Guinness Six Nations Preview: Ireland v Scotland

A crunch Celtic derby launches the reign of Andy Farrell and Jonathan Sexton as Ireland’s new head coach-and-captain combination, as these sides meet just four months on from their Rugby World Cup pool clash in Yokohama.

2020 GUINNESS SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP: Saturday, February 1

IRELAND v SCOTLAND, Aviva Stadium, 4.45pm (live Virgin Media One/UTV/ITV/RTÉ Radio 1/BBC Radio Ulster/FR2/DMAX/NBC/IRFU Live Blog)

Team News: For his first Test match in charge of Ireland, new head coach Andy Farrell has selected two uncapped players in the squad to play Scotland in the Guinness Six Nations at the Aviva Stadium this afternoon.

Former Ireland Under-20 captain Caelan Doris is brought in at number 8 for his senior international debut, while his Leinster colleague, hooker Ronan Kelleher, could also win his first cap off the bench.

Newly-appointed skipper Jonathan Sexton will lead Ireland for the first time on home soil, having captained the team against Russia during the recent Rugby World Cup. Sexton and Conor Murray extend their Irish half-back record to 57 starts together.

There are five personnel changes to the team that bowed out of the World Cup against New Zealand. Jordan Larmour is set for only his second Six Nations start in the full-back position – he also started there against France last year.

Andrew Conway, a try scorer against Scotland at the World Cup in Japan, earns his first Six Nations start on the right wing with Jacob Stockdale on the left. Bundee Aki is preferred to Robbie Henshaw as centre partner for the in-form Garry Ringrose.

It is a Six Nations debut at hooker for Rob Herring, who replaces his retired Ulster colleague Rory Best in an otherwise unchanged tight five. He is flanked by Leinster duo Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong, with Iain Henderson and James Ryan in the engine room.

The 21-year-old Doris will pack down at the base of the scrum, the back row selection seeing CJ Stander shift to the blindside flanker role and Josh van der Flier, the top tackler in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup, continue at openside.

Kelleher, who turned 22 just last week, is one of Farrell’s bench options along with fellow forwards Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Devin Toner and Peter O’Mahony, the latter pair having 131 Test caps between them.

Ulster’s John Cooney made four appearances as a replacement during the 2019 Six Nations, and he reclaims the reserve scrum half spot for the start of the new campaign. Six Nations debutant Ross Byrne and the aforementioned Henshaw complete the matchday 23.

Commenting on the team selection, Farrell told Irish Rugby TV: “We’ve been pretty open with a clean slate as far as selection is concerned. They’ve been great, the young kids are ready to go.

“Caelan is super excited, and Ronan is coming back from injury, but he’s been back in and done absolutely everything with us so far in this camp. He’s looking very solid as well.

“(The competition at scrum half) is unbelievably tough. Luke McGrath misses out and he’s been playing really well. We’ve had three really competitive training sessions here and Luke’s been right up there, but somebody’s got to miss out.

“Conor’s been great, in and around the group, his training, his calmness under pressure in training over here (in Portugal). That’s been great for the group and he’s in good form as well.

“Everyone knows what type of form John (Cooney) is in. He’s had a few protocols as far as his HIA is concerned, but he’s got a couple of sessions under his belt and he’s ready to go.

“Jordan had a foot injury he picked up playing for Leinster in Treviso, we looked after him at the beginning of the week. He hit all his markers, he’s been on fire, he’s back to his electric best.”

Meanwhile, Edinburgh number 8 Nick Haining will make his Test debut in a new-look Scotland team. Ireland have lost just one Six Nations game at home in the last five years.

The fact that Scotland’s last win on Irish soil came some ten years ago at Croke Park underscores the magnitude of the task ahead, with their opening 27-3 defeat in the Rugby World Cup in Japan still fresh in the mind for many.

There are ten changes to the side that lost to Japan last time out at the World Cup, split evenly between backs and forwards. Haining anchors an all-Edinburgh back row with fit-again openside Hamish Watson and blindside Jamie Ritchie both back in.

IRELAND: Jordan Larmour (St. Mary’s College/Leinster); Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster), Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster), Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht), Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster); Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) (capt), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster); Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), Iain Henderson (Queen’s University/Ulster), James Ryan (UCD/Leinster), CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), Caelan Doris (UCD/Leinster).

Replacements: Ronan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster), Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster), Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster), Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster), Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster), John Cooney (Terenure College/Ulster), Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster). Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster).

SCOTLAND: Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs) (capt); Sean Maitland (Saracens), Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors), Sam Johnson (Glasgow Warriors), Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh); Adam Hastings (Glasgow Warriors), Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors); Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh), Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors), Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors), Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh), Hamish Watson (Edinburgh), Nick Haining (Edinburgh).

Replacements: Stuart McInally (Edinburgh), Allan Dell (London Irish), Simon Berghan (Edinburgh), Ben Toolis (Edinburgh), Cornell du Preez (Worcester Warriors), George Horne (Glasgow Warriors), Rory Hutchinson (Northampton Saints), Chris Harris (Gloucester).

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees: Pascal Gaüzère (France), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Television Match Official: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

Pre-Match Quotes: Jonathan Sexton (Ireland) –

With the new coaches, the way we’ve set the week is totally different in terms of how we run things. It’s been new, it’s been fresh and it’s been good. The fresh faces have come in and given us a lot of energy and brought a real…energy is really the right word (to describe the group).

“It’s definitely been a different build-up for me. There’s a lot of extra things that go with being the captain but I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly. Lots of extra meetings, lots of prep the way Andy wants us to drive the group – very player-driven with clear direction.

“It has been a little bit of extra work but I’ve enjoyed it. I think all the other guys in the leadership group have enjoyed it. We’ve built nicely up to this point but the thing that we can learn from the World Cup is that it counts for nothing really. When Saturday comes you can have a brilliant week’s prep with a very special camp and it doesn’t guarantee anything.

“We always expect when we play Scotland an incredibly tough game, physical. They like to play quick. Under Gregor Townsend they’ve always tried to do that. We need to be ready for them. They’ve got some outstanding individual players, and yeah, we’ll have to be close to our best to put out a good performance against them.”

Gregor Townsend (Scotland) –

We have managed to cover a lot of work in the two weeks we’ve been together and we’ve been impressed with how our players have taken on information and bonded as a team.

“Our goal is always to play to our potential. The challenge to do this starts on Saturday against Ireland. Playing to our potential starts with our collective mindset. That means being alert, focused and resilient right from the beginning, to be ready for the physical battle that lies ahead and able to stay in the fight throughout the 80 minutes.

“We must be a relentless collective on the pitch and a nightmare for the Irish to deal with, while having the ability and awareness to impose our game at that intensity.

“As coaches, we put frameworks together and create an environment for them to thrive and reach their potential but ultimately it’s the players who go out and deliver. We’re looking forward to seeing them play in Dublin.”

Pre-Match Links –

Head-To-Head: Ireland v Scotland

New Features In Aviva Stadium For Ireland v Scotland

In Pics: Ireland Training At The High Performance Centre

Sexton: You Feel That Pressure, But Caelan Is Made For This

‘We’re All Pretty Excited About The Way Andy Wants To Play’ – Catt

Opta Match Facts Preview: Ireland v Scotland

In Pics: Ireland Complete Training Week With Captain’s Run

Recent Meetings –

2017: RBS 6 Nations: Scotland 27 Ireland 22, BT Murrayfield

2018: NatWest 6 Nations: Ireland 28 Scotland 8, Aviva Stadium

2019: Guinness Six Nations: Scotland 13 Ireland 22, BT Murrayfield; Rugby World Cup Pool A: Ireland 27 Scotland 3, International Stadium Yokohama

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