Ireland captain Paul O'Connell has insisted that he and his players will be solely focusing on their game against Scotland during tomorrow's staggered Six Nations finale.
The men in green are one of four sides in with a chance of claiming the title on what is set to be an enthralling showdown to the 2015 tournament.
Ireland face winless Scotland in Edinburgh in the middle game after Wales's trip to Italy, but before pacesetters England host France at Twickenham.
To win back-to-back Six Nations titles for the first time in their history, Ireland must better England's result against France by eight points and hope that Wales don't better their result by 22 points or more against Italy.
When asked about the staggered kickoffs, O'Connell said: "It's kind of like Heineken Cup or Champions Cup rugby, where it's a dangerous place to go to start thinking about anything but winning the game.
"You'll have a plan going into a game of how to beat a team and you'll be trying to execute that as well as you can. That's all we've been spoken about, that's all we've addressed.
"I'm sure things will happen throughout the day, but our big focus is the start of the game - starting the game well, starting the game in a disciplined fashion and getting off on the right foot. It's the same as if we were coming over here to win by one point. That's all you can do. Whatever happens, happens."
Despite some calling for all three games to kick off at the same time, O'Connell was thankful for the overall Six Nations schedule.
"For me, the Six Nations and the way it works out with two weeks on, a week off, a week on, a week off and two weeks on, it's actually quite a good way to play," he added.
"You do get rests, but we are at the end of the championship. We've always, going back four, five years or so, had to manage the load going towards the end of a championship.
"The Six Nations, the way it works, it actually does put you in a good position at the end of a competition. You're not as battered and bruised as you can be if it was five games in a row or two in a row then three in a row."
By leading out his side tomorrow, O'Connell will become Ireland's oldest ever captain at 35 years and 152 days old.
Pascal Lemesre
