Laidlaw To Skipper Scotland

Scotland head coach Vern Cotter has named Greig Laidlaw as his replacement skipper for the Dark Blues' opening autumn international with Argentina at BT Murrayfield on Saturday. The Gloucester scrum-half will take over the captaincy duties from Edinburgh lock Grant Gilchrist, 24, who has been ruled out of this month's Tests against the Pumas, New Zealand and Tonga. Laidlaw, 31, who skippered Edinburgh Rugby for the three seasons before departing for Gloucester in the summer, has led Scotland on seven occasions so far, including Cotter's first matches in charge against the USA and Canada this summer. Gilchrist was ruled out of the series after fracturing his forearm in Edinburgh Rugby's European Challenge Cup win over Lyon just four days after being told he was the nation's new on-field leader. Cotter said: "Obviously we're disappointed for Grant Gilchrist, who misses the opportunity to captain his country at home on this occasion, however congratulations must now go to Greig who takes on that responsibility for this Saturday's game. "Greig offers us a bit of continuity, having captained the side on the summer tour. He's been playing well for Gloucester and I think he deserves this selection. "He offers us a combination of good tactical nous and good leadership. "He's got experience, he reads the game and communicates well with his team-mates, so his appointment is due to a combination of factors. "He's an exceptionally competitive player and everyone respects his desire to win, to drive Scotland forward and perform well." Cotter also confirmed that 22-times capped Edinburgh Rugby number 8 David Denton has been added to the Scotland squad. Denton last played for his country against Wales in the RBS 6 Nations in March, having missed the summer tour with concussion. A hamstring injury sustained in pre-season then kept him out of the first seven weeks of the new season before returning to action in his club's win over Lyon in the European Rugby Challenge Cup last month.