Scotland makes wholesale changes to squad facing England in a do or die match - Rugby World Cup
Scotland has made major changes to their match-day squad that will face England in their do or die clash of 2011 Rugby World Cup. The Scottish side is left with no options other than to win their last group match to secure a quarter-final berth. They are
currently placed at 3rd position on the point’s tables behind table toppers England and Argentina. Scotland’s coach, Andy Robinson, announced his new combination on September 28 and made seven changes including one positional and six personal alterations.
The most of the changes have been made in the backs bunches in order to make the defence stronger. Alastair Kellock, who was dropped from the side from their last clash against Argentina after a poor start in the global show, has been given the skipper’s
role. The Scottish side, meanwhile, has been deprived of the seasoned duo of Jim Hamilton and Kelly Brown as they sustained devastating blows last week.
Among the other notable changes, Chris Paterson has been recalled into the side along with Joe Ansbro. Euan Murray also makes a comeback in his side after missing the last match due to religious obligations.
Robinson defended the decision to make huge changes in his team and said that, “We have not got our execution right in the final third and we have to keep the scoreboard moving and play what is in front of us. This is not about knocking England out of the
tournament but about Scotland making the quarter-finals.”
The coach also stated that, “There is a great buzz about the place and the focus is on winning the match, not getting ahead of ourselves. It is important that we find wide spaces to attack in and that is why we have picked a side based on speed.”
Scotland team for their final Pool match:
Scotland: 15 Chris Paterson, 14 Max Evans, 13 Joe Ansbro, 12 Sean Lamont, 11 Simon Danielli, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Richie Vernon, 7 John Barclay, 6 Ally Strokosch, 5 Alastair Kellock (c), 4 Richie Gray, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross
Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:16 Scott Lawson, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Nathan Hines, 19 Ross Rennie, 20 Chris Cusiter, 21 Dan Parks, 22 Nick de Luca.
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