Cotter names 'settled side' to face England
There are just two new faces to the starting XV that took to the field to face Australia in the World Cup quarterfinal – with Matt Scott and John Barclay starting in place of the injured Peter Horne and Blair Cowan (who starts on the bench), in the midfield and back row respectively.
Scott will partner Mark Bennett in midfield between a talented back three of Stuart Hogg, Sean Maitland and Tommy Seymour; and halfbacks Finn Russell and captain Greig Laidlaw; the latter set to equal the cap tally (47) of uncle and former Scotland captain, Roy Laidlaw (1980-88).
In the forwards, Barclay joins John Hardie and David Denton in the back row, with second-row brothers Jonny and Richie Gray set to start their 10th Test match together, each packing down behind the all-Edinburgh front row of Alasdair Dickinson, Ross Ford and Willem Nel.
"There's a huge amount of excitement and determination among the group to start well, and do well, in this Championship, and show that they have learned from past experiences and developed their game," the Scotland coach, Cotter, said.
"Playing in front of a sold-out Murrayfield Stadium is hugely motivating for the players, who are all very proud to wear the jersey as we know.
"They like working hard for each other in the no-excuse environment that exists in the squad.
"England will look to build their game from set-phase dominance, while we expect them to have developed their attacking play into the wider channels, which can create challenges as well as opportunities.
"We're expecting them to be extremely motivated and physical, and we're looking forward to that challenge.
"Continuity and accuracy will be key for us in this game."
Just four of Scotland's match-day 23 did not feature in the World Cup, with starting blindside Barclay back in the fold, Duncan Taylor and Stuart McInally returning from the injuries that prevented them taking part, and 20-year-old debutant-in-waiting Zander Fagerson.
If called upon from the bench, Fagerson would be the youngest prop to represent Scotland – and the sixth youngest of any Tier One nation – for over half a century.
There have only been three younger Scotland props on debut – Bill Black (1948), Ian Pender (1914) and David Bain (1911) – while you'd have to go back to 1991 to find a younger prop in a Tier One nation on debut (Patricio Noriega of Argentina v Paraguay, and John Davies of Wales v Ireland).
Those unavailable through injury include Adam Ashe (shoulder), Fraser Brown (ankle), Alex Dunbar (posterior thigh), Grant Gilchrist (groin), Henry Pyrgos (wrist), Tim Visser (hamstring).
Date: Saturday, February 6
Venue: Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 16.50 (16.50 GMT)
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Romain Poite (France), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)
