1
Henderson and O'Brien to start at Murrayfield
By Peter Thompson
Iain Henderson will start for Ireland against Scotland in the first game of the Six Nations on Saturday and Sean O'Brien has been passed fit.
Lock Henderson comes into the second row alongside Devin Toner, with Donnacha Ryan ruled out due to a knee injury.
Flanker O'Brien has recovered from a calf injury to join CJ Stander and Jamie Heaslip in the back row for the opener at Murrayfield.
Paddy Jackson has been named as fly-half by Joe Schmidt after Jonathan Sexton was ruled out with a calf problem.
Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose will form the centre pairing for an Ireland side who are second-favourites for the tournament behind defending champions England.
Munster hooker Niall Scannell is in line to win his cap from the bench, but his brother Rory misses out.
Ireland team: Rob Kearney, Keith Earls, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Simon Zebo, Paddy Jackson, Conor Murray; Jack McGrath, Rory Best (captain), Tadhg Furlong. Iain Henderson, Devin Toner, CJ Stander, Sean O'Brien, Jamie Heaslip.
Replacements: Niall Scannell, Cian Healy, John Ryan, Ultan Dillane, Josh van der Flier, Kieran Marmion, Ian Keatley, Tommy Bowe.
Trending on RugbyPass
2
'Chaos': Lawes sheds light on the social that ended 2 England careers
3
Ex-Ireland wing brands Six Nations champs 'not that good'
4
Hacjivah Dayimani exits SA following Springbok snub
5
Latest Comments
Starts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
Go to comments