Ireland’s team to play Scotland has been named and a few surprises! Peter O’Mahony comes in, as does Henshaw.
Ireland team to play Scotland: Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Finlay Bealham; James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne; Peter O’Mahony, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris. Replacements: Dan Sheehan, Cian Healy, Thomas Clarkson, Ryan Baird, Jack Conan, Conor Murray, Jack Crowley, Garry Ringrose
Scotland team to play Ireland: Blair Kinghorn; Darcy Graham, Huw Jones, Tom Jordan, Duhan van der Merwe; Finn Russell (co-capt), Ben White; Rory Sutherland, Dave Cherry, Zander Fagerson; Jonny Gray, Grant Gilchrist; Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge (co-captain), Jack Dempsey. Replacements: Ewan Ashman, Pierre Schoeman, Will Hurd, Sam Skinner, Gregor Brown, Jamie Ritchie, Jamie Dobie, Stafford McDowall
Scotland team news:
Rory Sutherland has been selected ahead of Pierre Schoeman to start at loosehead for Scotland in one of three changes to their starting XV for Sunday’s Guinness Six Nations clash with Ireland at Murrayfield.
The 32-year-old Glasgow forward, who has 38 caps to his name, comes in for only his seventh start since representing the British and Irish Lions in the summer tour of 2021. Schoeman, Scotland’s first-choice loosehead since his debut in 2021, is on the bench.
Versatile Glasgow back Tom Jordan, who replaces Stafford McDowall at centre, and Jack Dempsey, who starts at number eight with Jamie Ritchie dropping to the bench, are the other two additions to Gregor Townsend’s starting line-up.
Lock Sam Skinner, a recent addition to the squad, is named on the bench, while scrum-half Jamie Dobie is also among the subs, with Townsend opting for a 6-2 split.
That’s all from me for today, goodbye!
Simon Easterby on the outhalf debate and selecting Prendergast:
“He’s a great fellah and we’re lucky to have both of them.
“We’re in a position where we’re trying to grow both of them and trying to grow Sam’s experiences, not just at home last week in a huge game for him and for us as a team, but also now going away from home. How does he handle those types of experiences which is very different to last weekend?”
Simon Easterby on the decision to leave out Garry Ringrose:
“We’ve got three brilliant centres in the squad who are playing really well at the moment.
“It was always our intention over the first couple of weeks to mix it up in that area. All three were playing well coming into camp, all three trained well and all contributed last weekend.
“Ringer covers the wing for us as well as centre, which means when he’s in the game at 60/65 minutes - the way he plays the game and how much he puts into his performance - it’s probably an opportunity for him to come on later in the game and be a bit fresher, a bit like Robbie did.
“It was a tough decision leaving Ringer out, but it was the right decision in terms of sharing the load between the three of them. Ringer played the full 80 last week, whereas Bundee came off a little earlier.”
Continued from Gerry Thornley with quotes...
Peter O’Mahony brings ‘experience’ to the lineout
Clearly, O’Mahony’s abilities remain highly valued by Easterby, who was a specialist six with supreme lineout skills himself, and Paul O’Connell, for the interim head coach indicated that only O’Mahony’s lack of game time and conditioning kept him out of consideration for the opening game against England.
“With Pete, we spoke before the England week and having come into camp with a little bit less rugby under his belt we felt that he needed another week to work on a little bit of conditioning.
“I think he supported the guys last week incredibly well. Bairdo did well in terms of his lineout work was excellent - Pete brings that - but he also brings experience which at the moment some other players can’t offer.
“It’s probably a decision we’ve been thinking about for a couple of weeks, but after the England performance it was a chance to bring Pete in, bring his experience to the table and keep Bairdo involved off the bench.”
As for O’Mahony’s proven winning mentality, not least against Scotland, Easterby said: “He just has that ability, doesn’t he, to play big when it’s needed. He has the edge around him in training last week when he wasn’t involved. He brought a lot of competition into the group for those that were starting.
“He was disappointed not to get the selection in the 15 or 23 for England, so I think what he does do when he plays against sides like Scotland is he plays right on the edge. He’s confrontational. He leads by example. Other players will certainly follow that example.
“I think he brings that type of experience that clearly takes time and caps to build to take on a team like Scotland at Murrayfield. He brings a lot of different dynamics. He’s brilliant around the group when he’s not involved in the 23, but it’s a different dynamic when he is involved.”
Some analysis from our rugby correspondent Gerry Thornley on the team selection:
In truth, the outhalf selection debate was something of a non-issue, for Sam Prendergast was always going to start against Scotland, whereas the most eyebrow-raising decision will be that of recalling Peter O’Mahony, followed by the decision to renew the old Connacht midfield pairing of Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw.
The old dog for the hard road and all that.
O’Mahony has faced down Scotland 13 times, as well as Edinburgh and Glasgow on numerous other occasions, and the familiarity has certainly bred a fair degree of antipathy over the years. He has been on the winning side in 12 of those 13 clashes, the only loss being a 12-8 loss at Murrayfield in 2013.
This looks like a pick for an all-Celtic Cup tie, the Munster captain for a decade also captained Ireland to last season’s title success which was completed by a tenth successive win over Scotland in Dublin last March. The one caveat is that O’Mahony’s presence is sure to fire up the vengeful Scots as well.
Any pack featuring the current Leinster and Irish captain, albeit new to the job, the current Munster captain as well as the sometime Leinster and Irish captain, can hardly be described as lacking in leadership, albeit O’Mahony comes into the match-day 23 ahead of the Ulster captain Iain Henderson.
Still, O’Mahony is one of the last old school leaders, and as well as his smarts and voice, one imagines he has been recalled for his organisational skills, especially around line-out defence and attack, and maul defence and attack.
A view from the opposition: More than any other nation in the world it’s Ireland that Scotland want to beat, writes Tom English.
“Last year was tight, a four-point game in which Scotland gave Ireland a free seven when they botched a lineout and Dan Sheehan went over. You could argue that Ireland are inflicting this hurt on Scotland – and you’d be right – but the way they see it is that in many cases they are inflicting this hurt on themselves – and they’re also right.”
[ More than any other nation in the world it’s Ireland that Scotland want to beatOpens in new window ]
Some snap comment from head coach Simon Easterby about the team:
“Selection was a real challenge again which reinforces the competition for places. As we approach Round two, it’s about improvement and building momentum. We know that we will need to start the game strongly and meet their physical challenge.”
From Gerry Thornley:
Peter O’Mahony is set to make a surprise return to the Irish backrow after being named by Simon Easterby for the Guinness 2025 Six Nations second round match against Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday (kick-off 3pm).
The interim Irish head coach has made two changes from the starting XV in the 27-22 win over England in round one last weekend. As well as O’Mahony’s selection at blindside ahead of Ryan Baird, who drops to the bench at the expense of Iain Henderson, Robbie Henshaw is promoted from the replacements to partner Bundee Aki in midfield. This is an unexpected exchange of roles with Garry Ringrose, who is named at number 23.
Otherwise, the match-day 23 remains unchanged, with Sam Prendergast retained, as expected, at outhalf for what will be his fifth cap and fourth successive start at outhalf ahead of his 22nd birthday next week.
As well as the half-backs, the back three of Mack Hansen, Hugo Keenan and James Lowe remains the same, as does the frontrow of Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher and Finlay Bealham, as well as the secondrow of James Ryan and Tadgh Beirne.
Gordon D’Arcy writes about momentum and what the great Richie McCaw used to say “Momentum is massive in rugby. When you have it, everything seems easier. When you lose it, you’re scrambling to get it back.”
It transpired in the England game as “Ireland’s final try of the match underlined McCaw’s original point, while illustrating Sheehan’s high rugby IQ that complements his physical gifts. It sets him apart as a hooker in global terms. He had multiple involvements which started with his tip-on pass that sent Conan through the English defensive line.
“Rather than chase the break, Sheehan took a panoramic view and drifted towards space in a wider channel. His decision was rewarded when the ball found him and his 25-metre pass gave Lowe the run on Tommy Freeman who had to turn and ended up being bounced in the tackle. The hooker then supported to take the return pass and score.
“As McCaw said, when you have that momentum, everything clicks, passes stick, running lines are judged to perfection, right pace and timing and a team nails the opportunity.”
Gerry Thornley predicts there won’t be major changes to the team with Bealham and Hansen likely to be back from injury. Prendergast should retain the number 10 jersey despite an impressive cameo from Jack Crowley against England.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Ireland’s team announcement for their second game of the Six Nations, against Scotland in Edinburgh. Ireland made a great start to their campaign with the defeat of England at the Aviva Stadium. Scotland are raring to go to finally break their hoodoo against the Irish, but Simon Easterby’s men will come well-prepared. It’s a much earlier announcement than usual for this one, but we will let you know the team when it is announced about 9am.
Key Points/Articles ahead of Ireland v Scotland:
- Finlay Bealham and Mack Hansen are set to be fit for Ireland’s trip to Scotland
- Nathan Johns looks at ways where Ireland can exploit Scotland’s weaknesses
- The Counter Ruck podcast
- Sign up to The Irish Times weekly rugby digest to stay up to date on the latest Six Nations news
