Recently-appointed co-captain Rory Darge will start Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations match at home to France following six weeks out with a knee injury.

The 23-year-old Glasgow flanker takes over the number seven jersey from previous skipper Jamie Ritchie, who drops out of the 23 altogether, in one of three changes – all in the forward-line – to the team that started the 27-26 win away to Wales.

Darge, who has recovered quicker than anticipated from an injury sustained away to Edinburgh on the last weekend of December, is listed as co-captain alongside stand-off Finn Russell for the Murrayfield showdown with a French side aiming to bounce back from their chastening 38-17 home defeat by Ireland.

Number eight Jack Dempsey and lock Grant Gilchrist, who was suspended last weekend, return to the side in place of Luke Crosbie and Richie Gray, both of whom picked up tournament-ending injuries in Cardiff.

The backs department is unchanged, meaning Kyle Rowe, who made his first international start in Wales, continues at full-back in the absence of the injured Blair Kinghorn.

On-form Saracens back-rower Andy Christie has been named among the subs after missing out on the 23 last weekend.

Grant Gilchrist believes Scotland’s bitter-sweet Guinness Six Nations victory over Wales has left them in the perfect frame of mind for their second championship match at home to France on Saturday.

The Scots pulled off their first triumph in Cardiff for 22 years last weekend after clinging on to win 27-26.

However, the satisfaction of beating the Welsh on their own patch was tinged with a sense of deflation in the Scottish camp afterwards because they completely lost their way in the second half, missed out on the chance of a bonus point, and almost succumbed to what would have been the biggest comeback in Six Nations history.

Lock Gilchrist was suspended for the Cardiff clash and admitted he was “panicking” while watching it unfold on television.

However, the veteran second-rower – who is available to return against Les Bleus – feels it should be viewed in a positive light that his team kicked off the tournament with an away win yet still have so much scope for improvement.

“Winning at this level is tough,” he said. “And I don’t think that it’s a bad thing that we’re ambitious enough to want to put a complete performance out there.

“When you sit back and think that we’ve won in Cardiff for the first time in 22 years – that’s a big achievement. But we’re also not going to sit there and celebrate that as the perfect performance as we know we can be so much better.

“We showed that for 50 minutes with how in control we were. When you win a Test match you should always feel a sense of satisfaction and enjoyment because the amount of work that goes into that is huge and should never be underestimated.

“No matter what the scoreline is or what happened in the game – to get across the line in a Test match is huge.

“To win in the first game of the Six Nations is massive as you need to keep trying to build momentum throughout the tournament and winning ensures you can still do that.

“But having that little slant of disappointment is also no bad thing. It brought us in on Monday eager to learn how to get better in the second half and put a full performance together rather than coming in talking about staying grounded or any of these things.

“I feel it’s not a bad place to be, to feel a little bit disappointed despite winning in Cardiff for the first time in 22 years.”

Gilchrist, 33, is expected to go straight into the starting XV on Saturday after fellow second-rower Richie Gray suffered a tournament-ending bicep injury in Wales.

“It’s a huge loss, Richie’s a world-class player and a great team-mate,” said Gilchrist. “He’s a huge loss to the group and to me personally.

“We sit together and look at stuff all the time. It’s up to the rest of us to stand up. It’s not just on me, there’s Sam Skinner, Scott Cummings and Glen Young and we’ve all got enough experience and talent to fill that void, as much as we will miss the big man.”

France head to Edinburgh on the back of a chastening 38-17 defeat by Ireland in Marseille last Friday but Gilchrist is braced for a backlash from Les Bleus.

“We’re preparing for the best version of them and we know what that looks like,” he said. “We played them three times last year so we know what to expect. They’re a team we know really well and have had good results against.

“But we also know what it’s like if you don’t get it right against them. We know that if we’re at our best it’s a game we can win.”

Defence coach Steve Tandy insisted Scotland would have no concerns about throwing recently-appointed co-captain Rory Darge into Saturday’s showdown with France following six weeks on the sidelines.

The 23-year-old flanker sustained a knee injury while playing for Glasgow against Edinburgh on December 30 and has not played since.

He was initially rated doubtful for the entire championship but has recovered quicker than anticipated and is expected to be ready for this weekend’s match against Les Bleus.

Darge’s return to contention is particularly timely after fellow flanker Luke Crosbie and veteran lock Richie Gray were ruled out for the rest of the tournament with shoulder and bicep injuries respectively.

“Dargey’s trained and he’s looking good,” reported Tandy on Tuesday. “He came through training last week, he trained again today, so all being well in the rest of the training week he’ll be available.”

Asked if he felt Darge could slot straight back into the Test XV having not played for almost a month and a half, Tandy said: “Definitely. He’s done it before, after injuries.

“Knowing Rory and the guy he is, how diligent he is and how he looks at and studies the game, we have no doubts. Physically, it feels like he’s adding layer on layer as he gets a little bit older.

“He’s physically ready and even when they are injured, the boys are still lifting (weights) – it’s not as if they’re sitting there doing nothing. They’re active in and around what the strength and conditioning guys and the medical team want.”

Tandy lamented the loss of back-rower Crosbie and second-rower Gray after the pair – both of whom started the match – picked up tournament-ending injuries in Saturday’s 27-26 victory away to Wales.

“First and foremost, with the characters they are, they’re awesome individuals,” said the coach. “Richie brings lots of experience around the group and he’s got better with age.

“He’s great to work with and you see the energy and clarity he brings to the group. He will be sorely missed.

“Luke has fought so hard to get to the international scene. You see the warrior he is on the field, but there is also the character he is and how he leads in the training environment, how he speaks in meetings.

“We’ve got a great squad though. If you look at the back-rowers, there are loads of form players so we’re lucky enough to have an abundance in those positions.

“If someone misses out, everyone else is ready to step into the shirt.”

Tandy admitted there were “lots of learnings” for Scotland after a game in Cardiff where they went dangerously close to squandering a 27-0 lead.

However, he also felt there were plenty of positives to be drawn from their first win in the Welsh capital in 22 years, ahead of back-to-back home games against France and England.

“It’s important not to get too far ahead,” said Tandy. “We’ve had a really good result, going to Wales and getting that job done, but now it’s just about focusing on France.

“Coming back to Murrayfield is massive. We’ve got to improve bits of our game and continue lots of the stuff we did in the first half and at the back end of the Wales game.”

Scotland have suffered further injury woe after forwards Luke Crosbie and Richie Gray were ruled out for the remainder of the Six Nations.

Edinburgh back-rower Crosbie went off in the second half of Saturday’s 27-26 victory away to Wales with a shoulder issue, while Glasgow second-rower Gray was forced off in the first half with a bicep problem.

The injuries have now been assessed and Scotland confirmed on Tuesday morning that the pair – who both started in Cardiff – will be sidelined for the rest of the tournament.

Scotland were already missing some key players going into last weekend’s opener as co-captain Rory Darge was not deemed fit enough to feature due to a knee injury sustained at the end of December, while Toulouse full-back Blair Kinghorn and Edinburgh wing Darcy Graham were ruled out of at least the first two matches with knee and quad problems respectively.

The Scots are hopeful that Darge will be fit enough to return in Saturday’s Murrayfield showdown with France, which would offset the loss of Crosbie in the back row, while Edinburgh lock Grant Gilchrist is available after suspension to take the place of Gray.