A statistical preview of Sunday's opening Rugby World Cup Pool A game between Ireland and Wales at the International Stadium in Yokohama (kick-off 4.45pm local time/8.45am Irish time).
RUGBY WORLD CUP - POOL A: Sunday, September 22
IRELAND v SCOTLAND, International Stadium Yokohama, 4.45pm local time/8.45am Irish time (live eir Sport 1/RTÉ 2/UTV/ITV/RTÉ Radio 1/BBC Radio Ulster/BBC Radio 5 Live/IRFU Live Blog)
IRELAND: Jordan Larmour (St Mary's College/Leinster); Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster), Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster), Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht), Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster); Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary's College/Leinster), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster); Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster) (capt), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), Iain Henderson (Queen's University/Ulster), James Ryan (UCD/Leinster), Peter O'Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster).
Replacements: Niall Scannell (Dolphin/Munster), Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster), Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster), Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster), Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Luke McGrath (UCD/Leinster), Jack Carty (Buccaneers/Connacht), Chris Farrell (Young Munster/Munster).
SCOTLAND: Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs); Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors), Duncan Taylor (Saracens), Sam Johnson (Glasgow Warriors), Sean Maitland (Saracens); Finn Russell (Racing 92), Greig Laidlaw (Clermont Auvergne); Allan Dell (London Irish), Stuart McInally (Edinburgh) (capt), Willem Nel (Edinburgh), Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh), Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors), John Barclay (Edinburgh), Hamish Watson (Edinburgh), Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors).
Replacements: Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Gordon Reid (Ayrshire Bulls), Simon Berghan (Edinburgh), Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors), Blade Thomson (Scarlets), Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors), Chris Harris (Gloucester), Darcy Graham (Edinburgh).
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees: Pascal Gaüzère, Alexandre Ruiz (both France)
Television Match Official: Graham Hughes (England)
Head-To-Head:
Played – 135
Ireland Won – 63
Scotland Won – 66
Drawn – 5
Abandoned – 1
The five drawn matches were in 1893, 1896, 1900 (all 0-0), 1979 (11-11) and 1994 (6-6). The abandoned game was in 1885 at Ormeau in Belfast, when the pitch became waterlogged during a storm.
Ireland v Scotland – Results Since 2000:
2000: Ireland won 44-22, Lansdowne Road
2001: Scotland won 32-10, Murrayfield
2002: Ireland won 43-22, Lansdowne Road
2003: Ireland won 36-6, Murrayfield; Ireland won 29-10, Murrayfield
2004: Ireland won 37-16, Lansdowne Road
2005: Ireland won 40-13, Murrayfield
2006: Ireland won 15-9, Lansdowne Road
2007: Ireland won 19-18, Murrayfield; Scotland won 31-21, Murrayfield
2008: Ireland won 34-13, Croke Park
2009: Ireland won 22-15, Murrayfield
2010: Scotland won 23-20, Croke Park
2011: Ireland won 21-18, Murrayfield; Scotland won 10-6, Murrayfield
2012: Ireland won 32-14, Aviva Stadium
2013: Scotland won 12-8, Murrayfield
2014: Ireland won 28-6, Aviva Stadium
2015: Ireland won 40-10, Murrayfield; Ireland won 28-22, Aviva Stadium
2016: Ireland won 35-25, Aviva Stadium
2017: Scotland won 27-22, BT Murrayfield
2018: Ireland won 28-8, Aviva Stadium
2019: Ireland won 22-13, BT Murrayfield
Biggest Wins:
Ireland: Points: 44-22, 2000 Six Nations; Margin: 36-6, 2003 Six Nations; 40-10, 2015 Six Nations
Scotland: Points & Margin: 38-10, 1997 Five Nations
Individual Records In The Series:
Most Points In A Match: Ireland 26 (David Humphreys 2003); Scotland 18 (Chris Paterson 2007, Dan Parks 2010)
Most Tries In A Match: Ireland 3 (Eugene Davy 1930, Seamus Byrne 1953, Brian O'Driscoll 2002); Scotland 4 (Bill Stewart 1913)
Most Appearances – Ireland v Scotland:
15 - Brian O'Driscoll, Ronan O'Gara
14 - Rory Best, Ross Ford, Mike Gibson
13 - John Hayes, Willie John McBride, Chris Paterson
12 - Sean Lamont, Paul O'Connell, Phil Orr, Fergus Slattery, Peter Stringer
11 - Sandy Carmichael, Jim Hamilton, Scott Hastings, Jamie Heaslip, Moss Keane, Rob Kearney, Tom Kiernan, Bill Maclagan
Top Points Scorers – Ireland v Scotland:
125 - Ronan O'Gara
95 - Chris Paterson
84 - David Humphreys
77 - Jonathan Sexton
75 - Gavin Hastings
65 - Greig Laidlaw
56 - Michael Kiernan
51 - Ollie Campbell, Peter Dods
49 - Andy Irvine
31 - Mike Gibson
Top Try Scorers – Ireland v Scotland:
6 - Roy Laidlaw
5 - Alan Duggan, Brendan Mullin, Brian O'Driscoll
4 - Eugene Davy, Andrew Henderson, Denis Hickie, Arthur Smith, Tony Stanger, George Stephenson, Bill Stewart, Ivan Tukalo, Bunny Wauchope
3 - David Bedell-Sivright, Tommy Bowe, Seamus Byrne, Keith Earls, Mike Gibson, Jamie Heaslip, Stuart Hogg, Jack Kyle, Jim McCarthy, Robert Mackenzie, Fred Moran, Maurice Mortell, Conor Murray, Trevor Ringland, Jacob Stockdale, Andrew Trimble, David Wallace, William Wotherspoon
Ireland – Form Guide From Start Of The 2018 Six Nations:
Won 15-13 v France away (Six Nations)
Won 56-19 v Italy home (Six Nations)
Won 37-27 v Wales home (Six Nations)
Won 30-25 v Scotland home (Six Nations)
Won 24-15 v England away (Six Nations)
Lost 18-9 v Australia away (Summer Series)
Won 26-21 v Australia away (Summer Series)
Won 20-16 v Australia away (Summer Series)
Won 54-7 v Italy neutral (Autumn Test)
Won 28-17 v Argentina home (GUINNESS Series)
Won 16-9 v New Zealand home (GUINNESS Series)
Won 57-14 v USA home (GUINNESS Series)
Lost 32-20 v England home (Six Nations)
Won 22-13 v Scotland away (Six Nations)
Won 26-16 v Italy away (Six Nations)
Won 26-14 v France home (Six Nations)
Lost 25-7 v Wales away (Six Nations)
Won 29-10 v Italy home (GUINNESS Summer Series)
Lost 57-15 v England away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 22-17 v Wales away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 19-10 v Wales home (GUINNESS Summer Series)
Scotland – Form Guide From Start Of The 2018 Six Nations:
Lost 34-7 v Wales away (Six Nations)
Won 32-26 v France home (Six Nations)
Won 25-13 v England home (Six Nations)
Lost 28-8 v Ireland away (Six Nations)
Won 29-27 v Italy away (Six Nations)
Won 48-10 v Canada away (Summer Tour)
Lost 30-29 v USA away (Summer Tour)
Won 44-15 v Argentina away (Summer Tour)
Lost 21-10 v Wales away (Autumn Test)
Won 54-17 v Fiji home (Autumn Series)
Lost 26-20 v South Africa home (Autumn Series)
Won 14-9 v Argentina home (Autumn Series)
Won 33-20 v Italy home (Six Nations)
Lost 22-13 v Ireland home (Six Nations)
Lost 27-10 v France away (Six Nations)
Lost 18-11 v Wales home (Six Nations)
Drew 38-38 v England away (Six Nations)
Lost 32-3 v France away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 17-14 v France home (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 44-10 v Georgia away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 36-9 v Georgia home (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Ireland – Most-Capped Players:
133 Brian O'Driscoll
128 Ronan O'Gara
120 Rory Best
108 Paul O'Connell
105 John Hayes
98 Peter Stringer
95 Jamie Heaslip
94 Donncha O'Callaghan
92 Rob Kearney
92 Malcolm O'Kelly
91 Cian Healy
84 Jonathan Sexton
82 Gordon D'Arcy
82 Girvan Dempsey
78 Keith Earls
74 Conor Murray
72 David Humphreys
72 Geordan Murphy
72 David Wallace
71 Eoin Reddan
70 Sean Cronin
70 Kevin Maggs
70 Andrew Trimble
69 Tommy Bowe
69 Mike Gibson
Ireland – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:
1083 Ronan O'Gara
765 Jonathan Sexton
560 David Humphreys
308 Michael Kiernan
296 Eric Elwood
245 Brian O'Driscoll
217 Ollie Campbell
195 Paddy Jackson
158 Tom Kiernan
150 Tommy Bowe
150 Keith Earls
145 Denis Hickie
Ireland – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:
46 Brian O'Driscoll
30 Tommy Bowe
30 Keith Earls
29 Denis Hickie
21 Shane Horgan
19 Girvan Dempsey
18 Geordan Murphy
17 Brendan Mullin
17 Andrew Trimble
16 Ronan O'Gara
16 Jacob Stockdale
15 Kevin Maggs
15 Keith Wood
14 Rob Kearney
14 Conor Murray
14 George Stephenson
13 Jamie Heaslip
12 Keith Crossan
12 David Wallace
11 Alan Duggan
11 Simon Geoghegan
Scotland – Most-Capped Players:
110 Ross Ford
109 Chris Paterson
105 Sean Lamont
87 Scott Murray
85 Mike Blair
82 Gregor Townsend
77 Nathan Hines
77 Jason White
75 Gordon Bulloch
74 John Barclay
73 Greig Laidlaw
71 Stuart Grimes
70 Chris Cusiter
70 Kenny Logan
69 Stuart Hogg
67 Dan Parks
Scotland – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:
809 Chris Paterson
695 Greig Laidlaw
667 Gavin Hastings
269 Andy Irvine
266 Dan Parks
220 Kenny Logan
210 Peter Dods
166 Craig Chalmers
164 Gregor Townsend
Scotland – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:
24 Ian Smith
24 Tony Stanger
22 Chris Paterson
19 Stuart Hogg
19 Tommy Seymour
17 Gavin Hastings
17 Alan Tait
17 Gregor Townsend
15 Ivan Tukalo
14 Sean Lamont
14 Tim Visser
World Rugby All-Time Top Points Scorers:
1598 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
1246 Jonny Wilkinson (1179-England, 67-Lions)
1090 Neil Jenkins (1049-Wales, 41-Lions)
1083 Ronan O'Gara (Ireland)
1010 Diego Dominguez (27-Argentina, 983-Italy)
970 Stephen Jones (917-Wales, 53-Lions)
967 Andrew Mehrtens (New Zealand)
951 Florin Vlaicu (Romania)
911 Michael Lynagh (Australia)
893 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
878 Matt Burke (Australia)
848 Owen Farrell (England)
840 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia)
809 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
World Rugby All-Time Top Try Scorers:
67 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
64 David Campese (Australia)
60 Shane Williams (58-Wales, 2-Lions)
50 Rory Underwood (49-England, 1-Lions)
49 Doug Howlett (New Zealand)
47 Brian O'Driscoll (46-Ireland, 1-Lions)
46 Christian Cullen (New Zealand)
46 Joe Rokocoko (New Zealand)
46 Julian Savea (New Zealand)
44 Jeff Wilson (New Zealand)
41 Gareth Thomas (40-Wales, 1-Lions)
40 Chris Latham (Australia)
40 George North (38-Wales, 2-Lions)
(Note: Daisuke Ohata scored 69 tries for Japan, but not all against major international opposition)
The '100 Caps' Club:
148 Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
141 Brian O'Driscoll (133-Ireland, 8-Lions)
140 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
139 George Gregan (Australia)
137 Alun Wyn Jones (128-Wales, 9-Lions)
134 Gethin Jenkins (129-Wales, 5-Lions)
132 Keven Mealamu (New Zealand)
130 Ronan O'Gara (128-Ireland, 2-Lions)
129 Stephen Moore (Australia)
127 Victor Matfield (South Africa)
124 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
123 Kieran Read (New Zealand)
120 Rory Best (Ireland)
120 Florin Vlaicu (Romania)
119 Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia)
119 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
119 Jason Leonard (114-England, 5-Lions)
118 Fabien Pelous (France)
118 Tony Woodcock (New Zealand)
116 Davit Kacharava (Georgia)
116 Nathan Sharpe (Australia)
115 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia)
115 Paul O'Connell (108-Ireland, 7-Lions)
115 Alessandro Zanni (Italy)
113 Sam Whitelock (New Zealand)
112 Marco Bortolami (Italy)
112 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
112 Tendai Mtawarira (South Africa)
111 Ross Ford (110-Scotland, 1-Lions)
111 Philippe Sella (France)
111 John Smit (South Africa)
111 George Smith (Australia)
110 Stephen Jones (104-Wales, 6-Lions)
110 Yuri Kushnarev (Russia)
109 Jean de Villiers (South Africa)
109 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
108 Owen Franks (New Zealand)
107 Catalin Fercu (Romania)
107 John Hayes (105-Ireland, 2-Lions)
107 Sekope Kepu (Australia)
106 Mauro Bergamasco (Italy)
106 Will Genia (Australia)
105 Sean Lamont (Scotland)
104 Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy)
104 Martyn Williams (100-Wales, 4-Lions)
103 Matt Giteau (Australia)
103 Andrea Lo Cicero (Italy)
103 Ma'a Nonu (New Zealand)
103 Gareth Thomas (100-Wales, 3-Lions)
102 Stephen Larkham (Australia)
102 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
101 David Campese (Australia)
101 Giorgi Chkhaidze (Georgia)
101 Alessandro Troncon (Italy)
101 Goncalo Uva (Portugal)
101 Vasco Uva (Portugal)
100 Valentin Calafeteanu (Romania)
100 Jamie Heaslip (95-Ireland, 5-Lions)
100 Adam Jones (95-Wales, 5-Lions)
100 Mils Muliaina (New Zealand)