Scotland head coach Vern Cotter has made five changes to the team that will face England in the Six Nations on Saturday.

Edinburgh No8 David Denton comes in for Johnnie Beattie, having recovered from a calf strain, to make his debut in this year’s tournament. He is joined by club team-mates Dougie Fife and Matt Scott – who come in for the injured Sean Lamont and Alex Dunbar, respectively – as well as Finn Russell, who comes in for Peter Horne following the completion of his two-week suspension, and Jim Hamilton, who replaces Tim Swinson.

The Scottish Rugby Union have announced that centre Dunbar faces up to nine months out after rupturing a cruciate ligament.

“It’s good to have Dave Denton back as he provides us with strong ball-carrying and strong defence,” said Cotter ahead of the Calcutta Cup clash and as Scotland look to bounce back from their 22-19 defeat to Italy at Murrayfield two weeks ago. “He’s also a very good lineout forward and will give us a bit more physical density against a big forward pack.”

Captain Greig Laidlaw will again partner the returning Russell from scrum-half, with the back-line completed by Glasgow Warriors trio Mark Bennett, Tommy Seymour and Stuart Hogg.

“This is a very important game,” added Cotter. “It will be played away from home at a very intense level and will allow us to assess further our ability to operate away from home in a hostile environment.

“Our focus, however, has been on ourselves and how we can perform better, by identifying the areas that we can control – like improving our skill-sets and reinforcing our cohesion - to withstand the difficult times and also apply some pressure.”

Scotland team to face England on Saturday

S Hogg, D Fife, M Bennett, M Scott, T Seymour, F Russell, G Laidlaw, D Denton, B Cowan, R Harley, J Gray, J Hamilton, E Murray, R Ford, A Dickinson. Replacements F Brown, R Grant, G Cross, T Swinson, J Beattie, A Ashe, S Hidalgo-Clyne, G Tonks.