Rory Hutton to make debut in place of Phil Godman

Coach Rob Moffat stated yesterday that he held himself partly to blame for not "managing" Godman well, with the Scotland stand-off playing with a hip injury in Saturday's Magners League defeat to Glasgow.

It is similar with Geoff Cross, the tighthead prop, whose development has stagnated lately, and he is given a time-out from this weekend's game in one of six changes Moffat has made to try and turn around a run of three defeats in four games.

He said: "Phil didn't train at all last week, which was pretty unfair going into the game.

"I haven't managed him as well as I could have this season and he has had a couple of niggles. I want him to get rid of them. We'll let him do that this week, get himself fresh and sharp and fit.

"And it's a good chance for Rory. He's not a kid. He's a talented rugby player and since he came back (from injury] and trained I've been pleased with him, but he has to take his chance. He might get two or three games; he might not. Let's see what he does."

We have written much about the Scotland stand-off issue, and the genuine talent struggling for opportunities with just two pro teams. David Blair's ankle injury has provided the perfect chance for Moffat to blood Hutton, a talent who came through the Hawick ranks, spent the past two years in the SRU's national academy and playing with Heriot's.

Strong, skilful, quick with ball-in-hand and possessing of a good rugby instinct, Hutton has been well-known to fans of the club game for several years, having made his Hawick debut at 17. After impressing in a pre-season match against Newcastle, Hutton suffered a torn patella tendon and only returned to action in November.

Now 22, Hutton is desperate to make up for lost time. He said: "It has been a little frustrating because the chances in Scotland are limited, but I was offered a chance at the Borders a few years ago and turned that down to do my apprenticeship as an electrician.

"I don't regret that, because I will always have that behind me now. But I also felt I was good enough to make it after that, and it has taken a bit of time, but is beginning to work out now.

"I believe I can reach international level, but you have to prove that in every game and every chance you get, and right now I'm just concentrating on putting in a performance against Cardiff that puts me in the shop window for the next game."

Elsewhere, props Allan Jacobsen and David Young replace Kyle Traynor and Cross respectively, Ross Rennie is back at openside and Roddy Grant starts at No8, creating an intriguing back row of openside flankers. Greig Laidlaw returns for Ross Samson at scrum-half and Jim Thompson replaces Mark Robertson on the wing.

Moffat added: "Over the past two weeks we've been below par; way below par in certain aspects. This (selection] freshens things up a bit. We're saying: 'Come on, show us what you can do'.

"We need to win this week, but that will come from playing a lot better than we have."