Frank Hadden appears to be saving his best side for Italy, having named a side with 2 new caps in the 13 changes to face New Zealand at Murrayfield, Edinburgh on Sunday, 23 September with a Kick-off at 1600 BST in Pool C.
Only Chris Paterson, who moves to fly-half, and Simon Webster, who plays on the wing, are retained from the side that started the last game against Romania. The new caps are prop Alasdair Dickinson and flanker John Barclay. Scotland’s most-capped player, Scott Murray, will captain his country for the first time in three years, while Chris Cusiter returns at scrum-half and experienced centre Andrew Henderson is back after the leg injury that prevented him playing against Portugal and South Africa.
Scotland Team V New Zealand
Backs: Hugo Southwell, Nikki Walker, Marcus Di Rollo, Andrew Henderson, Simon Webster, Chris Paterson, Chris Cusiter.
Forwards: Alasdair Dickinson, Scott Lawson, Craig Smith, Scott MacLeod, Scott Murray (C), Kelly Brown, Dave Callam, John Barclay.
Replacements: Fergus Thomson, Gavin Kerr, James Hamilton, Allister Hogg, Rory Lawson, Dan Parks, Rob Dewey.