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Beattie and Dewey win Scots caps

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GLASGOW, Scotland -- Johnnie Beattie and Rob Dewey will make their Scotland debuts in the rugby union test against Romania in Edinburgh on Saturday.

Beattie, a 20-year-old number eight and Dewey, a 23-year-old center, were named in the starting lineup by Scotland coach Frank Hadden on Tuesday.

Scotland are bidding for a fourth straight win at Murrayfield for the first time in 11 years.

Hadden has left the highly-rated Chris Paterson on the bench, perhaps with one eye on upcoming internationals against Australia and the Pacific Islands.

Two uncapped players, forwards David Callam and Jim Hamilton, will be replacements and should both be introduced to boost the number of players capped for Scotland to 1,000.

Hadden, while hoping to build on last season's promising performances, said the match provided the perfect opportunity for the up-and-coming Scots to show their international potential.

"There were a number of players I was particularly keen to see playing at this level - Godman, Dewey, Beattie, Euan Murray and Hamilton - and on that basis I've looked at the balance of the rest of the side and how best these players can be accommodated," he said.

"That said, what this match is about is building on the progress we made last season and fielding a winning Scotland team.

Scotland forward Allister Hogg will miss November's internationals after injuring his knee.

It was confirmed on Tuesday that Hogg damaged the medial ligaments in his right knee while playing for his club Edinburgh Rugby last Friday.

Sacrificing

"I'm not sacrificing our goal of winning a fourth successive game at Murrayfield for the first time in 11 years simply to introduce new players."

Hadden says that consistent displays in the Magners League have earned the new caps their chance but stresses: "I'm having a look to see how they fare.

" I know we have very good players in their positions and I expect Rob and Johnnie to rise to that. If they want to see themselves as contenders for the Scotland team they have to show me that desire on Saturday."

Hadden has opted for a five/two split between forwards and backs on the bench and has indicated his intent to deploy both Allan Jacobsen and Craig Smith at some stage, as competition for front-row berths intensifies.

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