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An emerging force against a wounded champion. Flair high octane against ruthless structure. A half-flying fly in front of a sports colossus.
Scotland, Growing Power of Gregor Townsend, defeated Italy in the first round of the Six Nations despite a defensive delay.
Ireland, defending champion, arrives at Murrayfield on Saturday after being beaten by England in Dublin.
How will Joe Schmidt's men react to this loss? Can Scotland continue its ascent and claim another scalp? Here are four key questions for the second round.
Is Scotland the real deal?
Scotland have won their last seven Six Nations matches at Murrayfield, including an impressive win against Ireland two years ago.
Last November, they led a monstrous closure in South Africa in Edinburgh and just over a year earlier in the All Blacks world rankings.
The Townsend men swept Italy without the slightest trouble. Beat this Irish team, the second best in the world, even after their humiliation in England, will be much more difficult.
This game will tell us a lot about where Scotland is and if it has the skills and the drive to mount a credible title offer.
How will Ireland react to a rare defeat?
Do you remember that Schmit's Ireland suffered a physical pounding as monumental as it did against England, not to mention its own terrain?
Eddie Jones's players were beaten as a result of the clashes, making 49 tackles over the top six of Ireland, breaking and in the air.
That was only the second defeat of Ireland in 20 games. Andrew Porter had never lost during his career of 11 selections, while Jacob Stockdale, James Ryan, Jordan Larmour and Bundee Aki only suffered defeat for the second time.
Scotland may not have the courage to brutalize Ireland like England, but does an Irish reaction call it, or can the hosts find another way to victory?
Who will win the battle of the game leaders?
Finn Russell excelled in the first round victory of Scotland against Italy
The Finn Russell mogul against the world's ultra-intense world player, Johnny Sexton.
Russell plays with flamboyance and is flourishing at Racing 92 after joining the Glasgow Warriors Paris club in the summer. He seems to have rid his inconsistencies of his game in France.
The half flying shined against Italy with two kicks aids and excellent decisions under pressure. You can bet that the Irish defense will try to disrupt its flow of play.
Sexton is ruthless and orchestrates a more structured – and effective – Irish game plan. Lion and British twice, he has won three titles in Pro14, four in European Champion's Cup and three titles at Six Nations.
England prevented the Leinster from exercising its usual driving influence last week. Getting the Russell ball in front of the foot and smothering Sexton will be key to Scotland's chances of success.
Will the depth of Scotland hold?
The list of Scottish injuries from before the tournament was very important, a group that grew to 20 when Hamish Watson damaged a hand during the Edinburgh win over Montpellier.
Sam Skinner, the lock / flanker-shaped Exeter Chiefs, and WP Nel, head of Edinburgh, joined them after being forced to leave Italy.
But if other front-line operators such as John Barclay, Zander Fagerson, Blade Thomson, David Denton and Duncan Taylor remain on the sidelines, some of the wounded are available again.
This week, Townsend welcomes Sean Maitland's rear wing and locks Jonny Gray alongside him, hooker Fraser Brown and center Pete Horne on the bench.
Although Scotland is closer to its 23 strongest countries than last week, it will still be a mammoth test of their resources.
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