Scott Johnson enjoys dishing out homespun wisdom, but the Scotland interim head coach is clearly unfamiliar with the old line about not fixing things that aren't broken.

Having acknowledged there was more good than bad in Scotland's 42-17 win over Japan last Saturday, a result and display that would normally make selection for the next game a simple exercise, Johnson yesterday took the red pen to his team sheet and made six changes ahead of Sunday's match against South Africa at Murrayfield.

Tim Swinson, the Glasgow lock whose outstanding performance against Japan earned him the man-of -the-match award, is dropped from the squad completely. Flanker Kelly Brown, the winning captain, has also been given the weekend off. Prop Ryan Grant, one of only four Scots on the Lions' summer tour to Australia, is demoted to the bench.

Two changes are enforced, with the centre Matt Scott dropping out because of a hand injury and the prop Euan Murray unavailable on account of his religious beliefs. Al Kellock is the one other player who has not been asked back, although his situation is a little less clear as he is going through the return-to-play protocols that must be followed in the wake of a concussive injury.

In the pack, the beneficiaries are Jim Hamilton and Richie Gray, who take the starting lock positions, Ally Dickinson and Moray Low, the chosen props, and John Barclay, who returns to the back row in place of Brown. Among the backs, Duncan Taylor will take the No.12 shirt that was worn by Scott against Japan.

Ahead of the autumn series, it had been widely assumed that Hamilton and Gray, the preferred Six Nations partnership, would be called in against the Springboks on account of their greater physical presence. Swinson's display against Japan is understood to have thrown that strategy into doubt, but a slight shoulder injury has restricted his training this week so Hamilton and Gray team up. A clear case of reverting to Plan B.

The only uncapped player in the squad is Jonny Gray, Richie's 19-year-old brother, whose outstanding recent form has earned him a place on the bench and the prospect of becoming Scotland's youngest Test forward for more than 60 years. In fact, make that a likelihood, as Hamilton rarely goes far beyond the hour mark at this level. Should Jonny come on to join Richie, the pair would become the 47th set of brothers to represent their country.

Not that Johnson seemed too concerned about that distinction. "I won't talk about the Gray ­brothers," he said firmly. "I'll talk about Richie and Jonny because they are separate players. They have different skill sets. They play the same position, but in different ways. They have the same mother and father, but they are different people. I've said from day one that it is about form. For me, regionally, Jonny has been the leading lock. His work rate has been immense."

In Brown's absence, the captaincy will be taken by Greig Laidlaw, just as it was last summer when Brown's tour was ended prematurely by an ankle injury. Johnson dropped a heavy hint that Brown might return to the side to face Australia in Scotland's final autumn Test, although he also suggested it might not

be in the seven shirt he wore against Japan.

"I spoke to Kelly to say that we were going to try a few things," said the coach. "We knew he would get plenty of miles on the clock in the Japan game and didn't want to go walking wounded into game three. Kelly, by his own admission would prefer to play No.6, but he's done a great job at No.7. I'm keen to see John [Barclay] at No.7 and see how the combinations work."

Johnson was quick to dismiss comparisons with Scotland's performance against South Africa in Nelspruit five months ago, when they took

a 17-6 lead before losing 30-17.

"[It] showed we had the ability to stand up to them

in areas people thought were not our strengths, but these games are far removed from each other," he said.