Ireland welcomes Johnny Sexton back to captain the side against Scotland for Sunday's clash at BT Murrayfield.
The titanic clash concludes round 4 of the 2023 Guinness Six Nations Championship, with the boy in green hunting for a Grand Slam finish.
Our line up to face Scotland in Edinburgh! ?#TeamOfUs | #GuinnessSixNations
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) March 10, 2023
Sexton missed the previous outing in Rome against a dogged Italian side, having sustained an injury against France in the previous round.
The Rathgar man is only seven points behind the all-time leading Six Nations points scorer Ronan O’Gara, with expectations high of passing the reigning tally of 557 Six Nations points.
Munster veteran Conor Murray is restored to the starting line, while Bundee Aki shifts to inside centre and Garry Ringrose returns to the starting line-up to earn his 50th cap.
We’ll try this again…
A special milestone, for a special player! ?#TeamOfUs | #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/0wUWwZdrta
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) March 10, 2023
The back three has remained ever-present throughout the championship and that trio remain, with Hugo Keenan at full-back and Mack Hansen and James Lowe on the wings.
Tadhg Furlong and Dan Sheehan are introduced to the front row to join Andrew Porter.
While James Ryan and Iain Henderson present the formidable duo in the second row, with the rock of Peter O’Mahony starting at blindside flanker.
Caelan Doris moves to number eight and Josh van der Flier lines out at openside.
Robbie Henshaw, Cian Healy and Jamison Gibson-Park are included among the replacements. They are joined by Ronan Kelleher, Tom O’Toole, Ryan Baird, Jack Conan and Ross Byrne to solidify a formidable option in reserve.
Grand Slam success is a hard-fought reward and one that Ireland has sealed only three times in the history of the championship.
Sexton was part of the victorious squad which last achieved the feat in 2018.
The expectation remains that the legendary fly-half will retire following this year's World Cup. Grand Slam success would be a fitting way to sign off on a glittering career.
Kick-off in this mouthwatering encounter is at 3 pm on Sunday 12 March.
