The team selection this week was based on the premise that Ireland needs to perform - and win - to reduce the pressure. As a result, the management have responded by picking players strictly on merit.

It's high stakes, and the selection of the team demonstrates that. Because it is such a new-look team, there's no knowing whether they can respond to that sort of pressure.

However, I think we will win - by a small margin. In many ways it is a refreshing selection, hopefully one that gets rewarded by the players. It is important, because it is a radical change from the game against England.

If this isn't seen to work then Ireland have very, very serious problems. They can't keep changing the team without getting results.

Overall there is enough quality and experience there to bring the thing together, particularly as we are playing at home and also because we are playing against a Scottish team that is full of uncertainty.

Once more, just as in the match against England, the back row and the half-backs are absolutely crucial. Ireland have made one change in the back row in bringing in Simon Easterby, who had an excellent game in the A match. He has a very good reputation and he has been playing high-quality rugby for Llanelli. That's very positive.

Despite his form, Dion O'Cuinneagain could fit into that back row. The selectors clearly have taken a different view. For a guy who has that ability to compete at international pace, I don't think it's possible for Ireland to leave him out of the scene for too much longer.

It's a question of finding his correct position, whether it's number eight or wing forward. While there have been some changes, that one might be viewed as being harsh, because O'Cuinneagain has the ability. Sooner or later he'll find his way back into the team.

In the half-backs, the new combination with Ronan O'Gara and Peter Stringer has worked very well for Munster. I'd be very positive about it. Stringer has an ability to get the ball and whip it away quickly, and despite some reservations about his and O'Gara's size, both have proven that it's not an issue. They have been competing at a high level this season and I don't think that will be a factor.

O'Gara has an ability to run well and run into space. If he can get a good service and get the ball going forward, we will really be able to crystallise this policy of running the ball, the one that the Irish management have been talking about but has yet to materialise.

Yes, O'Gara had a bad game against Ballymena, but playing for your club and country is different. There are different pressures. He was coming back from injury, he knew he was under the spotlight, he was in a difficult game for Cork Con. I don't think it will have a bearing on the Irish game.

The test is what he has been doing for Munster this year already. There is always the temptation to judge a player on every game he plays. It struck me that O'Gara was lined up to play in the English match but that fell out of bed. What ability he brings to the team is a key issue, and I'd be confident he'll do well.

It's also a brave selection: there are five new caps there, a lot of youth backed up by experience in the form of proven big performers such as Peter Clohessy, Keith Wood and Mick Galwey. That's an important combination - fresh faces and proven players.

A fear would be the ability of the Scots to dominate the back row. They have come to Ireland regularly since 1988 and we haven't been able to beat them. They have won matches they should not have gotten near. They can do that, and generally do it through a back row that operates in a very tight, smart fashion, and half-backs who are clever about their game.

All their emphasis this week will have been on those areas, getting good loose ball, being dominant in the back row and being smart about how they play.

I think that the post-match incident in Jurys Hotel in London was just one element of what was disappointing overall. It was all rolled up as part of a bad weekend, something that happened and now everyone has forgotten about it. From a team perspective, I think it was irrelevant to what's going on at the moment.

I think today Ireland can get through it with confidence, something the team would not have been able to do if the management had made only one change.