Ireland arrived in Japan flying high at the top of the world rankings but Gregor Townsend’s Scotland will be eager to bring them back down to earth.

The two meet in Yokohama on Sunday and the Dark Blues bring considerable momentum after enjoying a successful warm-up campaign, beating France at BT Murrayfield before going on to cruise past a physical Georgian side in their final dress rehearsal.

Joe Schmidt’s team, however, endured a more turbulent build-up to the competition despite ascending the summit of the rankings, struggling during this year’s Guinness Six Nations before being blown away 57-15 by England at Twickenham.

With both sides’ World Cup bow looming and several Guinness PRO14 players on show, we take a look at the history between the teams, the potential key battles as well as the star players to watch in Yokohama.

Stat attack: Uncharted territory and opening game victories

The fixture will represent the first time the two teams have played each other outside either Edinburgh or Dublin since 1910, a game held in Belfast that Scotland won 14-0.

And the Dark Blues have held the boys in green scoreless on just two occasions in the subsequent 109-year period – once in 1920 and once in 1963 – winning 26 of their 61 duels since that day at BT Murrayfield 56 years ago.

📸 A change of city brings a change of weather for Scotland's first training session in Tokyo. Just like home... #AsOne pic.twitter.com/fb9XJkfULz
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) September 18, 2019

In World Cup openers it’s the Scots who have the upper hand, outscoring Ireland by 352 points to 282 as they dished out an 89-0 shellacking to the Ivory Coast in 1995.

Fast starts for Scotland

While it’s Ireland who have outscored their opponents 72-48 in their last three Six Nations meetings, it was Scotland who scored first on each occasion and will hope to do exactly the same again.

With a relentless back row, inventive midfield and lethal wings, you would not back against them.

In terms of selection, if Schmidt names a front row of Cian Healy, Rory Best and Tadhg Furlong it will be the first time Ireland have named the same front row in three consecutive matches against Scotland since 2004.

Key battles: the midfield and at the lineout

While selection remains unclear, the match-up between the two midfields should make for compelling viewing, with Glasgow Warriors duo Sam Johnson and Peter Horne both competing for places for the Dark Blues.

And for Ireland it looks to be Connacht’s Bundee Aki who will start at No.12 alongside one of Leinster’s Garry Ringrose, with Munster’s Chris Farrell also in the picture.

Aki was influential in Ireland’s most recent warm-up win against Wales, controlling the game and helping his side to a confidence-building 19-10 victory.

#RWC2019

Andy Farrell says the squad are building the intensity nicely and there's a significant 'bite' to training this week.#TeamOfUS #ShoulderToSoulder pic.twitter.com/20UHyBjLX2
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) September 18, 2019

In what neutrals hope will be an open, free-flowing game, the duel between the Guinness PRO14 centres on display should be fascinating.

The lineout will invariably represent another key area Townsend’s side will be looking to win, with Ireland struggling for consistency in the warm-up matches.

Rory Best’s line-out throwing has come under scrutiny in recent months, something the imposing likes of Grant Gilchrist, Jonny Gray and Scott Cummings will be looking to exploit in order to win their side the ball and release Russell at first receiver.

Wide areas set to be crucial as star men feature

If Scotland can win turnovers at the line-out and get the ball to Finn Russell, he will surely look to play quick ball and unleash the pace of Darcy Graham on the wing, a player who made 18 clean breaks and gained 687 metres during the last Guinness PRO14 season.

Edinburgh wing Graham also beat the sixth most defenders in the competition last term – 49 – establishing a reputation as one of its most promising attacking talents.

But he will come up against Ireland’s prolific Jacob Stockdale, a player who’s scored an impressive 16 tries in his 21 international appearances.

Ulster’s Stockdale made a name of himself during the Guinness Six Nations last year, being named Player of the Championship after scoring seven tries – the most ever in the competition.

And going on to score Ireland’s historic winning try against the All Blacks in November last year, Stockdale’s battle out wide against Graham may prove one of the most pulsating areas of action, with all eyes now turning to Yokohama in what promises to be one of the opening weekend’s most absorbing contests.

Cardiff City Stadium will play host to the 2020 Guinness PRO14 Final on June 20 as one of the most exciting days in the club rugby calendar comes to Wales!

General sale tickets are available from http://bit.ly/PRO14Cardiff2020 and prices start at just £13 for concessions and £26 for adults (subject to booking fees), that’s a 15% early bird discount. Family ticket (2 adults / 2 children) prices begin at £64 and fans are encouraged to buy early to get the best value tickets.