Jack Conan reveals why Finn Russell is Scotland's danger-man

Conan is eyeing up his incoming opponents whom he believes are 'world class' with Gregor Townsend's side 'peaking at the right time' to end Ireland's 11-match winning streak in this Celtic clash.

Spearheaded by the self-declared 'Lionel Messi of Rugby' Finn Russell, Scotland head to Dublin with a full head of steam. Buoyed with a tidal wave of momentum following last Saturday's incredible 50-40 victory over France, Scotland blew the Six Nations title race wide open ahead of the closing round this weekend.

The winner of this fifth round match will then face an anxious wait, as should France lose to England later that night, then either Ireland or Scotland will claim the Six Nations title.

"I think they're probably playing their best." Conan said, at Ireland's training camp in Dublin. "They've got some world-class players in there who are peaking at the right time. So, fair play to them. Obviously, after the disappointing opening day, not too strange to ourselves after how we went against France.

"[After] they're disappointing loss to Italy on the first day, they've bounced back really well and they're playing some great rugby. We need to be at our best and push on from the levels of performance, even from Twickenham that we had through the week. We obviously haven't hit our straps as much as we did that day [in win vs England]. That'll be the challenge for us, to be better again than we were then."

Giving his assessment of the incoming Scotland side, Conan picked out Finn Russell as the man to keep quiet at the Aviva Stadium. The majority of the Ireland team spent the Summer on the Lions tour with the flying Scotsman, with Conan one such tourist who now knows all to well what tricks Russell can bring.

"[He is a] Fantastic player and someone if you give time and space to, he can pick any lock and he can pull a rabbit out of a hat and do unbelievable things. When his team's on the front foot, he looks fantastic doesn't he? Great fella, unbelievable rugby player all the ability in the world."

Aside from their mercurial fly half, Conan expressed how he is eager to get stuck into Scotland's forward pack, who turned the French forwards inside-out this past weekend at Murrayfield.

"They're an unbelievably well coached, well drilled team." Conan said. "They're a good pack, especially the back row, their back row is going really well at the moment. We need to be physically right on the edge, winning collisions. That's something that since the France game, has been a noted improvement across the campaign. That won't change from this week."

Whilst Conan admitted that he was busy with his family life to spend this past weekend watching the 90-point Scotland-France epic, he did catch glimpses from the incredible contest. The back row shared how no-one expected to see Gregor Townsend's side get the better of Les Bleus, in what was a milestone win for his incoming opponents for Super Saturday.

"Yes, I watched 10 minutes up to half-time. You're thinking, well, France, you never count them out. So, they could easily come back into this. They [Scotland] got a bit of a head of steam in the second half, and then France came back a little bit and put in a few scores late on. I don't think anyone was expecting that scoreline, really."

Turning his attention towards his own Six Nations campaign, and Conan is hoping to return to the match day squad for a fourth hit-out in the tournament. The back row was on the bench for the opening round trip to Paris, before starting against Italy and Wales in recent weeks. An untimely illness forced the Leinster man to withdrawl on the day of the historic win over England, as Cian Prendergast replaced Conan for the clash in Twickenham.

"I was gutted to miss probably one of the greatest days in Irish sporting history. Not a part of it, but I sat in the hotel room by myself and watched it. I was unbelievably proud of the lads because I thought that performance had been building for a few weeks. We hadn't been as good as we'd want to be leading up to it, then you're going to Twickenham against a very good English side.

"So, I was delighted for the lads. But, I knew I had to go out and perform well myself over the weekend with just how well lads had gone. You know, Beirney [Tadhg Beirne] playing six, Caelan [Doris] had a fantastic day. Josh [van der Flier] Nick [Timoney] and Cian [Prendergast] as well were brilliant when they got on. It's definitely a bit of fuel to the fire, to make sure that lads aren't passing you by and you're making the most of your own opportunities."

Conan returned to the Ireland squad for the latest triumph over Wales, as he started on the blind-side flank for a try-scoring contribution at the Aviva Stadium. Looking back upon the latest of his 58 Ireland caps, the 33-year-old is savouring each and every opportunity he gets to wear the iconic green jersey.

"I enjoyed it, when you're out there with your mates and you're running around, you're living a dream. You always have to remember to enjoy it because, you know, you never know how many more days you have left in green. So, it's important to make the most of it."