Ireland v Scotland: Tommy O’brien In Line For Recall Ahead Of Jacob Stockdale

Andy Farrell is expected to largely revert to the team that won at Twickenham, and tommy o’brien is poised to be recalled on the left wing in place of Jacob Stockdale when Ireland’s team is announced around 2: 00 pm ET on Thursday ahead of the Triple Crown showdown with Scotland.

Tommy O’brien And Baloucoune: Edge Partnership That Earned Praise

Tommy O’brien linked impressively with Robert Baloucoune in the win at Twickenham, coming inside from his wing to help create Ireland’s opening try and then finishing a move after a clever dummy that beat Tommy Freeman. The pair also combined to stop Freeman from scoring later by drawing him into touch, and the coaching staff were encouraged by how the two pacy wingers operated in tandem on both attack and defence.

The impact of those edge combinations is a central reason for the expectation that tommy o’brien will be restored to the left wing, replacing Jacob Stockdale, who did score Ireland’s opening try against Wales and provided the assist for Jamie Osborne’s bonus-point finish.

Forwards And Bench Largely Set To Revert To Twickenham Lineup

With Jeremy Loughman still sidelined and James Lowe ruled out with a torn groin from the England game, selection looks likely to mirror the pack that started at Twickenham apart from one change at loosehead. Tom O’Toole is expected to continue at loosehead after an impressive first Test start when several other looseheads were unavailable.

Dan Sheehan, who was rested for the Wales game with Rónan Kelleher starting and Tom Stewart making his Six Nations debut from the bench, is expected to return to the starting hooker role. Joe McCarthy and Josh van der Flier are also likely to be restored to the starting pack at lock and openside after featuring off the bench against Wales, with Tadhg Beirne reverting to blindside flanker. That alignment would leave the forwards largely as they were against England, with Jack Conan potentially moving back to the replacements following his standout display off the bench in the Wales win.

Scrumhalf And Back-Up Decisions Remain A Selection Question

There is an outstanding choice over the bench scrumhalf: Craig Casey, who has been the go-to understudy to Jamison Gibson-Park and started in round two, is the likely restoration, but the management may use this selection to explore depth at nine. Nathan Doak made an assured Test debut off the bench against Wales and remains in contention for finishing duties.

Farrell’s willingness to shuffle the side has been evident across the tournament, with several wholesale changes made after the France defeat and further rotations before Twickenham and the Wales match. Those patterns explain why, even with a tendency to revert to the successful Twickenham starting XV, a few bench and positional decisions remain open ahead of the Ireland v Scotland selection announcement at 2: 00 pm ET on Thursday.