How Scotland can finally end the Ireland hoodoo: Our expert panel on who can fix Gregor Townsend's biggest problem and the Irish weaknesses they can exploit

Scotland got off to the perfect start in round one, surviving a brief Italy scare to put a bonus-point win on the board at Murrayfield. But now it only gets harder. Before a trip to the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, in round three there is the small matter of the visit of world No 2 side Ireland to the capital. There is no love lost at all between these teams - and Scotland's Celtic cousins may even now be their biggest rivals - and Ireland have dominated them in recent years, winning each of the last 10 meetings since 2017, and 26 of the 32 this century.

So how do Scotland end that run? How do they fix their problem positions? And who impressed our expert panel the most so far across the first week of the championship?. Here, former Scotland captains ANDY NICOL and JASON WHITE join our deputy chief sports writer CALUM CROWE to give the lowdown on week two. How would you explain the rivalry between Scotland and Ireland?. Scotland have lost their last 10 meetings with Ireland, and 26 of the 32 this century.

It has become a brutal rivalry and one of the hottest-contested match-ups of the Six Nations. ANDY NICOL: It is a rivalry that has changed over the years. It used to be very friendly, we played hard on the pitch but always had a great night with the Irish boys afterwards. And then Ireland got good and started winning things! This changed the relationship and turned it quite toxic, really. There was an issue with Ronan O’Gara accusing Scotland of choking him and then Munster and Glasgow, or to be more specific, Ryan Wilson, had a number of run-ins which didn’t help the national relationship.

Ireland believe Scotland are all talk and no action. Scotland have managed to win in Paris, London and Cardiff in the last few years to stop a long run, so this is the last monkey to get off our back, beating Ireland in the Six Nations. JASON WHITE: It is a genuine rivalry that has been brewing for a few years, especially since Glasgow and Munster had some really tetchy, physical games, with accusations of certain players being targeted.

Ireland will be desperate not to let Scotland break their winning streak and I expect our boys to come out firing. CALUM CROWE: For me, I think a lot of it comes from the Irish fans and media. There’s a sense that they almost seem to look down on Scotland. There’s a slight sense of arrogance at times with certain things that are said and written. There's a feeling among senior figures in the Scotland camp that Ireland don't respect them.

Scotland dominated the rivalry between 1986 and 1999, but the tables have now turned. There’s a feeling among some senior figures in the Scotland camp that Ireland don’t respect them. Scotland are viewed as all talk and no trousers. They are mocked and ridiculed by a team who were once very much their equal. Indeed, it used to be the Scots who dominated this fixture. In a long run which spanned 1986-1999, Scotland won 13 of 15 games against Ireland and were Grand Slam winners in that time.

Now the boot is on the other foot. Ireland love to gloat about it, love to mock Scotland at every opportunity. Only Townsend and his players can change that narrative and shut them up. What do you expect from Ireland? Does the absence of Andy Farrell make them weaker?. WHITE: I believe we will see the same approach from Ireland as we have over the last number of years, although I don’t get the feeling they are as strong this year.

There is huge pressure on whoever is picked at stand-off to nail the jersey and fill the hole left by Johnny Sexton retiring. Their strength is in the number of players from Leinster and how used they are to winning and not getting too twitchy when the scoreboard is close. Simon Easterby (left) has stepped into Andy Farrell's shoes for this year's Six Nations. This Ireland team are definitely beatable this year, says former Scotland captain Jason White.

I do, however, see this Ireland team as definitely beatable this year and the absence of Farrell is a positive for us. Simon Easterby is an excellent coach, and man, but he is not at the level of Farrell at the moment. NICOL: On the evidence of that second-half performance against England in week one, the absence of Farrell has made no difference whatsoever. Ireland were brilliant and Simon Easterby, the interim coach, went to his bench quite early to switch stand-off Sam Prendergast for Jack Crowley.

It was a shrewd and brave move. Ireland soaked up everything England threw at them, which was considerable at times, and then blew them away with their intensity and quality in the second half. It was a very good lesson in that you have to play for a full 80 minutes to get anything from Ireland. They have dominated Scotland for years now, not losing since 2017, and they will be desperate to keep that run going.