London: Scotland head coach Vern Cotter on Thursday announced five changes to his team for their penultimate Six Nations match against England at Twickenham on Saturday.
David Denton, Dougie Fife, Matt Scott, Jim Hamilton and Finn Russell all return for Scotland, who are desperate for victory in the Calcutta Cup following successive losses to France, Wales and Italy.
The quintet replace Johnnie Beattie, knee injury victims Sean Lamont and Alex Dunbar — who has been ruled out for up to nine months — Tim Swinson and Peter Horne.
“Jim comes in and will bring his physicality and understanding of English rugby to our forward pack,” Cotter said in a statement released by Scottish Rugby.
“It’s good to have Dave Denton back as he provides us with strong ball-carrying and strong defence. He’s also a very good line-out forward and will give us a bit more physical density against a big forward pack.
“It’s been tough on Finn to sit out [due to suspension] and it’s great to have him back. He’s slotted straight back in to the structure we’re looking for.
“Finally, Dougie came on and played well against France and has had a couple of games with his club with a few work-ons.
“We’re looking for him to bring his enthusiasm, energy and high work-rate, particularly in kick-chase and receipt.”
Edinburgh number eight Denton is the only player not to have played in the Six Nations so far and replaces Beattie after recovering from a calf strain.
His Edinburgh clubmates Fife and Scott will both be making their first starts of the tournament.
Scott was brought into the team after Dunbar succumbed to a knee injury in training on Thursday morning, with a hospital scan revealing he had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and will be out for up to nine months.
