Prop Murray, who replaces Geoff Cross, missed the 51-22 defeat by world champions New Zealand for religious reasons on Sunday.

Back rower Denton, one of Scotland’s stand-out players in a dismal Six Nations campaign before missing the southern hemisphere tour through injury, starts in place of the injured Ross Rennie.

Rennie dislocated his shoulder early in the first half against the All Blacks and was replaced by Denton.

“We know we’re in for a bruising battle against South Africa this weekend and we’ll be primed for that physical confrontation,” Scotland coach Andy Robinson said in a statement.

“But we also have to be smart in how we approach this game and do our utmost to ensure we get on the front foot and get the result that will move us into the top eight in the IRB world rankings ahead of next month’s 2015 Rugby World Cup draw.

Scotland are currently ranked ninth and are battling to get into the top eight to secure a second seeding that would greatly enhance their chances of reaching the quarter-finals.

Scotland team: 15-Stuart Hogg, 14-Sean Lamont, 13-Nick De Luca, 12-Matt Scott, 11-Tim Visser, 10-Greig Laidlaw, 9-Mike Blair, 8-David Denton, 7-Kelly Brown, 6-Alasdair Strokosch, 5-Jim Hamilton, 4-Richie Gray, 3-Euan Murray, 2-Ross Ford, 1-Ryan Grant

Replacements: 16-Dougie Hall, 17-Kyle Traynor, 18-Geoff Cross, 19-Alastair Kellock, 20-John Barclay, 21-Henry Pyrgos, 22-Ruaridh Jackson, 23-Peter Murchie