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Wales begin their Six Nations defence in Scotland, having won only once on their last five trips to Murrayfield.

Inside centre Gavin Henson pulled out with a calf injury, so Tom Shanklin starts in midfield with Jamie Roberts. Scrum-half Mike Phillips is recalled.

Scotland are missing influential duo Euan Murray and Nathan Hines.

Chris Paterson, Scotland's all-time record points scorer, is dropped to the bench, while prop Geoff Cross makes his debut in place of Murray.

With Hines absent, flanker Jason White switches to the second row for just the fifth time in 70 international appearances.

And head coach Frank Hadden has opted against including a specialist lock on the bench, with number eight Simon Taylor providing the only cover if White or Jim Hamilton need to be replaced.

Paterson, who kicked all of Scotland's points in the 21-9 win over Wales in 2007 and in last year's 30-15 defeat in Cardiff, has only recently recovered from a rib injury and his place at full-back goes to Hugo Southwell, while fly-half Phil Godman will take over goal-kicking duties.

With Nikki Walker unavailable through injury, Simon Webster has been preferred to in-form Glasgow winger Thom Evans, with the Edinburgh man getting the nod due to his experience.

Ally Hogg and John Barclay team up with Taylor in the back row, while Gloucester flanker Alasdair Strokosch is a surprise omission from the match-day squad.

Henson and Phillips last played for Wales on the day the team completed the 2008 Grand Slam, having missed the tour of South Africa and the November internationals series through injuries.

Now they are part of a talented group of backs with IRB player of the year Shane Williams on one wing and 20-year-old Leigh Halfpenny given his Six Nations debut on the other.

The visiting pack is unchanged from the eight that beat Australia in November, with Matt Rees and Ian Gough keeping their spots, while Ryan Jones continues as captain and blind-side.

Scrum-half Dwayne Peel is on the bench after being left out of coach Warren Gatland's original 28-man squad for the tournament, Gareth Cooper's knee injury handing Peel a return to Test duty.

Gatland has urged his players to embrace the favourites' tag, rather than view it as a suffocating burden.

And Williams knows Wales must handle such expectation in the right fashion.

"A lot of emphasis has been put on us from outside about being favourites and so on," said the star winger.

"We know we have got to approach this tournament the same as we approach every Six Nations, and that's being full of confidence and fully prepared.

"We've trained really well. We are there or thereabouts in terms of our preparation for the first game.

"But Murrayfield is a tough place to play and we know it is a very good Scotland side. We will need to be on top of our game.

"We are a confident side. There is a confidence in our ability as a team and as individuals, but I don't think we've got a label of arrogance in the squad.

"You've got to have confidence. You can't go into these games thinking you want to do well, you've got to go in with a positive mindset, which is a little bit different from being arrogant."

Having won just one match in each of the last two Six Nations, Hadden is under pressure to deliver a good campaign.

"We prepare to win every match and, after each game, you evaluate your position," he said.

"The competition is so tight this year that losing the first game may not be insurmountable. The important thing is to get ourselves in the mix for the last Saturday of the championship."


 :bluenwhitescarf:  Hugo Southwell (Edinburgh); Simon Webster (Edinburgh), Ben Cairns (Edinburgh), Graeme Morrison (Glasgow), Sean Lamont (Northampton); Phil Godman (Edinburgh), Mike Blair (Edinburgh); Allan Jacobsen (Edinburgh), Ross Ford (Edinburgh), Geoff Cross (Edinburgh), Jason White (Sale), Jim Hamilton (Edinburgh), Ally Hogg (Edinburgh), Simon Taylor (Stade Francais), John Barclay (Glasgow).
Replacements: Dougie Hall (Glasgow Warriors), Alasdair Dickinson (Gloucester), Kelly Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Scott Gray (Northampton Saints), Chris Cusiter (Perpignan), Chris Paterson (Edinburgh), Max Evans (Glasgow Warriors).

 :daggers: Lee Byrne (Ospreys); Leigh Halfpenny (Blues), Jamie Roberts (Blues), Gavin Henson (Ospreys), Shane Williams (Ospreys); Stephen Jones (Scarlets), Mike Phillips (Ospreys); Gethin Jenkins (Blues), Matthew Rees (Scarlets), Adam Jones (Ospreys), Ian Gough (Ospreys), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Ryan Jones (Ospreys, capt), Martyn Williams (Blues), Andy Powell (Blues).
Replacements: Tom Shanklin (Blues), James Hook (Ospreys), Dwayne Peel (Sale), John Yapp (Blues), Huw Bennett (Ospreys), Luke Charteris (Dragons), Dafydd Jones (Scarlets).

Come on the  :scotland:

Williams seeks Wales 'greatness'

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Martyn Williams says Wales' aim to become a "great" side has justified his choice to come out of Test retirement.

The Blues open-side, 33, stood down in 2007 but was coaxed back into a Wales shirt in January 2008 by Warren Gatland in time for their Grand Slam campaign.

Williams will again be key as Wales begin their Six Nations title defence away to Scotland on Sunday.

"At the moment we're a good side but we're nowhere near a great side and we all want to be part of that," he said.

Wales also won the Grand Slam in 2005 under Mike Ruddock, but slumped the following season to finish second from bottom.

The 2006 campaign yielded just one win - at home over Sunday's opponents Scotland - and a draw with Italy but was overshadowed by the shock departure of coach Ruddock during the tournament.

But Williams says Wales are much better prepared this time to build on the success of the previous season.

"Last time it kind of felt after we won the Grand Slam as if 'right, that's it, we've done it'," said the Pontypridd product.  

"Whereas this time we've been constantly reminded we've got to kick on, you know we've got to improve, we want to be a great side not just a good side."

Wales have strength in depth in most positions now but the heirs to Williams' number seven shirt have not progressed as swiftly as Gatland may have liked.

Williams announced his international retirement in October 2007 following Wales' disastrous World Cup campaign under then coach Gareth Jenkins.

But the flanker, who has now won 84 Wales caps, was persuaded to come out of international retirement by new coach Gatland in January 2008.

Their run to a second Grand Slam in four years was sparked by a thrilling come-from-behind win in the opening match in England, Wales' first Twickenham triumph since 1988.

"I've had a new lease of life since I came back, it helps as well when you're successful," Williams added.

"It's not often you get a second chance and I've just been real fortunate that I've decided [to carry on playing Test rugby].  

"It could have gone the other way mind you; half-time in England I was thinking 'perhaps it was the wrong decision I made!', but it went really well so, fingers crossed, long may it continue."

While Wales and his regional side the Cardiff Blues have stopped short of wrapping Williams in cotton-wool, the veteran's game-time has been carefully managed.

Gatland has gone on record as saying that he believes Williams can still produce the goods for Wales at the 2011 World Cup, and the player himself is hopeful that is a realistic target.

"I haven't played loads, you know every week, and had a few weeks off here and there," Williams admitted.

"Dai's [Young, the Cardiff Blues director of rugby] been really good with me at the club, then I come here [the Wales squad] for a bit of conditioning so fingers-crossed, yeah, I can keep going.

"I feel okay at the moment... we'll get through this campaign first and reassess after that, but I've been managed really well this season.

"It's just a really good environment here as well at the moment, I think you know you can see everyone's enjoying the training; the intensity has gone up another level.

"There's a really good team spirit here and it's just great to be involved and it's something you want to be part of as long as you can."

Scotland coach Frank Hadden raised some eyebrows when he named a starting XV for Sunday's match without a recognised front-line kicker.

Chris Paterson, Scotland's record points scorer, is dropped to the bench, with the full-back's Edinburgh club colleague Phil Godman likely to shoulder the kicking responsibilities from fly-half.  

But Williams' concentration is on the challenges he will face up front, with Scotland going for a mobile back-row and also picking Jason White - for much of his career a specialist blind-side - at lock.

"It's always a nightmare up in Murrayfield, it's really tough you know, they always start really well," Williams said.

"Looking at their pack they've got more or less two sevens there in Ally Hogg and John Barclay, so it's going to be a very mobile pack and very difficult at the breakdown."

Despite his veteran status, Williams says he is still getting better with every season and that fact, injury aside, seems certain to earn him a place in next summer's British and Irish Lions squad to South Africa.

"I still feel I learnt playing the Tri-Nations sides in the autumn, I learnt a hell of a lot playing against those teams and analysing those games after," Williams added.

"Once you think you've stopped improving, that's when you fall behind."

 :wales:

 :Jimmie O':  

I missed this game as I was in france at the weekend, I recorded it to watch once home......i never bothered!

Scotland always start terrible, then pick up their game towards the end. My mum reckons they should have a game prior to kick off

I am hoping for better things from Scotland this 6 nations......hopefully, Hadden will get his act sorted out and start a team who can play the game from the start