<text>  As if he didnt already know, Joe Schmidt found out the hard way last Saturday that 80 minutes can be a long time in rugby. Ireland were riding the crest of a wave arriving into Cardiff. Ten successive wins and the Grand Slam there for the taking. Eighty minutes later, their unbeaten run was over and now they face the very real prospect of being left with nothing to show for their efforts in 2015. A year ago they had momentum going into the closing round of the championship. They led the table with a huge points difference and, after England fell short of eclipsing that target in Rome, there were no outside complications weighing on Irelands mind in that evenings tournament closer: beat France and the title was theirs. Jared Payne left, Iain Henderson centre and Jordi Murphy warm-up during Ireland training on Thursday . Ireland flanker Sean OBrien fires out a backhand pass during Irelands session at their base in Carton House . Jonathan Sexton centre and his fellow Irish players are gearing up for their crunch clash against Scotland . Twelve months later they are in an awkward bind second on points difference with no exact clarity on what type of win is needed to retain their title given that England will be last into action tomorrow. Adding to Irelands anxiety is their inability to get over the try line. Whereas 16 were scored in the title run in 2014 run, there have been just four in 320 minutes this term. Schmidt, though, claims not to be worried about the drought, adding that a level of tolerance must be shown towards the development of his new midfield combination now that Brian ODriscoll has retired and Gordon DArcy has been omitted for the Six Nations. The game is very fickle, he claimed after announcing a team to play Scotland showing two changes from Wales with Luke Fitzgerald and Cian Healy getting in ahead of Simon Zebo and Jack McGrath. One week you might score three tries and the next week you might not get any and you might have played better in the second week but you just didnt convert the opportunities. Ireland coach Joe Schmit will put his friendship with Scotland boss Vern Cotter to one side on Saturday . One of the frustrations from last week is that we did create three really clear try-scoring opportunities that we didnt convert. Last year, we converted a lot of our try-scoring opportunities. They are the very fine margins. Trying to make sure we get on the right side of those margins all the time is difficult and it is something were working really hard on, claimed the attack coach whose specialist role in preparing the team is now under scrutiny as Irelands meagre try tally is the joint worst in the tournament, level with France and seven tries fewer than top scorers England. The lack of finishing power has cast a spotlight on the rookie centre pairing of Jared Payne and Robbie Henshaw. Jared doesnt have a lot of Test match experience but has played a lot of Super and European rugby. That breadth of experience and his maturity helps Robbie work away. Brian ODriscoll doesnt leave a team and suddenly theres no deficit. The guys who have come in in his place have done a super job, but they cant do the same job. Theyre doing the job with a different experience and a different knowledge of the game at that level. Im not a patient man, Im not going to say that were being patient about it but we have to be a little bit tolerant of the development that needs to take place. Schmidt and Cotter above worked together with Clermont in France and in New Zealand with Bay of Plenty . We do have a little inexperience at 12 but I dont think you could fault Robbies form right through the championship and he will grow into that first-receiver role when its demanded of him a little bit more as he gains experience. One of the things I do feel we will get a benefit from is working our way through this championship. Having a loss, the first one in over a year, we need to stay balanced in how were preparing and dont necessarily have to go too far away from what weve been doing. Schmidt, who revealed training on Tuesday was as flat as it had ever been but was fresh on Thursday, insists that guaranteeing victory in Scotland not focusing on the margin of a potential win has been his approach, so much so that he admits he isnt much inclined to pass much heed of how Wales fare in Rome prior to Saturdays 2.30pm start Wales need a 22 win to have bettered Irelands points difference. Its tricky. It may well depend on what that margin is but I dont think you try to do anything different. Youre just looking to try to get the win... and theres no point trying to anticipate what the French-England result will be. What will be really difficult is a really good Scottish side. They have narrow losses right through and have a better balance to their side this week. Its going to be a real challenge. Ive read comments about how desperate they are to give an account of themselves that is sufficient to get them over the line. 