Gregor Townsend admits Scotland will have to “do something special” in Dublin as he challenged them to score at least 20 points against Ireland and give themselves a fighting chance of a first Triple Crown since 1990.

The Scots are heading to the Irish capital looking to save face after a shock defeat in Italy last weekend all-but ended their hopes of winning the championship and left them staring at the possibility of finishing fifth if results go against them on Saturday.

Townsend is braced for a formidable test against a side the Scots have lost to in each of their last nine meetings – including a chastening 36-14 defeat at the World Cup just five months ago.

“We know how tough it’s going to be,” he said. “They’re one of the top two teams in the world and at home they’ve been virtually unbeatable the last few years so it’s going to require something special from our players.

“We’ve got to accept that they’ll score points on Saturday. I think before (losing 23-22 to) England they were averaging 30 points a game, so it will be a test for our defence, and we have to score points.

“We have to get to 20 or more, which will be tough but we believe we can do that against any team.”

Townsend conceded there is a sense of regret that Scotland – who have two wins out of four so far – are not heading to Ireland with a genuine chance of winning the title.

“The frustration is that we’re not going to Dublin on the back of four wins,” he said.

“We feel we had a win taken away from us against France, and obviously Italy deserved their win but we feel we could have been better that day.

“But we have this game ahead of us to show our best performance of the season.

“We’re still playing for something, not just a place in the table, it’s for a trophy (the Triple Crown), and also we’re playing one of the best teams in the world so that’s got to inspire us to deliver our best rugby.

“It’s weird to think we’re the only team that can win the Triple Crown but the focus is on the performance.

“We know we have to play our best rugby this week. We’re away to Ireland and it’s the ultimate challenge in the game right now. The huge motivator for us is to try and deliver our best rugby of the season.”

Despite last weekend’s disappointment, Townsend has opted to make just two changes, with Glasgow centre Stafford McDowall replacing Cam Redpath and first-choice scrum-half Ben White returning at the expense of George Horne.

The head coach is adamant there is no need for a wholesale overhaul of the team.

“If you suddenly change what you’re doing because of one defeat or one performance that had some negative elements then you’re forgetting what went on beforehand,” he said.

“Before that 20-minute period (in the second half in Italy) when we lost our focus, we played a lot of good rugby and we played a lot of good rugby leading up to the Italy game.

“We know we have to deliver our best performance of the season on Saturday to come away with a positive result and we believe in the players we’ve selected.”

Townsend was heavily criticised after the Italy defeat, but he dismissed any notion that he had felt the weight of the world on his shoulders since returning from Rome.

“No, I feel massive responsibility and privilege being in this job,” he said on Thursday. “It’s a huge purpose in my life.

“I’ve got a fantastic coaching staff and a great group of players around me and I love being in this role. It’s disappointing when you don’t get your best performance but there’s another game to work towards this weekend.”

Play-off hopefuls Preston and Hull drew a frustrating blank with a 0-0 draw at Deepdale that did neither club any favours.

Preston boss Ryan Lowe knew victory for the ambitious Lilywhites would see them go level with the Tigers in the Sky Bet Championship table.

However, neither team could create the one piece of magic needed for a precious three points.

Lowe stuck with the same side which dazzled with an impressive 3-0 away win over Coventry.

His team had rediscovered the rich vein of form which saw them make a flying start to the season, although they had failed to score in their past three matches with the Tigers.

However, Lowe’s battlers created enough opportunities to score and stretched their healthy unbeaten run to seven matches, even though they failed to find the back of the net.

Meanwhile, Liam Rosenior’s side extended their unbeaten own run to five games, staying sixth in the table.

Midfielder Ben Whiteman went close for the hosts early on, slicing wide of the target from a good position. Moments later he had another crack, only to fail to get any power his strike as Hull goalkeeper Ryan Allsop saved easily.

Lewie Coyle volleyed wide with a powerful effort for the visitors, before Fabio Carvalho tried his luck from distance with a stinging drive which Preston shot-stopper Freddie Woodman did well to parry away.

Anass Zaroury saw his goalbound shot deflected just wide as Hull went close to breaking the deadlock just before the break.

Carvalho had a great chance a minute later to do just that, but he headed straight at a thankful Woodman.

Liam Miller picked out Jordan Storey with a pinpoint cross on the stroke of half-time, but he headed over for the hosts.

Preston defender Andrew Hughes headed over soon after the restart and Whiteman had a shot deflected narrowly wide.

Striker Emil Riis was thwarted by a smart save from Allsop, while at the other end Coyle smashed a right foot shot agonisingly wide of the left upright.

Jaden Philogene thought he had bagged the opening goal but the midfielder was left bewildered after Woodman produced a fine save to deny him.

Whiteman shot wide as the hosts kept pressing and Ali McCann had a volley blocked inside the box, but the ball still would not go in.

Allsop saved brilliantly from Miller with 10 minutes left as neither side could find the breakthrough which would have yielded three points.

Ryan Lowe lauded Emil Riis after the striker scored his first goal in more than 15 months to help Preston win 2-0 at Cardiff in the Sky Bet Championship.

The Danish forward fired beyond Jak Alnwick in the 30th minute to put the Lilywhites ahead against the run of play at Cardiff City Stadium – with Ben Whiteman notching Preston’s second five minutes before the break.

It was Riis’ first goal since returning from a year-long lay-off due to a knee injury, with his last strike coming against Middlesbrough in October 2022.

And boss Lowe said Preston are doing everything in their power to mould Riis into the “perfect” centre-forward.

“We’ve all been waiting for Emil to come back,” said Lowe. “He looked strong physically, I’m pleased with his goal, for him and his team-mates, they’re all pleased for him.

“The build-up to it was fantastic and the way he took it, so I’m really pleased for him. It’s huge to have him back.

“At some point he’s going to have to have a break. We’re just trying to mould him into a perfect striker. But we do need to be careful with him.

“We can’t just slog him all the way through, we’ll manage his days and his loads.

“I’m just pleased for him getting on the scoresheet today after having that long period of time out, as a striker it’s pleasing.”

The Bluebirds controlled the opening 30 minutes but were restricted to efforts from distance, with Kion Etete and Karlan Grant both testing  goalkeeper Freddie Woodman.

But Preston looked far more comfortable after taking the lead, with Cardiff’s new-look squad unable to overly concern Woodman.

Aaron Ramsey returned from a five-month absence owing to a knee injury while Nat Phillips, Famara Diedhiou, Josh Wilson-Esbrand and David Turnbull all made their home debuts for Cardiff.

And Bluebirds boss Erol Bulut, whose side are now winless in their last five home games, called for patience as his new players gel in the team.

“We need patience, all of us,” he said. “We’ve got new players, four or five new players.

“We try to get them adapted to the team quickly. I thought Nat was quite good, Wilson came in, but they have to know their team-mates much better and their movements.

“This will come over the next few games. We have many games in the next few weeks and we have to show it.

“We have to continue to show them what they need to do. I hope the next few games will be much better.”

Defeat in the Welsh capital leaves Cardiff seven points adrift of the Championship’s top six.

Victory – their first on the road in six matches – moved Preston to within two points of the play-off spots.

Ryan Lowe described his side’s performance as “different class from start to finish” as Preston returned to winning ways with a 3-1 Championship victory at Huddersfield.

Goals from captain Alan Browne, Will Keane and Ben Whiteman earned North End a first win in five games, leaving Town still one place above the relegation zone.

“Every single individual and collectively as a team, we were fantastic,” said Lowe. “And the goals were well worked.

“When you win away from home and score three goals you would be foolish not to be happy.

“The plan was to get after them early doors. We knew we would have large parts of possession and the game plan was a lot different (to Norwich last Saturday).

“The lads executed the game plan to a tee. So, credit to them. They went out and performed.

“I have always had faith in the lads, some people may not and have doubts. That is fine.

“But what we are and what we are trying to do is obviously pleasing. And when you get a win like that the relief is massive.

“We have to believe in ourselves and believe in the group.

“We said at half-time 2-0 is a tough scoreline and I am disappointed with the goal.

“We had to get a foothold in the game again with the third one – it took the stuffing out of them.”

Huddersfield’s defeat was their first in five games and manager Darren Moore admitted: “We were not good enough.

“The performance wasn’t what we wanted or expected.

“If the performance isn’t there, you can’t expect to win games.

“It serves as a reminder for us that we cannot perform like that and expect to get anything out of the game. That is me as a manager being honest.

“We know at Huddersfield Town we can’t approach any games and be off the pace or the tempo.

“We know in order to win games and get results then we have got to get everything right.”

Moore made three changes at half-time to try and bring Town back into the game and Danny Ward’s first of the season gave the Terriers hope.

But he admitted: “We felt to get some impetus I could have made some changes after 20 minutes but I waited until half-time.

“That’s probably the most animated you have seen me to keep the team in the game and on the front foot.

“But we will look back and see how we could have put the wrongs right because we are consistently learning together as a group.”