Stuart McInally will captain Scotland on Sunday in Yokohama as they prepare to take on Ireland in their vital World Cup Pool A opener.

McInally is one of five Edinburgh stars from the Guinness PRO14 named in Gregor Townsend’s starting pack.

WP Nel is alongside him in the front row with Grant Gilchrist in the engine room and Hamish Watson and John Barclay in the back row.

The pack is rounded out by Glasgow Warriors duo Jonny Gray and Ryan Wilson, with Allan Dell at loosehead.

In the back line, Greig Laidlaw is preferred to Ali Price and partners Finn Russell in the half-backs.

And there are Glasgow gems past and present dotted all over the back line with Sam Johnson at No.12 and Tommy Seymour in the back three with Stuart Hogg and Sean Maitland.

Townsend said: “In Ireland we face a quality opposition who, over the past number of years, have earned the right to be the number one ranked side in the world.

“We know them well and are well aware of the strengths they possess throughout their squad.

“We expect them to play very well, as they did in their most recent games against Wales, so only our best performance will do in order to win.

“The prospect of facing them in the opening round of a Rugby World Cup is a fantastic challenge for our players and supporters around the world.”

On the bench Scotland include three Glasgow stars in Fraser Brown, Scott Cummings and Price while Edinburgh have Simon Berghan and Darcy Graham to add impact if introduced.

Scotland team to play Ireland

Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs) – 69 caps
Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) – 52 caps
Duncan Taylor (Saracens) – 23 caps
Sam Johnson (Glasgow Warriors) – 6 caps
Sean Maitland (Saracens) – 42 caps
Finn Russell (Racing 92) – 46 caps
Greig Laidlaw VICE CAPTAIN (Clermont Auvergne) – 73 caps
Allan Dell (London Irish) – 25 caps
Stuart McInally CAPTAIN (Edinburgh) – 29 caps
Willem Nel (Edinburgh) – 31 caps
Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh) – 36 caps
Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors) – 52 caps
John Barclay VICE CAPTAIN (Edinburgh) – 74 caps
Hamish Watson (Edinburgh) – 27 caps
Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors) – 45 caps

Replacements:

Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors) – 42 caps
Gordon Reid (Ayrshire Bulls) – 37 caps
Simon Berghan (Edinburgh) – 22 caps
Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors) – 4 caps
Blade Thomson (Scarlets) – 2 caps
Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) – 27 caps
Chris Harris (Gloucester) – 10 caps
Darcy Graham (Edinburgh) – 7 caps