Scotland v New Zealand, Murrayfield, November 13
Laidlaw drafted onto Scotland bench
ESPNscrum Staff
November 10, 2010
Laidlaw has previously captained the Scotland 7s squad
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Uncapped Edinburgh scrum-half Greig Laidlaw has been called up to the Scotland bench for Saturday's opening autumn Test with New Zealand after Rory Lawson failed to recover from a hand injury. Laidlaw, nephew of former Scotland and British & Irish Lions scrum-half Roy Laidlaw, will provide cover for Scotland captain Mike Blair after being called up to the matchday 22. Lawson, who started Scotland's last Test in June, has not recovered sufficiently from a hand injury picked up while playing for Gloucester. "This is obviously disappointing for Rory but there's now an opportunity for Greig, who is tenacious and fiercely competitive and has shown the skills and mindset on his appearances for Scotland A and Scotland Sevens and on his performances for Edinburgh to underline his credentials," said Scotland head coach Andy Robinson. Laidlaw joins Glasgow Warriors fly-half Ruaridh Jackson as a second uncapped player in the Scotland squad. The 25-year-old said: "You feel for your team-mate in a situation like this, but it's clearly a great chance for me and one I'm determined to take if I get game time." Phil Godman was on the bench for Scotland's most recent international, the series-clinching second Test win over Argentina on June 19, but an injury to the Edinburgh No.10 has presented Jackson with the chance of a maiden international appearance against the All Blacks, the world's number one-ranked team.
Scotland head coach Andy Robinson relishing All Blacks test
%]"To possibly get my first cap against the best could be something really special," added Jackson. "To face that Haka will be a pretty cool experience I think, hopefully not too daunting. It will be great to test yourself against the best, that's what you want to do as a professional. It's a massive honour and I'm really excited about this coming weekend." Jackson's inclusion represents Scotland's strength in depth across the field, something which augurs well with the World Cup in New Zealand fewer than 12 months away. "It's something we've been building for the last few years," said Jackson. "The competition for places has been great and even with the notable absences, I think we've got a really good squad to do something special." Scotland: H Southwell (Stade Francais); R Lamont (Toulon), M Evans (Glasgow Warriors), G Morrison (Glasgow Warriors), S Lamont (Scarlets); D Parks (Cardiff Blues), M Blair (Edinburgh); A Jacobsen (Edinburgh), R Ford (Edinburgh), E Murray (Northampton), R Gray (Glasgow Warriors) J Hamilton (Gloucester), K Brown (Saracens), R Vernon (Glasgow Warriors), J Barclay (Glasgow Warriors). Replacements: S Lawson (Gloucester), A Dickinson (Gloucester), N Hines (Leinster), R Rennie (Edinburgh), G Laidlaw (Edinburgh), Ruaridh Jackson (Glasgow Warriors), N Walker (Ospreys). © ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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