Scotland v England: Teams
England's inexperienced line-up will be put to the test when they open their RBS Six Nations account against Scotland at Murrayfield.
Last Updated: 03/02/12 5:22pm
England's inexperienced line-up will be put to the test when they open their RBS Six Nations account with the Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland at Murrayfield.
Stuart Lancaster has named a starting XV that has a total of just 233 international caps between them, with the hosts boasting a team that has accumulated over double that number.
Scotland have also not lost to England in their last three meetings at Murrayfield, but the home side still go into the showdown as underdogs.
Head coach Andy Robinson has made eight changes from the side that lost 16-12 to England in Scotland's last match of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Lee Jones is handed a debut on the wing while lock Jim Hamilton, flanker Ross Rennie, No. 8 David Denton, scrum-half Chris Cusiter, fly-half Dan Parks, centre Nick De Luca and full-back Rory Lamont are also promoted to the starting line-up. Ross Ford will captain the side.
In contrast to England, there have not been sweeping changes to the set-up with Jones and Edinburgh team-mate Denton the only members of the starting XV who did not travel to the World Cup in New Zealand.
Much of the talk in the Scotland camp has focused on finally delivering on the strides made under Robinson and scrum-half Cusiter says that losing is no longer an option.
"It's good for us to play England first up - the occasion and the excitement around this game is good for us to hopefully start well," Cusiter said.
Near misses
"We haven't had a great record in the Six Nations over the past couple of years. We've had so many near misses and close losses that we have to win some games.
"We realise how important tomorrow is and how important it is to get off to a winning start.
"We're determined to have a successful campaign in the Six Nations and tomorrow's such a huge game in that regard that we simply have to win."
England will field three debutants in their starting line-up on Saturday, with five more uncapped players being named among the replacements.
No. 8 Phil Dowson and centre pairing Owen Farrell and Brad Barritt will be playing for the first time at Test level, with Rob Webber, Geoff Parling, Ben Morgan, Lee Dickson and Jordan Turner-Hall poised to join them at some point during the contest.
Fly-half Charlie Hodgson ends his international exile while wing David Strettle also makes his return to the England side.
The pack features a relatively experienced front row, while Saracens lock Mouritz Botha wins his second cap alongside Tom Palmer in the second row.
Flanker Chris Robshaw will captain England for the first time, joining Tom Croft and Dowson in the back row.
Scotland: 15 Rory Lamont, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Sean Lamont, 11 Max Evans, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 David Denton, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford (capt), 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Geoff Cross, 18 Alastair Kellock, 19 John Barclay, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Graeme Morrison.
England: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Brad Barritt, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 David Strettle, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Phil Dowson, 7 Chris Robshaw (capt) 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Geoff Parling, 19 Ben Morgan, 20 Lee Dickson, 21 Jordan Turner-Hall, 22 Mike Brown.