Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has made two changes to his starting side to face Scotland in their final Pool B match at Stade de France on Saturday, 7 October, with Iain Henderson coming into the second row for James Ryan, who drops to the bench, and Dan Sheehan taking over at hooker from Ronan Kelleher. Flanker Peter O'Mahony will win his 100th Ireland cap.
1 Andrew Porter
2 Dan Sheehan
3 Tadhg Furlong
4 Tadhg Beirne
5 Iain Henderson
6 Peter O'Mahony
7 Josh van der Flier
8 Caelan Doris
9 Jamison Gibson-Park
10 Johnny Sexton (c)
11 James Lowe
12 Bundee Aki
13 Garry Ringrose
14 Mack Hansen
15 Hugo Keenan
Replacements:
16 Ronan Kelleher
17 Dave Kilcoyne
18 Finlay Bealham
19 James Ryan
20 Jack Conan
21 Conor Murray
22 Jack Crowley
23 Stuart McCloskey
- Andy Farrell has made two changes to his starting XV, both in the pack, from the team that beat South Africa in their last match.
- Hooker Ronan Kelleher and second-row James Ryan drop to the bench to make way for Dan Sheehan and Iain Henderson, while back-row Jack Conan is fit to take his place on the bench and could make his first appearance of RWC 2023.
- The backline is unchanged as the centre partnership of Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose start their 24th test together. As a combination, they have only been on the losing side four times.
- Peter O’Mahony wins his 100th cap for Ireland, having reached a century of tests overall in their last match against South Africa (his 99th for Ireland, plus one for the British and Irish Lions).
- O’Mahony will become the 10th player to reach the milestone for Ireland, following in the footsteps of current RWC 2023 team-mates Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray and Keith Earls. The loose forward made his debut for Ireland in a 42-10 win against Italy in February 2012.
- Other than a three-match ban in the 2021 Six Nations, O’Mahony has only missed three tests in the last four-year RWC cycle (v USA in July 2021, v Fiji in Nov 2022 and v Italy in Aug 2023).
- Johnny Sexton will set a new Ireland record for most appearances against Scotland (16), moving clear of Brian O’Driscoll, Cian Healy, Ronan O’Gara and Rory Best. Sexton is also Ireland’s leading points scorer v Scotland (138).
- Scrum-half Conor Murray will make his 17th Rugby World Cup appearance, equalling the record held by Paul O’Connell and Brian O’Driscoll, if he comes off the bench.
