Either Ronan O’Gara or Paddy Jackson will play at 10 for Ireland on Sunday as Leinster’s Ian Madigan wasn’t called in to replace Jonny Sexton.
Despite a growing campaign behind him, Leinster’s out-half Ian Madigan will not play any part in Ireland’s Six Nations clash with Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.
With Leinster colleague Jonny Sexton out with a hamstring injury, some had called for his provincial understudy to step up to the international squad. Instead Declan Kidney has called on Ulster’s Paddy Jackson.
Jackson, who has lost the majority of kicking duties at Ulster to Ruan Pienaar, will probably be the back-up to Ronan O’Gara on Sunday. The Munster man didn’t have a great game as his side went down 18-10 to the Scarlets in Llanelli on Saturday, landing just 40 per cent of his kicks at goal. Madigan, in contrast, banged over four from five against Treviso.
Elsewhere Chris Henry is a real doubt with a knee injury but other players who shipped knocks at the weekend like Luke Marshall are expected to be okay.
Tom Court is in for the banned Cian Healy while Donncha O’Callaghan will likely start the game in place of Mike McCarthy.
Ireland squad: Rory Best (Ulster), Darren Cave (Ulster), Tom Court (Ulster), Seán Cronin (Leinster), James Coughlan (Munster), Keith Earls (Munster), Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster), Declan Fitzpatrick (Ulster), Craig Gilroy (Ulster), Robin Henshaw (Connacht), Jamie Heaslip (Leinster), Ian Henderson (Ulster), Chris Henry (Ulster), Paddy Jackson (Ulster), Rob Kearney (Leinster), David Kilcoyne (Munster), Luke Marshall (Ulster), Fergus McFadden (Leinster), Conor Murray (Munster), Seán O’Brien (Leinster), Donncha O’Callaghan (Munster), Brian O’Driscoll (Leinster), Ronan O’Gara (Munster, right), Peter O’Mahony (Munster), Eoin Reddan (Leinster), Mike Ross (Leinster), Donnacha Ryan (Munster), Lewis Stevenson (Ulster), Devin Toner (Leinster).
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