IRELAND CAPTAIN Johnny Sexton believes that the current Scottish team under Gregor Townsend is the 'best Scottish side he's ever faced in his career'.
Scotland's rugby team for years were never a threat to any of the other teams in the Six Nations and often failed to overcome the likes of Ireland, England, France, and Wales, but Scottish rugby in 2023 is in a vastly different place to where it was.
In the Six Nations this year Scotland beat England in the opening game at Twickenham and followed that up with a hammering of Warren Gatland's Wales in the second week.
For context this was the first time that Scotland had won back-to-back games since 1996.
The Grand Slam dream ended with a defeat to France in Paris in week three, but the performance received a ton of plaudits from fans and pundits alike
Ireland, who are the number one ranked team in the world head to Murrayfield this weekend to face a noticeably confident Scotland side in Edinburgh.
Ireland's last defeat to Scotland was in the 27–22 defeat in 2017, but fortunes for both sides have vastly improved since then.
Sexton, who has been ever-present in Ireland teams believes that the current Scotland side deserve all their plaudits and that this Scottish side are the best he's played against
Watch Johnny Sexton's Press Conference as he looks ahead to Sunday's battle against Scotland at Murrayfield ⬇️#TeamOfUs | #GuinnessSixNations
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) March 9, 2023
"I would say it's definitely the best Scottish team I’ve ever played," Sexton claimed on Thursday.
"I think some of the results show that, beating England regularly, beating France a few times, obviously beating Wales as well recently, so they’ve had some big wins over the last number of years, and they’ve been building nicely.
"They’ve brought in a lot of new players over the last couple of years as well which has made the team stronger. So, it’s definitely the best, yeah."
Victory for Scotland would mean that they will win their first Triple Crown since 1990. Also, Scotland can still win the Championship provided they beat Ireland on Sunday and results go their way on the final weekend next week.
"Yeah, it’s something that we’re going to have to acknowledge because it’s going to make for a very special atmosphere over there, I’m sure. It always is a very special atmosphere even if there was nothing on the line," Sexton added.
"But it’s a huge game now with them going for a Triple Crown and still in the championship, and us obviously in the championship and obviously wanting to try and win a Triple Crown ourselves.
"It’s a massive game, so it's great to be a part of."
Ireland's game against Scotland starts at 3pm on Sunday.
You can watch the game live on RTE TWO.
See More: Johnny Sexton, Rugby, Scotland, Six Nations
