Scotland make five changes for Calcutta Cup clash
Head coach Vern Cotter has made five changes to his starting line-up for this Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash with England at Twickenham Stadium (14 March, kick-off 5pm).
Inbound Edinburgh Rugby number 8 David Denton is the only player among the quintet not to have featured in the 2015 RBS 6 Nations Championship so far. He replaces Johnnie Beattie, having returned from a calf strain sustained in January.
Denton is joined by club mates Dougie Fife – try-scorer against France in round one – and Matt Scott, who get their first starts of the campaign in place of the injured Sean Lamont and Alex Dunbar (both knee); the latter going down in training this morning.
Dunbar’s knee was scanned within an hour of the injury thanks to the excellent working relationship with healthcare partner Spire Murrayfield Hospital. An update on his condition will follow in due course.
Stand-off Finn Russell starts in place of Peter Horne, following the completion of a two-week suspension, while experienced Saracens lock, Jim Hamilton, comes in for Tim Swinson.
Scotland Head Coach Vern Cotter said: “Jim comes in and will bring his physicality and understanding of English rugby to our forward pack.
“It’s good to have Dave Denton back as he provides us with strong ball-carrying and strong defence. He’s also a very good lineout forward and will give us a bit more physical density against a big forward pack.
“It’s been tough on Finn to sit out and it’s great to have him back. He’s slotted straight back in to the structure we’re looking for.
“Finally, Dougie came on and played well against France and has had a couple of games with his club with a few work-ons.
“We’re looking for him to bring his enthusiasm, energy and high work-rate, particularly in kick-chase and receipt.”
With the four changes made, the reselection of prop Euan Murray will see the tight-head equal Allan Jacobsen’s all-time appearance record for a Scotland prop (65).
He will partner Alasdair Dicksinon and fit-again Ross Ford, who has recovered from the back spasm suffered against Italy to start in an experienced front-row.
Jonny Gray remains in the second-row to pack down with Hamilton, while Blair Cowan and Rob Harley start together for the sixth consecutive time in the back-row, alongside Denton.
Captain Greig Laidlaw will again partner the returning Russell from scrum-half, with the back-line completed by Glasgow Warriors trio Mark Bennett, Tommy Seymour and Stuart Hogg.
There are three further changes to the Scotland replacements, altering the balance in favour of the forward pack, six to two.
Swinson drops to the bench to replace Ben Toolis, however it is the inclusion of both Johnnie Beattie and Adam Ashe that leaves Sam Hidalgo-Clyne and Greig Tonks as the only back replacements.
Cotter added: “This is a very important game.
“It will be played away from home at a very intense level and will allow us to assess further our ability to operate away from home in a hostile environment.
“Our focus, however, has been on ourselves and how we can perform better, by identifying the areas that we can control – like improving our skill-sets and reinforcing our cohesion – to withstand the difficult times and also apply some pressure.”
Scotland team to play England at Twickenham Stadium this Saturday in the RBS 6 Nations (14 March, kick-off 5pm)
15 Stuart Hogg; 30 caps, 9 tries, 1 pen, 48 points
14 Dougie Fife; 4 caps, 1 try, 5 points
13 Mark Bennett; 5 caps, 1 try, 5 points
12 Matt Scott; 23 caps, 3 tries, 15 points
11 Tommy Seymour; 15 caps, 6 tries, 30 points
10 Finn Russell; 7 caps, 1 con, 2 points
9 Greig Laidlaw CAPTAIN; 37 caps, 3 tries, 39 cons, 78 pens, 327 points
1 Alasdair Dickinson; 42 caps, 2 tries, 10 points
2 Ross Ford; 83 caps, 2 tries, 10 points
3 Euan Murray; 64 caps, 2 tries, 10 points
4 Jim Hamilton; 59 caps, 1 try, 5 points
5 Jonny Gray; 11 caps, 1 try, 5 points
6 Robert Harley; 13 caps, 1 try, 5 points
7 Blair Cowan; 9 caps, 1 try, 5 points
8 David Denton; 23 caps
Substitutes
16 Fraser Brown; 6 caps
17 Ryan Grant; 20 caps
18 Geoff Cross; 38 caps, 2 tries, 10 points
19 Tim Swinson; 10 caps
20 Johnnie Beattie; 37 caps, 3 tries, 15 points
21 Adam Ashe; 3 caps
22 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne; 3 caps
23 Greig Tonks; 2 caps
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