Two years ago, when Ireland played Scotland at Lansdowne Road, it would be true to say that confidence was not exactly high in either camp. The spectre of Italy was hanging over the heads of both countries. Ireland had gone to Bologna on the December 20th and lost 37-22. Scotland had gone to Treviso a fortnight before the match against Ireland and lost to Italy 25-21.

The fall-out in Scotland from that defeat was considerable. The then Scotland coach Richie Dixon was a casualty and resigned. Dixon's assistant, David Johnston, was dismissed and departed threatening legal action for what he deemed wrongful dismissal. Such a scenario a matter of days before the start of the Five Nations Championship was scarcely conducive to proper preparation. Enter Jim Telfer to take over the coaching duties and to put his own very identifiable stamp on the team.

Ireland did not go into the match in quite the same level of turmoil. But all was not peace and tranquillity in the Irish camp either. There were suggestions that all was not well between the manager Pat Whelan and the coach Brian Ashton. Ashton was a very nice and very decent man, but the Irish scene just did not suit him. Ashton got the Irish teams he wanted.

Ashton's problem was - and he knew it and subsequently admitted - that he had made a mistake in taking the Irish job to which he was not mentally attuned or suited in temperament. Although he had a base in Dun Laoghaire, he continued to spend most of his time in England and the rugby he watched was in England.

Telfer's call to arms coincided with Scotland putting the problems of Italy behind them and winning the match at Lansdowne Road 17-16. Craig Chalmers kicked the winning penalty late in the game after Ireland had lost two great try chances that would have put the match out of the reach of the Scots.

After the match Ashton, bitterly disappointed, revealed his frustration with the now famous quote: "I do not know whose game plan that was, but it certainly was not mine." Twelve months earlier he had been given a very lucrative contract and in the greatest vote of confidence that had ever been handed to a national coach, he was given a six-year tenure.

A few weeks after the match against Scotland Ashton was no longer Ireland's coach. He was not pushed or shoved - he informed the IRFU that he was suffering from shingles and resigned. That was the background against which the Warren Gatland era began. He had that season coached Connacht with some success and brought the province to the quarter-final of what was then the European Conference.

He was called in to prepare the team to meet France in Paris and Ireland gave a tremendous performance before going down, and unluckily at that, 18-16. Gatland was looked upon as a man who might restore Ireland's fading fortunes, though losses followed against Wales and England.

Gatland, however, was appointed officially as coach and Ireland set off for South Africa in the summer. Defeats of 37-13 and 33-0 ensued in the two Tests.

Ireland won two World Cup qualifying matches against Georgia and Romania last season and then lost to South Africa. A win over Wales in Wembley represented the sole return from the Five Nations series, followed by a win over Italy and then it was a tour to Australia. In the first Test, Ireland suffered a record defeat, losing 46-10. In the second, it was 32-26 to Australia.

A win over Argentina in a World Cup warm-up match in August got the new campaign off on a promising note and wins over the USA and Romania and a defeat by Australia saw Ireland play Argentina in a quarter-final qualifying match in Lens. Ireland went under after leading 21-9 and with it lost a lot of credibility. The pressure was mounting on Gatland. Then came the disaster at Twickenham.

DurinG Gatland's reign, there was one championship win, against Wales last season, and defeats against all the other major rugby playing nations. There was no quick fix nor indeed, on recent evidence, of a slow fix either. But perhaps we should bear in mind that well before Gatland's advent to the Ireland coaching position, the results and many of the performances were disappointing in the extreme.

For instance the last championship match Ireland won at Lansdowne Road was against Wales in 1996. Indeed, since 1993 only two championship matches have been won there. There is no doubt, however, that the coach is now under intense pressure. A win tomorrow against the Scots is crucial. If Ireland lose, then we could be back to the post-Scotland game of two years ago when Ashton departed the scene. The match is crucial not alone for Warren Gatland, but for the players and Irish rugby. Irish followers are owed a performance of substance. They want to see Ireland competitive again.

The last win over Scotland was achieved in 1988. In the interim, one draw was the best Ireland managed. One has to back to the 1880s for a similar period of Scottish dominance. Ireland can beat Scotand at other levels. For instance, since Ireland and Scotland first met in schools matches in 1976, the Scots have won just once and that was in 1985. At under-21 level, Ireland have won every match between the countries. At B and subsequently A levels, the score stands at 7-6 to Scotland with one draw. Yet in the senior sphere, the Scots have dominated since 1989.

It is time to stop that losing sequence. And perhaps there is something of a lucky sign for Ireland in the fact that the match is being played tomorrow, February 19th. Ireland's first win in international rugby was achieved against Scotland - the date February 19th 1881. That came after 10 successive international defeats. Now comes Ireland's first home Championship match this century.

Munster's hour has come with eight players in the team. This is their chance to deliver. The last time Munster had eight representatives on the field in an international was against Wales in Cardiff in 1995. They were Richard Wallace, Philip Danaher, Terry Kingston, Peter Clohessy, Gabriel Fulcher, Anthony Foley, Eddie Halvey and Paul Burke. All but Burke started and he came on in the 20th minute for Eric Elwood. Burke scored two penalty goals and a dropped goal and Ireland won 16-14.