Ireland head into Saturday’s clash with Scotland at Murrayfield knowing they need a victory to keep their Six Nations hopes alive. In 20 opening Six Nations fixtures - including 2019 - Ireland have only failed to win on six occasions, with 14 first weekend successes (as a caveat, seven of these were against Italy). Ireland players dejected after their opening round defeat to Scotland in 2017. Closing victories over Italy and Scotland saw Ireland finish the Championship in third place. Overall finish: 3rdThe winning starts -2001 - Italy 22 Ireland 412002 - Ireland 54 Wales 102003 - Scotland 6 Ireland 362005 - Italy 17 Ireland 282006 - Ireland 26 Italy 162007 - Wales 9 Ireland 192008 - Ireland 16 Italy 112009 - Ireland 30 France 212010 - Ireland 29 Italy 112011 - Italy 11 Ireland 132013 - Wales 22 Ireland 302014 - Ireland 28 Scotland 62015 - Italy 3 Ireland 262018 - France 13 Ireland 15

Source: The Irish Times February 08, 2019 09:56 UTC