Finn Russell needs freedom to play and inclusion of 'natural 12' can help

The coach also wants others in the backline to share the burden and has brought Tom Jordan into his team to help in that regard. The muscular Jordan replaces Stafford McDowall at inside centre in one of three changes. The others are in the pack where Rory Sutherland has been preferred to Pierre Schoeman at loosehead and Jack Dempsey comes into the side at No 8 as part of a back-row reshuffle which sees Matt Fagerson move to six and Jamie Ritchie drop to the bench, alongside McDowall and Schoeman.

Townsend knows Scotland need Russell to be at the very top of his game if they are to have any hope of ending their wretched run against the Irish. It’s ten wins in a row for the men in green during the Townsend era and 26 victories from the 32 meetings since 2000.

While Russell never quite reached the heights against Italy, Scotland still took the maximum five points, winning 31-19.

“He knows that wasn't anywhere near his best performance, and we just want the team to learn from what we did well last week, and what we can build on, and what we need to improve,” Townsend said. “I think getting Finn on ball, making decisions, making decisions instinctively as well, not being too worried about organising the attack, that's what we want to see from him.

“Maybe we've got to organise things a bit more, but we've got players in that back line who can certainly help share that responsibility. But yeah, we want Finn and others just to play as freely as possible.”

Jordan played the final 23 minutes as a replacement against Italy and helped create Scotland’s final try, the third of Huw Jones’ hat-trick. His role as Glasgow Warriors’ stand-off across the past two-and-a-half seasons has given Jordan first-hand experience of the playmaker's role and, in the continuing absence of Sione Tuipulotu, that could be invaluable on Sunday.

Townsend has long been an admirer of the New Zealander who arrived in this country and played initially for Ayrshire Bulls in the now defunct Super6 competition.

“I remember watching a lot of Ayrshire Bulls, a few years ago. My oldest son [Christian] was playing for them at the time, and Tom had just been there that season as a 12, and I was really impressed with him,” said Townsend who believes Jordan is “a natural 12”.

“He was a real proactive player, he was a carrier, he was brave in defence, and he took that onto his Glasgow pro career at 10, a position in which he really had to learn and refine his skills. I think he'll get more opportunities to be physical at 12, there will be carries, contact clears, a lot of defence, but we want him to play the same way, with the same mindset that he's shown at 10 and at 15 for us in November.”

If Russell and Jordan are Scotland’s twin playmakers, Ireland have kept faith with Sam Prendergast at 10, a rookie at this level but one who is brimming with ability and who first caught Townsend’s eye when he orchestrated a fearsome 82-7 destruction of Scotland’s under-20 side at Scotstoun two years ago.

“What a talent he is,” said Townsend. “I watched in admiration, but obviously with a bit of disappointment, when he was playing for Ireland in the under-20s and they beat us by 80 points a couple of years ago. I don't think I'd seen a 10 play at that level of understanding of the game, understanding of defences and the skill to execute at such a young age, I thought he was exceptional.

“To now play for such a quality side like Leinster, and for Ireland, let's call them a top-two team at club level in the world and a top-two team in the international level, and he's been given that responsibility, shows that he's really impressed the Irish coaches.”

Prendergast is still only 21 and Sunday will be his fifth full cap. His previous four international appearances have come in Dublin but Townsend does not believe he’ll be unduly fazed by playing at a noisy, sold-out Murrayfield.

“The last time he was in Scotland he did pretty well,” noted the coach. “Obviously it's a great occasion and I hope he'd be relishing it. Our job is to make his life as uncomfortable as possible, to not give him any opportunity to see what the right option is in attack, to not give him any time on ball, and to also involve him in the physical side of the game, where we get an opportunity to tackle him, or we get an opportunity to run at him.”

Townsend hopes the addition of Jordan, Dempsey and Sutherland will give Scotland extra zip, although the three men they replace could still all play a part. Schoeman, in particular, is likely to be asked to reprise the super-sub role he performed for Edinburgh to good effect in their recent 1872 Cup win over Glasgow.

Speaking of the new starters, Townsend said: “I think there are similarities with the three of them, which is the real energy that they bring, they’re quick players, they are in good form.”

Townsend has gone for a six-two split of forwards and backs on the bench and has included Sam Skinner. The Edinburgh lock only joined the squad this week and his selection means there is no place in the 23 for winger Kyle Rowe. Instead, Jamie Dobie has been brought in to replace George Horne on the bench and will cover the wing positions as well as scrum-half.

Scotland: B Kinghorn; D Graham, H Jones, T Jordan, D Van der Merwe; F Russell (co-capt), B White; R Sutherland, D Cherry, Z Fagerson, J Gray, G Gilchrist, M Fagerson, R Darge (co-capt), J Dempsey. Replacements: E Ashman, P Schoeman, W Hurd, S Skinner, G Brown, J Ritchie, J Dobie, S McDowall.

Ireland: H Keenan; M Hansen, R Henshaw, B Aki, J Lowe; S Prendergast, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, R Kelleher, F Bealham, J Ryan, T Beirne, P O’Mahony, J Van der Flier, C Doris (capt). Replacements: D Sheehan, C Healy, T Clarkson, R Baird, J Conan, C Murray, J Crowley, G Ringrose.

Referee: James Doleman (NZ).