switched captain Chris Paterson from fly-half to full-back for their RBS Six Nations championship match at Lansdowne Road on Saturday
Scotland have dropped Derrick Lee and switched captain Chris Paterson from fly-half to full-back for their RBS Six Nations championship match against Triple Crown chasing Ireland, at Lansdowne Road on Saturday.
Dan Parks, who took over from Paterson in last Sunday's 31-0 defeat by France at Murrayfield when Paterson moved to full-back after Lee was pulled off after a dreadful match, keeps the fly-half position.
Otherwise the side is unchanged although there is a fitness doubt over flanker Cameron Mather who has been bracketed in alongside Allister Hogg.
Scotland, who have lost all four of their games so far in this season's Six Nations will be 'whitewashed' if they lose to an Ireland team for whom victory would secure the Triple Crown and possibly the Championship itself.
Their defeat against France was the first time since 1978 that Scotland had failed to score in a Six Nations game and coach Matt Williams, in his first season in charge, admitted his largely youthful side were short on self-belief. "I feel sorry for the players because they have been very dedicated and I've kept saying to them the win will come but it will take time," explained the Australian who previously coached the Irish sideLeinster.
"We've lost our last four games so, in terms of confidence, obviously we're not bubbling," added Williams who succeeded Ian McGeechan following the legendary Scottish coach's promotion to director of rugby after guiding the team to the World Cup quarter-finals.
"We've been working very hard, but the sad thing is we're falling below the standards we expected."
Scotland: Chris Paterson capt (Edinburgh); Simon Danielli (Bath/ENG), Tom Philip (Edinburgh), Andrew Henderson (Glasgow), Simon Webster (Edinburgh); Dan Parks (Glasgow), Chris Cusiter (Borders); Simon Taylor (Edinburgh), Cameron Mather (Glasgow) or Allister Hogg (Edinburgh), Jason White (Sale); Stuart Grimes (Newcastle), Scott Murray (Edinburgh); Bruce Douglas (Borders), Gordon Bulloch (Glasgow), Allan Jacobsen (Edinburgh). Replacements: Rob Russell (Saracens), Gavin Kerr (Leeds), Nathan Hines (Edinburgh), Allister Hogg (Edinburgh) or Jon Petrie (Glasgow), Mike Blair (Edinburgh), Brendan Laney (Edinburgh), Derrick Lee (Edinburgh).
AFP - 2004.