Declan Kidney surprised many by naming Ulster’s Jackson in the Ireland No.10 shirt for Sunday’s trip to Murrayfield, with the men in green’s most-capped player O’Gara having to settle for a spot on the bench despite injury keeping Jonny Sexton out.

At 21 Jackson will be winning his first full cap for his country, but he is no stranger to the big stage after featuring for Ulster in their Heineken Cup final defeat to Leinster last season.

Jackson came into some criticism for his performance with the boot that day but one man who was on the winning side, Leinster centre O’Driscoll, believes the rookie will silence his critics this weekend.

"You've seen his performances all year – he passes the ball nicely and takes it to the line," said O'Driscoll.

"He has shown a great ability to play what he sees in front of him. He's a heads-up footballer and isn't afraid of having a go himself.

"I heard Paddy talking about a learning curve from the Heineken Cup final.

"I think some of the stuff written about him in that game was very harsh. He really didn't have that off a game.

"There were a couple of skewed kicks, but that was the extent of it. He did the fundamental things like tackling well.

"He was an easy out for people. Not that he got scapegoated, but some of the pressure put on him and things written about him were unfair.

"It certainly hasn't affected him in any way, shape or form and he deserves his opportunity."