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Scotland change 4 for Six Nations finale at Llanelli
By Online Editors
Scotland have made four changes to their starting line-up for Saturday's Six Nations finale against Wales in Llanelli, skipper Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell among those restored to the XV following last weekend's Murrayfield win over Georgia.
Hogg, who completed winning the European Champions Cup/English Premiership double with Exeter last Saturday, will captain the team from full-back, a selection that results in Blair Kinghorn switching to left wing and Duhan van der Merwe dropping to the bench.
Russell, who had an infamous falling out at the start of the year with Scotland boss Gregor Townsend, came back into the fold last weekend via the bench and he now comes in to start in place of Adam Hastings, who is being held in reserve.
There are also two changes in the pack, Jonny Gray, another Exeter double winner, replacing the benched Ben Toolis at lock while Blade Thomson takes over at No8 instead of the injured Matt Fagerson, who drops out of the matchday 23. In the replacements, Harlequins scrum-half Scott Steele could make his Scotland debut if called into action.
Scotland boss Townsend said: “As a group, we are very much looking forward to finally completing our fixture against Wales and returning to play Guinness Six Nations rugby again. We were highly motivated back in March, and that extra edge has come back into our training and preparations this week.
“It’s been great to bring in quality and experience to our starting line-up with players such as Stuart, Jonny and Finn who have been involved in some high-level games in recent weeks. We were also encouraged by Blade’s display at the weekend for Scarlets, which is a timely boost given last weekend’s injury to Matt Fagerson.
“We are expecting a physical battle against a very good side, one which we will be working hard to stay in the fight and to finish the fight in Llanelli. Ultimately, this game provides an opportunity for us to end this extended championship on a positive note and go into the Autumn Nations Cup with some added belief in what this group of players can achieve.”
SCOTLAND (vs Wales, Saturday)
15. Stuart Hogg CAPTAIN (Exeter Chiefs) – 76 caps
14. Darcy Graham (Edinburgh) – 12 caps
13. Chris Harris (Gloucester) - 19 caps
12. James Lang (Harlequins) – 3 caps
11. Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh) – 22 caps
10. Finn Russell (Racing 92) – 50 caps
9. Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) – 33 caps
1. Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh) – 8 caps
2. Fraser Brown VICE CAPTAIN (Glasgow Warriors) – 51 caps
3. Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) – 30 caps
4. Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors) – 13 caps
5.Jonny Gray (Exeter Chiefs) – 57 caps
6. Jamie Ritchie VICE CAPTAIN (Edinburgh) – 19 caps
7. Hamish Watson (Edinburgh) – 33 caps
8. Blade Thomson (Scarlets) – 5 caps
Substitutes:
16. Stuart McInally (Edinburgh) – 38 caps
17. Oli Kebble (Glasgow Warriors) – 1 cap
18. Simon Berghan (Edinburgh) – 26 caps
19. Ben Toolis (Edinburgh) – 26 caps
20. Cornell du Preez (Worcester Warriors) – 8 caps
21. Scott Steele (Harlequins) - Uncapped
22. Adam Hastings (Glasgow Warriors) – 21 caps
23. Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh) – 1 cap
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I think England obviously need to train alot more to fix their defense. Time together working to ensure each defender takes the right man is paramount or we're going to see the same amount of tries and losses. Then what? Sack the coach? What a joke that would be. The other fix is being accurate with your basics. England were sloppy to excess, dropped balls in the midfield. Charged down boxkicks, failed restarts. They need to carry out their basic skills accurately. This is a domestic club training responsibility. England should not be teaching their players catching skills. If the clubs are not spending time with skills training then the players need to step up and do it on their own time. There is no excuse for sloppy play at Test match level. They won't win squat if they don't aspire to be the best. Lastly we have the scrum which should be a strength of England but its flakey as. Okay its year one of the world cup cycle and you'd rather have these issues now that 2026 / 27 but we have alot to fix and we also have a media who won't give Borthwick the time he needs to fix them. That paragon of rugby Ugo Monye is already screaming for Borthwick's head. 14 caps and two tries and apparently he's the rugby media mesiah... ...This is where you say he's not the mesiah, he's a very naughty boy.
Go to commentsBen Smith your a biased against the Springboks -making it so obvious as a journalist makes you totally inadequate and not worthy of being taken seriously.
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