SCOTLAND will field two new caps when they face the mystery men of Fiji in the opening match of their Australasian tour in Suva on Tuesday.

The South African-born prop, Matthew Proudfoot, and winger Hugh Gilmour were surprise names in the line-up, revealed at the squad's Queensland training base by chief coach Jim Telfer.

While Gilmour has been knocking on the international door for a couple of seasons, Proudfoot's elevation has been rocket-like in comparison. He will make his Test debut just three months after he moved from Northern Transvaal to Melrose and officially declared himself a rugby Scot.

The 20-stone loose-head admitted he had harboured no ambitions of being part of Telfer's tour party, let alone playing for his adopted nation. ''I had no such expectations when I came over to Melrose - my only aim was to better my rugby.

''I wasn't happy with what was happening in South African rugby. There was a lot of turbulence, which you could feel as a player. I was also worried about the direction my own career was taking and I made up my mind that Britain was the best place to be - and that meant Scotland for me.''

Proudfoot, 26, qualifies to wear the dark blue jersey through his paternal grandfather, Robert, who emigrated to the Republic.

''He was the driving force in my early days in rugby,'' revealed Proudfoot. ''He never missed watching me in action.''

Proudfoot also spoke emotionally of his great Northern Transvaal mentor and former Springbok World Cup winning coach Kitch Christie, who died of cancer three weeks ago. ''I was very close to Kitch,'' he said. ''He wasn't just a great coach - but a tremendous human being. I'm sad he won't be around to hear about my first cap.''

Telfer declared: ''I hope Matthew will bring a presence to the scrums. We must find a good pack for the World Cup and certainly for the Tests out here.

''We are looking on him as a long-term prospect - he's young and props take time to mature.''

The coach went on: ''He wasn't as fit as he might have been when he came to Melrose, but he has worked hard since then.

''Quite a number of people have said we haven't had a decent long-term tighthead since Iain Milne. In the modern game, so much importance lies in the front row - the game starts and finishes there.''

Gilmour, 23, staked his claim with a string of fine displays during the development tour to South Africa last year. He stepped up his bid for promotion by contributing handsomely to the Grand Slam success of Dougie Morgan's A-team.

Although he has played mostly at full-back in the recent past, Telfer thinks he has the pace, poise and power to make it as a winger at the highest level.

''I have been patiently waiting for this and I think I have worked hard for it,'' said Gilmour.

There were also glad tidings for scrum-half Bryan Redpath and tough-tackling centre Ian Jardine, who return to the big-time after lengthy spells on the touchline through injury.

Stirling County player Jardine is back to full fitness after a lengthy battle to shake off a series of problems, which began with a simple groin strain during the tour of New Zealand exactly two years ago. His centre partner will be Hawick youngster Cammy Murray, who makes his first international start after coming off the bench late in the Calcutta Cup clash with England at Murrayfield.

On the recall of Jardine, Telfer stated: ''He brings a presence to a team - not many people do that.''

On Fiji, Telfer surmised: ''We know more about their style of rugby than about their current individual players. Two or three years back, Fiji were lax and undisciplined, but I wouldn't imagine that will be the case now.'' Telfer also confirmed that Derrick Lee would be the official goalkicker.

Scotland: D Lee (London Scottish), H Gilmour, C Murray (both Edinburgh Reivers), I Jardine, S Longstaff (both Glasgow Caledonians), G Townsend (Brive), B Redpath (Edinburgh Reivers), D Hilton (Bath), G Bulloch (Glasgow Caledonians), M Proudfoot (Edinburgh Reivers), S Murray (Bedford), S Grimes (Glasgow Caledonians), A Roxburgh (Edinburgh Reivers), E Peters (Bath), R Wainwright (Glasgow Caledonians, capt).

Substitutes: R Shepherd (Glasgow Caledonians), D Hodge, G Burns, S Reid (all Edinburgh Reivers), S Campbell (Glasgow Caledonians), M Stewart (Northampton), S Brotherstone (Edinburgh Reivers).