Stafford McDowall will captain Scotland this Saturday as they face off against Portugal in the third clash of The Famous Grouse Nations Series.
Following a win over Fiji and a loss to the Springboks, Head Coach Gregor Townsend has heavily rotated his side with only Tom Jordan remaining in the starting XV.
McDowall, who has previously skippered Glasgow Warriors and led Scotland against Canada during the summer, will line up alongside Rory Hutchinson in midfield. Hutchinson, a standout performer for Northampton Saints, returns to the fold for the first time since the 2022 summer tour of Argentina and is long overdue a chance again in a Scotland shirt.
Darcy Graham makes his return following a concussion suffered after his four-try haul against Fiji earlier in the month. Across from him, Arron Reed will occupy the other wing, fresh off his two-try debut on the summer tour against Canada. Alongside Jordan and replacement Kyle Rowe, all of the back three players will feel there is a chance to feature against Australia next weekend given a good enough performance.
Up front, Patrick Harrison and Will Hurd add to their summer tour caps, while Ben Muncaster is set for his first appearance for Scotland in the back row. Muncaster has been one of the standouts in a misfiring Edinburgh side. Muncaster previously turned out for Scotland A against Chile during the 2022 summer tour.
Alex Samuel is also set to earn his first cap in the second row, having made his pro debut with Glasgow Warriors in a thumping 37-0 win over Benetton back in November 2022. Partnering him will be Scarlets’ Alex Craig.
Johnny Matthews is listed on the bench, as is Elliot Millar Mills alongside Rory Sutherland. The hefty Ewan Johnson covers second row, with the Oyannax lock making his mark during the summer.
Also on the bench, 19-year-old Freddy Douglas could make his debut and become the youngest Scotland cap since Donald White in 1963. Douglas has come through the ranks from Scotland U18 to U20, showcasing his defensive prowess in the U20 Six Nations with a staggering 77 tackles and 12 breakdown steals. He is yet to feature for the Edinburgh senior team.
Scotland: Tom Jordan, Darcy Graham, Rory Hutchinson, Stafford McDowall, Arron Reed, Adam Hastings, George Horne; Jamie Bhatti, Patrick Harrison, Will Hurd, Alex Craig, Alex Samuel, Luke Crosbie, Ben Muncaster, Josh Bayliss.
Replacements: Johnny Matthews, Rory Sutherland, Elliot Millar Mills, Ewan Johnson, Freddy Douglas, Jamie Dobie, Matt Currie, Kyle Rowe.
Portugal: Simao Bento, Raffaele Storti, Jose Lima, Tomas Appleton, Lucas Martins, Domingos Cabral, Samuel Marques; David Costa, Luka Begic, Diogo Hasse Ferreira, Jose Madeira, Duarte Torgal, Andre Cunha, Nicolas Martins, Federico Couto.
Replacements: Abel Cunha, Pedro Vicente, Antonio Prim, Antonio R. Andrade, Vasco Baptista, Antonio Campos, Hugo Aubry, Manuel Cardoso Pinto.
15 responses
Strange that Tom Jordan plays again, I thought he would be held back for the Australia game & Harry Paterson would have played. Jordan has been outstanding so far so no complaints but it was a chance to give Paterson another game, unless he has an injury.
Does this mean Kinghorn will play against Australia?
Dobie selected for A team v Chile. That, I think, will probably be White and Price the 2 SH’s on Sunday
Portugal were good at the World Cup. Hope we’re not being overly comfortable?
Not much to say about the team other than that there were no leaders selected for that game.
If I may get off the subject a moment..Ive no time for American football but the article on the bbc website about ‘the deliberate miss-kick’ was a fun read…pay heed Townsend and for any hoofer who likes to put snow on the ball..think again.
I think Stafford McDowall has leadership qualities and played a big part in Glasgow success last year.
Absolutely. He was also excellent against Ireland in last year’s 6N
Does anyone know the permutations for Scotland staying in the top 6 ahead of the rankings being frozen after these AI’s ahead of the RWC draw? Is Australia a must win game? It looks like we are competing with England for a place in the top 6. Argentina look excellent and may have already sealed their place regardless of their result against France next weekend.
I think it’s the top 8 that matters isn’t it? I think its 1 – 4 is the top seed pot then 5 – 8 second pot then 9 – 12 third pot. Below that you have to qualify through the various regional play offs.
I still think it’s a nonsense that the draw takes place so far out. So much can change in basically 3 years between the draw and that actual World Cup. I realise people organising it have to plan things and the logistics of it all but come on, surely a year or two at the most is enough. I think the end of the 6N / SH thing the year before the World Cup would be best.
That’s why you’ve always got to play your best available players , Scotland need to cut the undercooked players and stick with the best available, Australia are our next challenge not the world cup nor the six nations.
Australia are currently the best team in the world. Scotland’s forward’s have to be better than them or our banks will get the scraps from the ruck and set piece.
We need Watson at the turnover and Bradbury at the breakdown, horses for courses and we’ll be competitive if not those two positions will cost us big time.
Next RWC has more teams competing and six pools as opposed to four. Top six ranked sides after these AI’s should be confirmed as top seeds and so the incentive is huge. We could potentially be the top seed and have Wales as second seeds.
You must be living in a time warp Sweet And Sour, on current form Watson & Bradbury are not good enough to play against Australia. Did you watch today’s demolition of a very poor Wales team? “best available players”? You’re having a laugh.
Ronald, I was the only one on this blog asking for Huw Jones’ return when the majority of people like you who know nothing about sport were saying that Chris Harris is the best 13 Scotland have .
Bradbury and Watson will outshine Fagerson and Darge all day long, Darge wouldn’t have made it into that Welsh side and you must be pi**ed if you think that Bradbury and Watson were playing ???
I know full well that Watson & Bradbury were not playing, not sure how you managed to derive that from my comment. I was referring to the power & speed of Australia. You won’t find any comment from me on Chris Harris being the best 13 either. Anyway there is no chance of Watson & Bradbury playing against Australia as they’re not even in the squad & despite Dempsey & Brown being sent back to their club they still weren’t called up.
How did you go about asking for Jones return sas?Just that i have been asking for years to see VDM on the right wing and im still waiting.I recall much Jones/Harris debate but i know where your coming from when you say you were the only one.I too am on my own with the my above wish,which hasnt even conjured debate on this blog for 8 years…tell a lie..one bloke said i had a point[where are you]DONT tell me you just said..pleeease.