Rugby World Cup 2011: Scotland at near full strength against Romania

Scotland’s head coach, Andy Robinson, has selected a near full-strength side for the World Cup opener against Romania in Invercargill on Saturday.

Robinson has made eight changes, with captain Alastair Kellock at lock as one of seven players retained from the team which began the 23-12 win over Italy in the final warm-up fixture last month.

Chris Paterson will start at full-back, winning his 106th cap and becoming the first Scot to appear in four World Cup tournaments, while the hooker Ross Ford will win his 50th cap.

Sean Lamont will start at inside-centre in a midfield combination with Joe Ansbro, while Mike Blair will partner Ruaridh Jackson at half-back, the Glasgow Warriors fly-half given the first opportunity at No10, displacing Dan Parks.

Scotland open their campaign at Rugby Park Stadium, with their second fixture following against Georgia on Wednesday. The proximity of the matches means Robinson is likely to have to use almost all his 30-man squad in the opening two games.

While the back division, with Lamont returning at centre where he performed strongly during the Six Nations, is a little experimental, Scotland’s forward selection is arguably their first-choice pack.

Robinson said: “We have picked a strong side. There is competition for places and we could easily have picked another XV, as we did in the warm-up games.

“As ever, our key objective this weekend is to win the game and thus get a foothold in the tournament. We really respect Romania, who are a young side who are developing together. We’ve trained really well in the last three months and it’s now about going out and delivering.”

Robinson also paid tribute to the Edinburgh hooker Ford. “I’m delighted for Ross that he will win his 50th cap,” he added. “He’s a great competitor who always works hard on the training pitch and is never content to ‘just get by’. His game is about always seeking to improve.”

Romania’s team for the match will include the captain and hooker Marius Tincu, who returns to the front row to lead an experienced line-up. Tincu, who has missed his country’s last two matches, is among six changes from the starting XV that beat Ukraine 41-16 last month. “We’ve named our most experienced line-up. We know we will need it against the Scots, they are a very formidable side,” said the coach Romeo Gontineac, who is mindful of a 42-0 defeat by Scotland at the last World Cup.

Scotland:

C Paterson (Edinburgh); M Evans (Castres), J Ansbro (London Irish), S Lamont (Scarlets), S Danielli (Ulster); R Jackson (Glasgow Warriors), M Blair (Edinburgh); A Jacobsen (Edinburgh), R Ford (Edinburgh), G Cross (Edinburgh), R Gray (Glasgow Warriors), A Kellock (capt, Glasgow Warriors), K Brown (Saracens), J Barclay (Glasgow Warriors), R Vernon (Sale Sharks).

Replacements: S Lawson (Gloucester), A Dickinson (Sale Sharks), N Hines (Clermont Auvergne), R Rennie (Edinburgh), C Cusiter (Glasgow Warriors), D Parks (Cardiff Blues), R Lamont (Toulon).

Romania:

I Dumitras; S Ciuntu, C Gal, T Dimofte, M Lemnaru; M Dumbrava, L Sirbu; D Carpo, O Tonita, M Macovei, C Petre, V Ursache, P Ion, M Tincu (captain), M Lazar.

Replacements: B Suman, S Florea, V Poparlan, S Burcea, F Surugiu, I Cazan, F Vlaicu.

Article source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/sep/08/scotland-rugby-union-world-cup-2011