Scotland's coach Jim Telfer has made one change for the match against Ireland at Murrayfield on Saturday. Newcastle's Gary Armstrong has recovered from an elbow injury and returns as captain at scrum-half, where he replaces Iain Fairley who played in the 30P12 win over Italy in a friendly international a fortnight ago.
There was always going to be very little tinkering required to a resurgent Scottish team and the irony is that, at a time when the country has greater strength in depth than it has done for a number of years, there are few reasons to alter a successful team.
Not that Telfer hasn't used the unwanted talents of Jamie Mayer, Rowen Shepherd and the like as a stick with which to beat his side. "There must be no complacency," said Telfer.
"We gave the players a vote of confidence after the defeat by England, which says something about the selectors. But you have to be very careful when you are picking the same group of players.
"We weren't very impressed by the win over Italy and we are under no illusions that we will have to improve on Saturday. Ireland are formidable opponents. They have beaten Wales, they almost beat France and they will be pretty fired up after losing to England."
Having correctly predicted the introduction of Eric Miller and Jonathan Bell into the Irish side, Telfer has the advantage of knowing how the visitors are approaching the game.
It promises to be a fascinating clash of styles between Ireland's more forward based game and Scotland's more expansive approach and, although Telfer has spoken confidently of his team's ability to compete with Ireland up front, he will not be looking for his pack to become engaged in a duel.
The onus will be on Armstrong and half-back partner Gregor Townsend to provide quick ball to a three-quarter line which, at times, has looked devastating this season.
France, depleted by injuries and forced to rethink their tactics after their shock defeat by Wales, have made five changes to the team to play England at Twickenham on Saturday.
The French defence was found wanting in the 34-33 defeat by Wales, as was their physical power in the tight phases and out wide. To remedy this the strong-running Xavier Garbajosa of Toulouse replaces Philippe Bernat-Salles on the right wing.
Despite the temptation to bolster the midfield by moving Emile N'tamack to centre, the selectors have gone for a new cap, Pascal Giordani of Dax. He replaces Richard Dourthe, who has a dislocated shoulder, in the number 13 shirt.
"Giordani has had two excellent games for France A this season," said the team manager Jo Maso. "He is powerful and robust in defence and should have no trouble adapting. The players know where they failed against Wales. We urgently need to get back to the organisation and discipline of our defensive system which has been one of the main platforms of our game over the past two years."
With Philippe Benetton dropped to the A side and injuries to Olivier Magne (foot) and Marc Lievremont (shoulder), the French have also been forced to reshuffle their back row. The result is a totally untried combination which may lack some out-and-out speed but which is better equipped to counter the power of England close to the scrum.
Richard Castel of Beziers comes in on one flank, Thomas Lievremont moves from number eight to six and Christophe Juillet, who is 30 on Saturday, wins his first Five Nations cap at the back of the scrum. Juillet, who has been outstanding this season for Stade Francais and France A, played against Romania and Italy in the Latin Cup in 1995.
France's coach, Jean-Claude Skrela, also put the pressure on his front five, demanding a more vigorous and committed game. The loose-head prop Christian Califano has been dropped in favour of the dynamic Sylvain Marconnet of Stade Francais, who starts a game for his country for the first time.
Scotland (v Ireland at Murrayfield, Saturday): G Metcalfe (Glasgow Caledonians); C Murray (Edinburgh Reivers), A Tait (Edinburgh Reivers), J Leslie (Glasgow Caledonians), K Logan (Wasps); G Townsend (Brive), G Armstrong (Newcastle, capt); T Smith (Glasgow Caledonians), G Bulloch (Glasgow Caledonians), P Burnell (London Scottish), S Murray (Bedford), S Grimes (Glasgow Caledonian), P Walton (Newcastle), M Leslie (Edinburgh Reivers), E Peters (Bath). Replacements: S Longstaff (Glasgow Caledonians), C Chalmers (Edinburgh Reivers), I Fairley (Edinburgh Reivers), B Pountney (Northampton), A Reed (Wasps), D Hilton (Bath), S Brotherstone (Edinburgh Reivers).
France: E Ntamack (Toulouse); X Garbajosa (Toulouse), P Giordani (Dax), F Comba (Stade Francais), T Lombard (Stade Francais); T Castaignede (Castres), P Carbonneau (Brive); S Marconnet (Stade Francais), R Ibanez (Perpignan, capt), F Tournaire (Toulouse), O Brouzet (Begles-Bordeaux), F Pelous (Toulouse), T Lievremont (Perpignan), R Castel (Beziers), C Juillet (Stade Francais).
