Meanwhile on the bench Scott Lawson replaces Ross Ford, the Borders Reivers hooker.  Ford sustained medial ligament damage in Reivers’ Celtic League win over Glasgow Warriors at the weekend and will be sidelined for at least six weeks. The Scotland management wish Ford a speedy recovery.

Scotland coach Frank Hadden said: “The reason for the second-row selection is experience. When you are away from home there is absolutely no substitute for experience.

“We are playing against a team that we have not beaten at Lansdowne Road for eight years.  They have four professional sides with a remarkable track record in Europe.

“Their junior rugby has an intensity that’s totally different from ours which has resulted in Ireland winning the under-19 World Cup and us securing only one victory against them at under-21 level.

“Despite that, we believe we have a very good chance of winning this weekend.  What’s important to me is that the many thousands of Scots’ fans travelling to Dublin do so not just in hope but with a genuine expectation of us doing something special again.”

Scotland team :
15 Hugo Southwell (Edinburgh Gunners)
14 Chris Paterson (Edinburgh Gunners)
13 Marcus Di Rollo (Edinburgh Gunners)
12 Andrew Henderson (Glasgow Warriors)
11 Sean Lamont (Northampton Saints)
10 Dan Parks (Glasgow Warriors)
9 Mike Blair (Edinburgh Gunners)

1 Gavin Kerr (Leeds Tykes)
2 Dougie Hall (Edinburgh Gunners)
3 Bruce Douglas (Border Reivers)
4 Nathan Hines (Perpignan)
5 Scott Murray (Edinburgh Gunners)
6 Jason White (Sale Sharks) CAPTAIN
8 Simon Taylor (Edinburgh Gunners)
7 Allister Hogg (Edinburgh Gunners)

Substitutes
16 Scott Lawson (Glasgow Warriors)
17 Craig Smith (Edinburgh Gunners)
18 Alastair Kellock (Edinburgh Gunners)
19 Jon Petrie (Glasgow Warriors)
20 Chris Cusiter (Border Reivers)
21 Gordon Ross (Leeds Tykes)
22 Simon Webster (Edinburgh Gunners)