Scottish Rugby

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

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So there it is - probably the biggest selection of Gregor Townsend's time in charge of Scotland.

We wondered who would partner Grant Gilchrist in the second-row and thought it might be Alex Craig. It's not.

It's something of a surprise that it's Max Williamson given that the big man - huge talent but not at his best right now - was hauled off early in Cardiff and wasn't in the 23 for France. Massive show of faith in him by Townsend.

Zander Fagerson also starts after playing a bench role against France. What's the thinking there? After so many poor starts in their 11 straight losses against Ireland perhaps Townsend is giving his team the best chance to stay in the hunt early on rather than keeping heavy artillery like Fagerson for later in the day.

D'Arcy Rae is still an excellent operator to have on the bench. They might play close to 40 minutes apiece just like last weekend. Empty the tanks and then come off.

Craig is on the bench and offers plenty of oomph. So is Magnus Bradbury and that looks a shrewd call. Bradbury is a seriously hard nut.

Kyle Rowe makes his first squad of the championship as part of a 5-3 bench. It was 6-2 last weekend. Rowe deserves it. He's been a terrific force in the Glasgow team. Feel for Josh Bayliss and Freddy Douglas who miss out.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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I'm pleased to see Kyle Rowe in the 23, he's a player who has had to bide his time much in the way that Kyle Steyn did previously.

He performs consistently well for Glasgow Warriors, has never let Scotland down when called upon, but is more often than not overlooked for the big Test matches.

Rowe won't get the chance to make the sort of exceptional impact Steyn has made on this Six Nations, but he will have an important role to play in Dublin.

You can bet he will be straining at the leash to get out there and show what he is all about.

What a week it's been for Grant Gilchrist.

His daughter, Maggie, was born in the days leading up to the France game, when the big lock came off the bench to play his part in one of Scotland's greatest ever wins.

Now he's back in from the start to face Ireland and win his 88th cap, which will see him surpass Scott Murray as Scotland's most-capped lock.

With the blow of losing both Scott Cummings and Gregor Brown to injury, Gilchrist's experience will be vital in Dublin, especially alongside Max Williamson, a fine player but one who has been struggling for form in this championship.

Magnus Bradbury is another who has found Scotland opportunities hard to come by.

He has been a strong performer in an under-performing Edinburgh side this season, and his route into the Scotland back-row has been blocked by the magnificent form of Jack Dempsey at number eight.

Bradbury at his best is a beast. The criticism has been that we don't see his best often enough, but when he is in the mood he can be a devastating carrier.

Twenty minutes or half an hour of him towards the end of the game in Dublin could be crucial to keep Scotland moving forward.

Max Williamson, Grant Gilchrist and Zander Fagerson come into the Scotland XV for Saturday's crucial Six Nations showdown with Ireland in Dublin.

With locks Gregor Brown and Scott Cummings both dropping out through injury, Williamson and Fagerson form a new second-row partnership while Fagerson is in from the start at tighthead.

Magnus Bradbury makes the bench alongside Kyle Rowe.

Victory for Gregor Townsend's side can seal a first Six Nations title for Scotland - if France lose to England in Paris - while the Triple Crown is also up for grabs.

What do you make of Townsend's selection choices? Can Scotland win in Dublin for the first time in 16 years?

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Scotland: Kinghorn, Graham, Jones, Tuipulotu (capt), Steyn, Russell, White; Schoeman, Turner, Z Fagerson, Williamson, Gilchrist, M Fagerson, Darge, Dempsey.

Replacements: Ashman, Sutherland, Rae, Craig, Bradbury, Horne, Rowe, Jordan.

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France forward Oscar Jegou has been banned for four matches after "reckless contact with the eye(s)" of Scotland's Ewan Ashman.

During a Scotland maul in the second half of France's 50-40 defeat at Murrayfield, Jegou's right hand could be seen to cling to Ashman's face. However, referee Angus Gardner did not spot the infringement and it was not brought to his attention by TMO Brett Conan.

La Rochelle flanker Jegou, 22, was cited for an act of foul play and his punishment means he will sit out France's final Six Nations match at home to England on Saturday evening, with the French, Scots and Ireland bidding for the championship title. Ireland host Scotland earlier in the day.

Last Saturday's incident involving Ashman occurred before France scored late tries to collect a crucial bonus point and was raised to the officials by Scotland players at the time.

Former referee Nigel Owens was part of the BBC's commentary team at Murrayfield and said of the incident: "It definitely should have been looked at [by the TMO], it doesn't look good to be honest.

"That player will be in a bit of trouble. It should have been looked at in the game because it was quite clear what the actions were.

"It didn't matter in the context of the game, but on another day if the score was tight, things like that are the ones you want the TMO to come in for - the clear and the obvious.

"The TMO would have all the footage. When you look at it, you've got to bring it to the referee's attention.

"A Scottish player did go over to the referee and said, 'look, something happened here, we need to have a look' and the referee said there was a process in place.

"It's disappointing that wasn't picked up. Would they have seen enough evidence to deal with it and give a red card? Who knows. But it certainly should have been looked at, for sure."

Former Scotland captain John Barclay agreed, saying: "The thing that might stand against Jegou is you can clearly see where his hand is, he can see where Ewan Ashman's head is and the ball is. If we're seeing that, why is it not being looked at?

"Does it impact the championship? We don't know, but we hope it doesn't."

Jegou will also miss two domestic games and La Rochelle's Challenge Cup match at Newcastle on 4 April. He will be available again from mid-April.

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Rory Darge insists Scotland have become used to having to win in this year's Six Nations as they prepare for a potentially decisive final-day showdown in Ireland.

The Scots have recovered from an opening loss in Italy with successive wins against England, Wales and France.

Beating Ireland for the first time since 2017 on Saturday could secure Gregor Townsend's side the championship, so long as it betters France's match with visitors England later on Sunday.

"For a while now, it's been win or you're not going to be in with a shout," Darge said. "Obviously to be in with any sort of chance this weekend, we'll have to win.

"It's massively exciting, no getting away from it. I've never been in this position before.

"I've played in a few Six Nations now and to be going into the last weekend with what's at stake, it's really exciting. But ultimately we just have to focus on the performance against Ireland and then come what may."

Scotland's last Six Nations win in Dublin came in 2010.

"I've not beaten Ireland before, they're a tough team to beat and they've been right up there as one of the best teams in the world," said Darge.

"Obviously, we're fully aware of the challenge that lies ahead. Ireland are an outstanding team and our record against them hasn't been great so we know it's going to be difficult, but we've got to back ourselves.

"Ireland will pose a different threat to France. They're both top, top teams but they play a different style, defend differently. There will be things that we'll have to change, but there will also be a lot of our game that we'll stick to."

BBC Scotland's chief sportswriter Tom English has been answering some of your questions as Scotland go for the Six Nations title and Triple Crown against Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.

Jamie asked: We all know how Ireland will play this game. Physical up front, set-piece and collision dominance, kicks for territory, hoping for conditions like day three of a Glastonbury Festival. So the question is can Scotland's patched-up forward pack compete enough to feed the backs fast, quality ball?

Tom answered: That's one of the questions, for sure. Scotland are missing three certain starters in the pack - Scott Cummings, Gregor Brown and Jamie Ritchie (he was absolutely flying).

Ireland are trying to play a more expansive game under Andy Farrell, but everything starts with winning collisions. That's the same for all sides.

Ireland's scrum is vulnerable - they're down to their fifth-choice loosehead - and Scotland's scrum had a big day against France. If Scotland's pack gets on top then Scotland win, in my view. Their backs are lethal. Even without the missing three, Scotland will have a good pack on the field.

So, the answer is yes, they can compete up front, no doubt about it. But will they? That's the great imponderable.

Chris asked: After Saturday's match can we now say with certainty that AI's predictions are as good as Tom's?

Tom answered: I've got many predictions wrong in my time, but I'm not sure I've ever said, pre-match, that one team or the other had actually won the game before the players had even come out of the dressing room. That was tremendous. Beware my predictions. Beware AI, too.

Ethan asked: With Cummings and Brown ruled out, which are major blows, who should be our second row: Alex Craig and Max Williamson or has Grant Gilchrist done enough to earn a starting role?

Tom answered: I wrote about this for the website and we talked about it on the podcast as well. Gilchrist will start. Experienced head, lineout caller, playing well off the bench.

Who's beside him? Craig looks the best option to me. Started in Glasgow's wins against Toulouse and Saracens, carries hard and often, which you will need because Gilchrist won't carry with the dynamism you need from at least one of your second-rows.

Williamson was replaced early in Cardiff and Jonny Gray hasn't played since the end of January. I'm probably wrong, but I wonder if Gregor Townsend might see Magnus Bradbury as a utility back-row/second-row cover.

Bradbury can play second-row and is a hard carrier to have coming off the bench. I can see why that might be discussed even if they go a different road.

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

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When Darcy Graham's ill-advised line about Ireland being "there for the taking" in the Triple Crown, and possible Six Nations, decider in Dublin on Saturday landed in the media on Monday evening you could almost hear the glee coming across the Irish Sea.

Irish rugby folk never waste an opportunity to brand Scotland as arrogant losers even when there's zero evidence of it.

This annual casting of the Scots as a collection of players who are good at talking a big game without ever delivering one, is an odd phenomenon.

Scotland have lost this fixture 11 times in a row. If there was ever bombast in this environment - and I say this as an Irishman who's been covering the team for 21 years - then it disappeared long before my time.

The humility in these players is unarguable. If you have regular access to them you'll see it, week-on-week. No airs, no graces, no pomposity.

They believe they can win things even when results tell you strongly they can't. To any criticism of them backing themselves they might reply - what do you want us to say? We're hopeless? We'll never amount to anything?

For those of us who have spent years telling our Irish colleagues and pals that they have lost the plot with this notion of Scottish narcissism, the Graham comment posed certain challenges.

It came across badly, that's for sure. There is, of course, a grain of truth in it - everybody would surely agree that this is one of Scotland's biggest chances to end their hoodoo against Ireland - but in saying what he said he just offered Ireland ammunition.

The Irish players may - or may not - react in public but you'd fancy them using it privately.

Rugby is a complicated game but such old school motivation still has a place. Stick it up on the dressing room wall.

Is Graham arrogant? No, he is not.

Does his comment reflect the rest of the Scotland dressing room? I'd wager, no. I'd also bet that some in his playing circle might be kicking his behind for giving Ireland something extra to get them motoring.

This is destined to blow into something significant in the build-up to Saturday. In the media, at any rate. In truth, it's already started.

Without wanting to go all Sigmund Freud on Graham, his words, possibly, reflected the high of beating France earlier in the day and the desperation that all of these Scottish players will feel in wanting to beat Ireland.

That's the scalp they want more than any other.

Historically, England is always the biggest game, but given their dominance in the Calcutta Cup, beating England isn't the be-all and end-all.

Ireland have now become the team Scotland would love to beat - avenge - more than any other. There's history there. All of it bad for these Scottish players.

A win on Saturday would give them the Triple Crown and would keep them in the hunt for the championship, for a little while at any rate. It would also exorcise some demons from before, all clad in green and white and going back nine years.

"There for the taking" will come up multiple times in the build-up to Dublin. 'The blowhard Scots at it again. Will they ever learn?'

Graham can expect a volley if things go wrong on Saturday. If they go right, he can say 'I told you so'. A charge of arrogance won't matter a damn in that scenario.

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Defence coach Lee Radford insists Scotland are not fazed by the prospect of ending their losing run against Ireland as they prepare for Saturday's mouth-watering trip to Dublin.

Scotland have lost all of their past 11 matches against Ireland, but know a win could earn their first Six Nations title.

The Scots are level on points with France - who face England in their final match - but trail on points difference.

With Ireland also in the hunt, Radford says Scotland are embracing what they expect to be a "fantastic challenge".

"I've not lost to them. There's no scar tissue here," Radford said.

"All we can do and all we're going to do is prepare as well as we can, have as much energy as we can and embrace what a fantastic challenge it's going to be.

"They are an organised outfit, very structured and well coached. They have been on winning runs and that builds confidence.

"Like every side, you'd like to think there's something to go after and if we get things right, hopefully we can."

Scotland will be without key second row duo Gregor Brown and Scott Cummings, who both picked up injuries in last weekend's win over France.

Max Williamson and Grant Gilchrist are the most likely replacements, with Alex Samuel, Alex Craig, Jonny Gray and Euan Ferrie also in contention.

"I think it's next man up, that's always the mentality," Radford said. "Don't get me wrong, we're going to lose two fantastic players who have been great for us, but somebody's disappointment is another man's opportunity.

"A lot [of the alternative options] have not played, but they've been in and around it and how they've prepared has been through the roof for fellas that are going to step up.

"For that reason I've got every confidence in what they're going to do and they're going to step in this weekend."

BBC Scotland's chief sports writer Tom English on BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast: "I don't think Scotland have gone into a game like this feeling so good about themselves.

"And I don't think Ireland have gone into a game like this with so many issues to resolve. Ireland are still a very good team, but they have question marks.

"All the injuries at loose-head, all the uncertainty at 10, the uncertainly in defence, a lot of uncertainties in the scrum. They are there for the taking."

Listen to latest Scotland Rugby Podcast - and don't forget to subscribe - after Saturday's stunning victory over France means Scotland go to Ireland in final round of Six Nations fixtures with shot at glory

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Scotland delivered a "performance for the ages" with their exhilerating 50-40 Six Nations triumph over France on Saturday, according to former captain Rory Lawson.

Gregor Townsend's side scored seven tries and scuppered France's Grand Slam hopes in the process, blowing away Les Bleus with relentless attacking rugby.

Lawson says it was "certainly" Scotland's greatest ever performance, one which keeps their title hopes alive before the final round of fixtures.

"The quality of rugby, the bravery, the desire to just keep on going - they just continued to play smart, ambitious, brave rugby," Lawson told Radio Scotland Breakfast.

"And they executed. They executed with an intensity and an emotion that I've not seen for a long, long time.

The game was really on a knife edge at half-time, but they came out in that second half, scored within three or four minutes, and then they just kept on going.

"That third quarter of the game in particular, whereby they totally took the game away from France, was just one of the great 20 minutes I've seen Scotland. It was a performance for the ages."

To win the championship, they must now win in Dublin - ideally with a bonus point - and hope France don't match it against England.

It's quite a turnaround from a side that had come under fire for throwing away a win against Argentina in the autumn, and failing to beat Italy in the opening round of the tournament.

"It's something that's been a narrative throughout this championship so far - the impact of that Argentina game," Lawson said.

"Listening to Gregor Townsend, and speaking to a few of the players afterwards, they have referenced it as being a moment that they've learned so much from.

"Sometimes you've got to go through these really tough times and take your learnings and start rebuilding and start changing the behaviours a little bit. What we saw on Saturday was exactly that."

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France forward Oscar Jegou has been cited for an alleged eye gouge on Scotland hooker Ewan Ashman during the Scots' Six Nations victory at Murrayfield on Saturday.

During a Scotland maul in the second half, Jegou's right hand could be seen to cling to Ashman's face. However, referee Angus Gardner did not spot the infringement and it was not brought to his attention by TMO Brett Conan.

Jegou, 22, will now attend an independent disciplinary hearing after he was cited for an act of foul play, which will be held on Tuesday 10 March.

"It definitely should have been looked at [by the TMO], it doesn't look good to be honest," said former referee Nigel Owens, part of the BBC's commentary team.

"That player will be in a bit of trouble. There'll be a process in place now that will deal with that, but it should have been looked at in the game because it was quite clear what the actions were.

"It didn't matter in the context of the game, but on another day if the score was tight, things like that are the ones you want the TMO to come in for - the clear and the obvious."

The incident occurred before France scored late tries to collect a crucial bonus point, and was raised to the officials by Scotland players at the time.

Both France and Scotland have 16 points at the top of the table before the final round of fixtures, although France have a healthy advantage on points difference.

"The TMO would have all the footage," Owens added. "When you look at it, you've got to bring it to the referee's attention.

"A Scottish player did go over to the referee and said 'look, something happened here, we need to have a look' and the referee said there was a process in place.

"It's disappointing that wasn't picked up," he added. "Would they have seen enough evidence to deal with it and give a red card? Who knows. But it certainly should have been looked at, for sure."

Former Scotland captain John Barclay agreed.

"The thing that might stand against Jegou is you can clearly see where his hand is, he can see where Ewan Ashman's head is and the ball is," he said. "If we're seeing that, why is it not being looked at?

"Does it impact the championship? We don't know, but we hope it doesn't."

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Steyn reigns supreme

I've lost count of the number of times I've seen Kyle Steyn described as "one of the most underrated players in the game". Scottish rugby supporters, Glasgow fans in particular, have known for a very long time what a class act the wing is, and he was outstanding again against France.

Perhaps playing understudy to Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe for so long means Steyn is not as widely recognised as he should be, but those beyond Scotland are now beginning to pay attention to him.

The first of his two tries came from such a clever lineout move and a beautiful line back against the grain, and was vital in wrestling the momentum back from a French side that were threatening to click into gear.

Steyn is a Rolls-Royce of a player, arguably Scotland's player of the tournament so far - and perhaps even the standout performer in the entire Six Nations.

Destructive Dempsey

What a pivotal moment in Scotland's Six Nations campaign Jack Dempsey's unexpected return to fitness could prove to be.

A bicep injury suffered against England, a match in which the number eight was outstanding, looked certain to rule him out for the remainder of the tournament.

Not only did he return to start against France, he went the full 80, and delivered a towering display.

His ferocious carrying was a focal point of Scotland's attack all day and his clever footwork prevented the French beasts lining him up for the big shots they were dishing out to some of the other Scottish carriers.

Dempsey has had a massive tournament so far and Scotland will need him at his dynamic best in Dublin.

Late France surge could prove decisive

The only slight cloud on an otherwise glorious day at Murrayfield was the late flurry of French tries that kept the destination of the title in their hands.

At 47-14 up with over an hour played, Scotland were in complete control and France were in a daze.

Injuries and fatigue – understandable after such a monumental physical effort – took a toll on the Scots and France ran in four late tries to turn an absolute shellacking into a 10-point defeat.

The four-try bonus point, and the superior points difference in the table they managed to largely preserve, leaves France's fate in their own hands on the final weekend.

It's hard to imagine a struggling England side turning over France in Paris, but in this of all Six Nations, you just never know.

We asked you Scotland fans for your reaction to the astonishing 50-40 win over France at Murrayfield. Here's a taste of what you had to say...

Gerry: Magnificent win for Scotland. Just like the England match, they attacked right from the start and didn't back down when France took the lead. Great team performance. Kyle Steyn was amazing!

Gareth: It was just outstanding rugby from Scotland, the match stats suggested a greater margin of victory but hey, we will relish it. Kyle Steyn has been Scotland's player of the tournament, closely followed by loads of others.

Nick: As good a performance over 80 minutes, and better still for 65 minutes, as I can remember in decades. We are a very good team - making the defeat in the Roman rain all the more galling - perhaps inexcusable.

Adam: After Rome I was one of many calling for Townsend to go. I'll accept my slice of humble pie with grace on this occasion! That is much more like it.

However, if the team bombs against Ireland again next week, doesn't seriously look capable of winning across the game, and don't make Ireland work hard for the win, then the question marks will return over Townsend's head. That said, I'm more confident now that they can go and take it to the wire.

Jimmy: Average at best - 6/10. The mentality was weak. Top teams kill at 30 points up. Ten more minutes and Scotland lose that game. I'll take the win, but what were they thinking? Three tries in last ten minutes - points difference are just as important as points!

Andrew: We played so well in all aspects of the game. Our open attractive rugby is delightful to watch but our defence was also spectacular. We have continued to develop, learning from the poor November results by sticking to our values for the whole game.

Scotty: This was astonishing, having been there and just watching in disbelief. Jack Dempsey was world class; Finn Russell, Steyn and Darcy Graham, too.

However, there was still elements in two of those tries at the end which showed Scotland can still switch off and it has likely made our attempt at a title extremely difficult. Injuries will also test our strength in depth, cometh the hour cometh Kyle Rowe?

Alex: 26 years in the making, a genuine shot at Six Nations glory. I've pinched myself and no, it's not a dream. No matter the result in Dublin, the if's and buts will come: 'if only we'd beaten Italy', 'if only we'd stopped the French bonus point'.

But they will miss the key fact - Scotland have put themselves in genuine title contention. It's Scotland, we were never going to do it the easy way, and maybe the Italy loss, that severe pain and anger, was needed.

Maybe it was even written in the stars, because who should await but Ireland. The boogeyman at home, and the auld enemy doing us a favour in Paris. Whatever the result, this is now progress. But, the extent of that progress will be known come the final whistle in Dublin. Ultimately what will be will be, but title or no title, exorcising the Irish demon must happen.