Stuart Hogg starts at fullback for Scotland against England
Stuart Hogg has recovered from a heel injury
©PA
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has included Luke Crosbie in the Six Nations opener against England to be played at Twickenham Stadium.
Crosbie will start at back row with skipper Jamie Ritchie at blindside and Matt Fagerson at number eight.
Townsend has opted for experienced fly-half Finn Russell forming halfback partnership with Ben White with the experienced pair of Richie Gray and vice-captain Grant Gilchrist starting at second row.
Pierre Schoeman will start at loosehead prop on what will be his 17th consecutive Test since his debut in 2021 with WP Nel and George Turner forming the rest of the front row.
Glasgow pair Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones have been rewarded for their form in the United Rugby Championship with Kyle Steyn and Duhan van der Merwe at wings. Stuart Hogg will start at fullback despite not playing for Exeter Chiefs since December after picking up a heel injury.
"It was a difficult selection. There are so many players in really good form - and we back form now, which means there are experienced players who have played a lot of rugby for us who have missed out," Townsend told Scottish Rugby.
"But we believe this is the strongest squad we can pick for this weekend. The players who have missed out on selection have shown real professionalism.
"Luke is a form selection. It is a tricky one because you look at how well Andy Christie, Josh Bayliss and Jack Dempsey have been playing, but Luke has really stepped up.
"If you look at the two games against Saracens in particular, we feel he brought physicality on both sides of the ball."
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Luke Crosbie, 6 Jamie Ritchie (c), 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Richie Gray, 3 WP Nel, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Reserves: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Jonny Gray, 20 Jack Dempsey, 21 George Horne, 22 Blair Kinghorn, 23 Chris Harris
