Rugby-Scotland ready for test of endurance against Ireland

Scotland have made two changes to their side for Saturday’s final Six Nations Championship fixture against Ireland in Dublin, with centre Stafford McDowall and scrumhalf Ben White selected to start as they seek a rare win against their hosts. The duo replace Cameron Redpath and George Horne respectively, who both drop to the bench following last weekend’s 31-29 loss to Italy in Rome that put a near fatal dent in Scotland’s title hopes.

Scotland have made two changes to their side for Saturday’s final Six Nations Championship fixture against Ireland in Dublin, with centre Stafford McDowall and scrumhalf Ben White selected to start as they seek a rare win against their hosts.

The duo replace Cameron Redpath and George Horne respectively, who both drop to the bench following last weekend’s 31-29 loss to Italy in Rome that put a near fatal dent in Scotland’s title hopes. Coach Gregor Townsend was bitterly disappointed in the wake of that defeat but has resisted making wholesale changes and left his pack untouched, reverting to a 5-3 split between forwards and backs on the bench.

"We feel Stafford has earned an opportunity with how he has played this year," Townsend told reporters on Thursday. "With Cam playing well for us off the bench earlier this season, we know he can bring that impact. "Ben was on a recharge week (against Italy) and hopefully that has done him good. We know this is going to be a massive challenge for us in terms of our fitness and work rate, whether we have to defend for big phases or go through phases in our attack."

Prop Rory Sutherland will play his first minutes of the championship off the bench having initially not been chosen for the squad due to a lack of game-time at French side Oyonnax. "It is good to have Rory back, he is playing well. He brings power, energy and experience off the bench," Townsend said.

The coach admits his players are still smarting from the loss to Italy, but believes there is no better place to right that wrong than Dublin. "There is a determination to be better, it is tough going through the reviews (when you lose)," he said. "But the players have been aligned about where we can improve, and there is no better challenge than Ireland away.

"We have shown the best parts of ourselves in this championship at times, but we have also let our concentration slip and if we do that at the weekend we are not going to come away with a win." Scotland, who have lost their last nine tests against Ireland, can overhaul their hosts at the top of the table but must win with a bonus point and deny their opponents one at the same time, while also overcoming a 76-point swing on points-difference, something that would require an extraordinary, and most unlikely, result.

Scotland team: 15-Blair Kinghorn, 14-Kyle Steyn, 13-Huw Jones, 12-Stafford McDowall, 11-Duhan van der Merwe, 10-Finn Russell (co-captain), 9-Ben White; 1-Pierre Schoeman, 2-George Turner, 3-Zander Fagerson, 4-Grant Gilchrist, 5-Scott Cummings, 6-Andy Christie, 7-Rory Darge (co-captain), 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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