Centre Stafford McDowall and scrum-half Ben White brought in to start for Scotland in Saturday's Six Nations Round 5 clash vs Ireland in Dublin (4.45pm); Cameron Redpath, George Horne dropped down to bench; Scots playing for first silverware in Six Nations era in shape of Triple Crown
Thursday 14 March 2024 13:29, UK
Gregor Townsend has made two changes to his Scotland side to face Ireland in the final round of the Six Nations on Saturday, with centre Stafford McDowall and scrum-half Ben White brought in to start.
McDowall will make his championship debut, starting alongside Huw Jones in midfield, while White replaces George Horne following a shock Round 4 defeat to Italy in Rome.
The move to bring in McDowall from the cold sees Cameron Redpath dropped down to the bench, with Sione Tuipulotu (knee) still out injured.
The back-three remains the same with full-back Blair Kinghorn and wings Duhan van der Merwe and Kyle Steyn combining, while co-captain Finn Russell partners White at half-back.
The forwards are completely unchanged from Rome, as loosehead Pierre Schoeman, hooker George Turner and tighthead Zander Fagerson form the front row, while Scott Cummings and Grant Gilchrist are paired in at lock.
The back row sees Andy Christie at blindside, Rory Darge at openside and Jack Dempsey at No 8.
Among the replacements, Rory Sutherland comes in as loosehead cover, while Ewan Ashman (hooker), Elliot Millar-Mills (tighthead), Sam Skinner (lock), Matt Fagerson (back row), Horne, Redpath and Kyle Rowe (back three) complete the squad.
Scotland are playing for a first piece of silverware in the Six Nations era in the shape of the Triple Crown in the Irish capital.
Scotland: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 Ben White; 1 Pierre Schoeman, 2 George Turner, 3 Zander Fagerson, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 5 Scott Cummings, 6 Andy Christie, 7 Rory Darge (cc), 8 Jack Dempsey
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Elliot Millar-Mills, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 George Horne, 22 Cameron Redpath, 23 Kyle Rowe
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