Ireland still have third place to aim for in their final RBS 6 Nations game against Scotland, with head coach Joe Schmidt admitting: “If we can get that top-half finish I’d be very happy that we’ve worked our way through a pretty challenging time.”
2016 RBS 6 NATIONS: Saturday, March 19
IRELAND (5th) v SCOTLAND (3rd), Aviva Stadium, 5pm (live RTÉ Two/ITV/RTÉ Radio 1/IRFU Live Blog)
Team News: Rory Best will make his 33rd consecutive RBS 6 Nations start, leading an Ireland team that sees Jack McGrath and Mike Ross pack down alongside him in the front row.
Donnacha Ryan and Devin Toner continue their second row partnership, while the fit-again Tommy O’Donnell comes in at openside flanker in the only change from last weekend’s 58-15 win over Italy. CJ Stander and Jamie Heaslip, the scorer of two tries against the Azzurri, complete the back row trio.
Conor Murray and Jonathan Sexton line out at half-back in an unchanged back-line, with Robbie Henshaw and Jared Payne continuing in midfield. Sexton needs just two more points to eclipse David Humphreys (560 points) as Ireland’s second top points scorer of all-time.
Simon Zebo retains the number 15 jersey and is flanked in the wide channels by Keith Earls and Andrew Trimble. It will be a landmark appearance for Earls as he wins his 50th Ireland cap on Saturday, following in the footsteps of fellow Limerick man Sean Cronin will hit the half-century mark last week.
The replacements bench includes Cian Healy and Eoin Reddan, both of whom have recovered from injury, while Richardt Strauss is also in the mix as reserve hooker.
Commenting on the one change in personnel, head coach Joe Schmidt said: “Josh (van der Flier) has shipped a couple of knocks in the last two games, and he got a bump in training on Monday. I think they’ve been pretty attritional for Josh going back-to-back in his first two Test matches.
“He would be fit to play but at the same time is carrying a few knocks. Conversely Tommy has trained incredibly well. He hasn’t had the luckiest of preparations with us in previous times, and we’re looking forward to contributing a really athletic, combative performance this weekend.
“It’s bumps and bruises (for Josh), he’s involved himself a lot, his contact work has been high so we just felt it was pertinent to give him a rest and give Tommy an opportunity.
“We’ve tried to balance opportunity with continuity across the course of the Six Nations and we hope that will bear fruit in future. Rory Best trained fully today (Thursday) too, and showed no ill-effects of the tight calf that he had on Monday.”
Meanwhile, Glasgow Warriors stand-off Duncan Weir has been handed his first start of the Championship for Scotland. He replaces his club-mate Finn Russell, who has been ruled out of the fixture with concussion, despite his continued progression through the graduated return-to-play protocols.
Weir comes in at half-back to partner scrum half and captain Greig Laidlaw, who will surpass the record held by former international David Sole (25) as the most appearances as Scotland skipper.
The other two changes appear in the pack, with lock Tim Swinson, who has made four replacement appearances in this year’s tournament, set for his first start alongside Richie Gray, in place of the injured Jonny Gray (pectoral tear).
Ryan Wilson starts at number 8 in place of Josh Strauss, who moves to the bench, reverting to the back row combination that started Scotland’s win over Italy in Rome, alongside flankers John Hardie and John Barclay, the latter set to make a half-century of appearances for his country.
The pack is completed by the ever-present front row trio of Alasdair Dickinson, Ross Ford and Willem Nel, who start their fifth consecutive match of the Championship.
In the backs, centres Alex Dunbar and Duncan Taylor continue in midfield while the back-three ofTommy Seymour, Tim Visser and Stuart Hogg feature for a third time in a row.
Cotter has made two further alterations to the replacements, with Rob Harley taking the place vacated by the promoted Swinson, while Henry Pyrgos has been named as the reserve scrum half for what could be his first Scotland appearance since his post-Rugby World Cup wrist surgery.
IRELAND: Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster); Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster), Jared Payne (Ulster), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Connacht), Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster); Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster): Jack McGrath (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster) (capt), Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster), Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster), Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster), CJ Stander (Munster), Tommy O’Donnell (UL Bohemians/Munster), Jamie Heaslip (Dublin University/Leinster).
Replacements: Richardt Strauss (Old Wesley/Leinster), Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Nathan White (Connacht), Ultan Dillane (Corinthians/Connacht), Rhys Ruddock (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Eoin Reddan (Old Crescent/Leinster), Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster), Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster).
SCOTLAND: Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors); Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors), Duncan Taylor (Saracens), Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors), Tim Visser (Harlequins); Duncan Weir (Glasgow Warriors), Greig Laidlaw (Gloucester) (capt); Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh), Ross Ford (Edinburgh), Willem Nel (Edinburgh), Richie Gray (Castres Olympique), Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors), John Barclay (Scarlets), John Hardie (Edinburgh), Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors).
Replacements: Stuart McInally (Edinburgh), Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh), Moray Low (Exeter Chiefs), Rob Harley (Glasgow Warriors), Josh Strauss (Glasgow Warriors), Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors), Pete Horne (Glasgow Warriors), Sean Lamont (Glasgow Warriors).
Referee: Pascal Gauzere (France)
Assistant Referees: Craig Joubert (South Africa), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
Television Match Official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Ireland to win: 4/11; Draw: 25/1; Scotland to win: 5/2
Pre-Match Quotes: CJ Stander (Ireland) – “The breakdown is going to be a lot more intense (against Scotland) this week. You’re going to have to look after your own ball. The poachers are not going to be there really for you.
“You are going to have to look after the ball because they have three good poachers in the back row. All of them go onto the ball and if you give them that opportunity they will take it. You’re going to be on the back foot and you will be three points behind or close to your line defending a lineout.
“(My try last week) was a good set move from the boys and they got close to the line. There was no space in front of me so I just put my head down to see how close I could get to the line. I was lucky there was a missed tackle on me and I got through. I was delighted to score.
“If you play against Glasgow and Edinburgh, you know you are going to have a physical battle on your hands. They bring a bit of offloading to the game also. There’s loose passes here and there that they scrap off and get the tries off.”
Greig Laidlaw (Scotland) – “We really felt as a group we weren’t that far away and we are delighted to win the last couple of games (against Italy and France) to prove that to ourselves and to some other people as well.
“Defensively we have really fronted up as a team and we’re not conceding as many tries. The set piece has been outstanding, both the scrum and the lineout. In international rugby you need that to launch to get into the game.
“I think we are causing teams a whole lot of problems the way we hold on to the ball and kept teams under pressure. You can see that with the number of tries we are starting to score. And a couple of individuals along the way have really stepped up.
“We have one big challenge left which is going to be tough. Ireland are the reigning champions and in their home stadium, but we have got to play with confidence and if we front up well we are in with a chance to win the game.
“To go there and win would send out a big message but we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. We know it’s going to be tough.”
Pre-Match Links –
Head-To-Head: Ireland v Scotland
Ireland v Scotland: Facts & Figures
Best: There’s A Hunger To Finish On A High
Feek: This Will Be One Of The Toughest Games
Recent Meetings –
2013: RBS 6 Nations: Scotland 12 Ireland 8, Murrayfield
2014: RBS 6 Nations: Ireland 28 Scotland 6, Aviva Stadium
2015: RBS 6 Nations: Scotland 10 Ireland 40, Murrayfield; Rugby World Cup Warm-Up: Ireland 28 Scotland 22, Aviva Stadium
Support Ireland on www.irishrugby.ie/facebook or search #ShouldertoShoulder or #IREvSCO on www.twitter.com/irishrugby.
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