Ireland hand Jack Conan debut against Scotland

Jack Conan will make his international debut in Ireland's World Cup warm-up clash against Scotland in Dublin on Saturday.

The Leinster flanker will have his chance to state his case for tournament selection, but faces a tall order to make Ireland's final 31-man squad.

Sean O'Brien captains for the first time from No 8, with some seven starters potentially fighting for their World Cup lives.

Ian Madigan has his chance at fly-half, while wing Simon Zebo gets a run at full-back in his bid to convince head coach Joe Schmidt he is versatile enough to warrant a competition slot.

Scrum-half Isaac Boss, prop Dave Kilcoyne, lock Dan Tuohy and Conan are the other members of the squad thrown the World Cup gauntlet by boss Schmidt.

Ireland's regular captain Paul O'Connell takes a seat on the bench, primed for his first Test action of the new campaign in the long build-up to the tournament taking place in England next month.

Tighthead prop Mike Ross is the only player to retain his place from last weekend's 35-21 victory in Wales, the Leinster cornerstone again extending his record as the only man to feature in every Test of the Joe Schmidt era.

Tommy O'Donnell's World Cup-dashing hip dislocation against the Welsh might clear the back-row agenda somewhat, but 23-year-old Conan remains a long-shot for ultimate selection.

Ireland must name their final 31-man squad on August 31, with Schmidt having started the culling process this week by releasing Rob Herring and Noel Reid.

O'Brien, Jamie Heaslip and Peter O'Mahony are nailed-on for final selection as Ireland's starting back-row, with Chris Henry and Jordi Murphy the likely additions.

That means Conan will need a debut to remember for all the right reasons to alter the thinking of Ireland's coaching staff at this stage.

New Zealand-born prop Michael Bent will win his fourth cap if called into action off the bench as expected.

The 29-year-old Leinster front-row's ability to operate on both sides of the scrum puts him in pole position to claim the fifth and potentially final prop berth in Ireland's World Cup ranks.

Connacht's Nathan White will have something to say about that and will be itching for his Test debut off the bench.

The 33-year-old will become Ireland's third-oldest debutant of all time if he joins the fray at the Aviva Stadium.

Ireland: 15-S Zebo; 14-L Fitzgerald, 13-J Payne, 12-G D'Arcy, 11-T Bowe; 10-I Madigan, 9-I Boss; 1-D Kilcoyne, 2-S Cronin, 3-M Ross, 4-D Tuohy, 5-D Toner, 6-J Conan, 7-C Henry), 8-S O'Brien.

Replacements: 16-R Strauss, 17-M Bent, 18-N White, 19-P O'Connell, 20-J Murphy, 21-E Reddan, 22-P Jackson, 23-D Kearney