SCOTLAND coach Vern Cotter has made just one change to his starting line-up for tomorrow’s Six Nations Championship game against Wales - bringing in Saracens centre Duncan Taylor to replace Edinburgh’s Matt Scott, who is inured. The only other change to the squad from the one that lost 15-9 to England last week sees Glasgow Warriors winger Sean Lamont come on to the bench.

Scott misses out because of a leg muscle tear, but could be back for the team’s next game, against Italy in Rome in a fortnight. “Matt decelerated and felt something in his thigh yesterday,” Cotter explained after naming his team for the match in the Principality Stadium. “He went for a scan this morning and it’s a slight tear.

“Because it’s a slight tear, if this was the last game, we could strap him up and get him to play. But we’ve got other games coming up – and we’re hoping he’ll be available for Italy.”

Wales coach Warren Gatland said earlier this week that he hoped the roof would be closed for the Six Nations Championship match, and yesterday he got the agreement from Cotter he needs to get his wishes. “Yes, we’d like it shut,” the Scotland coach said. “Why? In case it rains.

“We would like to be able to play the game. We’d like to be able to hang on to the ball.

“The kicking game seems to suit them, so if we can compete on the ground, if it’s a dry ball, a dry track, that suits us. For everything, for the whole day, it’s a more enjoyable day.”

Cotter claimed that the Scotland players have been angered by some of the criticism they have received since their Calcutta Cup defeat. The coach insisted there was not much between the teams in that match, but accepted it will be difficult to end an eight-game losing streak in Cardiff.

“We know it’s a tough ask to go to Wales and win that game,” he said. “But within the team there is a real desire – and I think the players have said we’re fed up with bits and pieces that have been thrown at the team.

“We’re going to stick tight and work our way through this. It’s not going to be easy - the Six Nations is not an easy competition, we know that.

“We came last last year. Let’s not forget that. So we’re looking to improve on that – and let’s wait until the end of the competition to see if we have.

“There’s been a six-point loss against England at the start of the competition. We got out of shape a couple of times, and when we were out of shape they took advantage of it.

“We lost by six points to England. We’re going to play in Wales, where two years ago it was a pretty difficult game, I think – we’d like to do better than that. And we want to keep improving.”

Wales v Scotland (tomorrow, 4.50pm): S Hogg (Glasgow); S Maitland (London Irish), M Bennett (Glasgow), D Taylor (Saracens), T Seymour; F Russell (both Glasgow), G Laidlaw (Gloucester); A Dickinson, R Ford, W Nel (all Edinburgh), R Gray (Castres), J Gray (Glasgow), J Barclay (Scarlets), J Hardie (Edinburgh), D Denton (Bath). Substitutes: S McInally (Edinburgh), G Reid, Z Fagerson, T Swinson (all Glasgow), B Cowan (London Irish), S Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh), D Weir, S Lamont (both Glasgow).