scotlandteam

That Graeme Morrison alone has kept his place in the starting line-up underlines just how irreplaceable the Glasgow Warrior has become in the Scotland midfield and why his absence from the RBS 6 Nations Championship through injury was such a damaging blow.

Otherwise, however, the team selection is a demonstration of just how far Scotland have come in the last four years, since it would have been unthinkable that they could have hoped to beat two of their Six Nations rivals within a fortnight in 2007.

Indeed, for the corresponding matches four years ago, Frank Hadden made only four changes to the team that beat Ireland 31-21 for the meeting with South Africa and still saw his side thrashed 27-3 by those Springboks.

If anything this Scotland team looks stronger than that which faced Ireland, for all that this is, by definition, a scratch team of players, short on match fitness, with only three others in the starting line-up -- Nick De Luca, Ally Dickinson and Al Kellock -- having played any part in that 10-6 win at Murrayfield 12 days ago.

That front-row is the only department with less Test experience than their counterparts against Ireland as Nathan Hines brings 11 years and 72 caps of knowledge into the second-row alongside captain Kellock, while John Barclay and Kelly Brown return to the back-row.

Behind them Mike Blair is recalled as vice captain along with Dan Parks at half-back, while Simon Danielli went to the 2003 World Cup and Rory Lamont to the last one in France.

Another 173 caps worth of know-how is available on the bench, including British & Irish Lions Chris Cusiter and Euan Murray, as well as Richie Gray and Ruaridh Jackson, the youthful Glasgow Warriors who are now generally regarded as first-choice Scotland players.

Ahead of the Ireland game, Robinson said the selection for this second match would give a much stronger clue as to his thinking regarding his World Cup 30 and that appears to be the case since all of those included this time can be confident they will go.

Having had no involvement in either match, Ben Cairns, Ryan Grant and Rob Harley look to have no chance of going to New Zealand while, after appearing only as replacements against Ireland before being left out this time, Jack Cuthbert, Dave Denton and Greig Laidlaw, also now seem to have been ruled out.

Ten more are not included this weekend of whom Chris Paterson, Joe Ansbro, Sean Lamont, Rory Lawson, Allan Jacobsen, Ross Ford and Geoff Cross seem certain to travel. However for Johnnie Beattie, Jim Hamilton and Al Strokosch, all three of whom would have been certainties a couple of years ago, a more nervous weekend may be in store.

Injuries and poor performances could yet influence that thinking and while, for the rest of us, thoughts of the strongest possible starting XV may only become truly relevant ahead of the meeting with Argentina, it is always Robinson’s uppermost thought as he reiterated yesterday, saying: “This is about getting the starting XV. It’s competition for places. This is not about getting in the 30. It’s about who is going to put their hand up to start in the Romania and Georgia games.”

To that end the coach noted that he has already been forced into something of a re-think for the best of reasons.

“Nick De Luca I thought did well coming off the bench,” he said. “I’d thought about keeping Joe Ansbro and Graeme Morrison together but I was really pleased with the way Nick played coming off the bench, so I thought it was right to give him another chance in the team.”

Elsewhere, given that he admitted yesterday to having told players one thing and the public another about whether Cusiter and Murray had to play in this match to be considered World Cup ready, a health warning must, in every sense, be attached to Robinson’s claim that both are now fully fit.

Admittedly Cusiter, late last season with Glasgow and on a playing trip to Australia thereafter, has seen more action of late than Blair, who has not played for five months due to an ankle problem.

It is, though, hard to understand why, if the result is as important as Robinson claims, he has opted to go in against the scrum-happy Italians with three front-row forwards who are rightly or wrongly considered suspect in that department, when a specialist of Murray’s calibre is fully fit and available.