Scots name Cusiter at scrum-half

Cusiter feared he may miss the tournament because of injury
Chris Cusiter has been recalled by Scotland for Saturday's Calcutta Cup match with England at Twickenham.
The scrum-half replaces the injured Mike Blair while Hugo Southwell starts at full-back and Chris Paterson replaces Simon Webster on the wing.

James Hamilton replaces Scott Murray at lock and makes his Six Nations debut along with prop Euan Murray and forwards David Callam and Kelly Brown.

Simon Webster misses out but Rob Dewey and Allister Hogg are on the bench.

Scotland head coach Frank Hadden said he was confident those players making their debuts would perform well.

"Dave Callam had a quite exceptional series of games in the autumn," said Hadden.

"We don't get carried away by statistics but his tackle count and percentage of rucks cleared was as good as anything I have come across.

"Also in the pack Alastair Kellock has been at the heart of Glasgow's progress this season.

"As their captain he has grown in stature and we think he forms a formidable second-row combination alongside James Hamilton."

Hadden welcomed the return of Cusiter who has recovered from the shoulder injury he sustained against the Pacific Islanders.

"I was very impressed with his performance for the Border Reivers against the Dragons in the Magners League on Friday night.

"I met him subsequently and was convinced there were no ill effects and that he was raring to go for what will be a massive challenge for us on Saturday."






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scotland team to face England:
H Southwell (Edinburgh Rugby); S Lamont (Northampton Saints), M Di Rollo (Edinburgh Rugby), A Henderson (Glasgow Warriors), C Paterson (Edinburgh Rugby) capt, D Parks (Glasgow Warriors), C Cusiter (Border Reivers); G Kerr (Border Reivers) D Hall (Edinburgh Rugby), E Murray (Glasgow Warriors), A Kellock (Glasgow Warriors), J Hamilton (Leicester Tigers), S Taylor (Edinburgh Rugby), D Callam (Edinburgh Rugby), K Brown (Border Reivers).

Replacements: R Ford (Border Reivers), A Jacobsen (Edinburgh Rugby), S Murray (Edinburgh Rugby), A Hogg (Edinburgh Rugby), R Lawson (Gloucester), R Dewey (Edinburgh Rugby) R Lamont (Glasgow Warriors).

This article was posted on 30-Jan-2007, 12:17 by Hugh Barrow.