FRENCH NOTES:The loser today is facing the reality of a very bad season. For the Scots that means 0-4 and for Ireland 1-1-2, writes MATT WILLIAMS

ANYONE IN business knows that “the statements of accounts” are the basis of a viable enterprise. Each game of rugby generates a statement of accounts. If correctly analysed these numbers can inform on what actions teams should take in the future.

Let’s apply American analysis to Saturday’s Six Nations match at the Aviva. Scotland are 0 from 3. Ireland are 1-1-1.

There are lies, damn lies and statistics but no matter how you cut it up, for both teams, those numbers are poor.

It is not beyond reason that both teams could be coming into this game carrying numbers of 3 and 0. Winning in the Six Nations is about inches not yards. The margins between success and failure are tiny.

Against both England and France, Scotland should have, could have but didn’t. If Ireland had played with the same intensity in defence against Wales as they did in Paris they would be 2-1-0 and still be alive in the championship.

If only.

The numbers don’t lie and now both teams are scrapping to attain mediocrity. The loser today is facing the reality of a very bad season. For the Scots that means 0-4 and for Ireland 1-1-2.

The number of players in Scotland is tiny in comparison to the other major rugby countries, including Ireland. Therefore, the talent pool is small. Answers have been searched for in “Kilted Kiwis” and a large number of Anglo-Scots being capped. I have no trouble with either of these – however, the Scottish public do.

The long-term goal is to increase the talent pool of players in the Scottish game. In the medium term it is also about giving more Scottish players the opportunity to play professional rugby. If you look at the geography of Scotland, the professional game is played in a straight line across the country between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Professional teams no longer exist in the traditional rugby heartland of the Borders region or to the north in Aberdeen or Perth.

The economic realities have forced the professional teams to be reduced to two with a significant population of elite Scottish players contracted in England, Wales and France. Internally, the Scottish Rugby Union remains divided. There are those who wish to function like Argentina, in having other unions pay for their professionals, only bringing them home for internationals. The other smaller faction understand what it takes for Scottish rugby to flourish by managing their elite players in professional teams.

Innovative ideas, such as taking the Borders franchise and basing it in London, were wrongly discarded. The massive population of Scots living inside the M25 in London would have generated both a financial boon and provided another much-needed avenue for Scotland to develop international talent.

Imagine London-Scottish playing Munster in London. Not only would the London-based Scots turn up, so would every Munster supporter living in the south of England. This means another economically viable Scottish professional team.

The numbers stacked up. The arguments, both rugby and financial, were positive. It was original, innovative and progressive. But these are not words often associated with the SRU.

The number of line breaks Scotland made against England was nine for no tries. Against Wales it was 10 for no tries.

The failure of the London franchise and Scotland’s failure to convert line breaks into tries was due to an inexplicable lack of support from key individuals who took their eye off the ball and did not do what was best for Scotland.

Sadly for Scottish rugby the opportunity is lost and it is unlikely it will never come again. The closing of the Borders without the London option was a major victory for the Luddites and body blow to those good Scottish rugby men within the SRU who truly understand the requirements for professional rugby in Scotland to grow and succeed.

A few good men do exist, but they are not empowered.

The incoming chief executive of Connacht would do well to consider relocating selected matches to London. With adequate corporate hospitality and increased sponsorship, a Connacht versus Leinster match at The Stoop on a Friday night would generate significant income for the men from the west. It could also provide a foothold into a massive market for a financially challenged organisation.

The concept of a Connacht-London Rugby franchise may frighten some, especially the English RFU, but to those with a bold vision the numbers will be analysed and viewed with real potential.

Comparing the number of Scottish passes per match tells another significant story.

In the Calcutta Cup match Scotland passed an amazing 219 times to England’s 58. Against Wales it was 220 to 140. Against France it was 188 to 108. This equates to a staggering 619 passes that produced only three tries.

If ever numerical evidence was required to emphasise the flaws of Scotland’s attacking philosophy there it is. Scotland employ a lateral attacking strategy, attempting to create overlaps on the flanks but rarely playing advantage-line rugby. Basically, they go sideways, rarely straight.

The overwhelming evidence is that this philosophy does not create space that leads to tries. So why employ an attacking system that does not lead to points? Bloody good question.

Ireland are minus their two all-time great players. They are also minus last season’s European player of the year, Seán O’Brien. As New Zealand demonstrated in last year’s World Cup, if you lose world-class players it is inevitable that your performance will suffer.

The key to the match may lie in the incredible Irish defensive display in Paris. Ireland usually play an “up-and-out” system but last Sunday they changed the system to an “up-and-in”. Stephen Ferris, having played this system in Ulster, was simply devastating. The change in system caught the French totally by surprise and led to Tommy Bowe’s intercept try. The defensive display was first class but it was also extremely fatiguing. It is humanly impossible for those energy levels to be repeated six days later.

The advantage is that Scotland are unsure of what defensive system will be in place – “up and out” or “up and in”.

Ireland, on the other hand, are more than sure how Scotland will attack. The numbers are, ever so slightly, in favour of Ireland.