Six Nations 2024: Ireland v Scotland match preview, team news, kick-off time

Ireland wing James Lowe crosses for one of his two tries against England at Twickenham last weekend

Ireland host Scotland at the Aviva Stadium as they look to secure the Six Nations title on St Patrick's weekend.

Ireland have won 18 successive home games and would retain the championship if they avoid defeat in Dublin.

Scotland's faint title hopes have all but evaporated after their narrow defeat in Italy last Saturday.

However, Gregor Townsend's side can claim a maiden Six Nations Triple Crown after their victories over Wales and England earlier in the tournament.

Ireland's bid to become the first side to clinch back-to-back Grand Slams ended at Twickenham last week, but a win or a draw,would be enough to retain the championship.

Even a losing bonus point could be all Andy Farrell's side need, depending on other results.

The defending champions are vying for a 10th successive victory over Scotland, whose last win in Dublin came in 2010.

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Team news

Ireland: Farrell has named an unchanged starting XV, with Calvin Nash fit to retain his place on the right wing after he sustained a head injury in the early stages of the defeat by England.

Farrell has opted for a 5-3 split on the bench as Harry Byrne and the fit-again Garry Ringrose replace Iain Henderson and Ciaran Frawley, who also suffered a head knock at Twickenham.

Scotland: Gregor Townsend has made two changes from the side that lost in Rome, as Glasgow Warriors centre Stafford McDowall makes his Six Nations debut and Ben White returns at scrum-half.

Loose-head prop Rory Sutherland is among the replacements and likely to make his first outing of the tournament, while former captain Jamie Ritchie, Ali Price and Alec Hepburn drop out of the squad altogether.

Commentator's notes

Alastair Eykyn: There are big questions to be answered in Dublin. Can Ireland recover from Twickenham and the shattering of their Grand Slam dream? A championship title might only be consolation for a team of their calibre, but it is theirs for the taking with a win or even a draw.

Can Scotland channel the pain of that Roman slump into a performance for the ages? The Scots haven't won in Dublin for 14 long years, were well beaten by Ireland at the World Cup, and now face accusations of mental frailty.

View from both camps

Ireland assistant head coach Simon Easterby: "We have a huge amount to play for and want to finish on a high. We want to put to bed what happened last weekend.

"We also know that Scotland will be smarting after that defeat by Italy, who deserved that result. We know their back three can create problems with Finn Russell pulling the strings and when he's on form it's difficult to stop their momentum."

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend: "There is a determination to be better. It is tough going through the reviews [when you lose]. 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."

Line-ups

Ireland: 15-Keenan; 14-Nash, 13-Henshaw, 12-Aki, 11-Lowe; 10-Crowley, 9-Gibson-Park; 1-Porter, 2-Sheehan, 3-Furlong, 4-McCarthy, 5-Beirne, 6-O'Mahony (capt), 7-Van der Flier, 8-Doris.

Replacements: 16-Kelleher, 17-Healy, 18-Bealham, 19-Baird, 20-Conan, 21-Murray, 22-Byrne, 23-Ringrose.

Scotland: 15-Kinghorn; 14-Steyn, 13-Jones, 12-McDowall, 11-Van der Merwe; 10-Russell (co-capt), 9-White; 1-Schoeman, 2-Turner, 3-Z. Fagerson, 4-Gilchrist, 5-Cummings, 6-Christie, 7-Darge (co-capt), 8-Dempsey.

Replacements: 16-Ashman, 17-Sutherland, 18-Millar-Mills, 19-Skinner, 20-M. Fagerson, 21-Horne, 22-Redpath, 23-Rowe.

Match facts

Head-to-head

• Ireland have won the last nine meetings between the two nations, equalling their longest winning streak in this fixture set between 1939 and 1954.

• The Irish have triumphed in 11 of their 12 home Six Nations clashes against Scotland, suffering their only home defeat in 2010 at Croke Park.

Ireland

• Ireland could lose successive Six Nations games for the first time since a run of three defeats between 2020 and 2021.

• Andy Farrell's side have scored 3.2 points per 22 entry in this championship, more than any other side.

• They've also conceded just 1.5 points per defensive 22 entry, the fewest in the tournament.

Scotland

• Scotland have alternated between a win and a defeat in their last eight Six Nations away games, losing last time out to the Italy in Rome.

• No side has made more dominant tackles than Scotland, who are averaging 12.5 per game.

• Duhan van der Merwe needs one try to equal Stuart Hogg's Scottish Test record of 27. He's the top try-scorer in this Six Nations heading into the final weekend with five.

Match officials

Referee: Matthew Carley (England)

Touch judges: Karl Dickson (England) & Christophe Ridley (England)

TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)