Ireland v Scotland: Farrell names unchanged side for Championship decider against Scotland

Calvin Nash passed the fitness test to keep his place in the starting XV.

TOGGING OUT: Head coach Andy Farrell. Pic: INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Calvin Nash has been passed fit to start for Ireland against Scotland this Saturday as Andy Farrell named an unchanged team from last weekend’s defeat to England for this Guinness Six Nations finale at Aviva Stadium.

Ireland, with a four-point lead over England going into the fifth and final round, can secure back-to-back championship titles with a victory over the Scots in the middle game of the Super Saturday schedule and head coach Farrell has backed the players who lost narrowly at Twickenham to get them over the line.

There is a significant change to the replacements as Ireland revert to five forwards and three backs after the gamble of a 6/2 split backfired when right wing Nash sustained a head injury on five minutes and his replacement Ciaran Frawley followed suit on 50 minutes.

Yet Nash retains the number 14 jersey having passed his return to play protocols since failing his Head Injury Assessment 1 following his removal at Twickenham. Frawley, though, drops out of the matchday squad, with Harry Byrne named as covering fly-half and outside centre Garry Ringrose named at number 23 for his first Six Nations appearance of the campaign having missed the first three rounds with a shoulder injury.

Iain Henderson is the forward to miss out on the bench as a consequence with Farrell retaining fellow lock/flanker Ryan Baird to back up a starting second row of Joe McCarthy and Tadhg Beirne, who is set to earn his 50th Ireland cap on Saturday. Jack Conan also provides back-row cover while Conor Murray continues as replacement scrum-half.

Assistant coach Simon Easterby on Tuesday insisted the 6/2 option had not been removed from consideration despite it coming back to bite Ireland in the 23-22 defeat to England.

With Frawley the only outside back cover, his introduction at full-back forced first-choice starting 15 Hugo Keenan onto the wing to replace Nash. When Frawley then sustained a head injury, that scrum-half Murray as the only option off the bench, his introduction sending starting number nine Jamison Gibson-Park to the right wing as Keenan reverted to full-back.

Ireland’s 5/3 split to face Scotland represents a more balanced approach with Ringrose covering both wing and midfield, while Byrne’s introduction could push starting 10 Jack Crowley to full-back or inside centre if necessary.

Scotland have also reverted from a 6/2 to a 5/3 bench following their defeat to Italy in Rome last Saturday with head coach Gregor Townsend making two changes to the starting line-up beaten 31-29 at Stadio Olimpico.

It was a loss that ended Scottish hopes of a first title of the Six Nations era but they will travel to Dublin still seeking a Triple Crown following wins over Wales and England in rounds one and three.

Stafford McDowall has been handed a Six Nations debut at inside centre, seven months after a first cap against Italy in a World Cup warm-up match.

Scotland also recall Toulon scrum-half Ben White to replace Rome starter George Horne, who moves to the bench alongside fellow backline replacements, centre Cameron Redpath and back-three cover Kyle Rowe.

IRELAND: H Keenan (Leinster); C Nash (Munster), R Henshaw (Leinster), B Aki (Connacht), J Lowe (Leinster); J Crowley (Munster), J Gibson-Park (Leinster); A Porter, D Sheehan (Leinster), T Furlong (Leinster); J McCarthy (Leinster), T Beirne (Munster); P O’Mahony (Munster) - captain, J van der Flier (Leinster), C Doris (Leinster).

Replacements: R Kelleher (Leinster), C Healy (Leinster), F Bealham (Connacht), R Baird (Leinster), J Conan (Leinster), C Murray (Munster), H Byrne (Leinster), G Ringrose (Leinster).

SCOTLAND: B Kinghorn (Toulouse); K Steyn (Glasgow Warriors), H Jones (Glasgow Warriors), S McDowall (Glasgow Warriors), D van der Merwe (Edinburgh); F Russell (Bath) – co-captain, B White (Toulon); P Schoeman (Edinburgh), G Turner (Glasgow Warriors), Z Ferguson (Glasgow Warriors); G Gilchrist (Edinburgh), S Cummings (Glasgow Warriors); A Christie (Saracens), R Darge (Glasgow Warriors) – co-captain, J Dempsey (Glasgow Warriors).

Replacements: E Ashman (Edinburgh), R Sutherland (Oyonnax), E Millar-Mills (Northampton Saints), S Skinner (Edinburgh), M Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), G Horne (Glasgow Warriors), C Redpath (Bath Rugby), K Rowe (Glasgow Warriors)