VERN COTTER has made just one change to his Scotland side for their final Six Nations fixture against Italy at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Edinburgh's Ross Ford is given his first start of the championship, replacing Fraser Brown at hooker.
Finn Russell, Huw Jones and Richie Gray have recovered from injury problems suffered during last weekend's 61-21 defeat to England to keep their places, while Ryan Wilson, Stuart Hogg and Tommy Seymour continue their graduated return to play protocol.
Gloucester centre Matt Scott is drafted in on the bench after Mark Bennett was ruled out of the clash in advance after suffering injury at Twickenham.
Scotland are aiming to equal their best-ever Six Nations finish by beating the winless Azzurri, while a landmark second-placed finish is still within their grasp.
Head coach Cotter, who will take charge of the national team for the final time on Saturday, said: "The players were frustrated by last weekend but we must take all the learnings from the past years and produce a strong, complete performance to put us in the best possible position to finish in the top-half of the table.
“We want to repay the support of another sell-out crowd.
“Matches between Scotland and Italy have always been tough affairs.
“We have a lot of respect for them and feel they have been improving throughout the competition.
“They showed in this campaign they can be innovative, so preparation has been key to ensuring we put in a good performance.
“We have to be ready for anything.”
TEAM ANNOUNCED | Ross Ford is Cotter's only starting change to face Italy. Matt Scott joins the bench in place of injured Mark Bennett. pic.twitter.com/A54t481xCc
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) March 16, 2017
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