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Gregor Townsend has made one change to the side that defeated England for their Natwest 6 Nations game with Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.
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Glasgow Warriors wing Tommy Seymour an injury-enforced change to the back division, having failed to recover sufficiently from the back injury sustained in the national team’s Calcutta Cup win.
In-form Edinburgh Rugby back Blair Kinghorn will earn his first start for the national team on the wing in place of Seymour, with Glasgow Warriors wing Lee Jones taking his vacated place on the bench.
Townsend has made one further change to the replacements bench, with Glasgow Warriors hooker Fraser Brown – who featured in all but two Scotland Tests last year – returning from injury to replace Scott Lawson.
Scotland Head Coach, Gregor Townsend, said: “We were delighted with the result against England and backing up our win against France with an improved performance.
“The intent we showed in attack and defence in the first half was very encouraging and we continued to work hard in the second-half. The effort that went into denying England a second try in the closing minutes was great to see.
“Our players had prepared very well for the challenge of taking on England and there has been a similar focus and commitment this week at training.
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“There are a few areas of our game that we are working to improve and we are aware that we will have to be better if we are to beat a very good Ireland side in Dublin.”
Scotland team to face Ireland in Dublin
15. Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors) – 58 caps
14. Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh Rugby) – 1 cap
13. Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors) – 14 caps
12. Pete Horne (Glasgow Warriors) – 31 caps
11. Sean Maitland (Saracens) – 32 caps
10. Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors) – 35 caps
9. Greig Laidlaw VICE CAPTAIN (Clermont Auvergne) – 61 caps
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1. Gordon Reid (London Irish) – 30 caps
2. Stuart McInally (Edinburgh Rugby) – 15 caps
3. Simon Berghan (Edinburgh Rugby) – 7 caps
4. Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby) – 21 caps
5. Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors) – 41 caps
6. John Barclay CAPTAIN (Scarlets) – 69 caps
7. Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby) – 18 caps
8. Ryan Wilson VICE CAPTAIN (Glasgow Warriors) – 35 caps
Substitutes
16. Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors) – 29 caps
17. Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow Warriors) – 6 caps
18. Willem Nel (Edinburgh Rugby) – 20 caps
19. Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors) – 34 caps
20. David Denton (Worcester Warriors) – 37 caps
21. Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) – 14 caps
22. Nick Grigg (Glasgow Warriors) – 2 caps
23. Lee Jones (Glasgow Warriors) – 7 caps
Scotland beat Ireland 27-22 in last year’s Six Nations, but haven’t won in Dublin since 2010, when they edged it 23-20 at Croke Park.
Ireland are the only team left in the competition who can achieve a Grand Slam, while victory for Scotland would leave them on course to challenge for the Championship.
BREAKING | Gregor Townsend has made one change to the starting Scotland team for this Saturday’s NatWest 6 Nations Test against Ireland in Dublin.
?? Tommy Seymour misses out with a back injury so Blair Kinghorn earns his first start on the wing. Lee Jones joins the bench. pic.twitter.com/xQtoTQ0Hy1
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) March 7, 2018
