{"id":381289,"date":"2026-03-12T12:22:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T12:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/381289\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T12:22:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T12:22:12","slug":"andy-farrell-to-name-side-for-triple-crown-decider-scotland-make-three-changes-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/381289\/","title":{"rendered":"Andy Farrell to name side for Triple Crown decider, Scotland make three changes \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ireland team announcement at 2pm<\/p>\n

Key reads:<\/b><\/p>\n

Join The Irish Times Rugby WhatsApp channel<\/a> to stay up to date with all the latest Six Nations news, and get The Irish Times rugby coverage sent direct to your inbox by signing up to Gerry Thornley\u2019s Counter Ruck newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Option 2 \u2013 Ireland win without a bonus point:<\/b> If Ireland win without a bonus point, putting them on 18 points, Scotland would still be in contention if they lose by less than seven points (earning the losing bonus point) and if they score more than four tries (for the try-scoring bonus point). In that case, who comes out on top between Ireland and Scotland would go down to scoring differential, the Scots currently +5 ahead of Ireland.<\/p>\n

For the sake of clarity, let\u2019s take Scotland out of the equation. So Ireland get a win in Dublin, but no bonus point, what next? The most straightforward way by which Ireland would win the Six Nations is if France lose to England with no bonus point, or they lose to England and earn just one bonus point.<\/p>\n

Should France lose and pick up a second bonus point, or draw with no bonus point, then the championship would go down to scoring difference again. As we\u2019ve been over, France\u2019s scoring differential is much better than Ireland\u2019s (+79 versus +16) so this scenario would likely not play out well for us.<\/p>\n

TLDR: If Scotland lose or draw to Ireland, and France beat England (bonus point or not), France will retain the Six Nations title.<\/p>\n

Focusing on Ireland, it\u2019s quite simple \u2013 they need to beat Scotland if they\u2019re to really be in with a chance of snatching the title.<\/p>\n

If Ireland win in Dublin, Scotland would likely be out of the running (needing a try-scoring and losing bonus point to stay in contention in the case of a defeat), leaving it down to England to do us a solid against France.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s break down Ireland\u2019s potential title-winning options…<\/p>\n

\"JackJack Crowley looks on during a scrum during last year’s Six Nations fixture between Ireland and Scotland. Photograph: Dan Sheridan\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Option 1 \u2013 Ireland win with a bonus point:<\/b> Ireland move to 19 points and Scotland are out of the running. To win the title, Ireland then need France to lose to England (regardless of bonus points) or draw without a try-scoring bonus point.<\/p>\n

Ireland could also win the championship if France draw against England with a try-scoring bonus point, but they would need to get ahead of Les Bleus on scoring difference. But given Ireland currently trail France by 63 points in terms of scoring difference, that\u2019s a rather unlikely option.<\/p>\n

To be continued… (Sorry, we\u2019re nearly there, kind of.)<\/p>\n

Now that the Scotland team is out of the way and we\u2019ve a bit of time until the Ireland team is announced at 2pm, how about we wrap our heads around the permutations?<\/p>\n

For the week that\u2019s in it, the Six Nations is now a three-horse race as Ireland, Scotland and France all remain in contention for the championship.<\/p>\n

Aside: Nathan Johns will shortly be kicking off a live blog to follow today\u2019s Cheltenham action if you\u2019re also interested in literal horse races.<\/p>\n

\"France'sFrance’s Louis Bielle-Biarrey celebrates as he runs in to score a try against Ireland in round one. Photograph: Inpho <\/p>\n

But sticking with rugby, France hold the strongest position ahead of the final round, sitting top of the table on scoring difference while also having the benefit of playing in the last of Saturday\u2019s games, meaning they\u2019ll know exactly what is required of them to win the title well ahead of kick-off in Paris.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the breakdown of the top of the table:<\/p>\n

France \u2013 16 pts, +79 scoring difference<\/p>\n

Scotland \u2013 16 pts, +21 scoring difference<\/p>\n

Ireland \u2013 14 pts, +16 scoring difference<\/p>\n

To be continued… (That makes it sound very mysterious when really I\u2019m trying to avoid an information-overload.)<\/p>\n

Scotland have gone for a new-look secondrow in the form of Max Williamson and Grant Gilchrist.<\/p>\n

Gregor Townsend has made three changes for Saturday\u2019s game, with Zander Fagerson restored to the starting XV replace D\u2019Arcy Rae in the frontrow.<\/p>\n

\"Scotland'sScotland’s Zander Fagerson is challenged by Ireland’s Iain Henderson and Dan Sheehan during a pool game at the 2023 World Cup. Photograph: Julian Finney\/World Rugby via Getty Images <\/p>\n

The back line is unchanged from their win over France last time out, Ben White and Finn Russell retained at half back, captain Sione Tuipulotu continuing his centre partnership with Huw Jones, while Blair Kinghorn minds fullback.<\/p>\n

Scotland have named their team for Saturday\u2019s clash in Dublin. Here\u2019s how they line out:<\/p>\n

SCOTLAND: <\/b>Blair Kinghorn; Darcy Graham, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu (capt), Kyle Steyn; Finn Russell (vice-capt), Ben White; Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, Zander Fagerson; Max Williamson, Grant Gilchrist; Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge (vice-capt), Jack Dempsey.<\/p>\n

Replacements: <\/b>Ewan Ashman, Rory Sutherland, D\u2019Arcy Rae, Alex Craig, Magnus Bradbury, George Horne, Kyle Rowe, Tom Jordan.<\/p>\n

The last round of games will all be played off on Saturday, \u2018Super Saturday\u2019 if you\u2019re so inclined.<\/p>\n

Ireland and Scotland play in the opener at the Aviva Stadium where there\u2019ll be a 2.10pm kick-off. Then it\u2019s over to Cardiff where Wales host Italy from 4.40pm before France and England bring the tournament to a close at the Stade de France (kick-off 8.10pm Irish time).<\/p>\n

With Ireland, Scotland and France still in the running, the fall of Saturday\u2019s games mean we\u2019ll be waiting on the final whistle in Paris to learn who takes the 2026 title.<\/p>\n

\"FranceFrance lead the championship heading into the final weekend. Photograph: Glyn Kirk\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

In the latest episode of The Counter Ruck<\/b>, Nathan Johns and Gordon D\u2019Arcy discuss the question both Ireland and Scotland alike will be wondering heading into Saturday\u2019s game at the Aviva \u2013 do the Scots finally have the beating of Ireland?<\/p>\n

“Might this finally be the weekend where Scotland, fresh off their stunning win over France, get over their Ireland hoodoo?” <\/p>\n

Listen to what the lads had to say on that below or wherever you get your podcasts.<\/p>\n

\"\"Are Scotland primed to finally beat Ireland?<\/p>\n

Gerry Thornley <\/b>has, of course, lodged his predictions for out consideration.<\/p>\n

\u201cAndy Farrell is expected to largely revert to the team which pitched up in Twickenham for Ireland\u2019s record-breaking 42-21 win in round three when the side to face Scotland in Saturday\u2019s eagerly awaited Triple Crown shoot-out is announced on Thursday,\u201d Gerry writes.<\/p>\n

With James Lowe and Jeremy Loughman ruled out through injury, GT thinks Tommy O\u2019Brien is set for a starting role ahead of Jacob Stockdale while Tom O\u2019Toole is expected to continue at loosehead.<\/p>\n

\"Ireland'sIreland’s Tommy O’Brien celebrates scoring a try against England. Photograph: Inpho <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Gerry\u2019s predicted starters and replacements to face Scotland:<\/p>\n

IRELAND (possible):<\/b>\u00a0Jamie Osborne; Rob Baloucoune, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey, Tommy O\u2019Brien; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Tom O\u2019Toole, Dan Sheehan, Tadhgh Furlong; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Tadhgh Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).<\/p>\n

Replacements:<\/b>\u00a0R\u00f3nan Kelleher, Mike Milne, Thomas Clarkson, Jack Conan, Nick Timoney, Craig Casey\/Nathan Doak, Ciar\u00e1n Frawley, Bundee Aki.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Tommy O\u2019Brien in line for recall ahead of Jacob StockdaleOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Good morning all.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve made it! The final weekend of the 2026 Six Nations<\/a> is nearly here \u2013 Andy Farrell<\/a> has one last matchday side to announce as Ireland<\/a> bring their campaign to a close in Dublin against Scotland<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The Ireland team will be named at 2pm, while Scotland\u2019s is due to be announced around 11am.<\/p>\n

\"Ireland'sIreland’s Jack Crowley and assistant coach Paul O’Connell during a training session on Tuesday. Photograph: Ben Brady\/Inpho <\/p>\n

In the meantime, we\u2019ll be taking you through everything you need to know before Super Saturday. I\u2019ll be chatting you through the title permutations, previewing this weekend\u2019s fixtures and sharing the latest news, analysis and opinion from our team of rugby writers and contributors.<\/p>\n

First things first, here\u2019s how the Six Nations table is looking with one round remaining:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ireland team announcement at 2pm Key reads: Join The Irish Times Rugby WhatsApp channel to stay up to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":381290,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[70904,18,116343,19,17,34132,97580,96426,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-381289","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-andy-farrell","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-gregor-townsend","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-ireland-rugby","14":"tag-scotland-rugby","15":"tag-six-nations","16":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116216185912146421","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381289\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}