Darge hopes Hoy presence can inspire Scotland

Guinness Six Nations: Scotland v Ireland

When: Sunday, 9 February Where: Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh Kick-off: 15:00 GMT.

Coverage: Watch on BBC One, iPlayer & BBC Sport website, listen on BBC Sounds

Co-captain Rory Darge hopes the presence of Sir Chris Hoy can inspire the Scotland team when they take on Ireland in the Six Nations on Sunday.

Cycling legend Hoy announced in October he has terminal cancer, and spoke this week about how his drive to raise awareness of the disease has "given me a purpose".

The six-time Olympic gold medallist will deliver the match ball at Murrayfield on Sunday.

"It will be really special," Darge said. "He's a massive inspiration for his achievements in cycling, but also what he's going through personally is really inspiring too.

"I'm sure the Murrayfield crowd will get behind that and make it an even more special moment.

"That energy will hopefully be something that we can feed off as players and put into the performance."

Scotland are looking to halt a dismal run of 10 straight defeats against Ireland.

However, 24-year-old Darge reiterated the message all week from the Scotland camp by saying their motivation is not ending that losing streak but rather going two from two in the Six Nations.

The Glasgow Warriors back-row's form for club and country - including an outstanding display against Italy last weekend - has propelled him into the conversation for Lions selection for the summer tour to Australia.

He is competing with is a host of quality openside flankers to catch the eye of Lions head coach Andy Farrell, including Sunday's opposite number, Josh van der Flier.

"He's world class," Darge said of the Irishman. "What makes him such a good player is just consistently doing his role to really, really high standards.

"Some things that you might not see as much on the TV and then you watch the game back and you realise what an impact he's had in the game.

"But the whole back row are going to bring a massive amount of quality around the breakdown. We have a massive challenge to get parity there and give ourselves the best chance."