Target Ronan if you dare, Scotland told

Scotland have been challenged to target Ronan O’Gara at Murrayfield on Sunday as the veteran fly-half prepares to start his first game for Ireland since the 2011 World Cup.

With first-choice out-half Jonny Sexton one of five starters in the defeat to England 10 days ago ruled out of this weekend’s RBS 6 Nations match, Munster’s O’Gara has been backed to silence the critics calling for Ulster rookie Paddy Jackson to start instead.

Jackson, 21, looks set to hold off Sexton’s Leinster club-mate Ian Madigan for the back-up fly-half role, with 34-year-old O’Gara, despite a slip in form as a replacement against England that continued into Munster’s defeat at Scarlets last Saturday, poised to be handed Ireland’s No 10 jersey for the trip to Edinburgh when Declan Kidney announces his team today.

While O’Gara is set win his 128th Test cap in his first start since the World Cup quarter-final against Wales in October 2011, Kidney could also name a debutant outside him at first centre, with Ulster’s Luke Marshall likely to get the nod to replace the injured Gordon D’Arcy, and Keith Earls coming off the bench to replace Simon Zebo, whom he replaced in the game against England after Zebo broke a metatarsal in his right foot.

O’Gara’s inclusion and the Scots’ liking for punching holes through the 10-12 channel will inevitably rekindle questions about the perceived defensive frailties of Ireland’s record points scorer but Ireland assistant coach Les Kiss yesterday dared temporary Scottish head coach Scott Johnson not to target the Irish fly-half.

“Most game plans from any team will target the nine-10. That’s a fact and since I’ve been here and I was in charge of defence, my motto was ‘let them go at him’ because it’s fool’s gold a lot of the time.

“It can actually set them up and throw them down a path we want them to go to. So if Rog is starting for us, they can go there. That’s fine. We believe in what we have in our whole squad, we believe that our defence is strong across the park.”

Kiss also backed O’Gara’s experience to pull him through a temporary loss of form, adding: “I think experience is something that always has to be factored into anything.”

The other changes will be in the pack, where suspension and injury have also forced Kidney’s hand.

Loosehead prop Cian Healy’s suspension for a stamp on England’s Dan Cole will see a first Test start for David Kilcoyne, the Munster front-rower looking likely to hold off the equally in-form but hitherto overlooked Tom Court of Ulster. And Donncha O’Callaghan is set to replace the injured Mike McCarthy to form an all-Munster second row with Donnacha Ryan, who was yesterday said to be responding well to treatment for a lower back problem.

There could also be a Munster forward in line for a Test debut if James Coughlan gets the nod as a replacement back row.

IRELAND (probable): R Kearney; K Earls, B O’Driscoll, L Marshall, C Gilroy; R O’Gara, C Murray; D Kilcoyne, R Best, M Ross; D O’Callaghan, D Ryan; P O’Mahony, S O’Brien, J Heaslip (captain).