Sport

What happens if Ireland draw, win, or lose against Scotland

Ireland's chances of topping their Rugby World Cup pool in the Rugby World Cup have greatly improved following their win over South Africa on Saturday night in Paris.

Ireland and the Boks played one of the games of the year at the Stade de France, with Ireland emerging victorious with an 8-13 score.

This win now means that Ireland is almost certain to face three-time winners New Zealand in the quarter-finals on October 14.

However, before that, Ireland will play Scotland on October 7 in their final pool game, and it is highly likely that they will defeat their Celtic neighbours in two weeks.

Nevertheless, sport can produce unexpected storylines, and the potential outcomes of games do not always go as expected. The other favourite to advance from the pool, South Africa, can still finish at the top of the pool if the results favour them in two weeks.

Here are the Rugby World Cup Pool B scenarios regarding the final game:

Ireland's Rugby World Cup pool (Rugby World Cup screenshot)

In two weeks, Ireland will face Scotland. Before that, South Africa will play Tonga on October 1, and Romania will play Scotland on September 30. It is expected that both South Africa and Scotland will win these matches with bonus points.

On October 7, a straightforward win puts Ireland through to the quarter-finals. That's the easy bit. Overall, Ireland and Scotland have played each other on 140 occasions since their first meeting in 1877. Ireland have won 69 matches, whilst Scotland have won 66 matches. There have also been five drawn matches between the two sides. It's likely that Ireland will win again.

Although, If Ireland loses to Scotland and they both end up with the same number of points, Ireland are likely to be eliminated from the tournament because the first tiebreaker is down to head-to-head results.

However, if Ireland loses but manages to earn a bonus point against Scotland, they still have a good chance of advancing. Getting two bonus points would secure their position as group winners.

There is also a scenario in which three teams finish with the same number of points. This would occur if Scotland wins with a bonus point and Ireland only manages to earn one bonus point. In this case, Scotland would be at a disadvantage.

If Ireland doesn't win and doesn't earn any bonus points against Scotland, they can still advance from the pool, but it's a challenging task. South Africa would need to fail to secure a bonus point win against Tonga, leaving both Ireland and South Africa with 14 points, possibly alongside Scotland.

If Ireland and South Africa end up tied with Scotland at the top of the pool, Ireland would advance due to their victory over the Springboks.