Scotland's management have been contemplating whether they can afford to leave out the world's best goal-kicker and the domestic game's most prolific try-scorer as they try to up the capacity to register points in this season's RBS 6 Nations.
Mike Brewer, the team's forwards coach, said yesterday that the hardest position to select was blindside flanker where Jason White, Al Strokosch and Kelly Brown are all vying for the No.6 jersey, with outside centre the next closest call since Ben Cairns and Max Evans have both been in fine form.
Yet the biggest decisions may be made in the back three where Hugo Southwell's form at full-back has put enormous pressure on Edinburgh clubmate Chris Paterson, Scotland's most capped player, who is blessed with the most reliable right boot in the sport.
Similarly Frank Hadden, the national coach, is particularly keen on Simon Webster, who has apparently run with the first team for a substantial chunk of training over the past week. With Sean Lamont all but certain to play, that would leave no room for Thom Evans.
Furthermore, if Paterson were to be shunted to the bench it could mean no room in the 22 for either the younger Evans brother or Dan Parks, his Glasgow Warriors clubmate, who has led the Magners League for points scoring in the past two seasons.
With Chris Cusiter already certain to be on the bench, Paterson would cover stand-off as well as the back three, which would mean Evans' older brother, Max, who is likely to miss out to Cairns in the battle for the No.13 jersey, would be needed as the third backs replacement since he is a specialist centre.
For a team who have been desperately looking to add to their firepower, neglecting such weaponry would be a decision that could be categorised as brave on the extreme end of the "Yes Minister" scale.
This is a campaign in which the national side must perform after two dismal showings in the last two Six Nations. A pack they would have hoped could dominate the Welsh seems set to be weakened. More than ever, what opportunities are created must be taken.
It seems that Geoff Cross is an automatic replacement for Euan Murray if he withdraws, while Jason White is set to be asked to roll back the years and play in the second row, where he won a number of his early caps, if Nathan Hines is not ready to play.
That would reduce the contest for the blindside job which has seemed to be between White and Strokosch for the past year. Yet Brewer has missed no opportunity to cast up Brown's name over the past few weeks, commending the Glasgow Warriors flanker for his response to the advice he was given when left out of the side in the autumn.
On which note the forwards coach, also without prompting, yesterday mentioned how impressed he has been with Ally Hogg in recent weeks, indicating that he is another who has taken on board what he has been told about his failings.
The good news for the management is that guessing at their line-up is rather more difficult than for several years, but with gambling having apparently become the order of the season here goes: H Southwell; S Webster, B Cairns (all Edinburgh), G Morrison (Glasgow Warriors), S Lamont (Northampton); P Godman, M Blair capt; A Jacobsen, R Ford, G Cross (all Edinburgh), N Hines (Perpignan) or J White (Sale Sharks), J Hamilton (Edinburgh), J White or K Brown (Glasgow), J Barclay (Glasgow), S Taylor (Stade Francais).
Replacements: A Dickinson (Gloucester), D Hall (Glasgow), A Kellock (Glasgow), A Hogg (Edinburgh), C Cusiter (Perpignan), C Paterson (Edinburgh), M Evans (Glasgow)
