Ireland vs Scotland: Rugby World Cup 2019: What time is kick-off, what TV channel is it on and what is our prediction?

Ireland
Ireland's 31-man squad includes some selection dilemmas. For example, Bundee Aki has been one of Ireland's most consistent performers in the last few years, so much so that he has played every match of the last two Six Nations tournaments.

However, with the return of Robbie Henshaw to full fitness, his place could now be in doubt. Jordan Larmour is one who shows good promise at just 22-years-old and he has gained 15 caps since making his debut in last years Six Nations. Larmour is not guaranteed to start but he could play a big part in Ireland's world cup campaign.


Scotland
Scotland's head coach Gregor Townsend has picked a relatively inexperienced squad, with only Edinburgh's John Barclay having played in two World Cups previously. There are 18 players in total that are yet to taste World Cup action for Scotland, including three-time capped Scott Cummings and Blade Thomson who has made just one appearance for his country so far. Behind Barclay, their next most-capped player is Exeter Chiefs' Stuart Hogg.


What is their head-to-head record?
In 133 games the record between the two teams has been very even, Ireland have won 62 matches whilst Scotland have won 66 with five matches drawn and one abandoned due to a waterlogged pitch. The largest winning margin between the two was a 40-10 win to Ireland in the 2015 Six Nations.

What are they saying?
Ireland's Joe Schmidt:

"It was a difficult thing right from the start to have the 45 that we had. We went down to 40 players and to go from 40 down to 31 was really difficult, but we had a process whereby we looked back through every training, looked through the games.

“There were some guys who obviously had more experience and probably had more credit in the bank and were more established, and there were other guys who were trying to force their way into group. Trying to get a balance of current form versus previous performance, it’s always a very very difficult conundrum to try to solve.

“It was one of those typical selection meetings where maybe 20-25 of the players are listed straight away, and it’s those ones where you’re are trying to get the balance where it’s very difficult to choose between two players – and two players offer slightly different things.

“You’re trying then to narrow down and trying to get the best balance across the squad of the entire 31 because that’s part of what you need to do because you’ve got to make sure you have a cover that’s immediate. Even though you can replace players, there is obviously a big-time delay in that.”

Scotland's Gregor Townsend

"Success would be playing to our best. We’ve got to play to our potential on 22 September (in their opening game against Ireland) and keep that going right through the tournament.

“We know, and we’ve seen it, that when we play to our best we’re a match for any team in the world. Whether that’s how we defended and attacked against New Zealand, or against England or Australia, against those top teams in the world when we’ve played our best we’ve won those games.  Obviously, against New Zealand, we almost beat them. “We’ve got a stronger squad now than we’ve ever had. To have everybody available now should mean that we’ve never been in a better position over the last two or three years to play at our best.”

What are the betting odds?
Ireland to win:3/10

Draw: 20/1

Scotland to win: 13/5

What is our prediction?
With Ireland topping the world rankings they have to be the favorites for this game, with this being Joe Schmidt's last tournament in charge as well the players will be determined for him to go out with a bang. Scotland sits seventh in the world rankings but could cause an upset as the even record between the two sides shows. A win for Ireland is, however, the most likely outcome.

Predicted Score: Ireland 29 Scotland 17

News Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-world-cup/2019/09/12/ireland-vs-scotlandrugby-world-cup-2019-time-kick-off-tv-channel/