Scotland v South Africa, Murrayfield, November 17
Denton and Murray handed Scotland starts
ESPN Staff
November 14, 2012
Edinburgh's David Denton smashes into the Scarlets defence, Edinburgh v Scarlets, RaboDirect Pro12, Murrayfield, Edinburgh, Scotland, October 26, 2012
David Denton will start against the Springboks © PA Photos
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Players/Officials: David Denton | Euan Murray
Tournaments/Tours: South Africa tour

Andy Robinson has made two changes to the Scotland line-up for their match with South Africa on Saturday with Euan Murray and David Denton both set to start.

Denton comes into the side in place of the injured Ross Rennie while Murray, who missed Sunday's 51-22 defeat to the All Blacks due to religious beliefs, replaces Geoff Cross who moves to the bench. Kelly Brown will continue to skipper the side but shifts to openside to accommodate Denton at No.8.

On the bench, Dougie Hall, who last played for Scotland in the 2011 World Cup, is preferred to Scott Lawson while Cross replaces Allan Jacobsen. John Barclay comes back into the matchday squad while Peter Murchie could make his debut from the replacements after being preferred to Max Evans.

And Robinson explained his selections saying: "I was pleased with Euan's contribution both at scrummage and in open play during the summer tour, while David Denton's aggressive carrying is something that really gets the crowd going.

"Dougie Hall has had a good season for Glasgow and I know that John Barclay has been one of our most consistent and reliable back-row forwards since he made his debut five years ago. Peter Murchie is another who has had a fine start to the season with Glasgow and his desire to dominate in aerial combat has been a factor in selection."

Scotland still managed to score three tries against the All Blacks at the weekend and Robinson wants his team to push on against the Boks on Saturday. "We know we're in for a bruising battle against South Africa this weekend and we will be primed for that physical confrontation," Robinson said.

"But we also have to be smart in how we approach this game and do our utmost to ensure we get on the front foot and get the result that will move us into the top eight in the IRB world rankings ahead of next month's 2015 Rugby World Cup draw."

Scotland: Stuart Hogg, Sean Lamont, Nick De Luca, Matt Scott, Tim Visser, Greig Laidlaw, Mike Blair, Ryan Grant, Ross Ford, Euan Murray, Richie Gray, Jim Hamilton, Alasdair Strokosch, Kelly Brown (captain), David Denton

Replacements: Dougie Hall, Kyle Traynor, Geoff Cross, Alastair Kellock, John Barclay, Henry Pyrgos, Ruaridh Jackson, Peter Murchie

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