Changes give 14 players their big chance

Graeme Morrison is the sole survivor in the starting side from that which claimed a late 10-6 win over Ireland at Murrayfield 11 days ago, the Glasgow centre having missed the spring Test due to injury. A further two players also come into the frame, with Euan Murray and Chris Cusiter having recovered sufficiently from injury to secure bench spots after being told that failure to do so would have resulted in them missing out on the final 30 for the World Cup.

The selection means three of the 38-man training squad will have taken no part in the warm-up Tests – Glasgow forwards Rob Harley and Ryan Grant, and Ben Cairns, the Edinburgh centre.

The writing also appears to be on the wall for Greig Laidlaw, the versatile Edinburgh half-back who played just ten minutes at the end against the Irish and has been left out of the 22 this time. Despite talking up Laidlaw’s ability to cover stand-off, Robinson admitted yesterday that he views Chris Paterson as “my third-choice ten”, behind Ruaridh Jackson and Dan Parks. If this week’s squad come through unscathed, debutants against Ireland Jack Cuthbert and David Denton also seem likely to miss out to more experienced campaigners. Two more will also stay behind and they are expected to come from the back row and wing areas. Richie Vernon has been handed the chance to win selection ahead of Johnnie Beattie, with Alasdair Strokosch still in the mix, too – one of that trio seem likely to miss the cut – while Simon Danielli and Nikki Walker go head-to-head for the last wing spot with Max Evans, Rory Lamont and Chris Paterson also benefiting from their extra versatility.

There remain other options, however, with Robinson still undecided over whether to take four or five props. That probably rests on the fitness of Murray. If the big Newcastle tighthead comes through this weekend satisfactorily, Robinson would need four other props in case he broke down in New Zealand but, if he dropped out, the coach might stick with four, knowing they are all fully fit. That would enable him to take six back rows, with Hines extra cover, or four wingers. Either way, the final selections are interminably tough. To further exacerbate his head-scratching this weekend, Robinson is also looking at the right blends for the two opening games against Romania and Georgia that come within four days of each other, so will inevitably need some changes.

Robinson acknowledged the difficulties, but clearly he prefers having that than the alternative of having to take players he lacked faith in due to a lack of competition. He said: “There will always be disappointed people; that’s the nature of playing sport and international sport. But that’s great for us because it means we