'Ireland's Murrayfield victory reminded me of England's World Cup winning side'

Kenny Logan thinks back to Murrayfield in March and how Ireland's performance against Scotland reminded him of England's famous victory in adversity over the All Blacks almost 20 years earlier.

Logan was part of a Scotland team that beat Ireland for fun. "We didn't lose to Ireland in the 90s," he mentions.

The winger - and place-kicker - scored 12 points in their Six Nations encounter at Lansdowne Road just after the turn of the millennium but ended up on the losing side.

The Scots won the return at Murrayfield the following year, but Logan didn't play. His last two games against Ireland, in the two championships that followed, ended in defeat.

The tide had turned. The Scots have only won five times in the fixture since then.

But there was a feeling in the Murrayfield crowd on the 12th of March that a sixth victory was there for the taking.

Stuart Hogg led out the Scots on the occasion of his 100th cap, the home side started strongly and Ireland lost three starting forwards - Caelan Doris, Dan Sheehan and Iain Henderson - in the opening 24 minutes.

Then Ronan Kelleher's withdrawal early in the second half meant that the visitors had to rely on Josh van der Flier to throw into the lineout and Cian Healy to take the hooker's role in the scrum.

Yet Ireland cantered home, scoring 14 points without reply in a 22-7 victory. "That's the character of a team," stressed Logan.

"That day in Murrayfield reminds me of England going into the 2003 World Cup, on the back of beating the All Blacks in Wellington, where they went down to 13 men for a while.

"They might not have been at their peak but they understood how to win.

"Those sort of set-backs will galvanise a team because then they know they can do it. And if you look back over the last six months, Ireland know that this is their best chance ever of winning a World Cup.

"This is the best Irish team of all time, surely. It's certainly the best that I've ever seen.

"They have a championship focus and a coach who understands the hard edge of international rugby and being ready, I have a lot for respect for Faz (Andy Farrell), he has done an amazing job."

Logan will be present for the Stade de France showdown. In fact, he will hand over the match ball to Johnny Sexton and Jamie Ritchie, the team captains, ahead of the vital final Pool B encounter.

It will be an emotional night for Logan, who will have completed a marathon six-day, 700 mile walk and cycle from Edinburgh to Paris to raise funds for his former Scotland team-mate Doddie Weir's foundation.

Logan played in three World Cups, two of them alongside his friend Doddie. A beloved figure in Scottish rugby, Weir announced in the summer of 2017 that he had been diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease.

Determined to use his profile to start the 'My Name'5 Doddie' foundation that raises funds for research into a cure for MND and to provide grants for sufferers. The former second row died last November at the age of 52.

"Doddie quickly realised there wouldn't be a cure found while he was alive, but all his energy went into trying to make that come true," said Logan.

"Certainly it was an under-funded disease and it needs to be funded more, and the more money we can raise the more opportunity we can help. Doddie touched the rugby world but also the sports world, he was a loveable character, a great man."

The foundation lives on and the fundraising continues. Logan came up with the idea for the walk and cycle while recovering from prostate cancer. The target is to raise £555,555 for the cause.

"We approached World Rugby a while ago to do a charity event and they said yeah," he explained. "I just wanted to do something so we could celebrate him and keep the legacy going.

"He realised really quickly that he wasn't going to find a cure for him, but it was about how we could make an impact today."

Logan added: "When I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, I didn't go to the doctor to be told that I'm going to die, that I only have a year to live.

"Instead I was told that cancer treatment had come on leaps and bounds, that they could take it out and I'll be fine, that once it's out it's out.

"It's a year and a half on now and I know I was very lucky. People with MND haven't got that opportunity and that's what I've been focusing on.

"After Doddie died, people wanted to know how they could become part of his legacy and we've done that by keeping awareness alive and raising money for more research.

"The more you commit to it, the more you've got to try to raise because you're keeping the funding going year on year. You've got the responsibility of making sure these research programmes can continue until they finish.

"He was a mate of mine and we became very close over the last five or six years because I was doing a lot for the foundation and for his family.

"It was very emotional because of what he had left behind, his bravery and his character and courage was more than what he had on the rugby field.

"What he was faced with was the worst challenge of his life an d for everyone who knew and understood Doddie, he felt that life was about having a laugh and I think we saw the real Doddie Weir in those final years and in how people supported him.

"We're raising good money and raising awareness and that's the key thing. Every penny makes an impact."

On the pitch, he predicts that a thriller could be in store - and he is not ruling out an upset.

"Ireland are number one in the world and have been for a while," Logan said. "They are the best team in the world.

"They probably went into this World Cup wondering would that be good enough but they've shown that it is against South Africa, the reigning world champions.

"They were consistently good in the Six Nations. They've beaten New Zealand, beaten all the top teams.

"So Scotland are going into this game with nothing to lose. I noticed Gregor Townsend say, 'Ireland are already talking about who they're going to get in the quarter-finals'.

"I know people in Ireland aren't talking like that but that's obviously the feeling in Scotland's camp."

Logan believes that the Scots can beat any team on their day and Ireland were put on high alert by their displays in their back to back warm-ups against France.

"This is probably one of the best Scottish teams we've had for a long, long time," Logan commented. "They're a dangerous team to play against, they can score tries, they can be 20 points down and still beat a team.

"They've got that ability so there's no way it will be a walkover. But Ireland are a well oiled machine.

"There's a lot of belief in their team, you can see that in the way they play. Ireland have never made a semi-final and that's what they'll be wanting to do.

"Meanwhile Scotland will be disappointed with how they played in the second half against South Africa and will probably feel if they don't get a good showing against Ireland then they probably haven't turned up to this World Cup.

"So I think you'll see a big Scottish performance. Being underdogs is good for us - and if Ireland aren't on it, there could be an upset.

"Ireland haven't lost in 16 matches - but ask New Zealand about long unbeaten records!

"For Ireland to win the World Cup they are going to have to win 20 matches on the bounce which would be quite incredible.

"So they're going into this game going, 'We need to win this for the next journey to happen'. If they don't, then all that hard work disappears.

"So they have got to live up to all that pressure they're under. There's a big game in Scotland, so we'll see."