Scotland debut: Sean Maitland
Interim head coach Scott Johnson has awarded a Test debut to wing Sean Maitland for Saturday's Six Nations opener against England at Twickenham.
In addition to New Zealand-born Maitland, the Kiwi's Glasgow Warriors team-mate Dougie Hall gets his first start in six years at hooker while number eight Johnnie Beattie is recalled to the side.
In all, Johnson has made six changes and one additional positional switch from the team that ended the November Tests with defeat to Tonga in Aberdeen for this weekend's Calcutta Cup clash.
Sean Lamont moves from wing to centre, Ruaridh Jackson returns at fly-half with Greig Laidlaw starting an international for the first time at scrum-half - the position in which he was reared and in which his uncle, Roy Laidlaw, scored a superb solo try in Scotland's last Twickenham victory in 1983.
In the pack Ryan Grant is restored from injury at loosehead, Hall begins a Scotland game for the first time since the 2007 Championship match against Ireland at Murrayfield and completing the front-row Euan Murray becomes the 33rd Scot to reach the landmark of 50 or more caps.
Jim Hamilton is recalled to partner Richie Gray in the second row and, in the back-row, Beattie is back on duty for the first time since the pre RWC warm-up match against Ireland at Murrayfield in 2011.
"I've spoken about the importance of this competition, the history and tradition of it, and you couldn't get a more mouth-watering opening than the game between international rugby's oldest foes," said Johnson.
"Selection for us has been about form but also with an eye to the future.
"Sean Maitland is very proud to be pulling on the Scotland jersey for the first time. His family will be rapt because they raised him in New Zealand always reminding him of his Scottish heritage, getting up in the early hours of the morning to watch both the Five and Six Nations games on the TV.
"He's shown he can play footy with the best of them and the impact he's made since arriving at Glasgow in the autumn has underlined what we'd seen of him playing for the Crusaders in Super Rugby.
"I've named Greig and Ryan as vice-captains because they're both quality rugby players and the sort of blokes that I reckon can add to the leadership mix.
"I've been impressed by what I've seen of Johnnie Beattie. He brings dynamism to our back-row and we're looking for him to bring that to bear on Saturday."
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Kelly Brown, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Dougie Hall, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 Ross Ford, 17 Moray Low, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Alastair Kellock, 20 David Denton, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Max Evans.
Date: Saturday, 2 February
Venue: Twickenham
Kick-off: 16:00 GMT
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: John Lacey (Ireland) and Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Comments
passtheball says...
Preest - When Sean was poached, from the Chiefs region straight from Hamilton Boys High by the Crusaders, the common thought was that he was a dead cert AB in the making. Under Todd Blackadder he had, if anything, gone backwards and his chances of making the ABs were decreasing. So he might as well have a go with Scotland. Still as a lad he would have dreamed of playing for ....hmm.. Scotland?? Good luck to him anyway - he has the talent.
Posted 14:25 29th January 2013
bokbokbok says...
POACH!!!!!
Posted 13:32 29th January 2013
APV1 says...
That's a tough bunch of players to be facing. I think we should still beat them, but there's nothing like an underdog, is there..?
Posted 13:28 29th January 2013
Chinstan says...
If that lot click we are in for a very tough afternoon. Even the bench looks strong! This is no banana skin and they should not be underestimated at all. Should be a cracking game.
Posted 13:21 29th January 2013
GCP_jones says...
Good side(on paper), would have liked to see Geoff Cross starting, if Jackson gets that back-line going, England will know they've been in a match come 6 o'clock Saturday evening.
I know we have'nt seen a great 6 nations in terms of quality of the rugby in recent years, but you've just gotta Love It.
Posted 13:20 29th January 2013
PREEST says...
I was sad to see Sean leave New Zealand shores, as I always thought he had an outside chance of making the ABs. However, good luck to him in Scotland. Hopefully he can bring some attacking flare to an otherwise boring back line.
Posted 13:18 29th January 2013
rugby_rockstar says...
A solid team, relatively speaking. Big test for the front five. That dictate whether the exciting players like Visser and Hogg see any ball. They won't see a vast amount under the flood lights in a wet and cold winter's night anyway.
Posted 13:17 29th January 2013
stumpy says...
Very impressed with this Scotland team that Johnson has named. Obviously you can never agree with a team 100%, but this team shows a good intent against England. As well as a (hopefully) determined pack, Scotland can now look forward to scoring more points through a deadly looking back 3. I don't think they will beat the English saturday, but I think this new regime will get 4th overall in 6 nations above Wales (if they play like they did in November) and Italy.
Posted 13:15 29th January 2013