As expected, Andy Farrell has named an unchanged starting line-up for Ireland’s final game of the 2024 Six Nations against Scotland at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 4.45pm), while he has reverted to a 5-3 split on the bench to incorporate Harry Byrne and Garry Ringrose.
Iain Henderson misses out on the matchday 23, with Ryan Baird covering the secondrow, and with Ciarán Frawley ruled out after suffering a head injury in last week’s 23-22 defeat by England, Byrne provides outhalf and goal-kicking cover.
Ringrose is thus named in a more conventional bench for what will be his first appearance of this year’s championship after suffering a shoulder injury in Leinster’s Champions Cup win in Leicester a fortnight before Ireland’s opening win in Marseille.
Calvin Nash also left the pitch at Twickenham due to a head knock but in contrast to Frawley the Munster winger has passed his ensuing HIAs and thus will start his fifth game of the championship as Ireland seek to retain their Six Nations title with a win.
Hence, rather than throw the baby out with the bath water after what was, after all, just a second defeat in their last 22 Tests and with the last play of the game, Farrell has retained faith in last week’s starting line-up and the remainder of the matchday squad.
While some of Farrell’s thinking is designed to offer the starting team a chance to rediscover their winning ways, this was balanced by the selection for this game.
“There’s a little bit of me learning from past experience, that sometimes when people are disappointed you tend to get a good reaction out of them as well. I suppose Scotland are hoping for the same in that regard. It all adds up to that 15. The 23 is a bit different though.”
Farrell is confident that the prize at stake will further focus minds.
“It’s a special occasion for everyone that’s connected with Irish rugby. The history shows you that this is very hard to do, back-to-back championships, and that’s what we’re going after and that’s a responsibility we’ve got in front of our faces.
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“It’s one we’ll relish, grab a hold of, hopefully, not just as a group of 23 that’s going out on to the field, but the team that’s going to represent the rest of the squad, the fans, supporters and the people of Ireland alike. Hopefully we can all pull together to make it a special day on Saturday.”
Also acknowledging how “dangerous” Scotland are, Farrell added: “We’ve got ourselves to the last weekend on top of the pile. Five other teams would love to be in our position, and we’ll take that responsibility and grab it, and let’s see what we can do with it. St Patrick’s weekend, in front of your own fans, last day of the Six Nations, it really doesn’t get any better, does it really? I suppose you’ve got to cherish that and enjoy the whole thing and get after it together.”
The Irish head coach confirmed that Frawley had immediately returned to Leinster at the start of the week because “he was on a 12-day turnaround”, whereas Nash has passed all his subsequent HIAs and completed the return-to-play protocols.
That said, Farrell admitted he could understand why some on the outside looking in would have misgivings about Nash playing a week after dropping to the turf when clattering into the English winger Tommy Freeman.
“I would understand that, but if you’re in the inner circle and you understand the process that these players have to go through now, you would thoroughly back that process.
“One, he has gone through it with flying colours and he never looked like failing for one second. And two, the process, I think is very sound.
“Accumulating a few days of getting to the next stage, passing them with flying colours, and having a conversation, an interview, a wellness type appointment with an independent doctor today, and there have been no issues there. So, all is good to go.
“He passed the three stages that he had to do. He trained fully yesterday without doing contact within the session but had to do contact after the session.
“He passed that with flying colours; no problem whatsoever. He had to see an independent doctor. If it’s a seven-day turnaround, you have to do that, and he passed that with flying colours as well.”
There have, apparently, been some abusive messages on social media aimed at some of the players since Ireland’s second defeat in their last 22 Tests a week ago.
“That’s been the way of the world for some time now, hasn’t it, really, in regards to social media?” said Farrell. “We’ve battened down the hatches as far as our concentration on what we need to do to improve our performance and make sure that we’re the best of ourselves.
“Come Tuesday afternoon after the training session and a big session on Wednesday as well, it seems to be that the focus is right where it should be.”
Gregor Townsend has made two changes to his side, with centre Stafford McDowall and scrumhalf Ben White selected to start.
The duo replace Cameron Redpath and George Horne respectively, who both drop to the bench following last weekend’s 31-29 loss to Italy in Rome that put a near fatal dent in Scotland’s title hopes.
Townsend was bitterly disappointed in the wake of that defeat but has resisted making wholesale changes and left his pack untouched, reverting to a 5-3 split between forwards and backs on the bench.
“We feel Stafford has earned an opportunity with how he has played this year,” said Townsend. “With Cam playing well for us off the bench earlier this season, we know he can bring that impact.
“Ben was on a recharge week [against Italy] and hopefully that has done him good. We know this is going to be a massive challenge for us in terms of our fitness and work rate, whether we have to defend for big phases or go through phases in our attack.”
Prop Rory Sutherland will play his first minutes of the championship off the bench having initially not been chosen for the squad due to a lack of game-time at French side Oyonnax.
“It is good to have Rory back, he is playing well. He brings power, energy and experience off the bench,” Townsend said.
The coach admits his players are still smarting from the loss to Italy, but believes there is no better place to right that wrong than Dublin.
“There is a determination to be better, it is tough going through the reviews [when you lose],” he said. “But the players have been aligned about where we can improve, and there is no better challenge than Ireland away.
“We have shown the best parts of ourselves in this championship at times, but we have also let our concentration slip and if we do that at the weekend we are not going to come away with a win.”
IRELAND (v Scotland): Hugo Keenan (Leinster); Calvin Nash (Munster), Robbie Henshaw (Leinster), Bundee Aki (Connacht), James Lowe (Leinster); Jack Crowley (Munster), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster); Andrew Porter (Leinster), Dan Sheehan (Leinster), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster); Joe McCarthy (Leinster), Tadhg Beirne (Munster); Peter O’Mahony (Munster, capt), Josh van der Flier (Leinster), Caealan Doris (Leinster).
Replacements: Rónan Kelleher (Leinster), Cian Healy (Leinster), Finlay Bealham (Connacht), Ryan Baird (Leinster), Jack Conan (Leinster), Conor Murray (Munster), Harry Byrne (Leinster), Garry Ringrose (Leinster).
SCOTLAND: Blair Kinghorn; Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Stafford McDowall, Duhan van der Merwe; Finn Russell (co-capt), Ben White; Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, Zander Fagerson; Grant Gilchrist, Scott Cummings; Andy Christie, Rory Darge (co-capt), Jack Dempsey
Replacements: Ewan Ashman, Rory Sutherland, Elliot Millar-Mills, Sam Skinner, Matt Fagerson, George Horne, Cameron Redpath, Kyle Rowe.
