Recalled captain Alastair Kellock will lead the line for Scotland against England
England
have made three changes and Scotland six to their starting line-ups
for their crucial World Cup Group B match in Auckland on Saturday.
For England, Delon Armitage replaces Mark Cueto on the left wing with Matt Stevens and Courtney Lawes also picked.
Scotland,
who must win for a realistic hope of advancing, see captain Alastair
Kellock return at second row and Euan Murray at tighthead prop.
Richie Vernon, Mike Blair, Simon Danielli and Joe Ansbro are also in.
The
Scotland side also sees Sean Lamont moves to inside centre, with Jim
Hamilton, Geoff Cross, Kelly Brown, Rory Lawson, Graeme Morrison and
Nick De Luca the players to make way.
The England changes, despite the dropping of Cueto who scored a hat-trick as England beat Romania 67-3 in their previous match,
had been widely predicted. Stevens replaces Alex Corbisieroto at
loose-head prop having recovered from injury and Lawes takes Tom
Palmer's place in the second row after serving a two-match ban.
"We're
reasonably healthy which is great at this point in the tournament and
we thought this was the right team," manager Martin Johnson said.
Of the decision to pick Armitage over Cueto
- who drops out of the 22 - Johnson added: "We've said all the way
through if Delon's playing well and with form he's a Test player.
"Mark's
injury was a factor [he had a back problem earlier in the tournament].
He's probably a game short of being back to where he should be."
However,
while England need only a losing bonus point to be all-but certain of
progressing, Scotland need a clear victory to guarantee their own place
in the quarter-finals, a requirement seemingly reflected in coach Andy
Robinson's bold selection.
Continue reading the main story Full World Cup tablesKellock
was omitted from the team to play Argentina, despite being named
tournament captain in August and comes in for Hamilton, who has been
struggling with a knee injury.
Now scrum-half Lawson, the captain against Georgia and Argentina, must
face up to being outside the matchday 22, with Blair preferred for the
Edinburgh number nine.
Vernon replaces Brown at the back of the scrum and Murray, who
performed well against Georgia, is back in for Cross in the front row
after being unavailable for last Sunday's match in Wellington because
of his religious beliefs.
Behind the scrum Lamont switches from the wing to inside centre, while
Danielli takes Lamont's place on the wing, with Ansbro joining the
Scarlets back in the midfield.
BBC rugby correspondent Ian Robertson suggested the changes were made to
inject more pace into the team.
"It's a risk but it's a very bold selection," he said on BBC Radio 5
live.
"What Andy Robinson says is that they have gone for real speed. He has
always had this team in mind for the England game knowing he wants to
play the game at pace."It is a gamble but Scotland have got to be brave.
They've got to win and win by eight points and 1986 was the last time
they managed that."The permutations for the match are complex but if
Scotland lose by more than seven points - hence failing to gain a
losing bonus point - they are out of the World Cup.
However Robinson insisted they would still have to play a patient game,
adding: "We can't go on the pitch and chase the game, we've got to
build ourselves into the game.
"We're not playing Argentina, we're playing England. It's a completely
different game.
"We've got to get the scoreboard moving right at the start of the game,
but play what's in front of us and not get concerned about the
scoreboard."
The meeting will be the first time in 129 matches and 140 years the
teams have played on neutral soil.
England team:
B Foden; C Ashton, M Tuilagi, M Tindall, D Armitage; J Wilkinson, B
Youngs; M Stevens, S Thompson, D Cole, L Deacon, C Lawes, T Croft, L
Moody (capt), J Haskell.
Replacements: D Hartley, A Corbisiero, T Palmer, N Easter, R
Wigglesworth, T Flood, M Banahan.
Scotland team:
C Paterson; M Evans, J Ansbro, S Lamont, S
Danielli; R Jackson, M Blair; A Jacobsen, R Ford, E Murray, R Gray, A
Kellock (capt), A Strokosch , J Barclay, R Vernon.
Replacements:S Lawson, A Dickinson, N Hines, R Rennie, C Cusiter, D Parks, N De Luca.
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