Richie Gray named in Scotland team to face New Zealand - if fit

Andy Robinson has named Richie Gray in the Scotland team for Sunday's Test with New Zealand - but the lock will first have to pass  a pre-match fitness test on his ankle.

Gray will be partnered in the second row by Jim Hamilton, who was banned for the summer tour for an indiscretion while playing for Gloucester, with Kelly Brown returning from injury to win his 50th cap and his first as captain.

Robinson has picked a side showing five changes from the XV which began Scotland's last Test, the June 23 win in Samoa.

Centre Nick De Luca and scrum-half Mike Blair replace injured duo Joe Ansbro and Chris Cusiter respectively, while Geoff Cross starts at tighthead prop in place of Euan Murray, who is not available as the All Blacks clash falls on a Sunday.

Brown replaces Richie Vernon, who was not selected in the initial squad.

Holland-born Edinburgh wing Tim Visser, meanwhile, will make his first Scotland appearance at Murrayfield, having qualified on residency grounds in June before scoring two tries on his debut in Fiji.

The only uncapped player in the matchday 23 is Glasgow Warriors' Henry Pyrgos, who provides cover for Blair from the substitutes' bench.

Robinson said: "For our first game of the season we will really need to start well and keep the game simple.

"New Zealand are the world champions and they perform the basic skills well under the highest pressure.

"We need to step up from the summer tour and be ready to go toe-to-toe in a physical contest, just as Australia did most recently against New Zealand in Brisbane."

Scotland team to play New Zealand:
S Hogg (Glasgow Warriors); S Lamont (Glasgow Warriors), N De Luca (Edinburgh), M Scott (Edinburgh), T Visser (Edinburgh), G Laidlaw (Edinburgh), M Blair (Brive); R Grant (Glasgow Warriors), R Ford (Edinburgh), G Cross (Edinburgh), R Gray (Sale Sharks), J Hamilton (Gloucester), A Strokosch (Perpignan), R Rennie (Edinburgh), K Brown (captain, Saracens).
Substitutes: S Lawson (London Irish), A Jacobsen (Edinburgh), K Traynor (Bristol), A Kellock (Glasgow Warriors), D Denton (Edinburgh), H Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors), R Jackson (Glasgow Warriors), M Evans (Castres).