AS anticipated, loose-head prop Nick Popplewell is out of the Ireland team to meet Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday because of a hamstring injury. But no decision has yet been taken as to who will come into the side. An announcement will be made at 2 p.m. today.

Popplewell's withdrawal brings to five the number of changes in the team from the side that lost to England. The prop in the list of replacements is Gavin Walsh (Northampton). He is more a specialist in the tight than loose-head berth but he has experience of playing on the loose side.

Paul Flavin, who has been on the bench for the other three matches in the championship, is named at loose head on the A side and Henry Hurley, who has won two caps at loose head, is a replacement on the A side. Flavin won a cap when he came on in injury time for Popplewell in the match against France.

Flavin Walsh and squad are all looking closely at the players in contention. Walsh has been tried during the training sessions on the loose-head side.

Aged 30, Walsh is from Gisborne in New Zealand and declared for Ireland this year. He played at club level in Scotland last season and came to the attention of The Exiles selectors but did not play for them.

He joined Northampton in October and is currently holding down a first-team berth. He played for Ireland A against Wales and England in the last few weeks. He won five caps for New Zealand at under-21 level. He played for Auckland at senior level but then moved to France in 1989 and played there for three seasons. On his return to New Zealand, he played for North Harbour and won an All Black trial in 1992. He was a replacement on the North Harbour team that met the Lions in 1993.

Popplewell's prospects of being fit always looked bleak after he had to leave the field before half-time in Newcastle's match against Leicester last Saturday. He had been troubled by a hamstring strain prior to Ireland's matches against both England and Wales.

Popplewell won his 44th cap against England and only Philip Orr has played more matches for Ireland at prop. He missed the match against Western Samoa in November, also because of a hamstring injury. But he has played in every five-nations match since 1992.

Second-row Mick Galwey is still troubled by the back injury that kept him out of the Ireland A team that played England and is extremely doubtful for the A international against Scotland on Friday. Steve Jameson (St Mary's College), who played against England, is on standby to replace Galwey.

There is also a doubt about A team outside-half Killian Keane. If he is ruled out, his place will be taken by Richard Goverpey (Lansdowne), who has been named at out-half in the under-21 team to play the Scots on Friday.

Meanwhile Ireland's coaching adviser Brian Ashton continued to prepare the side in Limerick yesterday for their last match in the championship this season. While as yet he has not signed a contract, his formal acceptance of the coaching position on a permanent basis, up to and including the World Cup in 1999, could be announced tomorrow.

At the weekend of the Ireland-Wales match, the IRFU made it clear that they wanted Ashton on a permanent basis and that negotiations to that end were ongoing. Manager Pat Whelan had discussions with Ashton in Cardiff and, as announced at the time, Ashton's agent was also in the Welsh capital that weekend. As anticipated, the negotiations now look like bearing fruit and a mutually satisfactory agreement is being put in place.

Ashton said on Tuesday that he had got total support from everyone involved in Irish rugby since he took over as coaching adviser to the side, the week before Ireland played France.