Vern Cotter
Coach Vern Cotter has rung the changes to the Scotland team to start against Italy on Saturday.
The Scots will head to Turin’s Stadio Olimpico for the 2nd of their 4 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches.
The match is the 1st of a double-header against the Italians, with the return leg at Murrayfield the following Saturday (29 August).
In all there are 11 new faces taking the field, with the 7 inbound forwards making up an almost entirely new pack, 4 new backs, and 3 starting debuts for John Hardie (back row), Rory Hughes (wing) and Stuart McInally (hooker).
McInally will rubber stamp his positional switch to hooker when he surpasses his unused replacement appearance as a flank against South Africa (2012), with a vindicating 1st cap for his country in the front row.
He will pack down between props Gordon Reid and Mike Cusack – the latter set for his 1st start after his debut as a replacement against Ireland last week.
British & Irish Lions lock Richie Gray comes in to partner captain Grant Gilchrist – the only returning forward – in the 2nd row.
An all-new back row completes the forwards as debutant Hardie starts at openside with Alasdair Strokosch and Adam Ashe at blindside and No 8 respectively.
In the backs Glasgow Warriors’ 22-year-old wing Rory Hughes is set to make his 1st outing for his country in place of Tim Visser, with the returning Sean Lamont (wing) and the versatile Greig Tonks – who started the Ireland Test at flyhalf – making up the back 3 at fullback
A new halfback pairing sees scrumhalf Sam Hidalgo-Clyne make his 1st start for his country alongside flyhalf Duncan Weir – the hero of Scotland’s last trip to Italy when he slotted the match-winning drop-goal in 2014.
The backs are completed by the final change, which sees centre Matt Scott start at inside centre alongside the returning Richie Vernon.
On the bench, Edinburgh’s uncapped pair Willem “WP” Nel (prop) and Damien Hoyland (wing) are poised for an international debut as a replacement, while their club-mates Alasdair Dickinson (prop) and Hamish Watson (back row) could make their 1st appearance of the warm-up matches.
“The Irish game was an open, fairly fluid affair for the most part but I think the Italy game will be a tighter battle so we’ll be looking, perhaps, to play a bit differently,” Cotter said.
“A lot of players put their hands up last week and we’re expecting the same of this group.”
Scotland’s last outing against the Italians was the last-minute loss in February at Murrayfield, where a converted penalty try sealed the win for the visitors.
However, despite this being fresh in the mind going into the game, Cotter said that Saturday’s Test is far from being a revenge mission.
“We know that they put pressure on our tight 5, so that unit will be aware that a lot of heat will come their way from scrum and driven line-outs,” he said.
“Our whole focus this summer has been on improving. We’re trying to build and construct our rugby and that isn’t based on any emotions other than our desire to move forward.”
Scotland: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Richie Vernon, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Rory Hughes, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 Adam Ashe, 7 John Hardie, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Grant Gilchrist (Captain), 4 Richie Gray, 3 Mike Cusack, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Gordon Reid
Replacements: 16 Ross Ford, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 WP Nel, 19 Jim Hamilton, 20 Hamish Watson, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Peter Horne, 23 Damien Hoyland.
Date: Saturday 22 August
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Turin
Kick-Off: 20:00 SA Time (20:00 Italy Time, 19:00 BST, 18:00 GMT)
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Assistant Referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Luke Pearce (England)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
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