Scotland captain Jason White and scrum half Mike Blair will play their first international match of the year on Saturday, having been named in coach Frank Hadden’s squad to face Ireland at Murrayfield.

White suffered a cruciate ligament injury against Romania last November, while Blair has been sidelined with a shoulder problem, so the return of both to the Test arena is a big boost for Scotland with Rugby World Cup 2007 kicking off in 31 days time.

The match also sees Chris Paterson start an international – his 75th for Scotland – at fly half for the first time since France visited Murrayfield in March 2004, while brothers Rory and Sean Lamont take their places in the back three.

“Inevitably much will be read into this selection given the proximity to the Rugby World Cup and the trimming of our squad next Tuesday to the final 30 who will be on duty for the tournament,” Hadden said.

Blend of youth and experience for Ireland

“But what’s uppermost in my mind, as ever, is picking a team to win an international match as we look to generate momentum going into the World Cup.”

Ireland also welcome back their captain Brian O’Driscoll, who was rested for the two-Test series defeat in Argentina, a side they face again at the Parc des Princes on 30 September in the Pool D finale at Rugby World Cup 2007.
 
It will be the 38th time he has captained Ireland and while the side features many of the players who toured Argentina, coach Eddie O’Sullivan has selected a strong second row pairing in Ireland’s most capped player Malcolm O’Kelly and Paul O’Connell.

The half back pairing in Ireland’s last Test before O’Sullivan names his 30-man squad for Rugby World Cup 2007 will be Issac Boss and Paddy Wallace, with Ronan O’Gara taking up a place on the bench after recovering from a minor knee injury.

Squads for Scotland v Ireland match:

SCOTLAND: 1. Allan Jacobsen 2. Ross Ford 3. Euan Murray 4. Nathan Hines 5. Jim Hamilton 6. Jason White (Captain) 7. Allister Hogg 8. Simon Taylor 9. Mike Blair 10. Chris Paterson 11. Simon Webster 12. Andrew Henderson 13. Rob Dewey 14. Sean Lamont 15. Rory Lamont.

Replacements: 16. Fergus Thomson 17. Craig Smith 18. Scott MacLeod 19. Kelly Brown 20. Chris Cusiter 21. Dan Parks 22. Hugo Southwell

IRELAND: 1. Bryan Young 2. Jerry Flannery 3. Simon Best 4. Malcolm O’Kelly 5. Paul O’Connell 6. Neil Best 7. Stephen Ferris 8. Jamie Heaslip 9. Isaac Boss 10. Paddy Wallace 11. Tommy Bowe 12. Gavin Duffy 13. Brian O’Driscoll (Captain) 14. Brian Carney 15. Geordan Murphy.

Replacements: 16. Rory Best 17. John Hayes 18. Alan Quinlan 19. Keith Gleeson 20. Eoin Reddan 21. Ronan O’Gara 22. Shane Horgan.

Referee: Tony Spreadbury