Scotland name strong line-up

Chris Paterson: Makes it a four-peat

Scotland coach Andy Robinson has named his side to open their Rugby World Cup account against Romania in Invercargill on Saturday.

Glasgow lock Alastair Kellock will lead the team that includes eight players with previous Rugby World Cup experience.

Veteran full-back Chris Paterson will be playing in an unprecedented fourth RWC tournament for a Scot.

Elsewhere, in a team that shows eight changes from Scotland’s last international against Italy last month, hooker Ross Ford will win his 50th cap on Saturday.

Robinson’s selection also represents the perfect 32nd birthday present for wing Simon Danielli, who marked his first appearance in the competition by scoring a try against Japan.

Scotland supporters, who have given the squad such an enthusiastic and warm welcome in Invercargill, will be looking for an encore eight years on.

“We have picked a strong side,“said Robinson.

“There is competition for places and we could easily have picked another XV, as we did in the warm-up games.

“I’m delighted for Ross that he will win his 50th cap. He’s a great competitor who always works hard on the training pitch and is never content to ‘just get by’.

“His game is about always seeking to improve.

“As ever, our key objective this weekend is to win the game and thus get a foothold in the tournament.

“We really respect Romania, who are a young side who are developing together.

“For us, we’ve trained really well in the last three months and it’s now about going out and delivering.”

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 Kelly Brown, 5 Alastair Kellock (c), 4 Richie Gray, 3 Geoff Cross, 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 Rory Lamont.

Date: Saturday, September 10
Venue: Rugby Park, Invercargill
Kick-off: 13.00 (01.00 GMT)
Referee: Dave Pearson (England)
Assistant referees: Vinny Munro (New Zealand), Tim Hayes (Wales)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)