Bookies put Ireland ahead but fail to put the wind up Scottish fans

It's a golden rule of fashion that hemlines rise when times are good. Mercifully, this does not apply to kilts. Otherwise, after seeing their team beat England and France already this spring, the Scottish rugby fans arriving in Dublin last night would have presented even more of a challenge for sensitive eyes.

Some things never change and in boom-time or recession the Scots kilt still ends at the knee. But most of the fans wearing it yesterday were bullish about today's match.

And if their predictions are accurate, it's the Irish who'll find themselves short of cover at Lansdowne Road.

Archie Johnston from Edinburgh, sauntering up Grafton Street in Borders tartan and a lowland bonnet, was not altogether surprised by the team's change of fortunes. They had good players last year, but they "could na' knit togaither". They were knitting now, he added.

With England beaten, he confessed that "nothing else matters" this season.

This was

not necessarily good news for the home team. The Scots would still have too much for Ireland, Archie predicted, on a scoreline of "25-20".

The bookmakers disagree, rating Ireland 10 points better: the handicap at which they offer both teams at even-money. "I quite fancy that," said Malcolm Dewar from Dundee, as he strolled down Temple Bar. "It's going to be very tight. Even if Ireland win, it won't be by more than a score."

His friend Gerry Gormley did not foresee this happening, anyway.

The Scottish defence, impenetrable this season except when the team was reduced to 14 men against Wales, would swing it for the visitors, he said. But there was a note of caution from a quartet of fans on Aston Quay. Maybe this was because they'd just crossed the Ha'penny Bridge where, in yesterday's blustery conditions, kilt wearers were vulnerable to the up and under. Then again, three of them were wearing trousers.

Even the one with the kilt, Ian McMillan, was not prepared to be a braveheart.

He was confident there'd be no repeat of the group's last visit to Dublin, when the Scots were "hammered". But this one was too close to call, he said: "There'll only be about five points in it, either way."

SportsSaturday: Match preview and Peter Stringer interview.