Jamie Ritchie has been restored to Scotland's starting XV for Saturday’s Calcutta Cup showdown with England, a fortnight after being dropped from the squad altogether for the Guinness Six Nations home defeat by France.
The recently deposed captain is back in the side as one of three changes made by Gregor Townsend, with experienced duo Blair Kinghorn and Kyle Steyn returning to the back three.
Kyle Rowe, Harry Paterson and Matt Fagerson – all of whom started against Les Bleus – drop out of the squad altogether, with the bench unchanged.
Ritchie – who lost the captaincy to Finn Russell and Rory Darge earlier this year – started the first match of the Six Nations away to Wales before being left out against France, but the 27-year-old Edinburgh flanker is back in the number 6 jersey in place of Fagerson this weekend.
Toulouse full-back Kinghorn returns after missing the opening two matches with a knee injury sustained days before the championship began, while Glasgow wing Steyn – who started against Wales – is back in the mix after having to withdraw from the team on the morning of the France game when his wife went into labour.
Rowe, who started the first two matches in the absence of Kinghorn, has not made the squad this weekend, while 22-year-old Edinburgh back Paterson, who was drafted in at the last minute to start against France following Steyn’s withdrawal, is also out.
Former Munster and Ireland U20 out-half Ben Healy is among the replacements for the Scots, who are looking for a fourth Calcutta Cup win in a row, something they haven't done in 128 years.
Meanwhile, England have rolled the dice by dropping Freddie Steward (above) in favour of George Furbank at full-back.
Steward has been an ever-present under successive England regimes because of his unrivalled ability under the high ball, but having started the opening two rounds of the Six Nations he is jettisoned from the 23 completely.
The inclusion of Furbank could pay dividends as the Northampton playmaker will provide more of a cutting edge in attack than Steward, but even in the dry conditions expected at Murrayfield on Saturday the selection is gamble.
Furbank has yet to convince in his six caps dating back to 2020 but the 27-year-old, who can also operate at fly-half, is a classy ball player whose skills have helped Saints take the Gallagher Premiership by storm this season.
The decision at full-back is influenced by Ollie Lawrence's return at inside centre in an injection of ball-carrying clout into the backline.
England have lacked a runner capable of breaking tackles and drawing in defenders as a decoy but Lawrence will perform that role in the pivotal round-three clash in Edinburgh.
He missed the victories over Italy and Wales because of a hip injury but has been preferred ahead of Manu Tuilagi to provide physical presence in the number 12, resulting in Fraser Dingwall being axed from the midfield.
Dingwall’s strength is as a link player and in a nod to the ball skills and game management he provided in the opening two rounds, England feel the all-round game of Furbank is needed at full-back.
Scotland: Blair Kinghorn; Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe; Finn Russell (co-capt), Ben White; Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, Zander Fagerson; Grant Gilchrist, Scott Cummings; Jamie Ritchie, Rory Darge (co-capt), Jack Dempsey.
Replacements: Ewan Ashman, Alec Hepburn, Elliot Millar-Mills, Sam Skinner, Andy Christie, George Horne, Ben Healy, Cameron Redpath.
England: George Furbank; Tommy Freeman, Henry Slade, Ollie Lawrence, Elliot Daly; George Ford, Danny Care; Ellis Genge, Jamie George (capt), Dan Cole; Maro Itoje, Ollie Chessum; Ethan Roots, Sam Underhill, Ben Earl.
Replacements: Theo Dan, Joe Marler, Will Stuart, George Martin, Chandler Cunningham-South, Ben Spencer, Fin Smith, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
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