Andy Robinson has rewarded the team that tackled itself to a standstill in beating Australia last Saturday by making four changes, only one of them positional, for Scotland's final autumn international against Argentina on Saturday.
Analysis of Saturday's one-point win, the first by Scotland over the Wallabies in 27 years, showed the Scots had made more than 200 tackles. But the hardest worker of the lot, the openside John Barclay, is one of those to miss out after Robinson handed a first cap to the 24-year-old Edinburgh flanker, Alan MacDonald.
Robinson said the change was one of those under consideration before the victories over Fiji and Australia, and he is determined to build a more fluid attack on the foundations of Saturday's defence. The speedy Thom Evans replaces Simon Danielli on the left wing, while inside-centre Graeme Morrison is replaced by Ben Cairns of Edinburgh. Alex Grove of Worcester moves from No13 to No12.
After picking the same side for his first two games in charge, Robinson has not only dropped Danielli and Morrison but left them out of the match-day 22 as he reunites the A-team centre pairing which did well for him in the winning Nations Cup campaign, before he became the national coach in the summer.
"The midfield needed freshening up. It didn't really attack that well," Robinson said, pointing out that Cairns, Evans and MacDonald had performed well in the A team's win over Tonga last Friday.
"John Barclay played really well at the weekend with his defensive performance," Robinson said. "He led the tackle count, but Alan MacDonald has been pushing for a spot in the way he has been playing for Edinburgh. He's been pushing in training and in the A team."
Another change is still possible with the captain, Chris Cusiter, seeing a neuro-surgeon today. Cusiter took a blow to the head last Saturday while tackling the Australian full-back, Adam Ashley-Cooper. With the second-string scrum-half and joint captain, Mike Blair, still unfit, Rory Lawson of Gloucester keeps the job of Cusiter's understudy.
