Laporte keeps faith with tried and tested

French coach Bernard Laporte is banking on the players who blitzed New Zealand last year to get France's Six Nations off to a flier against Scotland.

Laporte yesterday named 13 of the 15 players who triumphed against the All Blacks in Marseilles for Sunday's showdown with the Scots at the Stade de France.

The only two new faces are at hooker, where former skipper Raphael Ibanez returns in place of the injured Fabrice Landreau, and on the wing, where David Bory comes in.

Xavier Garbajosa, who played on the wing during last year's thrilling 42-33 second Test victory over the All Blacks, moves to full back with Jean-Luc Sadourny out. Laporte is also hoping the forward dominance of French champions Stade Francais can translate into international class this season.

Five members of the Stade pack which have helped the Parisian club power into the semi-finals of the European Cup are in this weekend's line-up.

There is no place in the starting line-up for Stade Francais' Christophe Dominici, who has returned to rugby this season after a long spell out of the game suffering from depression. Dominici is on the bench.

Kenny Logan will win his 50th cap for Scotland against the French. The winger will become a member of only a small band of international players who have earned a half century of caps for their country. Scotland coach Ian McGeechan makes several changes from the side which beat Samoa 31-8 in November, some of them forced by injury.

Andy Nicol returns from an ankle injury to reclaim the scrumhalf berth and the captaincy while in the centre James McLaren is preferred to Alan Bulloch.

In the front row, Gordon Bulloch comes in for the injured Steve Brotherstone and Mattie Stewart replaces George Graham.

The Scots, who will take the field without the Famous Grouse logo on their shirts due to a French law prohibiting alcohol advertising in sport, will be looking for their third win in their last four visits to the French capital.

FRANCE: X Garbajosa (Stade Toulousain); P Bernat-Salles (Biarritz), F Comba (Stade Francais), R Dourthe (Beziers), D Bory (Montferrand); C Lamaison (Agen), F Galthie (Colomiers); S Marconnet (Stade Francais), R Ibanez (Castres), P De Villiers (Stade Francais), D Auradou (Stade Francais), F Pelous (Stade Toulousain), C Moni (Stade Francais), C Juillet (Stade Francais), O Magne (Montferrand). Replacements: O Azam (Gloucester), C Califano (Stade Toulousain), A Benazzi (Agen), S Betsen (Biarritz), G Merceron (Montferrand), C Dominici (Stade Francais), P Carbonneau (Pau).

SCOTLAND: C Paterson (Edinburgh Reivers); C Murray (Edinburgh Reivers), J McClaren (Glasgow Caledonians), J Leslie (Northampton), K Logan (Wasps); G Townsend (Castres), A Nicol (Glasgow Caledonians, capt); T Smith (Brive), G Bulloch (Glasgow Caledonians), M Stewart (Northampton), S Murray (Saracens), R Metcalfe (Edinburgh Reivers), M Leslie (Edinburgh Reivers), B Pountney (Glasgow Caledonians), J Petrie (Glasgow Caledonians). Replacements: R Russell (Saracens), G McIlwham (Glasgow Caledonians), S Grimes (Newcastle), J White (Glasgow Caledonians), B Redpath (Sale), D Hodge (Edinburgh Reivers), A Bulloch (Glasgow Caledonians).