Scotland Aim For Winning Start

Scotland have made six changes in personnel from November’s Test against Argentina for their opening RBS 6 Nations Championship match against France at Murrayfield on Sunday. Introduced to the starting team are Chris Paterson, who will be winning his 99th cap at full-back; the Glasgow centre pairing Max Evans and Graeme Morrison; Gloucester loose-head prop Alasdair Dickinson; and the Glasgow flankers Kelly Brown and John Barclay.Scotland have made six changes in personnel from November’s Test against Argentina for their opening RBS 6 Nations Championship match against France at Murrayfield on Sunday. Introduced to the starting team are Chris Paterson, who will be winning his 99th cap at full-back; the Glasgow centre pairing Max Evans and Graeme Morrison; Gloucester loose-head prop Alasdair Dickinson; and the Glasgow flankers Kelly Brown and John Barclay. Of those players omitted Rory Lamont and Alasdair Strokosch were discounted through injury, while Alex Grove, Allan Jacobsen and Alan MacDonald remain in the 22. The uncapped 20-year-old glasgow lock, Richie Gray, wins a place on the bench after string of committed displays during last two months. Only Ben Cairns has missed out entirely. There are no ticket sales on match day.Scotland head coach Andy Robinson said: “There has been improved competition for places since the Autumn Tests and selection has been based both on achievements within the autumn matches and on current form. “France have a fantastic squad. The fact they defeated New Zealand in Dunedin last June illustrates that they can win and win well away from home. “We are excited about the start of the Championship but we know that we have not won our first game in the competition since 2006, so all our focus is on making a winning start against France on Sunday.  Scotland team (sponsor Murray) to play France in the RBS 6 Nations ChampionshipMurrayfield on Sunday 7 February (kick-off 3pm) 15 Chris Paterson (Edinburgh) 98 caps, 741 points through 22 tries, 150 penalties, 86 conversions, 3 drop goals 14 Thom Evans (Glasgow Warriors) 8 caps, 5 points through 1 try 13 Max Evans (Glasgow Warriors) 6 caps, 5 points through 1 try 12 Graeme Morrison (Glasgow Warriors) 18 caps, 15 points through 3 tries 11 Sean Lamont (Scarlets) 40 caps, 35 points through 7 tries 10 Phil Godman (Edinburgh) 20 caps, 71 points through 1 try, 12 conversions, 14 penalties 9 Chris Cusiter (Glasgow Warriors) CAPTAIN 47 caps, 15 points through 3 tries 1 Alasdair Dickinson (Gloucester) 13 caps 2 Ross Ford (Edinburgh) 33 caps, 10 points through 2 tries 3 Moray Low (Glasgow Warriors) 5 caps 4 Nathan Hines (Leinster) 61 caps, 10 points through 2 tries 5 Alastair Kellock (Glasgow Warriors) 20 caps 6 Kelly Brown (Glasgow Warriors) 30 caps, 15 points through 3 tries 8 Johnnie Beattie (Glasgow Warriors) 7 caps, 10 points through 2 tries 7 John Barclay (Glasgow Warriors) 13 caps, 5 points through 1 try  Substitutes 16 Scott Lawson (Gloucester) 16 caps, 10 points through 2 tries 17 Allan Jacobsen (Edinburgh) 40 caps 18 Richie Gray (Glasgow Warriors) uncapped 19 Alan MacDonald (Edinburgh) 1 cap 20 Rory Lawson (Gloucester) 17 caps 21 Alex Grove (Worcester) 3 caps 22 Hugo Southwell (Stade Francais) 48 caps, 40 points through 8 tries Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales). Touch-judges: Chris White (England) and Tim Hayes (Wales). Television match official: Geoff Hughes (England)