Starting 10: Paddy Jackson
Ulster fly-half Paddy Jackson will start for Ireland in place of the injured Johnny Sexton against Scotland in the Six Nations.
Jackson is preferred to Ireland stalwart Ronan O'Gara, who is named amongst the replacements.
Six other changes see the uncapped Luke Marshall named at inside centre in place of the injured Gordon D'Arcy, whilst Ulster prop Tom Court also starts as a replacement for the suspended Cian Healy.
Keith Earls comes onto the left wing to replace the injured Simon Zebo, whilst Donnacha O'Callaghan starts in the second row alongside Donnacha Ryan.
Leinster lock Devin Toner and Ulster back row Iain Henderson are named on the bench.
More to follow...
Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip (c), 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Donnacha O'Callaghan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Declan Fitzpatrick, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Iain Henderson, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ronan O'Gara, 23 Luke Fitzgerald.
Date: Sunday, 24 February
Venue: Murrayfield
Kick-off: 14:00 GMT
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Jérôme Garces (France), Greg Garner (England)
Television match official: Eric Gauzins (France)
Comments
J_Hdk says...
99Call ~ the more you post, the more you show your ignorance of the game
Posted 00:23 22nd February 2013
carpelone says...
Exciting time for Ireland. New players coming in, maybe it would be the right time to bring in Henshaw or what his name is. Some positions are questionable (Earls over Fitzgerald above all), but overall nice prospects. Why are DOC there though?
Posted 21:15 21st February 2013
PatrickH says...
I think McFadden's best position is 12. That's where I've seen him play his best rugby anyway.
I don't think I'd have him in the squad though. In fact I don't think I'd make any changes to Deccies starting 15 or subs. I'm not praising him (before I get abused). He's made his own bed. That's clear. I just think he's now doing the best he can with that bed.
Posted 19:24 21st February 2013
99call says...
AsAbove_SoBelow
Not denying that the team got its backside kicked in those tests but personnaly I thought he did alright in a side that was blackwashed
he wasnt the only one to get run over in those games but he gave his all, you kinda missed my point though they may have been "his" best perfomances I didnt say they were great just he did as good as he could
Look its quite clear now hes being bypassed by other players now in Gilroy, Marshall, Zebo and now Fitzy so i dont see him featuring in many ireland sides going forward, I just said he gave it his all, I dont think his all is good enough for international rugby but thats my opinion
Posted 16:52 21st February 2013
AsAbove_SoBelow says...
99call: "his best performances for us were on the wing against the ABs last year"
Is the above a typo? Did you actually watch those matches? Obviously the team was well and truly beat and basically nobody played well BUT...
McFadden was absolutely embarrassed and humilated in Auckland (46-10) and Hamilton (60-0) tests, he was literally ran over for more than a few tries - and not by forwards either.
Your comment is utterly baffling and blatantly wrong.
Posted 15:48 21st February 2013
munster30 says...
ronanmeagher
Dont be so pedantic, everyone remembers that speech, i meant the general rugby public dont give O Sullivan enough credit. The team under O Sullivan were consistent and played with flare, unlike Kidneys team which are patchy and inconsistent. People were turning their noses up at triple crowns under eddie o sullivan. I bet they wouldnt look too bad now!
And for the record I dont think he was giving alot of credit to O Sullivan, just the usual infuriating PC bulls%£t he rolls out after every match......
"shur isnt it a great day.......no one died...... we'll go back to the training ground.......Wales/Scotland/France/South Africa/USA are a very good side.......tight calls"
He is bereft of any gameplan and tactics and he is being found out.
Posted 15:07 21st February 2013
ronanmeagher says...
@munster30 - I believe Kidney mentioned Eddie in his first interview after winning the Grand slam, so he gave credit where it was due.
Posted 10:41 21st February 2013
99call says...
J_HDK
I think your googles are more than blue tinted mate sounds more like Dulux blue emulsion
If you really think that McFadden could cover 10 in an international then I really am going to worry about you, dont get me wrong I like the kid he gives his all but hes a winger and should never be handed a shirt with 10,12 or 13 on it, his best performances for us were on the wing against the ABs last year so I would never have any issue with him being picked on the wing, although I do believe we have better wingers than him, but never in the centre.
Im no Kidney fan and believe its time for him to go but the first time he actually does something right he still gets slated the same way any new coach would be because the team he picks isnt "the same team I would pick and it doesnt have my favourite player"
Posted 09:52 21st February 2013
Rosbif says...
Thanks @shaz13....although I now need to eat my words since St Andre has finally picked a half decent looking team....
Posted 09:32 21st February 2013
12Counties says...
@ gleek
Earls was one of the few people who played quite well (on the wing) when he came on against England.
Despite his many fine attributes, Pienaar is not a particularly good passer, worse than Murray in fact.
Grant is also a loosehead so Court will be propping against Geoff Cross
Posted 09:23 21st February 2013
Irishzimbabwean says...
Well said 99call and PatrickH. The provincial bias and whinging is very boring - sand remarkably negative. We need a win on Sunday.
Posted 08:51 21st February 2013
shaz13 says...
haha @Rosbif, fantastic
Posted 23:09 20th February 2013
Gleek says...
Glad to see the belated changes but begs the question why Jackson has not been in the 23 for the first two games to get some match day experience. I think he is a great prospect but may struggle with Murray's passing as he is normally outside Pinnaer or P. Marshall.
Court is a very good loose head and has held his own against better tight heads than Grant. Played well against the Saxons and should be rewarded. Kilcoyne is a greater talent but still a bit raw.
Not sure what Earls needs to do to lose this place in he squad. At least on the wing he can do less damage. Think we need a water carrier in the back line though. Trimble or McFadden on the right with Gilroy on left would have been better IMO.
2nd row is still a big worry. It is the one area where we are significantly outgunned by Scotland (and Eng, Fra and Wales too). Heaslip's form is a worry, England was the worst I've seen him play. Ironically there is a form Munsterman available who will never get picked ahead of his Leinster counterpart.
Posted 22:35 20th February 2013
crunchfit says...
@connaughtabu
People want Kidney to make sensible calls, which have generally been to go for youth over out of form, out of date players. They don't want youth for the sake of it. Even if he has finally gone for some young guys (about two years late), we still want sensible decisions and that's what Kidney has yet again failed to deliver on one or two key positions.
That said, given the current options, this is probably one of the better selections the guy has made overall. Great to see Marshall there. Under pressure? I hope so.
Posted 21:56 20th February 2013
Rosbif says...
Ooops, almost forgot.... the back-line bench is Boss, ROG and Downey (for impact!), so when Gilroy comes off injured after 30 minutes, you have to play ROG at 15.
Seems far-fetched, yet that is what happened to France last game, and people are somehow surprised at the result.....
Anyway, don't mean to whinge, good luck again this weekend :-)
Posted 20:58 20th February 2013
Rosbif says...
If Irish fans are upset with the back-line picked, imagine the following if you can... because that is what we French have been waking up to with St Andre (i.e. no full back, your best centre playing on the wing to make room for club team-mates in the centre, a club no 9 playing at 10 etc etc)
9 Murray 10 Reddan 11 Earls 12 Marshall 13 Cave 14 BOD 15 Gilroy
Anyway, hope that makes you feel a little better, good luck this weekend, and see you in a few weeks time at the Aviva :-)
Posted 20:40 20th February 2013
liam2me says...
TBH, most of the provincial $h!te is coming from Leinster 'fans'. The Ulster and Munster lads seems to be able to just get on with it, but they never had chips on their shoulders about the other provinces which probably explains a lot!
Posted 20:21 20th February 2013
Hondaboys11 says...
he just had to find a place for his favourite son Earls...
Posted 20:04 20th February 2013
J_HDK says...
99Call,.. I would have preferred to see McFadden at 12 too. He is in great form, performed very well in the Autumn internationals and can cover 10, 11, 12, and 13.
I am quite surprised re Jackson starting as the games I have seen him in, he has played a distant second fiddle to Pienaar, but happy to see him in the 23.
I am befuddled as to the logic of retaining ROG in the squad if he doesn't start in the absence of Sexton.
IMO it should be Madigan to start alongside Reddan, bringing on Jackson later followed by Murray. But then again I may be wearing blue tinted goggles
Posted 19:44 20th February 2013
PatrickH says...
I'm a Leinster fan by the way. Yet I love watching the other provinces play and support them when I do (most of the time..)
Posted 19:18 20th February 2013