Scotland name team for Six Nations finale
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Injuries have ruled out Gregor Brown and Scott Cummings in the second row, so in come Max Williamson and Grant Gilchrist, the latter set to win an 88th cap and break Scott Murray’s all-time Scottish international appearance record in the position.
Zander Fagerson comes in to start at tighthead prop, having been a replacement in last weekend’s thrilling win over France, where he is joined in the front row by loosehead Pierre Schoeman and hooker George Turner.
Scotland’s back row remains unchanged with Glasgow Warriors trio Matt Fagerson (blindside flanker), vice-captain Rory Darge (openside) and number 8 Jack Dempsey linking up for the third time in this year’s competition.
Townsend has named an unchanged back division from the one that combined to such effect against France, with last week’s Player of the Match Kyle Steyn joining fellow double try-scorer Darcy Graham, who took his tally to 37 to top Scotland’s all-time men’s list.
Blair Kinghorn is once more named at full-back, with captain Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones forming the centre partnership for the fifth straight championship match.
Scrum-half Ben White is named alongside vice-captain and stand-off Finn Russell, ensuring that the same half-backs have also started each of Scotland’s matches in this year’s competition.
Among the replacements, there are first involvements of 2026 for second row Alex Craig, back row Magnus Bradbury and Kyle Rowe, who will cover the back-three positions.
D’arcy Rae reverts to the bench having started last week, with the remaining substitutes – hooker Ewan Ashman, loosehead prop Rory Sutherland, scrum-half George Horne and stand-off/centre Tom Jordan – undertaking the same roles as in the previous penultimate round of fixtures.
Scotland team to face Ireland in the 2026 Guinness Men’s Six Nations at Aviva Stadium on Saturday 14 March 2026, kick-off 2:10pm – live on STV/ITV (caps in brackets):
15. Blair Kinghorn – Toulouse (64)
14. Darcy Graham – Edinburgh Rugby (54)
13. Huw Jones – Glasgow Warriors (62)
12. Sione Tuipulotu – Glasgow Warriors (37) – Captain
11. Kyle Steyn – Glasgow Warriors (32)
10. Finn Russell – Bath Rugby (93) Vice-captain
9. Ben White – Toulon (35)
1. Pierre Schoeman – Edinburgh Rugby (48)
2. George Turner – Harlequins (54)
3. Zander Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors (80)
4. Max Williamson – Glasgow Warriors (12)
5. Grant Gilchrist – Edinburgh Rugby (87)
6. Matt Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors (63)
7. Rory Darge – Glasgow Warriors (38) Vice-captain
8. Jack Dempsey – Glasgow Warriors (38)
Replacements
16. Ewan Ashman – Edinburgh Rugby (34)
17.Rory Sutherland – Glasgow Warriors (47)
18. D’arcy Rae – Edinburgh Rugby (6)
19. Alex Craig – Glasgow Warriors (6)
20. Magnus Bradbury – Edinburgh Rugby (21)
21. George Horne – Glasgow Warriors (44)
22. Kyle Rowe – Glasgow Warriors (16)
23. Tom Jordan – Bristol Bears (16)
