Duhan van der Merwe returns in one of 14 changes to Scotland’s starting lineup for Saturday’s Nations Championship clash against Fiji at Murrayfield.
The South African wing will make his first appearance of the campaign having not been selected for Scotland’s matches against Argentina and the Springboks.
Darcy Graham also returns to the back three, with the pair sitting first and second on Scotland’s all-time try-scoring list with 38 and 35 tries respectively.
Stafford McDowall captains a much-changed side from inside centre, where he partners Ollie Smith. Smith will wear a special jersey in memory of former Scotland great Scott Hastings.
Fergus Burke is recalled at flyhalf after making an impact off the bench in Córdoba, while George Horne starts at scrumhalf.
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Up front, Rory Sutherland earns his first start after winning his 50th cap against the Boks, with Gregor Hiddleston set for his first Test start at hooker and D’arcy Rae completing the front row.
Jonny Gray partners Max Williamson in the second row, while Josh Bayliss and Freddy Douglas flank Gregor Brown, the only player retained from last week’s starting XV at Loftus Versfeld.
Gregor Townsend has opted for a 6-2 split on the bench. Hooker Seb Stephen is in line to make his Scotland debut, while experienced forwards Pierre Schoeman, Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings and Magnus Bradbury provide plenty of firepower among the replacements.
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The match is officially a Fiji home fixture after the Pacific Islanders elected to stage their home Nations Championship Tests in the UK for financial reasons.
SCOTLAND – 15 Tom Jordan, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Ollie Smith, 12 Stafford McDowall (c), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Fergus Burke, 9 George Horne, 8 Gregor Brown, 7 Freddy Douglas, 6 Josh Bayliss, 5 Max Williamson, 4 Jonny Gray, 3 D’arcy Rae, 2 Gregor Hiddleston, 1 Rory Sutherland.
Bench: 16 Seb Stephen, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Magnus Bradbury, 21 Liam McConnell, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Sione Tuipulotu.
Photo: WM Sport Media/Getty Images
The post Hungry Duhan eyes Fiji try feast appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Duhan van der Merwe returns in one of 14 changes to Scotland’s starting lineup for Saturday’s Nations Championship clash against Fiji at Murrayfield.
The post Hungry Duhan eyes Fiji try feast appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
