Monday 12 March 2018 14:46, UK
Mike Blair insists Scotland will have no qualms about changing their team to face Ireland despite the historic Six Nations win over England last month.
Gregor Townsend's side will travel to Dublin this week looking for a win which could ultimately act as a springboard to their first championship since 1999, the last with just five teams involved.
Rousing home victories against France and England - their first in the Calcutta Cup for 10 years - leave Scotland third in the table at present.
Success across the Irish Sea and a French win over the English in Paris would significantly boost Scottish hopes ahead of their final fixture at home to Italy.
Former captain Blair, now an assistant coach under Townsend, admits making changes to a winning team is being considered and said: "We'll soon see, won't we?
"When you're talking about a squad, bringing guys back in and how you deal with particular opposition, you'll have tactics for different opposition. You'll have certain players who will fit that.
"It might be that you end up playing the same team but at the same time, if there are ways we feel we can manipulate Ireland with different personnel we'd do that.
"We wouldn't just keep the team because they'd won. That's how the game has moved on a little bit - you can target certain areas with different players."
Scotland's away record in the Six Nations is notoriously bad and outwith the Italians, their last win in the competition somewhere other than Murrayfield was against Ireland in 2010.
Blair played that day, coming on as a replacement for Chris Cusiter as his team won 23-20 at Croke Park.
While there is a psychological hurdle to overcome in that respect, Scotland are at least helped by the fact they have not encountered the same extensive injury issues some of their rivals have.
Indeed, they have welcomed six players back into their squad ahead of the Ireland match, including 2013 British and Irish Lions lock Richie Gray after he recovered from a calf problem.
Blair added: "It's a fortunate position. We feel the work we do during the week gets players ready for what happens in games.
"Perhaps previously you got a lot more intensity in games than you would in training and what we've tried to do is have more intense training than in games.
"It makes us more robust to muscle-type injuries. There are still certain injuries you can't do anything about. We've been lucky, so far, not to have any of those yet.
"The medical team do a brilliant job too. There are guys who have come back when we thought they'd have no chance of being able to play - never mind 80 minutes. So they've done great work."
