Scotland v New Zealand: Teams

Scotland host New Zealand hoping to break a 109-year duck having never beaten the world's number one-ranked side in 29 meetings.

The new look Scotland posted an eyebrow-raising 41 points in a win against Argentina last weekend scoring five tries in a game for only the second time in six years.

The positive vibes ought to last until kickoff on Saturday, because nobody rains on a Scottish parade better than the All Blacks, who have never lost to the Scots since their very first test in 1905.

Indeed, the last of their two draws with the All Blacks a 25-25 share of the spoils at Murrayfield came back in 1983.

Scotland will field an unchanged XV with Greig Laidlaw - man-of-the-match against the Pumas - continues to captain the team from scrum-half, while the New Zealand-born duo of wing Sean Maitland and back-row Blair Cowan will face the All Blacks for the first time in a Test match.

Head coach Vern Cotter has though made four changes on his bench, with Glasgow Warriors forwards Fraser Brown (hooker) and Tim Swinson (lock) replacing Scott Lawson and Jim Hamilton - who spent just four minutes on the field against Argentina before being sin-binned - while Johnnie Beattie and Chris Cusiter have come in for Alasdair Strokosch and the injured Henry Pyrgos (head knock).

"Last weekend we had the ball and looked dangerous, and showed great character to keep faith and confidence in our attacking philosophy," said Cotter.

"I really enjoyed watching the players play for each other against Argentina.

"They picked themselves up time and time again, and encouraged each other to keep on working for our collective cause.

"It was fantastic to see, as was our ability to get over the line and score tries, all of which contributed to a strong case for reselection."

He added: "We showed last weekend that we're developing an attack than can cause opposition teams problems. If we can force the All Blacks into making errors then we can give ourselves a chance.

"In saying that, the All Blacks are the world's best at exposing errors so we'll also have to be absolutely clinical in both our decision-making and execution if we are to go one better than the 1983 team that drew with New Zealand here at Murrayfield."

Meanwhile, New Zealand are barely recognisable from the team which defeated England 24-21 at Twickenham last weekend.

Only captain Richie McCaw and Ben Smith have kept their places in the side, but in different positions. McCaw will start on the blindside flank for the first time, and Smith has moved from the wing to fullback.

The team also features a first start in a year for flyhalf Dan Carter, flyhalf Colin Slade on the wing, and uncapped Blues hooker James Parsons.

Parsons, Slade and lock Dominic Bird were all late callups after playing for the Barbarians against Australia.

With the involvement of McCaw and Carter, New Zealand's two most influential players for more than a decade, Scotland don't believe they are being underestimated, or facing a B side. Seven of the New Zealand reserves were involved at Twickenham.

"For every man that steps in that jersey, it means the same thing to all of them. Having been raised in New Zealand, I know how much it means to all of them," said Scotland flanker Blair Cowan.

"By no means, if we win, will anything be taken away from us because of the changes they made. They could pick from another 20-odd players and it would still be a world-class team. If we win, it will be because we were the best on the day."

Finn Russell v Dan Carter

Russell made his Scotland debut last weekend and he will face off against the world's record points scorer, Carter, who will start his first game for New Zealand in a year. Russell showed great decision making skills against Argentina but Carter will use his vast experience to orchestrate the New Zealand attack.

Adam Ashe v Victor Vito

Ashe, 21, was one of the stand out performers last week, showing confidence when carrying the ball and retains his place ahead of rivalled number eights, Jonnie Beatie and Dave Denton. Vito is another experienced New Zealander, having made 25 appearances for his country - and his experience will be more testing for the Scottish backs.

Richie Gray v James Parsons

The Gray brothers linked up for the first time in the Scotland back row and they will be looking to show the same resilience showed against the Pumas last Saturday. Parsons will make his full Test debut - the hooker received a late injury call-up at the expense of Nathan Harris and will be in for a testing afternoon.

Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (captain); 1 Alasdair Dickinson, 2 Ross Ford, 3 Euan Murray, 4 Richie Gray, 5 Jonny Gray, 6 Rob Harley, 7 Blair Cowan, 8 Adam Ashe.

Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Johnnie Beattie, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Sean Lamont.

New Zealand: 15 Ben Smith, 14 Colin Slade, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Charles Piutau, 10 Dan Carter, 9 TJ Perenara; 1 Joe Moody, 2 James Parsons, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 5 Dominic Bird, 6 Richie McCaw (captain), 7 Sam Cane, 8 Victor Vito.

Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Luke Romano, 20 Liam Messam, 21 Augustine Pulu, 22 Sonny Bill Williams, 23 Julian Savea.

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