Scotland vs. Ireland: Date, Live Stream, TV Info, Six Nations 2017 Preview

Scotland open their 2017 Six Nations campaign at home to Ireland on Saturday hoping to give their tournament title hopes an immediate boost against a squad hit with several high-profile injuries.

Star fly-half Johnny Sexton and Munster captain Peter O'Mahony will both miss Ireland's Six Nations opener in Edinburgh, and coach Joe Schmidt is hoping his resources run deep enough to emerge victorious nonetheless.

Meanwhile, coach Vern Cotter is looking to end his run at the Scotland helm with a bang as he prepares to leave his post at the climax of this year's European tournament, with Gregor Townsend lined up as his replacement.

Scotland finished last year's Six Nations in fourth place and just a single point behind the Irish after a seven-try showdown in Dublin but hopes are high after they tied Saturday's foes on two wins apiece.

Read on for a preview of Saturday's head-to-head, complete with all the vital viewing information and a breakdown of the biggest headlines surrounding the matchup.

Date: Saturday, February 4

Time: 2:25 p.m. GMT / 9:25 a.m. ET

Venue: Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland

Live Stream: BBC Sport website (UK)

TV Info: BBC One (UK)

Sexton's Absence and Impact

The biggest concern for Ireland boss Schmidt coming into Round 1 is replacing No. 10 Sexton without much disruption to a back line that's come to rely heavily on the Leinster man's presence at times in the past.

Murray Kinsella of The42.ie confirmed a calf injury would keep the fly-half sidelined for the Edinburgh duel, while the pack has also lost a fierce leader in the form of Munster flanker O'Mahony:

Thankfully for Schmidt, an embarrassment of riches in the back row means CJ Stander fills in as a very impressive alternative at blindside flanker, but replacing Sexton will be a more worrying task.

Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw has spotted the fly-half's absence as an obvious weak spot for Ireland in the run-up to their first-round clash, too, but he pointed to scrum-half Conor Murray as another big threat, per the Irish Independent's Richard Bath:

"

Sexton being out does make a little bit of difference if I’m being honest. I think Ireland will miss him because he’s a quality player, great goalkicker and he drives their attack. He’s a key driver in that team alongside Murray, and while they don’t play provincially together they do have a strong combination when they link up with Ireland. Obviously, they have a good understanding and you can see Jonny is really a lynchpin in that team, so whoever comes in has got a big job to do.

"

Paddy Jackson is the man nominated to replace Sexton in the No. 10 jersey, and his form for Ulster combined with starting experience in two of last year's November Tests puts him in a prime place to impress.

The Belfast-born fly-half led Ireland to home wins over Australia and Canada during the Autumn series, but Scotland could prove to be a more threatening foe as they seek to surprise familiar opposition.

Vern Cotter's Last Stampede

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In his final season as Scotland coach, Cotter will be hoping to convert plenty of promise and potential into veritable success before standing down from the national team.

However, despite a quarter-final finish at the 2015 World Cup and impressive wins against big opposition in his three years in charge of Scotland, Cotter told Irish broadcaster RTE he's still targeting two wins in this year's championship:

"

We’re excited by the start of the Six Nations. The players have come together and there is a bit of confidence within the group. 

There’s a very realistic approach to the Six Nations. We know that Ireland are playing exceptionally well.  

[...]

Our objective this year is to push the hierarchy a bit and see if we can mix it up against the teams ranked ahead of us. If we can get two wins, we’d consider that a pretty good Six Nations.

"

Scotland fans may see that as fairly low expectations from the man targeting one last hurrah as coach, although Cotter's realistic approach may also be a tactic to enhance their underdog reputation.

While Ireland have experienced issues in the fly-half role of late, Cotter is beaming with his No. 10 leader Finn Russell, whom he told BBC 5 live Sport should be gunning for a starting British and Irish Lions spot:

Saturday's Edinburgh affair will be a grand stage for the Glasgow Warriors playmaker to test his mettle against stiff opposition, and his back-line interplay will be crucial to any hopes of a home win.

Murrayfield can be a terrifying venue for away teams to visit when the home fans are in full voice, but Ireland will shoulder the favourites tag all the same—the main question being whether they can live up to their billing.