Romania are the visitors to Murrayfield, scene of Scotland's joyous re-emergence from the doldrums earlier this year, and while a home defeat is unthinkable, the visitors pack enough power to make at least the first hour of the match uncomfortable.

The Oaks qualified for the Rugby World Cup in France a month ago with a 20-8 win over Georgia and a 20-43 win over Spain in Madrid.

They have taken their place in Scotland's World Cup pool, which gives this match a touch of added significance - even more so because of the bizarre politicking which has ensured that the clash between the two will be played at Murrayfield rather than in France despite Scottish attempts to give the game back to the French. Saturday is a dress rehearsal for September 18, 2007.

That pool is possibly the most interesting of the lot in the RWC. New Zealand should cruise in top spot, leaving Scotland and Italy to scrap out the second spot. And Romania.

Romania beat Italy two years ago, have beaten Canada and run the United States to the wire since, and their highest-profile recent match was that scrap against Ireland last November, where the Irish struggled to break completely clear of the dogfight up front until the last half-hour. Romania are not to be taken lightly any more. Scotland or Italy will go to the last eight in France, but the works that take whichever of them there might end up being fine-tuned by Romanian spanners.

A look at Saturday's line-ups suggests that the Scots would do well to try and run their opponents ragged rather than wear them down. Up front, the trio of Petru Vladimir Balan (Biarritz), Marius Tincu (Perpignan), and Cezar Popescu (Agen - although he is left on the bench after only recently returning from injury) is one that Top 14 buffs will tell you is as sound a foundation as any on the international stage, and stacked with Heineken Cup experience.

Locks Cristian Petre and Sorin Socol also ply their trade in the Top 14 - for Brive and Agen respectively - as does beefy number eight Ovidiu Tonita who is a shoe-in in Perpignan's back row.

That eight will give Scotland's a proper match in the tight mauls and scrums - indeed they may even shade the contest - but that is where the contest ends.

Kicking is not much of an option for Romania, for Nathan Hines and Scott Murray ought to rule the roost at line-out time. It will be bash, maul, crash, maul, and bash again for the Romanian forwards, whose defence is just as robust as their attack up front, but...

The bulk of the Romania backs come from the Bucuresti club that so thrillingly beat Bayonne - scoring four tries - in the Challenge Cup a fortnight ago, so there is talent there, but Six Nations level it is not. Romania have the big guns up front, but no bullets in the chambers outside to fire.

It is outside the tight where Scotland will win the game, even with an experimental back-line. In the back-row, Jason White and Johnnie Beattie are both yards faster than their opposition and a steady stream of turnover ball is a realistic target.

Coach Frank Hadden should therefore find no better game in which to assess the counter-attacking talents of new fly-half Phil Godman and new centre Rob Dewey, and wings Sean Lamont and Simon Webster can polish off their finishing skills ahead of sterner examinations to come. Scotland to win, but the tighter the game is kept, the closer it will be.

Ones to watch:

For Scotland: Keep an eye on Mike Blair, who has been given the chance to show that he is more than just a back-up for Chris Cusiter at scrum-half. It will also be interesting to see if Hugo Southwell can perform in attack, after having been pinned mostly into defensive duties for the past couple of years.

For Romania: Captain Sorin Socol bucks the trend of most of the Romanian pack, by being both large and fleet-footed, and his athleticism may make a difference to the breakdown area, Romania's weakness. Full-back Florin Vlaicu is a nippy threat in a yard of space.

Head to head: The front rows are the key to Romania's chances of success. If Scotland's front row begins to buckle, the Romanians will get the upper hand initially, and rolling mauls and drives down the pitch is second nature to them.

Prediction: Murrayfield's large pitch will work in the home team's favour, and even if the Romanian pack gains ascendancy, it probably won't last the full eighty. Romania might even lead initially, but in the end, Scotland should win by thirty.

Past results:

2005: Scotland won 39-19 in Bucharest
2002: Scotland won 37-10 in Edinburgh
1999: Scotland won 60-19 in Glasgow
1995: Scotland won 49-16 in Edinburgh
1991: Romania won 18-12 in Bucharest
1989: Scotland won 32-0 in Edinburgh 
1987: Scotland won 55-28 in Dunedin
1986: Scotland won 33-18 in Bucharest
1984: Romania won 28-22 in Bucharest
1981: Scotland won 12-6 in Edinburgh

Scotland: 15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Simon Webster, 13 Marcus Di Rollo, 12 Rob Dewey, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Phil Godman, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Kelly Brown, 6 Jason White (c), 5 Scott Murray, 4 Nathan Hines, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Dougie Hall, 1 Gavin Kerr.
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Allan Jacobsen, 18 Craig Smith, 19 James Hamilton, 20 David Callam, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Chris Paterson.

Romania: 15 Florin Vlaicu, 14 Gabriel Brezoianu, 13 Catalin Dascalu, 12 Romeo Gontineac, 11 Ioan Teodorescu, 10 Ionut Dimofte, 9 Valentin Calafeteanu, 8 Ovidiu Tonita, 7 Cosmin Ratiu, 6 Florin  Corodeanu, 5 Cristian Petre, 4 Sorin Socol (c), 3 Bogdan Balan, 2 Marius Tincu, 1 Petru Balan
Replacements: 16 Razvan Mavrodin, 17  Ion Paulica, 18 Cezar Popescu, 19 Valentin Ursache, 20 Alexandru Lupu, 21 Ionut Tofan, 22 Csaba Gal

Kick-off: 14.30 GMT
Date: Saturday, 11 November
Venue: Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Weather: Showers, strong westerly wind 40km/h, 8°C.
Referee: Matt Goddard (Australia)
Touch-judges: Tony Spreadbury (England), Federico Cuesta (Argentina)
Television Match Official: Tim Hayes (Wales)