It’s common in most sports to see a team mascot parading around the pitch and engaging with fans. International rugby union is no different, and mascots usually have significance to the team they are representing, such as Ruckley, England’s bulldog, and Scorch the Welsh Dragon. They make sense, build on the team’s identity, and are characters that the crowd can relate to when they are asked to give them a cheer as part of the fan experience.
However, out of left field as part of last year’s Autumn Internationals, something bizarre befell the world of Irish rugby as a new mascot was unleashed. It was something that no Irish rugby fan would ever have expected to see representing the men in green: Kevin the Carrot.
Dubbed ‘Ireland’s freshest fan’, the new official mascot sprouted up ahead of last year’s clash with New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium. With Kevin the Carrot now a permanent fixture of the national side, he will be travelling over to Edinburgh this weekend to support the men in green on their next Six Nations adventure.
After a convincing victory against England to kick off their title defence, Ireland have made a confident start to their bid for a historic Six Nations three-peat. Next, they will tackle a tricky challenge against Scotland, but the bigger question will be, will well-established and much-loved Scottish mascot Lochie fancy taking a bite of Kevin? If so, Ireland’s history-making bid could be in jeopardy.
History favours Ireland at Murrayfield
Irish fans had become used to seeing Irish terrier Broc as the mascot on game day – he was a symbol of loyalty, spirit and courage. Then came Kevin. A carrot. Kevin the Carrot came from supermarket chain Aldi, which found a creative way to partner up with Ireland’s rugby team. The store released a limited-edition plushie of him in his Ireland kit in 2023, which was around three years after development on the character had started.
Kevin the Carrot grew from those humble roots, and now the giant mascot version can be, rather comically, seen strutting around. As fans struggle to get to grips with exactly how a carrot relates to a rugby team, Kevin has some way to go to integrate himself with Irish fans. It’s certainly a long way from Lochie’s great relationship with Scottish fans.
On Sunday, Scotland will have Lochie and the full weight of Murrayfield behind them, injecting emotional intensity into the team. Ireland, meanwhile, will have a carrot and a small band of travelling support.
Scotland may win the battle of the mascots, but on the pitch, Ireland will need to pay respect to their opponents to win the more serious showdown there. This is a tricky away fixture, with the Scots desperately keen to end their long current losing streak against the Irish.
Ireland’s winning streak against the Scots
Ireland’s recent record against the Scots is good though, and on paper, stand-in head coach Simon Easterby’s men should be heading back across the Irish Sea with the win secured. The Irish lead the overall head-to-head with Scotland 71-55. From their 71 previous visits to Scotland, Ireland have come away victorious on 30 occasions. This includes each of their last three visits since a narrow 27-22 reverse in Edinburgh during the 2017 Six Nations.
Since that 2017 loss against the Scots, Ireland have won the last 10 matches on the spin against them in all competitions, at any venue. It’s a powerful streak of form and huge momentum like this can have a positive effect as it’s something that breeds confidence. Ireland know that they are capable of doing the job.
While most expect Ireland to get a tough game, few back home will expect anything less than a win for the men in green. This is the result that the current record books lean towards, of course, and after handling England comfortably enough last weekend, without hitting their greatest levels of performance, Ireland have plenty more in the tank.
Ireland’s last three results at Murrayfield
- 2019 – Scotland 13-22 Ireland
- 2021 – Scotland 24-27 Ireland
- 2023 – Scotland 7-22 Ireland
Ireland have produced at least 20 points on the scoreboard in each of their last five visits to Murrayfield. The biggest score they recorded in that sequence was a massive 40-10 drubbing handed out during the 2015 Six Nations. With five wins in their last six visits to Edinburgh, Ireland are firm favourites.
What happened against England?
“Plenty of room for improvement” would have been the message in the dressing room and back on the training field after Ireland’s 27-22 win over England last weekend. The Irish were under enormous pressure from the visitors in the first half.
Ireland were running ragged lines, getting pressured in the deep, and struggling for any cohesiveness through the backs and for a competitive edge in the rucks. However, the second half was a different story altogether. Ireland tightened up their game, and ran in three tries through Bundee Aki, Tadhg Beirne and Dan Sheehan to record a bonus-point victory.
Stars of the show
Selected ahead of Jack Crowley at fly-half, Sam Prendergast had an impressive showing on his Six Nations debut. While his kicking was lacking, his intelligence to move the ball through the hands and bring the backs into play was a big feature of his game.
Dan Sheehan was spectacular off the bench, Jamison Gibson-Park staked a further claim for a starting role with the Lions this year, and James Lowe was incisive and strong with his running.
Irish turn it around
The second half was clinical, efficient rugby at its best from Ireland. They had everything under control as they ramped up their momentum. Following questionable performance levels during the Autumn Internationals, and with England impressing in the first half last weekend, Ireland badly needed the second-half response that they mustered.
However, they didn’t spend a lot of time out of third gear, even when they were dominating the second half. They didn’t need to be as they tore a tiring English game plan apart with relative ease without playing at their best.
For Sunday’s game against Scotland, Ireland don’t need to be targeting a big, expansive game. A boringly efficient approach is going to be the way to quiet Murrayfield and remain in control.
The Centenary Quaich is staying at Lansdowne Road
Ireland have already won one cup in this year’s Six Nations, as their victory over England saw them claw back the Millennium Trophy. The weekend will also bring the chance of winning more silverware.
Since 1989, the winner of Six Nations meetings between Ireland and Scotland has been awarded the Centenary Quaich. Obviously, with Ireland’s long run of winning form over Scotland (which is at seven in the Six Nations), the drinking vessel has remained in Dublin for a while now.
With Ireland running as the firm favourites to win on Sunday, it’s not likely that the Quaich will be booking an extended stay in Edinburgh anytime soon. Of the 36 times that the cup has been contested, Ireland have won it 21 times against Scotland’s 14, with one draw.
Scotland good enough to ask questions
While Ireland have been their bogey team for a fair while now, Scotland have still produced some impressive performances against the men in green. In last year’s Six Nations, they were well within touching distance of Ireland in Dublin, falling to a narrow 17-13 defeat. There was also that epic 2021 clash at Murrayfield, where Ireland had to dig out a three-point victory.
Scotland opened their 2025 Six Nations account with a 31-19 victory over Italy at Murrayfield. Gregor Townsend’s men were 19-9 up at the break, but had to temper a spirited Italian fightback early in the second half, as the visitors drew level at 19-19. Huw Jones was the star of the show for Scotland with a hat trick of tries in the bonus-point win.
The Scots played a high-intensity game, racing out of the blocks and utilising their threats on the wing extremely well. They played a very open game, and while they will probably look to come out flying against Ireland, trying to play such an expansive game against the Irish for 80 minutes will be a very bold move.
Scottish success could shake up the Championship
Scotland have some great quality in their squad with the likes of scrum-half Ben White, Rory Darge, Finn Russell, Huw Jones, plus clinical finishers Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe.
This could be a potential banana skin of a match for Ireland if they aren’t on their toes or underestimate the Scottish threat in any way. During the Autumn Internationals, Scotland recorded a fantastic 27-13 win over Australia and battled well in defeat against South Africa.
Last season’s Six Nations fell short of expectations for Scotland, with two wins only against Wales and England. However, they have attacking power and will have that fantastic Murrayfield crowd as an extra man when needed.
For all their recent flourishes of attacking power, it has failed to show for Scotland time and time again against Ireland. Scotland have failed to reach 15 points on the scoreboard in all of their last four meetings with the Irish, including their 2023 World Cup clash.
If Scotland were to find a way to end that 10-match losing streak against Ireland at the weekend, it would blow the Championship wide open – even more so if England help out by beating France.
Bookies agree – it’s Ireland’s game for the taking
Ireland are firm favourites at Murrayfield, to the tune of 1.44 odds-on, leaving the Scots as hefty 2.8 underdogs on their own turf. Last week’s slightly nervy win over Italy will have left the Scots in good spirits ultimately.
However, the challenge from Ireland is on a whole different level from that of the Azzurri. Ireland have lost only three matches since the autumn of 2022 – twice against New Zealand, and once each against England and world champions New Zealand.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that Ireland have extra skin in the game, an extra level of motivation, an extra drive that comes from the chance at a history-making three successive Six Nations titles. There’s also playing for head coach Andy Farrell, who is on temporary assignment with the Lions this year, and the whole melting pot makes Ireland a big threat.
Victory at Murrayfield will give Ireland two wins from two at the start of the campaign, sending them further towards a potential Triple Crown and Grand Slam. After meeting with Scotland, they will visit Wales, host France in a potential title decider, before finishing off on the road in Italy.
Six Nations betting at Tonybet
Once again, the Six Nations lives up to its top billing, and with the dust settling on the first weekend of action, it’s time to pick it all up again. Look for the latest rugby odds for Week Two matches, with Italy vs Wales, England vs France and Scotland vs Ireland lined up, by visiting Tonybet. Along with the pre-match quotes on popular markets, there will be plenty of live in-play markets available while the action thunders along at Murrayfield, covering try scorers, points, results and plenty more.
Bet on Ireland against Scotland at Tonybet!
