, Dublin

Recent Form

Team	Last 5 Matches
Ireland	LLWWW
Scotland	WLWWW

Ireland lost heavily in round 1 but won their following three games, despite two very average home performances. While the 42-21 victory against England at Twickenham was a strong performance, Ireland only narrowly beat Italy (20-13) and Wales (27-17) on home soil either side of that Twickenham result.

Scotland have a similar record as they lost to Italy in Rome in round 1 on a very wet and windy afternoon but bounced back with wins over England, Wales and France. Scotland were superb at home against England (31-20) and France (50-40) but had to come from behind in Cardiff to beat Wales 26-23.

Head-to-Head Record

Date	Fixture	Result	Competition
19 Mar 2022	Ireland vs Scotland	26-5	Six Nations
12 Mar 2023	Scotland vs Ireland	7-22	Six Nations
7 Oct 2023	Ireland vs Scotland	36-14	2023 Rugby World Cup
16 Mar 2024	Ireland vs Scotland	17-13	Six Nations
9 February 2025	Scotland vs Ireland	18-32	Six Nations

Ireland have won their last 11 matches against Scotland, dating back to 2018 with the Scots last victory coming in 2017 during the Six Nations. We can go back as far as 2010 when Scotland last won in Dublin.

Team News

Ireland: Andy Farrell has a few selection headaches with Andy Porder and Paddy McCarthy both out with injury. Jeremy Loughman has also been ruled out which creates a problem for the coach at loosehead. Tom O’Toole, who came off the bench last week against Wales at loosehead, may get the nod to start but Farrell has called up uncapped Billy Bohan to the squad as a more natural loosehead.

Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw are both available this week again to return as a centre pairing but Garry Ringrose and Stuart McCloskey have done well in their absence – it will be interesting to see what Farrell decides to do.

Scotland: Gregor Townsend also has some injury concerns ahead of this crucial clash. First-choice locks, Gregor Brown and Scott Cummings are both injured after last weekend’s win over France. While Townsend has options here, given the importance of the tight five in rugby, this could be crucial to how the game pans out.

In more positive news, Kyle Steyn is believed to be fine after being carried off against France after scoring a brace of tries. The backline is expected to remain largely unchanged.

Key Stats

Ireland have won their last 11 matches against Scotland.
Ireland have won their last 3 matches.
Ireland have won their last 9 home matches against Scotland.
Ireland have covered the -5.5 handicap in 4 of their last 5 matches against Scotland.
Scotland have won their last 3 matches.
Scotland have failed to win in Dublin since 2010.

Match Analysis

This should be a very interesting tactical matchup. It is no secret that both Ireland and Scotland like to play off quick ball, although slightly differently. Ireland, are far more structured, attacking off pods in an attempt to draw the defence in narrow while Scotland attack the fringes, try to offload a lot and are very reliant on Finn Russell to create magic at flyhalf.

However, in order to play with quick ball, the forwards, particularly the tight five, need to get the better of the opposition. Neither side are known for their strength at set piece – Ireland in particular have struggled at scrum-time, although Scotland, while not poor, are not a dominant scrummaging side.

My biggest concern for Scotland is how the absence of their first-choice locks will affect their lineout defence and attack. Even if they manage to get some dominance in the scrum, the lineout could play a far bigger factor in this fixture.

Ireland’s inconsistency this season makes this a tough match to predict but an exciting prospect to watch. In Dublin, they have been quite poor actually, only scraping wins against Italy and Wales. They still have question marks over a few players, particularly stalwarts who are on the decline.

Despite both sides enjoying being able to play off fast ball, I feel this game will be decided in the set piece and the tight five. I am willing to overlook Scotland’s atrocious record in Dublin, but with key players missing in their second row, I am hesitant to back them over 80 minutes.

Betting Markets to Watch

Handicap

Ireland are favourites with the handicap set at -5.5 for them. This could be tight just like their 2024 clash against Scotland in Dublin – Ireland won 17-13.

Try Scorers

Darcy Graham has scored three tries this season while Kyle Steyn on the other Scottish wing scored two last week. For Ireland, Jacob Stockdale, while not in the best form, is always a worthy candidate.

Total Match Points

This market isn’t available yet, but it will be in the coming days. Take a close look at the weather forecast for the time of the game before taking this option. Two of the last three matches between the two sides have seen exactly 50 points.