First start of rugby’s 2024 Under-20 Six Nations for Selkirk’s Callum Smyth and first bench selections for Hawick’s Marcus Brogan and Melrose’s Finn Douglas

The 20-year-old loosehead prop is one of two Borderers in head coach Kenny Murray’s starting XV to take on Ireland at Cork’s Virgin Media Park, the other being Denholm’s Hector Patterson.This week’s game is Edinburgh scrum-half Patterson’s second start of the age-grade tournament, the 19-year-old having played the first 67 minutes of Scotland’s 47-14 loss to Italy in Treviso last Friday before making way for Murdoch Lock on 67 minutes.

Glasgow Warrior Smyth also featured against the Italians, being brought on as a replacement for Robbie Deans at much the same time as Patterson went off, and during last month’s 30-17 loss to England at home at Edinburgh’s Hive Stadium, also taking over from Deans that time round.

Three further Borderers will be on the bench against the Irish – Hawick’s Marcus Brogan, Melrose’s Finn Douglas and Selkirk’s Monroe Job.

Those are Greens hooker Brogan and Edinburgh winger Douglas’s first match-day squad selections of the tournament but No 8 Job was brought on as a replacement for the young Scots’ opening 37-29 defeat by Wales in Colwyn Bay at the start of February and their 29-14 loss to France at home a week later, along with Smyth and Patterson.

Looking ahead to his side’s series swan-song, Murray, 50, said: “Being up at half-time against Italy proved that we can compete against these teams, but we must give a full 80-minute performance.

“The small errors we made against them cost us and that’s the reality of international rugby.

“We know Ireland are going to be even tougher this weekend. They are playing to win the title in front of a home crowd, so they will pull out all the stops.”

Making up the rest of Murray’s starting XV, co-captained by Geordie Gwynn and Ruaraidh Hart, are Jack Brown, Finlay Doyle, Johnny Ventisei, Findlay Thomson, Isaac Coates, Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, Callum Norrie, Euan McVie, Jonny Morris, Freddy Douglas and Tom Currie.

Friday’s other replacements are Deans, Ryan Whitefield, Archie Clarke, Eric Davey and Andrew McLean.

Scotland’s tries in Treviso were scored by Euan McVie and Fergus Watson, with Isaac Coates converting both.

Piero Gritti and Nicholas Gasperini both scored tries at the double for Italy, with Mirko Belloni, Marco Scalabrin and Patrick de Villiers also touching down and Martino Pucciariello adding six conversions.

Kick-off in Cork this Friday is at 7pm and that match is being screened live on BBC iPlayer.

Ireland go into it second to England in the table, with 17 points from four fixtures, 16 points better off than their basement side visitors this week.