Full steam: Moray Low is aiming to impress for Scotland

Barring the possibility that the clouds above Murrayfield might part, unleashing a mighty thunderbolt that reduces Moray Low to a smouldering pile of ashes, it seems unlikely that the religious convictions behind Euan Murray's decision not to play in today's RBS 6 Nations opener against France will be a matter for much debate among Scottish supporters. Murray's absence from Scotland's November test programme – on the grounds of a knee injury rather than doctrinal principles - probably caused more concern as those matches loomed, but the subsequent performances of Low against Fiji, Australia and Argentina made it clear that Scotland suddenly have two decent tighthead props to choose from.

The suggestion that Low is doing a shift as temporary cover for Murray is not one you would voice around the Glasgow prop right now. In his own mind, Low has been given the jersey on merit and he intends to hang onto it for next weekend's match against Wales.

"I was available for selection and Euan wasn't," said the 25-year-old firmly. "We've got to respect his beliefs. But it gives me an opportunity to go out and prove a point and to keep that jersey.

"If the game had been on a Saturday it would have been interesting to see who would have been picked. I've got to go out and put a marker down leading up to when Euan is back for selection for the next game. I've just got to prove a point."

Low made his international debut against Franc, brought on as a replacement in the Stade de France last February. Since then, he has surged past Cross in the tighthead pecking order and earning glowing praise from Glasgow coach Sean Lineen.

"It's about just being able to perform out there and have that mental toughness," Low explained, "to tell yourself to give your all and fight for your country. The crowd play a big part in that as well, to keep the guys motivated, but we're on the line in the game and we've got to give everything in the game if we're going to get the victory.

"It's up to us if we win or lose the game and it's about leaving everything on the pitch. In the 78th minute when you've got a five-metre scrum on your line and you're two points up, you've got to have the correct mindset and that's what we've replicated in training, doing stuff when we're fatigued, just so the brain's still ticking over and concentrating fully on the job in hand."

Like Alasdair Dickinson, the Scotland loosehead prop, the bread and butter of Low's performance is in the scrum, providing the set-piece security Scotland will need. Low and Dickinson are both at an age where they should be kicking on as genuine test players. If they can perform this year, they can nail their respective positions down; if not, they are destined to be minor footnotes in the game's history. Today, God willing, he is hoping to make a lasting impression of his own.

Six Nations: Scotland v France, Murrayfield, 3.00, Live, RTÉ Two, BBC 1, 2.30

SCOTLAND C Paterson; T Evans, M Evans, G Morrison, S Lamont; P Godman, C Cusiter (capt); A Dickinson, R Ford, M Low, N Hines, A Kellock, K Brown, J Barclay, J Beattie Subs S Lawson, A Jacobsen, R Gray, A MacDonald, R Lawson, A Grove, H Southwell.

FRANCE C Poitrenaud; B Fall, M Bastareaud, Y Jauzion , A Rougerie; F Trinh-Duc , M Parra ; T Domingo , W Servat , N Mas, L Nallet, P Pape , T Dusautoir (capt), F Ouedraogo, I Harinordoquy Subs D Szarzewski, L Ducalcon, J Pierre , J Bonnaire, F Michalak , D Marty, V Clerc

Referee Nigel Owens (Wales)