Ireland captain Johnny Sexton says his side are preparing to come up against “the best Scottish team he has ever played” at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Scotland still have designs on winning the Six Nations themselves and would seal a Triple Crown by beating Ireland.

“They’ve had some big wins over the last couple of years, they are building very nicely,” said Sexton of Scotland.

“They have brought in a lot of new players over the last couple of years who have made them stronger and their results against the likes of England have shown that,” added the Ireland fly-half.

“It’s going to create a huge atmosphere with them still in the championship and going for a Triple Crown and us chasing the championship and a Triple Crown too.”

Sexton confirmed on Thursday that he was “good to go” for the crucial encounter in Edinburgh as Andy Farrell’s side aim to build on their victories over Wales, France and Italy.

A Finn Russell-inspired Scotland saw off England and Wales in their first two matches to set up a potential first Triple Crown since 1990, before being edged out by France in Paris.

Sexton is full of praise for the impact made by his opposite number in the championship so far.

“It’s testament to Finn’s character that he has come back the way he has after being left out of the November series, to be brought back and influence things so quickly,” reflected the Ireland number 10.

“He’s on the top of his form and has a full bag of tricks.

“To stop him we have to do it as a team. We need to know when to go, when to hold off, when to pressurise him.”

Battle of the fly-halves

Former Scotland wing Tommy Seymour is among those who are relishing the prospect of seeing the two fly-halves go head-to-head in the Scottish capital.

“They’re probably different in the styles they play but when you look at the northern hemisphere in particular in terms of how the other 10s sit you could make the argument they are the strongest performing 10s in the northern hemisphere right now,” Seymour told BBC Sport NI.

“For anyone watching the game you are looking at two of the top 10s in the world going up against each other.

“Johnny Sexton has been at the top of his game for it seems like an eternity – there’s been a running dialogue on when Sexton is not going to live up to his past self but he continues to prove everyone wrong.

“He’s playing phenomenal rugby at the age he is and it’s fortunate for Ireland to have someone of that calibre back into their squad for this fixture.

“Finn Russell’s levels of maturity that he’s showed in recent games has been phenomenal – he’s eradicated some of the mercurial mistakes that some people have held against him in recent times.

“From a statistical point of view in this tournament he has been absolutely outstanding. His provision to team-mates around him and his ability to create points out of nowhere has been phenomenal.

“So a really exciting contest and one I’m looking forward to.”