Scotland will field the last two dual internationals when they face Holland in a friendly at Murrayfield on December 21st. New regulations imposed by the International Rugby Board mean that after January 1st no player will be permitted to appear for more than one country.

So the convenient timing of a supposed A team run-out against the Dutch means that 29-year-old prop Paul Johnstone and Bedford player-coach Alistair Murdoch can make their Scotland representative debuts despite having played Test rugby for Zimbabwe and Australia, respectively.

SCOTLAND: D Lee (Edinburgh Reivers); C Moir (Northampton), D Officer (Harlequins), G Shiel (Edinburgh Reivers), capt, C Sharman (Edinburgh Reivers); C Paterson (Edinburgh Reivers), I Fairley (Edinburgh Reivers); P John- stone (Bristol), G Scott (Glasgow Caledonians), M Proudfoot (Edinburgh Reivers), R Metcalfe (Northampton), I Fullarton (Edinburgh Reivers), P Walton (Newcastle), G Dall (Edinburgh Reivers), C Hogg (Edinburgh Reivers). Replacements: S Brotherstone (Brive), G McIlwham (Glasgow Caledonians), J White (Glasgow Caledonians), I Sinclair (Edinburgh Reivers), G Burns (Edinburgh Reivers), A Murdoch (Bedford), A Bulloch (Glasgow Caledonians).