Scotland name team to face Ireland as Gregor Townsend makes three changes for Six Nations clash

Rory Sutherland will start for Scotland in Sunday’s Guinness Six Nations match with Ireland in one of three changes made by head coach Gregor Townsend.

Sutherland’s selection as loosehead prop sees Pierre Schoeman benched for the game at Murrayfield, although the Edinburgh man is still likely to have a big role to play in the second half.

Jack Dempsey also comes into the starting team at No 8 in a back-row reshuffle which sees Matt Fagerson move to six as Jamie Ritchie drops to the bench.

Rory Sutherland has been promoted to the Scotland starting XV in one of three changes for the Six Nations match against Ireland on Sunday. | SNS Group / SRU

The third change is in the backline where Tom Jordan replaces Stafford McDowall at inside centre after impressing as a replacement in the 31-19 win over Italy last weekend. McDowall joins Schoeman and Ritchie on the bench where there are a couple of other changes. Sam Skinner, the Edinburgh lock who was called into the squad this week, is named among the replacements, as is Jamie Dobie who takes the place of his Glasgow Warriors team-mate George Horne as back-up scrum-half.

Townsend has opted for a six-two split of forwards and backs on the bench which means the versatile Dobie will also cover the wing berths.

Although Scotland took the maximum five points from their opening Six Nations fixture against the Italians at Murrayfield they were not entirely convincing and Townsend has altered his team to face the back-to-back champions.

The Scots have not beaten Ireland since 2017, a run of 10 consecutive defeats. Sutherland’s inclusion is an attempt to gain dominance in the scrum against opponents who are missing experienced tighthead Tadhg Furlong through injury. Schoeman was used effectively as an impact sub in Edinburgh’s win over Glasgow in the 1872 Cup second leg recently and will be asked to reprise the role this weekend.

Dempsey starts for Scotland for the first time since injuring his shoulder against South Africa in the autumn. And Jordan is rewarded with a start after a fine performance in the final half hour against Italy. He will be partnered in the centre by Huw Jones, who scored a hat-trick last week.

Ireland, who beat England 27-22 in their opening fixture, are chasing a third consecutive championship which has never been done in the Six Nations era.

Scotland team

15.Blair Kinghorn – Toulouse (56)

14. Darcy Graham – Edinburgh Rugby (43)

13. Huw Jones – Glasgow Warriors (54)

12. Tom Jordan – Glasgow Warriors (4)

11. Duhan van der Merwe – Edinburgh Rugby (45)

10. Finn Russell – Bath Rugby (83) CO-CAPTAIN

9. Ben White – Toulon (25)

1. Rory Sutherland – Glasgow Warriors (38)

2. Dave Cherry – Edinburgh Rugby (12)

3. Zander Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors (71)

4. Jonny Gray – Bordeaux Bègles (78)

5. Grant Gilchrist – Edinburgh Rugby (76)

6. Matt Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors (51)

7. Rory Darge – Glasgow Warriors (26) CO-CAPTAIN

8. Jack Dempsey – Glasgow Warriors (23)

Replacements

16. Ewan Ashman – Edinburgh Rugby (23)

17. Pierre Schoeman – Edinburgh Rugby (38)

18. Will Hurd – Leicester Tigers (5)

19. Sam Skinner – Edinburgh Rugby (35)

20. Gregor Brown – Glasgow Warriors (5)

21. Jamie Ritchie – Edinburgh Rugby (55)

22. Jamie Dobie – Glasgow Warriors (9)

23. Stafford McDowall – Glasgow Warriors (9)