Sexton returns to Ireland side for Scotland clash

• 3 Dec 2020
• Behind the Scenes

Johnny Sexton returns to captain Ireland at fly-half for this Saturday’s Autumn Nations Cup match against Scotland at the Aviva Stadium (kick-off 2.15pm, live on Amazon Prime Video).

Conor Murray starts at scrum-half, while Robbie Henshaw also returns to the side at inside centre, with Bundee Aki at outside centre.

The back-three is unchanged from last weekend’s win over Georgia, with Jacob Stockdale at full-back and Keith Earls and Hugo Keenan on the wings.

Up front, Cian Healy packs down alongside Rob Herring and Andrew Porter. James Ryan and Iain Henderson continue in the second-row and the back-row is made up of Peter O’Mahony, CJ Stander and Caelan Doris.

Uncapped Ulster prop Eric O’Sullivan is set to make his Ireland debut, after being named amongst the replacements.

On the bench, O’Sullivan is joined by Ronan Kelleher, John Ryan, Quinn Roux and Josh van Der Flier, while Jamison Gibson Park, Ross Byrne and Chris Farrell provide the back-line cover.

Ireland team to play Scotland:

15. Jacob Stockdale (Ulster)
14. Hugo Keenan (Leinster)
13. Bundee Aki (Connacht)
12. Robbie Henshaw (Leinster)
11. Keith Earls (Munster)
10. Jonathan Sexton (Leinster) CAPTAIN
9. Conor Murray (Munster)

1. Cian Healy (Leinster)
2. Rob Herring (Ulster)
3. Andrew Porter (Leinster)
4. Iain Henderson (Ulster)
5. James Ryan (Leinster)
6. CJ Stander (Munster)
7. Peter O’Mahony (Munster)
8. Caelan Doris (Leinster)

Replacements

16. Ronan Kelleher (Leinster)
17. Eric O’Sullivan (Ulster)
18. John Ryan (Munster)
19. Quinn Roux (Connacht)
20. Josh van der Flier (Leinster)
21. Jamison Gibson Park (Leinster)
22. Ross Byrne (Leinster)
23. Chris Farrell (Munster) .