Jason White returns to captain Scotland and Chris Paterson makes his long-awaited switch back to fly half for Saturday's World Cup warm-up clash with Ireland at Murrayfield.

Paterson, who has recently joined Gloucester, moves from the wing after convincing Frank Hadden, the head coach, of his ability to play at No 10, the position he is expected to fill at Kingsholm.

The 29-year-old will win his 75th cap, becoming the fourth Scot to achieve that tally, and starts at fly half for the first time in three years. Paterson has, on several occasions, been moved to fly half during international matches but Hadden now has faith in starting him there. He also captained Scotland in White's absence but stands down from leadership duties.

White, also 29, returns at blindside flanker having missed the entire RBS Six Nations Championship this year due to the serious knee ligament injury he sustained against Romania last autumn.

Mike Blair also missed the Six Nations, with a shoulder injury in his case, but is back in favour and features at scrum-half.

"Inevitably much will be read into this selection given the proximity to the Rugby World Cup and the trimming of our squad next Tuesday to the final 30 who will be on duty for the tournament," Hadden said.

"But what's uppermost in my mind, as ever, is picking a team to win an international match as we look to generate momentum going into the World Cup.

"At the beginning of the last Six Nations campaign we said Chris Paterson was not ready to start at stand-off. At the end of the Six Nations we said he was probably ready to start, so let's have a look at him there."

Hadden also urged Scottish rugby supporters to put aside any disillusionment about the state of the professional game at club level, and come out to get behind the players. Edinburgh and the Scottish Rugby Union remain locked in a bitter financial dispute.

"We are all aware that politics have been getting the headlines recently but Saturday marks the start of some vitally important games and the more Scots who can come along to support us the better," he added

Eddie O’Sullivan, the Ireland coach, has named an experimental line-up for Murrayfield. The match is the last chance for players to impress before O’Sullivan unveils his final 30-strong World Cup squad on Sunday, but several big names will still be in action in Edinburgh.

Brian O’Driscoll leads the side for the 38th time while Paul O’Connell is named at lock alongside Malcolm O’Kelly, Ireland’s most capped player who missed the Six Nations with a knee injury.