Chris Paterson will win his 100th cap when Scotland face Wales at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, but the full‑back will treat the occasion as just another game, saying that victory is all that matters to him after the opening-round defeat to France at Murrayfield.
Although it was the third successive game in which Scotland had failed to score a try, notching nine points each time, their four changes are largely defensive. Dan Parks, a tactical kicker, replaces Phil Godman at outside-half, Sean Lamont moves from the wing to add ballast to the midfield with his brother, Rory, coming in on the flank. Euan Murray, unavailable last Sunday, resumes at tighthead prop.
"I am hugely proud of achieving 100 caps and it is something I have thought about since I got into the 90s, but in many ways it is just another cap and another number," said the 31-year-old Paterson. "My focus is on Wales and applying myself as best I can to help the team win. I just want to get out and get on with it and get to 100, 101 and keep going up the numbers."
Parks, who will be earning his living in Wales next season when he joins Cardiff Blues, is recalled after more than a year's absence. Lamont will be making his first international appearance in the centre but he has spent most of the season there with the Scarlets.
Wales believe the changes behind point to a kick-and-chase strategy given the way England dominated in the air at Twickenham, but the Scotland coach, Andy Robinson, said he was being pragmatic. "We will look to dominate territory but we also want to play with ball in hand," he said. "We did not do either well enough against France. Dan is not just coming in to kick the ball: we still want to move it."
Warren Gatland is not so sure. The Wales coach said: "With Parks at 10, I think they will put the ball in the air a lot and Chris Cusiter [the scrum-half] will box-kick a bit. We did not do well enough in the aerial battle at Twickenham and we are going to have to be smart in the way we play."
Wales have made two changes from the side that lost to England. Leigh Halfpenny returns to the right wing in place of Tom James, a left-footer who looked uncomfortable in the position last Saturday, while Jonathan Thomas takes over from Luke Charteris in the second row as Wales look to improve on a poor lineout showing at Twickenham where they lost five of their 11 throws. The Lions prop, Gethin Jenkins, who was ruled out by a calf strain last Saturday, has been named as a replacement pending a fitness test.
Thomas has played most of his rugby in the back row. He has only started one match for Wales at lock, against Japan six years ago, although he has appeared there regularly for Ospreys this season. Gareth Cooper survives at scrum-half, while the centre Tom Shanklin returns to the bench.
