But there is a consensus that they have failed to achieve the results their play has deserved with a more expansive approach foiled by their perennial inability to cross the whitewash.

Victory at Lansdowne Road later this afternoon would end a run of five successive Test defeats and relieve the pressure on coach Andy Robinson.

“When I was asked at the start of the championship, I said Scotland were in a prime position to go very well,” Kidney said.

“If you look at the thin margins that have affected them – as they have affected us – it’s clear they’ve been right on the money going into every game.

“They’ve performed well in every match. If it clicks for them it will be an unbelievable challenge for us.

“Sometimes we underwrite the strength of this competition, every game is different and throws up different challenges.”

Ireland have a mathematical chance of winning the title, but in reality their aspirations faded with Sunday’s draw with France.

Mid-table beckons for a team that has ambitions of winning the Grand Slam, but Kidney insists there is no shortage of motivation to inflict a fourth defeat on Scotland.

“It’s a brilliant opportunity to pull on a green jersey and represent Ireland to the best of our ability, that’s how we see every game,” he said.

“It will be a full house and a lot of people will have spent a lot of money to be there. It’s our job to represent them.”