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Assistant coach Mike Catt dismissed suggestions Ireland could collude with Scotland in Saturday\u2019s pivotal Rugby World Cup clash in Paris in order to send home South Africa.<\/p>\n
Complex permutations may come into play if Andy Farrell\u2019s men do not win or draw the crunch Pool B clash at Stade de France.<\/p>\n
A bonus-point victory for the Scots by a margin of 21 points or more combined with Ireland collecting a losing bonus point for scoring at least four tries would put both nations in the quarter-finals while eliminating the reigning champions.<\/p>\n
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Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber insisted rugby is \u201cclean\u201d as he brushed off a potential \u201cmatch-fixing\u201d conspiracy after being asked about the situation on Sunday following his side\u2019s 49-18 win over Tonga.<\/p>\n
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Catt says Ireland\u2019s coaches are fully aware of the permutations but, unsurprisingly, gave short shrift to the notion his side are in \u201ccahoots\u201d with the Scots.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what to say about that,\u201d he replied, when asked about Nienaber\u2019s match-fixing comment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he was asked the question, wasn\u2019t he? He didn\u2019t actually say it was match-fixing, did he?<\/p>\n
\u201cThat stuff is just white noise in the background. No, we\u2019re not going to go in cahoots with Scotland.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirstly I\u2019d ask you, would we want Scotland to beat us by 21 points? If you asked any player in this room, any of us, would they want Scotland to beat you by 21 points? No, sorry.<\/p>\n
\u201cAndy is fully aware of what\u2019s going and what needs to happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, both teams need to win the game. If you do that then you put yourself in a good position. That\u2019s what we will try and achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n
We need to make sure we go up another level to what we were against South Africa.<\/p>\n
Ireland have won a national-record 16 matches in a row following their 13-8 success over the Springboks on September 23, in addition to 12 of the last 13 meetings with Scotland.<\/p>\n
Extending those impressive streaks by once again defeating their Six Nations rivals would comfortably secure progression from the so-called \u2018Pool of Death\u2019 as group winners and avoid any unnecessary nail biting.<\/p>\n
Catt believes the world\u2019s top-ranked team, who backed up last summer\u2019s series triumph in New Zealand with Grand Slam glory, are comfortable with handling the weight of expectation.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, very much so,\u201d said the former England international, who won the World Cup in 2003.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s where the trip to New Zealand last year put ourselves in those situations, the Six Nations and winning the Grand Slam on the back of that with England and Scotland, those games.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re well aware and we understand what needs to be done and if we put in a performance defensively and in attack, then there\u2019s a chance that things will go our way but it\u2019s going to be a proper Test match, and that\u2019s why we play the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cHistory is history. It doesn\u2019t come into it at all, from our point of view.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve prepared well for this game, we\u2019ve had a weekend off on the back of that South Africa game and we need to chase our potential.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to make sure we go up another level to what we were against South Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ireland have a fully-fit squad, including vice-captain James Ryan, who has overcome a hand issue sustained against South Africa.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHe\u2019s fine, he\u2019s trained fully with us this morning so we\u2019re happy with how he\u2019s progressed,\u201d Catt said of Leinster lock Ryan.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just got a knock on his hand, I think. He\u2019s come out of that fine.\u201d<\/p>\n