VERN Cotter has made ten changes to his starting line-up for the second match running, opting to rest some players for what will be Scotland’s third Rugby World Cup match in 11 days.
As expected, Finn Russell and John Hardie have been ruled out because of an ankle injury and a head knock respectively, and are replaced by Duncan Weir and Blair Cowan, but the head coach’s decision to omit some other first-choice players for Saturday’s game against South Africa has led to suggestions that he is saving his strongest team for next week’s final Pool B match against Samoa. Cotter, however, insisted that he had selected “a team that will be competitive”, while Greig Laidlaw, the captain, said it was “disrespectful” to the players to label this a second-string side.
Besides Russell and Hardie, Cotter has left regular choices Sean Maitland and Mark Bennett out of his squad altogether for the match at Newcastle United’s St James’ Park, as well as only selecting Alasdair Dickinson, Ross Ford and Sean Lamont for the bench. Cowan, Richie Vernon and Gordon Reid will make their first appearances of the competition, and could be joined by Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, who is among the substitutes.
Fraser Brown starts for the first time in his preferred position of hooker, having been dropped to the bench last week then come on in the back row in the reshuffle caused by Hardie’s withdrawal from the team to play the USA. Stuart Hogg, who missed the final warm-up game against France because of a foot injury, is the only player to be chosen to start all three games.
“We’ve looked at workloads and potential injuries and there are players we feel that are better regenerating,” Cotter said. “Ross Ford had a good shift against the USA” - the hooker also began against Japan - “so Fraser comes in to even up the workloads a little bit, at the same time bringing players in fresh who have been watching their team-mates play for a few games and will be keen to have a piece of the action.
“These players will be giving 100 per cent of themselves, and it’s a team that will be competitive. Everybody has worked hard to make the 31 and we said we needed to use everyone. That’s the case now, and it’s a case of stepping up and get on with it.”
Laidlaw, who began the first game against Japan then came on as a substitute for Henry Pyrgos against the US, insisted that the ‘second string’ tag would be inappropriate for this team. “I think that’s a bit disrespectful to the players who have been selected,” the scrum-half said. “We knew coming into the World Cup that it would be a 31-man effort and you need your squad. Boys are champing at the bit, specially those who haven’t played.
“Fraz [Brown] came on against America and made a big impact. He’s a strong and physical player as well. Richie Vernon is a big physical centre. Just wait and see our performance rather than pre-judge.”
Certainly, this is not the weakest team Cotter might have selected from the players available to him - he could have fielded several players in their secondary position, for one thing - and it does, as Laidlaw suggested, have serious physical strength. Vernon, for example, is significantly bulkier than Bennett, and will help shore up a midfield that was worryingly porous in the first half of the USA game.
Nonetheless, the choice is reminiscent of Frank Hadden’s selection at the 2007 World Cup of a team to take on the All Blacks that was patently not his best. The probable difference is that, whereas that Scotland side lost 40-0, this one is more mature, and more competitive, to use Cotter’s term. It is hard, in all honesty, to see this team winning on Saturday, but it should at least stay in the reckoning for the majority of the match.
Of course, having won their first two games, Scotland have the luxury of being able to lose this one and still qualify for the quarter-finals by beating Samoa next weekend. Russell, who turned an ankle against the US, should be back for that match, according to his coach.
“He’s seen a specialist,” Cotter said. “Things seem to be turning positively towards him taking part in training midway through next week - we’re looking to bringing him back to full training next Wednesday.”
Hardie will also be available provided he completes the return-to-play protocol successfully. The openside flanker was due to be tested again yesterday, having failed one element of the protocol last week. Every element has to be passed before a player who has suffered a head knock is allowed to play again.
Scotland (v South Africa at St James’ Park, Newcastle, Saturday, 4.45pm): S Hogg; T Seymour, R Vernon, M Scott, T Visser; D Weir, G Laidlaw; G Reid, F Brown, W Nel, R Gray, J Gray, J Strauss, B Cowan, D Denton. Substitutes: R Ford, A Dickinson, J Welsh, T Swinson, R Wilson, S Hidalgo-Clyne, P Horne, S Lamont.
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