McGeechan uses best available to curb Irish attack

World Cup warm-up - Scotland v Ireland: Mindful, no doubt, that Scotland have shipped 79 points in their last two outings against Ireland, Ian McGeechan has described tomorrow's meeting in Murrayfield as his side's toughest of three World Cup warm-up games, writes Gerry Thornley in Edinburgh.

Accordingly, his selection probably makes it Ireland's toughest of their three preparatory Tests as well.

To all intents and purposes, the legendary Scottish coach has chosen the strongest team he can put on the field, allowing for injuries. As his casualty list includes both first-choice props Tom Smith and Bruce Douglas, primary ball-winner Scott Murray, blindside flanker Jason White and captain-cum-scrumhalf Bryan Redpath, due to be given the medical all-clear on September 12th after a 12-week absence with a broken bone in his arm, this amounts to a side about one-third short of optimum level.

Nonetheless it is a much stronger looking line-up than the one which contrived to lose by 23-9 to Wales last week. There are 10 changes from that starting XV and, McGeechan patently hopes, a significant change in attitude. The canny Scot normally keeps his emotions in check, publicly at any rate, but flanked by his long-time sidekick Jim Telfer at his Murrayfield press conference yesterday you could still see he was seething about last week's performance in Cardiff.

"I think it was a wake-up call for a few players. In some respects you hope the players learn more from a game like that. It's stupid to get that amount of possession but use it very indifferently, which is what we did."

Furthermore, his players were clearly on something of a warning. "You don't want to have to learn the same lessons twice," said McGeechan. "If you get consistent then you should be able to work forward on the back of good performances and that's something we've still got to be better at."

Asked whether this was the strongest selection he could have made, McGeechan hesitatingly answered: "Not strictly, probably. Not far away. Obviously there are some injuries we could have done without, but obviously it's a line-up that we could build on from the first two selected."

Telfer, unsurprisingly, didn't look any more amused about last week's display.

"I would say it focused the mind for this week's team but we still have players like Tom Smith unavailable so I would think part of the selection this week was dictated by the injuries. We definitely tried to put out a stronger pack against Ireland because we fared very badly against Ireland the last day. Ireland are probably the strongest team we'll play of the three."

Notably, where last week's Scottish team were devoid of significant ball-carriers, this one sees the return of centre Andy Henderson and lock Nathan Hines, probably Scotland's hardest running, ball-carrying back and forward respectively.

After a laboured, if plentiful, supply of loose possession last week, McGeechan is clearly looking for more go-forward ball this week. There's also the return of the athletic Simon Taylor at number eight as well as the nippy Mike Blair at scrumhalf, and their most potent outside back Chris Paterson.

McGeechan says he is "two or three" places away from finalising the 30-man Scottish squad for the World Cup (where they play Japan, USA, France and Fiji) which he announces on Tuesday.

Heretofore, McGeechan has operated off a slimmed down squad of 32, but he's called in Edinburgh loosehead Allan Jacobsen and back-rower Ross Beattie from outside that panel, so obviously tomorrow's game represents a huge opportunity for this pair especially.

Telfer described the selection of Jacobsen as "pleasing", adding: "He's been injured for a very long time. His attitude has been very positive. He's been tested and he's fitter than he's ever been and he's rarin' to go, so it's a big chance for him."

Much as these games are part of the phoney war however, McGeechan wants wins.

"Last Saturday was disappointing because we didn't play anywhere near as well as we wanted to and so it's still important. Ireland are very confident, they're playing well, so we have to match them and our performance, I've no doubt, has to be the best of the three so far."

Most of the damage which Ireland have inflicted on the Scots in three of the last four meetings has been out wide where the outside Irish backs have been too hot for the Scots. And McGeechan won't have been enamoured to learn last week's four-try record breaker, Denis Hickie, along with inside centre Kevin Maggs, passed fitness tests for groin injuries yesterday and have been declared fit to play tomorrow.

Tyrone Howe and Rob Henderson, who had joined the squad as a precautionary measure, have been released to play for Ulster and Munster respectively in the opening series of the Celtic League.

SCOTLAND: G Metcalfe (Glasgow Rugby); C Paterson (Edinburgh Rugby), A Craig (Orrell), A Henderson (Glasgow Rugby), K Logan (London Wasps); G Ross (Leeds Tykes), M Blair (Edinburgh Rugby); A Jacobsen (Edinburgh Rugby), G Bulloch (Glasgow Rugby, capt), G Kerr (Leeds Tykes), S Grimes (Newcastle Falcons), N Hines (Edinburgh Rugby), R Beattie (Gwent Dragons), S Taylor (Edinburgh Rugby), A Mower (Newcastle Falcons).

Replacements: R Russell (Saracens), G McIlwham (unattached), J Petrie (Glasgow Rugby), I Fullarton (Sale Sharks), G Beveridge (Glasgow Rugby), J McLaren (Aviron Bayonnais), S Webster (Edinburgh Rugby).