Six Nations: Blair Kinghorn starts at fly-half ahead of Finn Russell for Scotland vs Ireland
Scotland travel to Dublin to face Ireland at 4.45pm on Saturday afternoon; in the earlier kick-off Wales face Italy (2.15pm) before France host England at the Stade de France to bring the 2022 Six Nations to a close
Last Updated: 17/03/22 4:38pm
Blair Kinghorn will start at fly-half ahead of Finn Russell, who is named on the bench, for Scotland against Ireland in the Six Nations on Saturday.
Kinghorn's inclusion at fly-half is one of two changes made by head coach Gregor Townsend. The other sees Jonny Gray selected in the second row alongside Grant Gilchrist. Gray returns to the starting XV having missed Scotland's last two matches due to an ankle injury.
Stuart Hogg will again lead the side from full-back and he forms a back-three unit with Darcy Graham and Kyle Steyn. Chris Harris and Sam Johnson will link up in midfield for the third match during this Six Nations.
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In Scotland's back-row Hamish Watson will earn a 49th cap for his country alongside Rory Darge and Matt Fagerson. Pierre Schoeman, George Turner and Zander Fagerson make up the front row.
Bath Rugby's Josh Bayliss has been selected for the first time in this year's competition to take a place on the bench.
Six Nations - Round Five fixtures
| Saturday at 2.15pm | Wales vs Italy |
|---|---|
| Saturday at 4.45pm | Ireland vs Scotland |
| Saturday at 8pm | France vs England |
Townsend's team come into this encounter off the back of a positive result in Rome, but they have not won in Dublin for 12 years in the competition.
"We have the confidence of a win [against Italy], but we know that our performance wasn't at the level that we expect from ourselves and the level it will have to be to get that win," Townsend said.
"They play ambitious rugby, allied to very good detail around the set piece and contact. They've got some excellent individuals and they're full of confidence.
"We've got to put them under pressure, take the game to them and deliver our best performance of the season to come away with a victory."
Six Nations - Standings
| Played | Won | Lost | BPs | LBPs | PDiff | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. France | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 56 | 18 |
| 2. Ireland | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 84 | 16 |
| 3. England | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 10 |
| 4. Scotland | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | -8 | 10 |
| 5. Wales | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | -27 | 6 |
| 6. Italy | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | -122 | 0 |
Townsend also explained why he decided to start Kinghorn at fly-half ahead of Russell.
"It's an opportunity for Blair based on how well he's played this season and also his training within our environment," the head coach said.
"He played 10 for us against Tonga and built on that performance with his club side. Off the bench - in the France and Wales games - we thought that he played well.
"His last game for Edinburgh was probably his best of the season, so we thought that the time was right for him to start at 10. It's great to have the experience and ability of Finn off the bench as well."
Scotland could finish as high as third position in the table, or as low as fifth, depending on their own performance and results across the day.
Ireland name their team to face Scotland at 1.30pm on Thursday afternoon,
Scotland XV: 15. Stuart Hogg (c), 14. Darcy Graham, 13. Chris Harris, 12. Sam Johnson, 11. Kyle Steyn, 10. Blair Kinghorn, 9. Ali Price; 1. Pierre Schoeman, 2. George Turner, 3. Zander Fagerson, 4. Jonny Gray, 5. Grant Gilchrist, 6. Rory Darge, 7. Hamish Watson, 8. Matt Fagerson.
Replacements: 16. Fraser Brown, 17. Allan Dell, 18. WP Nel, 19. Sam Skinner, 20. Josh Bayliss, 21. Ben White, 22. Finn Russell, 23. Mark Bennett.
