Prior to the test match between Scotland and the New Zealand All Blacks we featured a piece which suggested that we would like to see wholesale changes to Scotland’s team to face Tonga this coming Saturday. In short the reasoning was that in picking a team with as many players who ply their trade outside Scotland as the two professional teams under Scottish Rugby Union’s control would be aided in their PRO12 efforts, with Glasgow Warriors being the main benefactor. Remember Glasgow Warriors play against Welsh team Llanelli Scarlets in the Guinness PRO12 on Friday night while Edinburgh host Cardiff Blues on Sunday.

There would also be the benefit of  head coach Vern Cotter and his coaching team being able to work a bit more with exiles and assess their abilities in the heat of battle in the Test match, bearing in mind that the last Test match of Scotland’s summer tour (June Internationals) was played outside the international window, so he didn’t have the chance to play any of the non Scotland based players then.

Here is the team that we suggested that we would like to see playing for Scotland against Tonga at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock on Saturday:

Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors), 14 Max Evans (Castres), 13 Richie Vernon (Glasgow Warriors), 12 Duncan Taylor (Saracens), 11 Tim Visser (Edinburgh), 10 Tom Heathcote (Edinburgh), 9 Chris Cusiter (Gloucester), 8 Kieren Low (London Irish), 7 Blair Cowan (London Irish), 6 Alasdair Strokosch (Perpignan), 5 Jim Hamilton (Saracens), 4 Richie Gray (Castres), 3 Geoff Cross (London Irish), 2 Scott Lawson (Newcastle Falcons), 1 Ryan Grant (Glasgow Warriors)
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors), 17 Euan Murray (Glasgow Warriors), 18 Moray Low (Exeter Chiefs), 19 Johnnie Beattie (Castres), 20 John Barclay (Scarlets), 21 Greig Laidlaw (Gloucester), 22 Alex Grove (Worcester Warriors) 23 Sean Lamont (Glasgow Warriors)

Starting at the back, we retain incumbent fullback Stuart Hogg who seems to really be enjoying working with Vern Cotter. There is no alternative among the exiles for fullback and as far as Glasgow go Peter Murchie has done really well when he has featured ahead of Hogg. Sean Maitland can also shift from wing to fullback during the match against Scarlets if necessary.

Left wing Tim Visser is a proven prolific try scorer although there is a feeling in some quarters that he has some defensive difficulties. Not sure why this has crept into his game, as a highlights package of him made a few seasons ago show him tackling hard and fearlessly and getting stuck into rucks at times as well. Edinburgh will miss his presence against the Blues but with the strong Dougie Fife there one feels that they should manage alright.

On the other wing we have Max Evans who I still rate highly in spite of him being omitted for the Test squad this time round. It is especially his elusive running and ability to play through small gaps when he goes on his jinking runs that stands out.

The centre pairing probably triggers debate as well but one thing it brings is physicality, which could be very handy against the big Tongans, especially with the perceived defensive issues outside them. Duncan Taylor is a proven top level player with various starts for top English club Saracens while Richie Vernon seems to be doing well with his conversion from a looseforward to a centre. Vernon was quite pacey for a looseforward and a player that I thought was the ideal ‘impact sub’, someone to bring on to up the tempo, running fast at the opposition later in a game. However, the powers that be decided last season that his future would be at centre and he has been spending much of his time since then in the centre. This game would be a good chance to let him show how he has adjusted to the role, using his pace and bulk (for a backline player) to good effect.

Tom Heathcote will not have good memories of playing against Tonga, as he made his debut against them in a losing cause, in the game which ended up being former head coach Andy Robinson’s last game in charge. He was playing for Bath then and didn’t really seem to get the chance to establish himself there, firstly playing second fiddle to the likes of Ollie Barkley initially and then young England flyhalf George Ford who was brought in from Leicester Tigers last season. It was pleasing to see Heathcote being recruited by Edinburgh this season, as I feel having him nearer the Scotland setup and getting more regular game time will help to increase competition for the flyhalf berth.

Heathcote has put in some really good performances for Edinburgh this season and it would be good to show what he can do in a Scotland jersey this weekend. This also frees up Finn Russell and Duncan Weir to be available to play for Glasgow.

At scrumhalf it is purely rotation (nothing to do with THAT kick against the All Blacks – remember the squad was ‘picked’ before that match), with Chris Cusiter coming in for Greig Laidlaw to start the match. Laidlaw had the captaincy and started against Argentina and New Zealand. He also offers an alternate kicking option from the bench and if need be can slot in at flyhalf. I will need to take cover now after that statement, as to many that is a big NO. Let me stress though that would only be an option if absolutely necessary as I would like to see Heathcote get a whole Test at flyhalf. This is an unusual thing these days as I think we would be hard pressed to find many international games where a flyhalf has not been substituted (although did notice that Patrick Lambie stayed on for the whole game against England last weekend – maybe Heyneke Meyer read my mind, yes I know that is wishful thinking).

This trend of substituting flyhalfs is one which I can’t always understand and feels is a premeditated step. I am against making substitutes just for the sake of it, only in case of injury or a player playing poorly, or if you need a change of game plan if you are behind, or for ‘game time management’ should it happen. On the last point I don’t think a flyhalf works as hard as forwards in a game in most instances, so while I can see the need to bring fresh legs on up front, I don’t see why this should apply to flyhalf.

As far as the looseforwards go, I would like to see Kieran Low on as No 8. He looked good coming on as a replacement against Australia last year and brings much needed bulk to the pack. Low and No 7 Blair Cowan should combine well too against the Tongans, as they both play for London Irish. Alasdair Strokosch is a strong player who I think has a high work rate. This loose trio should be good enough to be competitive at Test level and allows Adam Ashe, Chris Fusaro and Rob Harley to return to Glasgow and David Denton to Edinburgh.

At lock the choice of Richie Gray should need no explanation, fits the bill of being both one of Scotland’s best options at lock and an exile. Jim Hamilton may have his detractors but for me he is one of the most experienced and toughest players you would want in a Scotland squad anyway. Cutting out penalties conceded and he would be a huge asset to the team, almost the Bakkies Botha of Scotland rugby.

The front row probably took the longest to settle on as I am no expert at all here, it is a dark smelly place I’ve never been to. For me Alasdair Dickenson and Ross Ford have to return to Edinburgh for their game as they are really short on options here. At loosehead they are struggling with both South African options, Wicus Blaauw and the promising Allan Dell, both injured. Edinburgh have recently signed Grant Shiells from Bath but you would hardly expect them to propel (excuse the pun) a player straight into the starting lineup barely a week after his arrival at the club.

The omission of Dickenson and Ford from the squad, for me means that Scotland should start with Ryan Grant at loosehead, Scott Lawson at hooker and Geoff Cross at tighthead, with Lawson and Cross being exiles. Grant is a Glasgow Warrior player but one feels with the loosehead props still available to Glasgow (Gordon Reid and the young Alex Allan), that they will be covered in this area.

As far as the players on the bench go, the most questionable selections are possibly that of the props, where I have selected two tighthead props on the bench – Euan Murray and Moray Low. Murray was included on the bench with Cross starting instead, as one feels his amount of game time needs to be managed, while Glasgow are fairly well covered at tighthead with Rossouw de Klerk (even if many of the fans are not yet convinced) and Zander Fagerson who has already featured for Glasgow this season at tighthead in spite of only being 18 years old. Exeter Chiefs’ Moray Low would be my choice to cover loosehead, as this is a position that he has played in at times, in spite of being a tighthead. He is a player who started his Scotland career rather well, I thought, but for whatever reason has slipped down the pecking order, from round about the last World Cup, if memory serves. There is a lot of speculation about whether props can and should be be interchangeable, I would think it a bit easier for a tighthead to cover loosehead than the other way round, so hopefully this wouldn’t cause too many issues. At hooker Glasgow could still call on Dougie Hall and Pat MacArthur, with these players generally preferred anyway to Fraser Brown, by Gregor Townsend.

We have two looseforwards on the bench in Johnnie Beattie and John Barclay. If required during the match, we could see Kieran Low being used to cover lock, with Beattie coming onto the back row in his place. John Barclay would be a good option to cover for Blair Cowan. I could also have selected Kelly Brown and going back to a year ago, when he was captain, it is almost unthinkable that I have a match day squad without the player I rate so highly. I didn’t want to include too many players who are not currently in the biggar Scotland squad. One could argue that Barclay and Brown should have been in the squad anyway and question why I chose Barclay over Brown. Basically for me either of these players would do well but when they have a choice, as Scotland does this weekend, I would far rather that the Scarlets John Barclay play for a team from Scotland than against one.

The selection of Greig Laidlaw has already been discussed. Sean Lamont is the versatile pick on the bench, mainly covering wing but if absolutely necessary he could play fullback too. He is a Glasgow Warriors player but between wingers Sean Maitland, Tommy Seymour, Lee Jones and Rory Hughes, I feel that they will be more than adequately covered in this area. Dougie Fife has been in the squad without getting a chance but I think that his presence will be more valuable starting for Edinburgh than being on the bench for Scotland. The final name on the replacement bench, is Worcester Warriors centre Alex Grove, a man who was been in the international wilderness for a while. This is a player that admittedly has not seen much international rugby but way back in 2009 he played in the midfield alongside Graeme Morrison against Australia and I thought he played a big part in helping Scotland to victory that day, being especially impressive in defence. That may have been the first time I saw him play and I have not been able to figure out why he has not been afforded more chances in a Scotland jersey.

The suggested match day squad for Scotland against Tonga differs quite a lot from the one which did duty agaianst the New Zealand All Blacks and most certainly will not be the one that is eventually selected, but hopefully I explained the selection criteria well enough. I also believe the selected match day squad is one which will serve various purposes.