Scotland v Wales: Teams

Scotland vice-captain Rory Lawson believes his side will have to stop James Hook if they are to beat Wales at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Hook has been moved to his favoured fly-half position for the RBS Six Nations encounter, having started the 26-19 defeat to England at full-back.

And Lawson believes it is vital for Scotland to put Hook under pressure following their own opening defeat to France.

"He's a huge talent, everyone's aware of that," Lawson said.

"He'll be a threat for us at the weekend, but one that if we put under pressure hopefully that might tell.

"James Hook will be going into the weekend with a lot to prove - we'll look to maybe force his hand in a few areas and put him under pressure."

Scotland go into the clash unchanged following the 34-21 defeat to the defending champions at the Stade de France.

Head coach Andy Robinson has made one change on the bench, though, with Scott Lawson named ahead of Dougie Hall.

Wales centre Jamie Roberts also believes that the role of Hook will be pivotal on Saturday.

Threat

And the Lions centre is confident Hook can help deliver only a fourth Welsh win at Murrayfield since 1985.

Roberts said: "I think James' talents are there for all to see.

"He has obviously not played 10 too much in the last couple of years with the Ospreys, but personally I think he is a 10. I think he has got the attributes.

"He certainly made a name for himself as a 10 playing for Neath, and when he was growing up through the age-grade sides he certainly was an absolute talent, and he still is.

"To have him at 10, he's a huge running threat in himself. As a centre, that makes your job so much easier.

"It takes a lot of pressure off you when the guy inside you is keeping defences honest, and James certainly does that.

"He also has a very good kicking game. He can kick the ball a fair distance, and he is very accurate with that. His distribution game is good, he's a very silky runner and his offload game is up there with the best.

"So for myself and (centre) Jonathan Davies to have James inside us, he's a very gifted individual and hopefully we can strike the right balance."

With Hook moving to fly-half ahead of the benched Stephen Jones, Lee Byrne comes in to the side at full-back.

Injury to Andy Powell means Ryan Jones starts at No.8, with Tavis Knoyle and uncapped flanker Josh Turnbull named on the bench.

Scotland: 15 Hugo Southwell , 14 Nikki Walker, 13 Joe Ansbro, 12 Nick De Luca, 11 Max Evans, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Rory Lawson, 8 Kelly Brown, 7 John Barclay, 6 Nathan Hines, 5 Alastair Kellock (c), 4 Richie Gray, 3 Euan Murray,2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Moray Low, 18 Richie Vernon, 19 Ross Rennie, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Ruaridh Jackson, 22 Sean Lamont.

Wales: 15 L Byrne (Ospreys), 14 M Stoddart (Scarlets), 13 J Roberts (Cardiff Blues), 12 J Davies (Scarlets), 11 S Williams (Ospreys), 10 J Hook (Ospreys), 9 M Phillips (Ospreys), 1 P James (Ospreys), 2 M Rees (Scarlets, capt), 3 C Mitchell (Ospreys), 4 B Davies (Cardiff Blues), 5 A-W Jones (Ospreys), 6 D Lydiate (Newport Gwent Dragons), 7 S Warburton (Cardiff Blues), 8 R Jones (Ospreys).
Replacements: 16 R Hibbard (Ospreys), 17 J Yapp (Cardiff Blues), 18 J Thomas (Ospreys), 19 J Turnbull (Scarlets), 20 T Knoyle (Scarlets), 21 S Jones (Scarlets), 22 R Priestland (Scarlets)..