I joked on Twitter a few minutes before the team announcement that Lamont played most of his club time at centre playing 13, not 12, and wouldn’t a Morrison and Lamont centre partnership be fun?
I didn’t expect Andy Robinson to do it.
Scotland have given Stuart Hogg the 15 shirt for his first start and opted not to parachute Jackson in over Weir who has yet to get his first cap. That, at least is pleasing, as is the selection of Blair at 9 who is currently our form scrum-half.
But after Nick De Lucagate last week, one of Scotland’s more creative – if divisive – centres has been swapped out to the bench in favour of TWO crash ball centres in Morrion and Sean Lamont, who moves out to 13. So now we have a nicely balanced attacking and pacy back three for the first time in years and a half-back pairing willing to use them.
Will they ever see the ball with that midfield?
As expected, the pack is largely the same, with John Barclay being rewarded for a decent showing off the bench with a starting spot for the first time in the tournament. Richie Vernon comes onto the bench as cover.
Read what Andy Robinson had to say about it HERE.
Scotland: Stuart Hogg, Rory Lamont, Sean Lamont, Graeme Morrison, Lee Jones, Greig Laidlaw, Mike Blair; Allan Jacobsen, Ross Ford (captain), Geoff Cross, Richie Gray, Jim Hamilton, John Barclay, Ross Rennie, David Denton.
Replacements: Scott Lawson, Ed Kalman, Al Kellock, Richie Vernon, Chris Cusiter, Duncan Weir, Nick De Luca
France have named an unchanged team from the one that didn’t play Ireland. Which, worryingly, suggests a typical Gallic indifference as to who or how the opposing team will play.
France : Maxime Medard, Vincent Clerc, Aurelien Rougerie, Wesley Fofana, Julien Malzieu, Francois Trinh-Duc, Morgan Parra; Louis Picamoles, Imanol Harinordoquy, Thierry Dusautoir (captain), Yoann Maestri, Pascal Pape, Nicolas Mas, Dimitri Szarzewski, Jean-Baptiste Poux.
Replacements : William Servat, Vincent Debaty, Lionel Nallet, Julien Bonnaire, Julien Dupuy, Lionel Beauxis, Maxime Mermoz.