Paterson at pivot for Scots
Scotland coach Frank Hadden has made at least four changes in personnel for the Six Nations match against Ireland at Croke Park in Dublin on Saturday.
Scotland coach Frank Hadden has made at least four changes in personnel for the Six Nations match against Ireland at Croke Park in Dublin on Saturday.
Scott MacLeod and Alasdair Strokosch are introduced to the pack and Rory Lamont and Simon Webster return from injury to the backs.
Jim Hamilton, Dan Parks and Nick de Luca all revert to the bench while captain Jason White has been ruled out with concussion.
MacLeod will be making his first start since the meeting with the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup, while Strokosch makes his debut in the Six Nations and will win his second cap overall, two days after his 25th birthday.
In the injury absence of White, who has not yet recovered from the head knock he sustained against Wales, scrum-half Mike Blair becomes Scotland's 108th captain.
One other positional switch sees Chris Paterson move from wing to fly-half.
Meanwhile the composition of Scotland's back-row is still to be finalised.
“We are waiting to assess the fitness of John Barclay,” said Hadden. “Then we will decide on who fills jerseys number 7, 8 and 19.
The four players in contention are Barclay, Kelly Brown, Allister Hogg and Ross Rennie.
However, Barclay is likely to miss the encounter after suffering a cut finger in a freak accident at a dinner party at a friends house. Barclay was holding a glass when a friend sat on his hand.
The young flanker received nine stitches to the wound.
Hadden has said he is giving the Glasgow star as long as possible to prove he is fit.
“We are determined to give our supporters something to smile about this weekend,” said Hadden
“There is a strong collective desire to produce a performance that will lead us to a win.”
Scotland: 15 Hugo Southwell (Edinburgh), 14 Nikki Walker (Ospreys), 13 Simon Webster (Edinburgh), 12 Andrew Henderson (Glasgow Warriors), 11 Rory Lamont (Sale Sharks), 10 Chris Paterson (Gloucester), 9 Mike Blair (Edinburgh, captain), 8 TBC, 7 TBC, 6 Alasdair Strokosch (Gloucester), 5 Scott MacLeod (Llanelli Scarlets), 4 Nathan Hines (Perpignan), 3 Euan Murray (Northampton Saints), 2 Ross Ford (Edinburgh), 1 Allan Jacobsen (Edinburgh)
Replacements: 16 Fergus Thomson (Glasgow Warriors), 17 Gavin Kerr (Edinburgh), 18 Jim Hamilton (Leicester Tigers), 19 TBC, 20 Chris Cusiter (Perpignan), 21 Dan Parks (Glasgow Warriors), 22 Nick De Luca (Edinburgh)
Date: Saturday, 23 February
Venue: Croke Park, Dublin
Kick-off: 17:00 GMT
Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)
Touch judges: Joël Jutge (France), Hugh Watkins (Wales)
Television match official: Romain Poite (France)
Assessor: Steve Hilditch (Ireland)