Scotland coach Andy Robinson has insisted Stuart Hogg will have the “freedom to play” when the teenage fullback makes his first Test start against France in the Six Nations at Murrayfield on Sunday.
The 19-year-old Glasgow tyro came off the bench to play in the side beaten 27-13 by Wales in Cardiff last time out and came desperately close to a try.
Hogg was one of four changes announced by former England coach Robinson when he unveiled his side to play World Cup finalists France.
In the backs, centre Graeme Morrison was recalled and halfback Mike Blair given a start while up front flanker John Barclay returned to the pack.
Robinson was adamant Hogg would not be fazed by the prospect of playing in front of a sell-out Murrayfield crowd of more than 67,000.
“His composure has been great, the way that he’s been able to handle the whole Test arena and his ambition to play as well,” he said.
Hogg is from Hawick, one of Scotland’s great rugby strongholds in the Borders, and only made his Glasgow debut in February last year.
The teenager established himself in the Glasgow side while several senior players were with the Scotland squad at the World Cup and kept his place for European Cup games when the Warriors were back to full strength.
Robinson is looking forward to seeing what Hogg can do from the kick-off in an international match.
“He’s got freedom to play,” Robinson added.
“He’s an individual. His character is great. The more the pressure, the more he wants to put himself up there.”
Scotland will be especially keen to beat France for the first time since 2006 as this Six Nations has so far seen them lose to both England and Wales.
Veteran France lock Pascal Pape dismissed Scotland’s poor record over the past few years and said he anticipated a really tough match on the weekend.
The 31-year-old Stade Francais star – who was one of France’s most consistent players at the World Cup climaxing with the 8-7 defeat in the final by the All Blacks – said the Scots may have lost their first two Six Nations matches but it told a false story.
“Sometimes they beat very good teams. Before the World Cup, they beat South Africa,” he said referring to the November, 2010, victory.
“They had a good World Cup (even though they went out in the pool stage for the first time).
“In the Six Nations they lost their first match at home to England when to my mind they deserved to win the game. They lost to Wales without deserving to. This team has not had the luck to win for the moment but they remain extremely dangerous.”