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There will be a bit of history made in Dublin on Saturday.

Scotland's Hollie Davidson will become the first woman to referee a men's Six Nations match.

The 33-year-old is no stranger to landmark achievements, having become Scottish Rugby's first full-time female referee in 2017 and the first woman to referee a New Zealand Test in November, when they beat Wales 52-26 in Cardiff.

Davidson has officiated two Women's World Cup finals, as well as the 2025 European Challenge Cup final between Bath and Lyon.

Matt Gault
BBC Sport NI senior journalist

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Saturday will be a big day for Craig Casey.

A stalwart for Munster at this stage, he was named captain for Ireland's summer tour to Georgia and Portugal last year, a reflection of how highly he is regarded in camp.

But his path to a sustained run in the Ireland team has been blocked by the excellent Jamison Gibson-Park.

Gibson-Park did not have his greatest game against France, so Casey gets the chance to stake his claim in the nine jersey before next week's trip to Twickenham to face England.

Casey has 26 Ireland caps but this will be just his third start in the Six Nations, all against Italy.

Tom English
BBC Scotland chief sports writer

Ewan Ashman is injured so George Turner gets the nod with Dave Cherry on the bench. Cherry hasn't played a game (in the second tier in France for a month). Not long after he came on in Rome, Turner got yellow-carded for a ridiculous bout of ill-discipline. He seems to have been forgiven quite quickly. Gregor Hiddleston should be in this 23. The Glasgow hooker has been exceptional all season.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland

One of the curious elements of Scotland's defeat to Italy was Adam Hastings not seeing a minute off action off the bench. That begged the question - why was he there in the first place?

Was he simply there as injury cover for Finn Russell? If so, it was merely a wasted spot on the bench.

The modern game is so demanding that there is simply no room for players who are not going to feature.

It will be interesting to see what role, if any, Hastings plays against England.

Martin: Love how the lineout all blamed on Gilcrist and Cummings who was woeful keeps his place. Make or break for Townsend

Jack: Unreal Horne not starting, when he came on Scotland were a total different side. Back three is also a worry, after struggling last week. Yet again Townsend being Townsend, England will be rubbing their hands

Ali: Sticking with the same back 3 is a big mistake, it was a mistake changing all 3 against Italy and is going to really back fire on Townsend again.

Dave: No Duhan Van Der Merwe or Kinghorn is baffling.

Tom English
BBC Scotland chief sports writer

I can only imagine that England will be looking at that Scotland back three and smiling at the absence of Duhan van der Merwe, in particular, but also Blair Kinghorn. Neither make it in the 23 again. Big Duhan is not in good form, it's true. And the way the game has gone with so much contestable kicking is not in his favour. But the guy scares the life out of England, has X-factor and is a big-game operator. Kinghorn is on his way back to Toulouse. A penny for his thoughts. From one of Scotland's main men to a no-part player. Again, he's not been playing great, but he's pedigree and offers something different. Very surprised he's not at least on the bench as a utility man.

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There's a lot of hype around Edwin Edogbo and he's set to make his Ireland debut off the bench.

There's also a welcome return for Tadhg Furlong, who will provide much-needed experience off the bench for the Irish front row.

Matt Gault
BBC Sport NI senior journalist

This was always going to be an interesting selection for Andy Farrell after such a dispiriting performance in Paris, and elevating Cormac Izuchukwu and Robert Baloucoune to the starting XV has certainly shaken things up.

Izuchukwu is highly thought of by the Irish coaches but he's had to be patient for his big chance. He made his debut against Fiji in November 2024 and his two other caps came in last summer's Test wins over Georgia and Portugal.

He was tipped to make an impact in the autumn before injury ruled him out. Line-out jumping, ball-carrying and finishing. Izuchukwu's well-rounded game could help jolt Ireland into life on Saturday.

Baloucoune has overcome his injury nightmares to star at Ulster this season. This is his biggest chance in an Ireland shirt since he started against South Africa in November 2022.

Eleanor: The fact that there has been no changes to the backs and is stupid. At the very least there should be a place for Blair Kinghorn. Tom Jordan is not a full back and England are going to destroy him.

Ian: Selection of Hastings, super player that he is, makes utterly no sense. Jordan can cover 10 in an emergency - allowing Scotland as extra forward to fight the 'Pom Squad' when they arrive. Even with 3 backs on the bench Kinghorn who is multi-positional makes more sense than Hastings.

Andy: Like the pack changes, although Hiddleston should be in 23. 5-3 split with Hastings on the bench is again non-sensical...three 10s in 23, he didn't bring him [Hastings] on in Rome and we could really do with another forward.

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So Andy Farrell has made six changes after that heavy defeat by France.

James Lowe is recalled on the wing, while Robert Baloucoune and Craig Casey have also been handed opporunities by Farrell.

In the pack, James Ryan has been promoted from the bench while Cormac Izuchukwu and Jack Conan are named to start.

From last week's team, Jamison Gibson-Park and Tadhg Beirne drop to the bench, while Jacob Stockdale, Tommy O'Brien, Josh van der Flier and Cian Prendergast all drop out of the matchday 23.

Ireland Rugby

Ireland: Osborne; Baloucoune, Ringrose, McCloskey, Lowe; S Prendergast, Casey; Loughman, Sheehan, Clarkson; McCarthy, Ryan; Izuchukwu, Doris (capt), Conan.

Replacements: Kelleher, O'Toole, Furlong, Edogbo, Beirne, Timoney, Gibson-Park, Crowley.

There were a few shouts for Duhan Van der Merwe to get a recall to the squad for the England game, given his prowess in the fixture.

The winger has seven tries against the Auld Enemy, including a hat-trick the last time they met at Murrayfield in 2024.

But given form, and England's excellence at putting teams under pressure by kicking, it was always an outside bet for Van der Merwe to return.

Image source, SNS

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland

After that dismal display in Rome, Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend was always going to have some tough decisions to make on his team to face England this weekend.

There might have been a temptation to recall Duhan van der Merwe, Scotland's record try-scorer who has such a wonderful personal record against England.

Townsend has instead shown faith in the back three of Kyle Steyn, Jamie Dobie and Tom Jordan, who struggled individually and collectively at the Stadio Olimpico.

Pierre Schoeman, Grant Gilchrist and Ewan Ashman all drop out (Ashman has a neck injury but may well have been dropped anyway) to leave no Edinburgh players in the starting 15. None can have any complaints after the displays in Rome.

Jamie Ritchie should bring some edge that was sorely missing in Rome, and his ability in the air will be vital in a match that could be won and lost in that area.

I'm surprised Townsend has stuck with the 5/3 bench. It proved to be a mistake last weekend and seeing the firepower England will be bringing on late in the game, it looks like a gamble yet again.

Tom English
BBC Scotland chief sports writer

No Edinburgh player in the starting line-up against England, which is a desperate indictment of the state of affairs there. Sean Everitt's contract extension was a mystery when it happened and remains a total puzzler now. The history boffins now searching the vastness of their big brains to find out when, if ever, Scotland have had no representation from the capital club

Scotland fans might not be ready to re-live this yet, but here's the highlights from Saturday's defeat by the Italians in Rome.

Colin Moffat
BBC Scotland

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Scotland are facing a washout of a Six Nations campaign after suffering a dispiriting opening loss to Italy in rain-soaked Rome.

Having come from 12 points behind to stun the Scots in 2024, this time the Italians raced into a 12-point lead.

The gap was down to three by the final whistle but Scotland did not do enough as the hosts made the most of their rapid start, superior set-piece and solid discipline.

Italy scored from their first attack as Louis Lynagh slid in to finish off a lovely grubber kick from Juan Ignacio Brex.

The Scottish defence was exposed again soon after, with Jamie Dobie beaten to a high ball and Tommaso Menoncello speeding down the left flank to score with ease.

Amid a torrential downpour, Jack Dempsey powered through from close range to reduce the deficit.

But Paolo Garbisi popped over a penalty after an astonishing drop-goal miss from right in front of the posts to give Italy an eight-point advantage at the interval.

Then, almost out of nowhere, substitute scrum-half George Horne slithered into the corner, although Russell could not add the extras.

A three-point game going into the final 10 minutes, Italy held their nerve and did the simple things better to see out a deserved victory.

There was always likely to be a few casualties from the Scotland side which suffered that bruising loss against Italy.

Second-row Grant Gilchrist has perhaps paid the price for a malfuncitoning lineout in Rome. Hooker Ewan Ashman is injured but may also have dropped from the squad regardless.

Glasgow loosehead Nathan McBeth makes his first Six Nations start, and his club team-mate Gregor Brown replaces Gilchrist in the second row as both are promoted from the bench.

Jamie Ritchie comes in at number six as Matt Fagerson drops among the replacements.

The backs remain the same.

There is not a single Edinburgh player in the starting side.

Will Scotland bounce back against England? Are you happy with Gregor Townsend's team?

Who do you want to see in Andy Farrell's team to face the Italians?

Let us know using 'Get Involved' and we'll feature the best entries here.

Scotland: Jordan, Steyn, Jones, Tuipulotu (capt), Dobie, Russell, White; McBeth, Turner, Z Fagerson, Brown, Cummings, Ritchie, Darge, Dempsey.

Replacements: Cherry, Schoeman, Millar Mills, Williamson, M Fagerson, Horne, Hastings, Graham.

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It's early days, but here's an early look at the Six Nations table.