England have named an unchanged starting team and replacements’ bench for Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland at Murrayfield (5.0). The 23 on duty at Stade de France last wekend which ended in a narrow defeat to France will travel to Edinburgh along with Matt Mullan (London Wasps) as 24th man.
England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster said: "It's good to be able to select the same players and they are all determined to put last week's result behind us and build on the performance. Scotland will be hugely motivated by their defeat in Dublin and, as we found two years ago, Murrayfield is a tough place to play."
The only outstanding concerns from the championship opener in Paris were the injuries sustained by lock Courtney Lawes and wing Jonny May.
However, Lawes’ cheekbone damage was revealed to be only bruising and he was cleared to play in Edinburgh the following day and May was passed fit 24 hours later despite having incurred a fractured nose.
May, who lasted just nine minutes at the Stade de France, continues on the left wing and will win his third cap, while centre Luther Burrell and right wing Jack Nowell make their second Test appearances.
Burrell crossed on his debut and alongside fellow international newcomer Nowell grew in stature as a chaotic but compelling match unfolded in Paris.
Lancaster has retained half-backs Danny Care and Owen Farrell following their impressive night in Paris and the pack, superb once again, remains intact with openside Chris Robshaw at the helm.
Wasps prop Matt Mullan will travel to Edinburgh as the 24th man. England are hoping to avoid a third successive Test defeat when they face Scotland having lost to France and 30-22 to New Zealand in the autumn.
In both defeats they overcame imposing early deficits only to fall short with stirring fightbacks founded on character. Scotland have not prevailed in the fixture since winning 15-9 at Murrayfield in 2008, although the rivals fought out a 15-15 draw at the same venue four years ago. Lancaster’s reign opened with a dour 13-6 victory against Scotland in 2012.
Meanwhile Scotland have made three changes to their starting XV and three more changes to their bench.
There’s a new cap at openside flanker where Chris Fusaro, the 24-year-old Glasgow Warrior, a product of Bell Baxter High School and the Howe of Fife club, who has graduated from Scotland 7s and Scotland A, replaces Kelly Brown. Fusaro will be Scotland’s 1052nd cap.
Fusaro admitted: “I’m absolutely delighted. Being the Calcutta Cup, there’s no better game to get your first cap. I’m still pinching myself a bit.”
Former Ulster wing Tommy Seymour will enjoy his first championship experience as he comes in for his injured Glasgow Warriors team-mate Sean Maitland on the wing, while Matt Scott, the Edinburgh centre, is promoted from the bench with Duncan Taylor now among the substitutes.
Two other amendments on the bench see the experienced hooker Scott Lawson given the nod over Pat MacArthur and the younger of the Gray siblings, Jonny, preferred to Richie.
Greig Laidlaw resumes the role of captaincy that he has now undertaken on three occasions, twice against South Africa and once against Italy.
Scotland head coach Scott Johnson said it had been a “difficult” decision to omit Brown but that Fusaro’s skills as a ball-winner on the deck had been key in the selectors’ deliberations.
“Fusaro is picked to do a certain role and we believe there’s an opportunity for him to do it. England are powerful, they have an edge to their side and are assertive and aggressive. They will probably consider themselves unlucky last weekend but it’s not always brute force that wins these games.”
Of the other changes to the starting team Johnson said: “I spoke to Tommy (Seymour) in the summer that he needed a point of difference. One of the things that comes to mind is his aerial skills. He possesses natural aerial skills from his time in Ireland. Every time he has gone up in class his skills have transcended.”
Johnson said that Duncan Taylor’s form made it a tough decision for him to begin on the bench rather than the starting XV but the Saracens’ man’s ability to cover a number of positions in the backline had been a factor, especially in the aftermath to the injury to Maitland.
Johnson also is excited by the resumption of the centre partnership between Scott and Alex Dunbar which shaped very promisingly during last summer’s tour to South Africa.
He added: “We are all looking forward hugely to Saturday’s match. You want the rivalry that exists. It’s intense and great to be part of.”
Scotland
15 Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors) 16 caps, 3 tries, 15 points
14 Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) 5 caps, 2 tries, 10 points
13 Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors) 4 caps, 1 try, 5 points
12 Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby) 17 caps, 3 tries, 15 points
11 Sean Lamont (Glasgow Warriors) 83 caps, 12 tries, 60 points
10 Duncan Weir (Glasgow Warriors) 9 caps, 1 try, 2 conversions, 9 points
9 Greig Laidlaw (Edinburgh Rugby) CAPTAIN 25 caps, 3 tries, 23 conversions, 56 penalties, 229 points
1 Ryan Grant (Glasgow Warriors) 14 caps
2 Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby (72 caps, 2 tries, 10 points)
3 Moray Low (Glasgow Warriors) 24 caps
4 Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors) 4 caps
5 Jim Hamilton (Montpellier) 51 caps, 1 try, 5 points
6 Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors) 5 caps
7 Chris Fusaro (Glasgow Warriors) uncapped
8 David Denton (Edinburgh Rugby) 18 caps
Replacements
16 Scott Lawson (Newcastle Falcons) 39 caps, 2 tries, 10 points
17 Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby) 31 caps, 2 tries, 10 points
18 Geoff Cross (Edinburgh Rugby) 24 caps, 1 try, 5 points
19 Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors) 2 caps
20 Johnnie Beattie (Montpellier) 27 caps, 3 tries, 15 points
21 Chris Cusiter (Glasgow Warriors) 65 caps, 3 tries, 15 points
22 Duncan Taylor (Saracens) 7 caps
23 Max Evans (Castres) 38 caps, 3 tries, 15 points
England
15 Mike Brown (Harlequins, 22 caps)
14 Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs, 1 cap)
13 Luther Burrell (Northampton Saints, 1 cap)
12 Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby, 9 caps)
11 Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 2 caps)
10 Owen Farrell (Saracens, 20 caps)
9 Danny Care (Harlequins, 43 caps)
1 Joe Marler (Harlequins, 16 caps)
2 Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints, 51 caps)
3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 44 caps)
4 Joe Launchbury (London Wasps, 15 caps)
5 Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 26 caps)
6 Tom Wood (Northampton Saints, 24 caps)
7 Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, capt, 21 caps)
8 Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 6 caps)
Replacements
16 Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 13 caps)
17 Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 11 caps)
18 Henry Thomas (Sale Sharks, 2 caps)
19 Dave Attwood (Bath Rugby, 6 caps)
20 Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby, 16 caps)
21 Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints, 13 caps)
22 Brad Barritt (Saracens, 17caps)
23 Alex Goode (Saracens, 14 caps)
