Paterson axed by Hadden

Scotland coach Frank Hadden insists Chris Paterson has a key role to play despite dropping him from the starting XV to face France.

Scotland back pays price for lack of gametime

Scotland coach Frank Hadden insists Chris Paterson has a key role to play despite dropping him from the starting line-up to face France on Sunday. Paterson was one of the stars of the World Cup, with his fautless kicking game. However he has paid the price for a lack of game time since moving to Gloucester, with Dan Parks getting the fly-half jersey, while Rory Lamont, Nikki Walker and Simon Webster form the back three. Hadden, though, wants to focus on his squad as a whole rather than the starting XV - meaning Paterson still remains part of the larger plan for Scotland. He said: "A lot of people focus on the XV but as far as I'm concerned as a coach the emphasis is on the 22 and if you look at my track record I have made full use of the 22. Chris Paterson is still an integral part of the Scotland squad. "There were a number of factors we considered, and game time was one of them. We've named him as reserve stand-off which is where he is currently playing, and we see him having a big impact on the game on Sunday."

Headaches

Hadden has handed a debut in the centres to 23-year-old Nick De Luca, with the Edinburgh ace partnering the fit-again Andrew Henderson. In the forwards, John Barclay will play on the openside, while Dave Callam replaces the injured Simon Taylor at No.8. Hadden added: "I'm very happy with the squad and with the genuine competition for places that has caused a few selection headaches. "I was looking forward to working with a more experienced group of players yet we're now six months younger on average. "That said, I'm very happy with the level of experience of this group of players. The youngsters who have come in, John Barclay and Nick De Luca, have done so on merit. "Our track record in Scotland of developing players in the pro-teams is tremendous and to see John and Nick simply demanding to be chosen for the national team is a perfect example of that." Scotland: 15 Rory Lamont (Sale Sharks), 14 Nikki Walker (Ospreys), 13 Nick De Luca (Edinburgh), 12 Andrew Henderson (Glasgow Warriors) 11 Simon Webster (Edinburgh), 10 Dan Parks (Glasgow Warriors), 9 Mike Blair (Edinburgh), 7 John Barclay (Glasgow Warriors), 8 Dave Callam (Edinburgh), 6 Jason White (Sale Sharks, captain), 5 Jim Hamilton (Leicester Tigers), 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 Scott MacLeod (Llanelli Scarlets), 19 Kelly Brown (Glasgow Warriors), 20 Chris Cusiter (Perpignan), 21 Chris Paterson (Gloucester), 22 Hugo Southwell (Edinburgh)