Cullen’s leading role

HE may be deemed a stand-in for skipper Brian O’Driscoll, but Leo Cullen will walk tall en route to the Murrayfield halfway line this afternoon as Ireland’s 100th captain.

It’s a warm-up match for the World Cup and the make-up of the team suggests a difficult day but defeat will hardly put a dent in the encouraging preparations for next month’s tournament in New Zealand.

However, even though there are only two survivors from the starting side that defeated England 24-8 in the final game of the Six Nations last April, a lot of players have a lot to gain or lose this weekend.