Edinburgh’s prolific wing Dougie Fife will make his Scotland debut as Tommy Seymour became Scotland’s fourth injury casualty this season on the wing.
Fife, 23, has established himself as first-choice wing for Edinburgh this season and scored five tries in as many games over the period just prior to the RBS 6 Nations.
He joins fellow former Currie RFC product Matt Scott in the Scotland back division, replacing Seymour, who has not recovered from an ankle injury sustained against France last Saturday.
Already this season, interim head coach Scott Johnson has had to do without long-term injury victim Tim Visser and has lost Sean Maitland and Sean Lamont to injuries during the championship.
Scotland’s other injury headaches have cleared, with Max Evans able to make his first start since the match against Tonga at Pittodrie in 2012 after recovering from a back problem. It will be the 30-year-old’s 42nd cap.
There are no other changes to the backline.
On the bench, Edinburgh’s Jack Cuthbert is the preferred choice for his ability to cover both full-back and wing. The 26-year-old’s sole previous appearance for Scotland came in the World Cup warm-up against Ireland back in August 2011.
Johnson said they had no doubts about Fife’s ability to step into the breach.
“We like Dougie’s size and his competitive edge,” said Johnson. “He chases everything, which I like, and he has shown really good glimpses playing for Edinburgh this season.
“He’s been ear-marked by us for a while we’ve been following him for the last 12 months and he’s got his reward now.”