Red-letter day as White's back in Scottish blue for All Blacks

LESS THAN a month after being virtually written out of Scotland's plans for the autumn internationals, Jason White will make his first Test start for nine months at Murrayfield on Saturday against the All Blacks in the first match of the New Zealanders' grand slam tour.

The former Scotland captain, who has had a miserable couple of seasons with injury, returns as blind-side flanker as Scotland opt for experience against a New Zealand team which makes 12 changes to the side that beat Australia in Hong Kong on Saturday. Dan Carter and the captain, Richie McCaw, both start on the bench.

White's problems started against Romania two years ago when he damaged his right knee and missed 10 months following surgery. Last season he was concussed in the Six Nations defeat by Wales and while Scotland were away in Argentina this summer he was having another knee operation and surgery to his shoulder.

Yesterday, after playing his first full 80 minutes of the season - against Leicester last Friday - he said Scotland coach Frank Hadden had initially dropped him from the Scotland party chosen for warm-weather training in Spain two weeks ago and so he had to talk his way back into the squad.

"I just said I disagreed and said that what I bring as a player merits inclusion," said White. He is selected alongside the number eight Simon Taylor, another whose career has been riddled with injury and who now plays in the secondrow for Stade Français, and behind Nathan Hines, another with more than 50 caps.

Graham Henry's experimental selection sees three making their All Black debuts - loose forwards Kieran Read and Liam Messam along with the prop Jamie Mackintosh.

Keven Mealamu will captain the team for the first time.

Meanwhile teenage wing Leigh Halfpenny will join an exclusive Welsh rugby club on Saturday when the 19-year-old Cardiff Blues speedster faces world champions South Africa at the Millennium Stadium. He becomes the 60th teenager to be capped by Wales after just seven games of top-flight rugby.

Halfpenny, who averages one try per game for the Blues, will be joined on Saturday by fellow debutant and Blues colleague Andy Powell.

Powell (27) packs down in the backrow alongside Martyn Williams and skipper Ryan Jones, with the captain accommodating him by being moved to blindside flanker.

Ospreys hooker Huw Bennett, who was injured on EDF Energy Cup duty two days ago, is an absentee, with Scarlets' Matthew Rees coming in.

And Gatland has sprung a surprise at scrumhalf, preferring Gloucester's Gareth Cooper to the more experienced Dwayne Peel, who starts on the bench.

Gavin Henson and 6ft 4in Jamie Roberts forge a new-look centre combination - Roberts has already played wing and fullback in his short Test career - while Stephen Jones edges out James Hook at outhalf.

Meanwhile South Africa coach Peter de Villiers admitted he was "prepared for all eventualities" after taking a gamble on the fitness of Bakkies Botha for the Cardiff Test.

Botha made a surprise return to the starting line-up, just 24 hours after team doctor Craig Roberts said the player would only be able to play for around 30 minutes given his current fitness levels.

The 29-year-old lock has been out since August with a knee ligament injury picked up against Argentina, but De Villiers has decided to take a risk with his fitness after he impressed in training.

Tendai Mtawarira will partner Bismarck du Plessis and captain John Smit in the frontrow, while Pierre Spies is preferred to Ryan Kankowski at number eight.

Martin Johnson has included four debutants - Delon Armitage, Ugo Monye, Riki Flutey and London Irish lock Nick Kennedy - in the England team to start against the Pacific Islanders on Saturday. Dylan Hartley is a potential fifth debutant, the uncapped Northampton hooker starting on the bench.

Armitage will start at fullback with Monye, who has been in electric form for Harlequins this season, on the left wing and Flutey at inside centre.

Flutey, the former Junior All Black and New Zealand Maori, qualified to play for England on residency grounds in September.

Jamie Noon will start on Flutey's right shoulder at outside centre, while Danny Cipriani and Danny Care link up in the half-backs.

Harlequins' Nick Easter has returned to the side at number eight with dynamic Leicester flanker Tom Croft preferred to James Haskell on the blindside.

In the front row, Bath tighthead Matt Stevens has kept out former captain Phil Vickery while Lee Mears retained the hooker's jersey despite competition from Hartley.