Round 4.

Ireland got their Six Nations back on track to a certain extent last weekend with a 48-10 bonus-point win over Italy in Rome.

Having lost their opening two games of the Six Nations for their first time in history, their chances of winning the Six Nations are essentially over – but the next two games are crucial for Andy Farrell.

Farrell’s team were much-improved against the Azzurri with their attacking play especially finally starting to show some invention with some excellent offloading and finally a bit of shape. But with all due respect – it was Italy.

A defeat against Scotland in Edinburgh puts the pressure right back on with England still to come to Dublin. So his selection against Gregor Townsend’s men will be absolutely crucial.

The big issue for Farrell is he still doesn’t know what his best XV is. The Ireland boss has chopped and changed over the last few months with an eye for the future and he will be expected to be looking long-term once again against Scotland but at the same time the pressure is on for him to get the win.

And with that here’s the team we reckon Farrell should pick…

Our Ireland team to face Scotland

15. Hugo Keenan
14. Jordan Larmour
13. Gary Ringrose
12. Robbie Henshaw
11. James Lowe
10. Johnny Sexton (c)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Dave Kilcoyne
2. Ronan Kelleher
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. Iain Henderson
5. James Ryan
6. Tadhg Beirne
7. Will Connors
8. CJ Stander

Replacements: Rob Herring, Cian Healy, Andrew Porter, Ryan Baird, Rhys Ruddock, Craig Casey, Billy Burns, Keith Earls.