Scotland v Ireland: teams

Geoff Cross has been named in Scotland‘s starting XV ahead of their clash with Ireland at Murrayfield on Sunday for the third round of the Six Nations.
The 30-year-old Edinburgh tight-head, who scored a try against New Zealand in his last start for Scotland, is the only change from the team that began the 34-10 victory over Italy earlier this month.
Cross replaces Euan Murray, the Worcester tight-head, who is unavailable for this weekend as a result of his Christian faith.
Meanwhile on the bench, Dougie Hall has recovered from the knee injury he sustained against England and is restored as replacement hooker.
His Glasgow Warriors team-mate Jon Welsh also wins a place on the bench in his first involvement in a match-day 23 since he returned home early from last summer’s tour to the South Pacific to undergo shoulder surgery.
Scotland interim head coach Scott Johnson said: “We have to improve on our last game and that’s been our theme at training all week.
“I make no apology for saying again that we have to step up our work in the contact area.  Yes, we’ve some talented athletes in the squad , but we have to give them the opportunities.
“It’s good to see players challenging for selection – and there are a number consistently putting their hands up, which is exactly what we want to see.
“But we’ve kept changes to a minimum and are saying to the players: ‘You’ve won one game. Now go out show us you can win another’.”
Luke Marshall and Paddy Jackson will make their Test debuts for Ireland from inside centre and fly-half respectively.
Marshall comes in to replace the injured Gordon D’Arcy, who is out for the rest of the tournament with a foot injury, while Jackson overcame competition from veteran Ronan O’Gara to be handed the No.10 shirt in place of Jonny Sexton
Along with the Ulster duo, there are also starts for Keith Earls, Tom Court and Donncha O’Callaghan as Ireland look to bounce back from their round two loss to England.
Earls starts on the wing replacing the injured Simon Zebo while Tom Court is named at loose-head after Cian Healy received a three-week ban for stamping on Dan Cole in the last round in Dublin.
Munster lock O’Callaghan gets his chance replacing Connacht Mike McCarthy who is sidelined with knee ligament damage.
Leinster back Luke Fitzgerald could also win his first cap for Ireland since 2011 having missed much of the last 18 months due to injury.
Head Coach Decland Kidney said: “Paddy’s inclusion was a challenge given the stature of Ronan O’Gara, but I think Paddy deserves a go in this one.
“It was a very difficult decision to leave Ronan out, it was right up there. But that’s a compliment to Paddy.
“There were always going to be five changes to the side that played against England. Luke was with us all through November and accomplished himself very well.”
Scotland: Stuart Hogg; Sean Maitland, Sean Lamont, Matt Scott, Tim Visser; Ruaridh Jackson, Greig Laidlaw; Ryan Grant, Ross Ford, Geoff Cross; Richie Gray, Jim Hamilton; Robert Harley, Kelly Brown (Capt.), Johnnie Beattie.
Replacements: Dougie Hal, Jon Welsh, Moray Low, Alastair Kellock, David Denton, Henry Pyrgos, Duncan Weir, Max Evans.
Ireland: Rob Kearney; Craig Gilroy, Brian O’Driscoll, Luke Marshall, Keith Earls; Paddy Jackson, Conor Murray; Tom Court, Rory Best, Mike Ross; Donncha O’Callaghan, Donnacha Ryan; Peter O’Mahony, Sean O’Brien, Jamie Heaslip (Capt.)
Replacements: Sean Cronin, David Kilcoyne, Declan Fitzpatrick, Devin Toner, Iain Henderson, Eoin Reddan, Ronan O’Gara, Luke Fitzgerald.