Scotland Head Coach Gregor Townsend has made three changes to the starting XV for Scotland to face Ireland at the weekend from the side that beat Italy in the opening round.
It seems that the changes have been made with the aim of bringing a bit more grit into the side: in the backs Tom Jordan comes in at 12 to replace Stafford McDowell, while in the pack Rory Sutherland starts at loosehead and Jack Dempsey starts at Number 8.
Pierre Schoeman drops to the bench as do Jamie Ritchie and Stafford McDowell. Also on the bench is new squad call up Sam Skinner as part of a 6:2 split.
Scotland record against Ireland
Opponents Ireland have stuck with the more traditional 5:3 bench. Interim coach Simon Easterby has also named perennial Scotland bugbear and part-time gardening psychopath Peter O’Mahony at blindside. The championship winning skipper for Ireland last year perhaps looked a little off the pace in the autumn but has clearly been brought back for the edge he brings to this particular fixture. Ireland have a definite psychological advantage that Scotland will need to overcome, based on recent encounters where Scotland have not been able to get the win despite some good performances that put them in the right position.
Scotland: B Kinghorn, D Graham, H Jones, T Jordan, D Van der Merwe, F Russell, B White; R Sutherland, D Cherry, Z Fagerson, J Gray, G Gilchrist, M Fagerson, R Darge, J Dempsey.
Replacements: E Ashman, P Schoeman, W Hurd, S Skinner, G Brown, J Ritchie, J Dobie, S McDowall.
Ireland: Keenan, Hansen, Henshaw, Aki, Lowe, Prendergast, Gibson-Park; Porter, Kelleher, Bealham, Ryan, Beirne, O’Mahony, Van der Flier, Doris (capt).
Replacements: Sheehan, Healy, Clarkson, Baird, Conan, Murray, Crowley, Ringrose.
7 responses
Very happy with Jordan starting and the backline in general but will they see much ball with that pack? J Gray needs to up his game after last weekend. Assume Sutherland and Schoeman are getting a half each. The Irish bench looks far stronger and it will be a tough final 20-30 mins. POM starting suggests dark arts, provocation and winding up. Our back rows need to protect Finn and his space.
And on this week’s episode of “You’ve Been Toonied”, George Horne has been challenged to work out why he’s been dropped from the matchday squad after a good performance off the bench against Italy.
It’s not like Dobie is needed as cover for any position other than 9 – we already have sufficient cover for 10 through to 15.
The man (Toony, not George) is a menace.
Anyway, good luck to the lads.
Ireland aren’t Italy.
Dobie helps safety net far more cover than Horne does.
It’s really not that complicated
No, it’s not complicated.
Horne’s service is faster than that provided by either White or Dobie and offers Finn that precious sliver of extra time which can make all the difference against rush defences like that of Ireland.
With Horne at 21 rather than Dobie, there’s still ample cover for all of the back positions.
That last comment is such a silly thing to say.
Shu on the bench and Sutherland in ! Is Shu a better impact sub? I suppose he gets around the pitch. Not sure I get Sutherland starting however , he can scrummage. Time will tell.
I fancy this is Toonies best opportunity . He needs to win IMO.
I think you’ve nailed the logic there- scrum fell off a cliff against Italy when Schoe and Gray went off. Ensuring at least one of them is on the pitch at all times should help.