Lashing rain and vicious winds scuppered Irelands gameplan against Italy as last seasons tournament runners-up were drawn into a bruising forward battle which saw them emerge 19-3 winners.

And although OSullivans men had the expertise and firepower to master conditions which should have favoured the Azzurri, they do not want to see more of the same marring his teams Triple Crown bid.

I was very worried before the game last week because the conditions were so bad. It was always going to be very difficult to play rugby. We were provided with a great test which we came through, he said.

But from what we can tell the weather is going to be perfect for rugby.

Theres no sun so catching high balls wont be a problem, no wind so tactical kicking should be easy and no rain so we should be able to throw it around.

All the options should be open to us and thats what weve wanted for a while now.

Weve had plenty of games in bad conditions so days like Saturday gives you a chance to play quality rugby.

And if the weather does hold out then thats what we want to do.

Victories over Wales and England have swept the Irish to the brink of their first Triple Crown in 19 years, and if they put over 50 points on Scotland they are in with a sniff of the RBS 6 Nations title.

But even allowing for the Scots poor form and lack of confidence, Ireland are unlikely to win by such a margin as the visitors look to avoid their first championship whitewash since 1985.