Gregor Townsend has handed an international debut to Sam Johnson after unveiling his Scotland team to take on Italy in their Guinness Six Nations opener on Saturday.
The Glasgow Warriors centre – born in Australia – will start in the No.12 jersey alongside his clubmate Huw Jones as one of six changes from the Scotland team that downed Argentina in their final outing of the autumn.
The injury absence of Hamish Watson means Jamie Ritchie – who only made his debut in the autumn – will wear No.7 and is joined in the back row by Ryan Wilson at No.8 with Sam Skinner at blindside.
Lock Jonny Gray has not shaken off his shoulder injury and that means Edinburgh teammates Ben Toolis and Grant Gilchrist pair up in the second row.
Meanwhile up front, Stuart McInally packs down at hooker with Allan Dell at loosehead and WP Nel on the tight.
Behind the scrum, Greig Laidlaw will captain from scrum-half alongside his usual half-back partner Finn Russell.
Johnson and Jones are in the centres while the back three comprises Stuart Hogg at full-back with Tommy Seymour and Blair Kinghorn on the wings.
The bench includes two potential debutants, Jake Kerr at hooker and Gary Graham in the back row.
Josh Strauss is the second row cover while Jamie Bhatti and Simon Berghan are the back-up props.
The backline cover sees Ali Price, Adam Hastings and Chris Harris all ready to add impact if called upon.
Scotland Head Coach, Gregor Townsend, said: “It’s a privilege to be involved in the Guinness Six Nations, a tournament that has grown in quality over the past few seasons. You can sense the excitement throughout the rugby world on the eve of this year’s Championship and we’re looking forward to our starting our campaign at BT Murrayfield.
“Italy have made life tough for Scotland in every Test match we’ve played. I remember that as a player, as a supporter and as a coach – and they were better than us in most of last season’s contest in Rome.
“That performance and also the recent displays of Benetton Treviso are sharp reminders for our players that this will be a difficult fixture.
“Our challenge is to win the physical battle, which is a strength of Italian rugby. We will also have to bring energy and accuracy in order to get our campaign off to a winning start.”
Scotland team to take on Italy:
15. Stuart Hogg VICE-CAPTAIN (Glasgow Warriors) – 65 caps 14. Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) – 46 caps 13. Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors) – 19 caps 12. Sam Johnson (Glasgow Warriors) – uncapped 11. Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh) – 7 caps 10. Finn Russell (Racing 92) – 40 caps 9. Greig Laidlaw CAPTAIN (Clermont Auvergne) – 66 caps
1. Allan Dell (Edinburgh) – 17 caps 2. Stuart McInally VICE-CAPTAIN (Edinburgh) – 22 caps 3. Willem Nel (Edinburgh) – 26 caps 4. Ben Toolis (Edinburgh) – 14 caps 5. Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh) – 28 caps 6. Sam Skinner (Exeter Chiefs) – 3 caps 7. Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh) – 6 caps 8. Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors) – 41 caps
Replacements: 16. Jake Kerr (Leicester Tigers) – uncapped 17. Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow Warriors) – 11 caps 18. Simon Berghan (Edinburgh) – 14 caps 19. Gary Graham (Newcastle Falcons) – uncapped 20. Josh Strauss (Sale Sharks) – 17 caps 21. Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) – 19 caps 22. Adam Hastings (Glasgow Warriors) – 7 caps 23. Chris Harris (Newcastle Falcons) – 6 caps
