Luke Marshall and Paddy Jackson will make their Test debuts for Ireland after being named in the XV for their match with Scotland on Sunday.
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.”
Ireland team: 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.
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