Hadden hopes to justify gamble

Scotland head coach Frank Hadden hopes the decision to rest his star names for last weekend's defeat to New Zealand pays dividends when his side take on Italy in their Pool C decider on Saturday.

A largely second-string team suffered a 40-0 whitewash against the mighty All Blacks at Murrayfield on Sunday, with the eliminator against the Azzurri firmly at the top of Hadden's priority list.

"I guess people will not know whether the decision is vindicated until after this weekend," he said. "I still believe it was the right decision. It was brave because we knew we would get pelted for it - but it doesn't stop us making them."

Hadden has named the same team that defeated Romania 42-0 on September 18.

The usual suspects return and only Chris Paterson and Simon Webster are retained from the weekend's reverse.

Webster moves into the centres, while Paterson is again shunted out to the wing to make room for Dan Parks at fly-half.