Darcy Graham will earn his 50th cap this weekend as Scotland take on Argentina in the third round of the Quilter Nations Series. It’s a milestone that feels fitting for a player who has become one of the side’s most reliable finishers and is currently stuck in a ding-dong battle for all-time top try-scorer with Duhan Van Der Merwe, who returns this week with a place on the bench. Graham made his debut in 2018 and scored a hat-trick in the 52–29 win against Argentina two years ago.
In the starting XV, Gregor Townsend has kept changes to a minimum after a mixed showing against New Zealand, where Scotland once again found themselves ruing chances in a match that felt like another one that slipped through their fingers. Not playing for a half of rugby then clawing your way back to parity only to then wilt badly when most needed is sadly par for the course.
The only alteration sees vice-captain Rory Darge return at openside flanker, with Matt Fagerson moving to the bench after Scotland were often exposed at the breakdown by the All Blacks.
Jack Dempsey continues at Number 8 for a third straight outing, flanked by Darge and the excellent Gregor Brown. Scott Cummings and Grant Gilchrist form a familiar second-row partnership, while the front row remains an all-Edinburgh unit of Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman and D’arcy Rae. The latter pair probably deserve an apology after very useful showings last week (Schoeman was his usual good-to-great).
In the back division, Kyle Steyn keeps his place after crossing against the All Blacks, joining Graham on the wings with Blair Kinghorn again at full-back. Rory Hutchinson and captain Sione Tuipulotu again line up together in the centres, with Finn Russell and Ben White steering things from half-back.
Finn Russell was in plenty of strapping last week but has been passed fit to start. Zander Fagerson has not, yet, so Eliot Millar-Mills sits the bench again. He put in some good carries last week.
This time, Townsend has gone for a 5–3 bench split against an Argentina side buoyed by a 52–28 win over Steve Tandy’s Wales. George Turner moves a step closer to his own half-century of caps, while Nathan McBeth, Elliot Millar Mills and Josh Bayliss retain their places among the forwards. Jamie Dobie and Tom Jordan again cover the backs, and Duhan van der Merwe returns to the matchday squad after missing last week, having reached his own 50-cap landmark in the opening win over the USA.
No place for either Max Williamson or Andy Onyeama-Christie though. If not now, when?
Scotland: Blair Kinghorn, Darcy Graham, Rory Hutchinson, Sione Tuipulotu (capt), Kyle Steyn, Finn Russell, Ben White; Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, D’arcy Rae, Scott Cummings, Grant Gilchrist, Gregor Brown, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey.
Replacements: George Turner, Nathan McBeth, Elliot Millar Mills, Josh Bayliss, Matt Fagerson, Jamie Dobie, Tom Jordan, Duhan van der Merwe.
74 responses
Longhorn named as FB against Argentina! WTF is going on re selection. What is it we are not seeing why he keeps getting selected
I totally agree. In games against second tier nations Longhorn is great and runs rampant. But in tough games against top opposition he has a tendency to make costly mistakes.
But… he was picked by the Toulouse coaches, picked for the Lions, and commentators all seem to rave about him. I don’t see it but think it must be me!
I really liked Olly Smith the time he got a chance and Kyle Rowe is a classy player that never seems to let the team down. Would be good to let Longhorn know he has to fight for his position.
Longhorn is a Townsend project . When he fell out with Fin for , well , simply playing the players in front of him , Longhorn was tried at Standoff, where his ineptitude was magnified . However he got the “Utility Badge” making him capable of back 3 , and Fly half.
I think Toony wants to keep his options open, even when they are on the field. Look at the utility players in the side for Sunday. Brown, Jordan, even Longerhorn and Dobie.
I read that there is a player in (I think SA) that can play prop and centre . I thought to myself, wait till Toonie reads that. He will be a shoe in for us.
Just my opinion, others can co exist alongside it and all that.
Kinghorn not Longhorn. Hate this predictive txt as much as I hate Toonie’s selection of favorite players
Nah, I think you’ve christened him “Longhorn” on this site for ever more 😂
It’ll be interesting to see DvdM’s reaction to missing the ABs match and how he goes off the bench. Hopefully his power coming on after 60 mins to run at tired legs will help get Scotland over get the line.
What an image. A smoldering Duhan let loose on the Argy . Now that is something to look forward to.
How Kinghorn keeps his place is beyond belief, players like Kyle Rowe, who has been in great form, must wonder why they bother turning up when current form isn’t recognised, favourites will always be picked regardless of how poor they perform. Likewise Darge, another favourite, has been injured for weeks & hasn’t shown any form since the Italy game in February, Andy Onyeama-Christie overlooked yet again, it must be demoralising for these guys & knowing they won’t be involved. I’ll still be there on Sunday for another very tough game but part of me always wishes we would play our strongest team.
At times I wish the Warriors players were not selected. They seem to come back different players and not in a good way.
Does anyone know if we can still leapfrog Argentina in the rankings or is the gap too big to overhaul? That loss in Fiji could be costly for the RWC seedings.
No, not quite
Scotland win by 15 points or less – Scotland 82.22, Argentina 83.30
Scotland win by more than 15 points – Scotland 82.73, Argentina 82.79
Draw – Scotland 81.22, Argentina 84.30
Thanks. ARG still have to visit Twickenham but given England are higher ranked and at home I assume that result won’t make much difference. Same goes for our hosting of Tonga.
Rob is correct but hasn’t factored in the possible outcome of Argentina losing to England.
If we win by 15 or more tomorrow and England win next week, then Scotland go to 6th.
Englands win today doesn’t change this.
Ps assuming we don’t lose to Tonga.
Nice stats work, Rob. A more relaxing Sunday now knowing the result doesn’t matter two hoots for rankings.
All other comments here all correct. Bambi Kinghorn picked again, the full-back who can’t defend, against the hefty Pumas too, who’ll sit his arse and push right through.
Townsend’s lazy lazy favouritism insults every fan. No stats favour his judgement of selecting Kinghorn, Turner, nor current form merits Darge who was unfit tying his laces a week ago. Steyn at 15 lets DVM back in. And what on God’s green astroturf is the point of Gilchrist at 35 in matches like this, preparing for the next RWC? Does Toonie actually have any brainy under his beanie?
I see we’re odds-on favourites to beat higher-ranked Argentina on Sunday. Like the Lions were pre-tour, when Pumas unless this was a fever dream were offered at 28-1. No money of mine going on a win with this selection.
If we win by 15+ tomorrow and then England beat Argentina next week we go to 6th.
So please don’t relax.
More seriously, I hope the players know this. Sure it is a long shot, but knowing that so much depends on the winning margin might change how we play in the last quarter – assuming we are anywhere close.
Just a point to ponder whenever we get mired in the maw of defeat. Murrayfield honours visitors with dignity.
Anyone share my anger and utter disgust at the Twickenham crowd doing their boorish best to loudly drown out the haka yesterday?
No surprise, you might say, given the lack of morality and intelligence in appropriating an African slave song as your rugby chant when it was your own colonialising that battered indigenous peoples into slavery in the first place? (Yes, we know some Scots were implicit as the engineering boilerhouse of that filthy history, but not as the instigators of invasion and persecution.)
Have just watched back the haka before last week’s game to check what I felt at the time. Murrayfield’s respectful silence throughout, and applause after, New Zealand’s dignified cultural marker perfectly illustrates the difference between the north and the south of this cracked island. Obviously don’t waste your time looking for any mention of yesterday’s disgrace in the English press. I have already undertaken that hopeless task.
There were some trying to drown out the haka last week so not sure we can be holier than thou on this one.
And lots of booing the kicker at Murrayfield as well.
We gave NZ a pummelling last week. Softened them up. I wonder if we will be at our best today . 🤔 I wish we were a tad more respectful when England come to Murrayfield . There is a lot of ill mannered noises when the anthem is played.
Questions have to be asked ? They must be asked !
Hammered 33-10 in the second half after a comfortable first.
Townsend has to do the right thing and step aside. He reached his ceiling a while back and has had umpteen chances to kick on. Maybe his Red Bull role is proving to be a distraction!
……..it all changed after that throw away pass from Fin….. infuriating! (George Ford is the example we need to look to, how to play to win). Not to know how to slow down and grind out a 21 point lead just shows how immature we are as a side. We are so one dimensional, we just don’t know how to manage a game, we play as though we’re 10 points behind all the time, until we are, then we just look like school boys.
Unbelievable how crap we were from there on. Not a clue what to do. Summed up with Dobie kicking it away with 4 minutes to go! Pathetic.
Even worse than the appalling surrender against Wales in Cardiff in 2010. Shocking capitulation to an admittedly very good Argentina side. This was a total humiliation and I’m about as gutted as I’ve ever been by watching us throw a Test match away.
We need confidence, we need mental strength. When the game plan goes to pieces, you need to believe in yourselves. We got to 17 – 17 last week and could not kick on . Today , we seen it with our own eyes.
We had a tough test last week. We were always going to wilt in the last 20. So why was the bench not on the pitch. Was it the right 23 !
Townsend needs to go – enough of this clown
The Pumas bench made a difference because they have a coach that can read the game, recognise when change is needed, introduce players to implement the change. Sadly we have Toony, he left Horne and Jordan on the bench when clearly we needed a spark. Another taxi for two jobs Townsend.
Is that the most abject second half / last 30 ever from Scotland? When you compare it to mins 40 – 70 last week it was like we sacked the big boys and brought in an under 12s side.
The forwards gave us no go forward and the backs did nothing but kick the ball away poorly.
Dreadful.
Next week is a hiding to nothing as it’s a game we’re expected to win. Meaning the narrative right through to the Six Nations is Scotland choke and can’t beat good teams.
Hard to argue with that narrative given the available evidence…
England aside, Townsend’s record against top 6 six nations is truly awful. The fact that he has never beaten Ireland having had so many attempts is a huge blight on his tenure.
I know there were crucial individual errors today but he picks the 23. Why was Max Williamson frozen out? The buck stops with one man.
Yes that was a painful watch. Think main difference was the bench, but that stupid pass from finn was a real turning point. Think expression is from sublime to ridiculous
Finn’s pass was high risk and we were punished for it. That mistake didn’t cost us the Test but it did hand an advantage to Argentina, who gained confidence from that point and after that we were basically mince. These collapses in the final 20 minutes or so have unfortunately become a feature of our play in recent years. Coaches and players need to analyse why and come up with some way of turning it round.
.
Folks keep saying Townsend has ran his time – again, again & again.
We are now getting used to continued mediocrity, average leadership – shame as he actually had some decent players at his disposal during his reign.
Just home from the game & I still can’t believe that second half performance. No second row replacement against a team like Argentina is sheer stupidity, Brown going off was a big loss as he was obviously the only other second row option but it was a big gamble that didn’t pay off. I need to watch the game again because I don’t know what Darge actually did in the game & Fagerson wasn’t much better but that was my opinion at the stadium. How many times has Turner messed up at the line out, another poor option off the bench, & Dobie kicking the ball straight to them with 4 minutes to go was brain numbing, at that point a penalty would have won us the game. Just fed up with Townsend & his bizarre team & bench selections.
yes I am at that point now that we will never get better or win anything other than occasional decent result. Our soft underbelly will always be exploited by the better teams. We play good stuff at times and have some excellent players, but our general lack of nous/game management will always make us vulnerable
Every point above is accurate. One unnecessary floater went down the toilet at the other end. That turned the game, along with Carreras coming on. Didn’t matter.
Because defeat was born from no on-field leadership or calm at 21-7 and huge personal stupidity thereafter – not just Bambi Kinghorn again who should just open a sausage shop in Toulouse but can’t stand the sight of blood. And Dobie today? Hero last week to utter class dunce by box-kicking into oblivion at every opportunity, handing the ball to rampaging Pumas. How does idiocy like that occur?
But it’s Townsend himself who lost us this game through lack of leadership and messaging from above. By not replacing dimwit Dobie with lively Horne. By bringing on DVM when we were being trammelled though the middle. By bringing on the interminably inept Turner – one line-out, one absurdly mis-timed throw. By leaving Jordan benched. And after this cataclysmically embarrassing defeat? From Townsend not an ounce of anger, just the predictable platitudes. Get rid. Now. Get a proven pro who’s actually won anything.
A few heroes? Darcy Graham, smallest man, winning high balls and so many vicious tackles. Kyle Steyn always urgent and composed. Sione, Dempsey, Ashman at charge. Russell needs 100 lines in his jotter.
Scotland are now an international laughing stock. Nice legacy, Townsend.
What was the point in having Duhan on the bench when he offers no versatility? It was a loyalty pick which Townsend seems to prioritise over merit/logic based picks. Do loyalty picks help him maintain the dressing room? Well how about putting the team/result first for a change? Darge is great when in form but the warning signs about his lack of form/fitness were there before the game but Toonie knows best. Williamson and Matthews deserved to be in the 23.
Even England have kicked on under Borthwick. We are battling Italy and Wales at the 6N for 4th/5th place and now face a potential group of death at the RWC draw. We are now going backwards.
Might just be the doom and gloom of the morning after but for me it is worse than battling Italy and wales for 4th/5th in the Six Nations. Italy seem to have kicked on this autumn and we know they always target Scotland. Playing them in Rome, if we play like that second half we will lose. And I can’t see us beating England, France or Ireland so we could be heading to Cardiff for a loser takes all whitewash showdown.
I will never want Scotland to lose but a shocking 6N might help in the long run if it forces change at the top. Townsend can’t be given another crack at the RWC after the last two debacles. Franco in next year, Laidlaw to a Glasgow and Toonie off to the Toon.
Very good point about England. A few years pain but what a gain. GT was captured by the TV post match. Very uncomfortable. Did not want to talk. It was a bit unfair. Truth is he picked the wrong 23, in the wrong order, had a 35 year old on for 80 minutes intensity with no replacement, an out and out winger on the bench. With Hutchinson injured with a stinger so early his Full back replacement option was first off the pitch. I suspect Ben White being ill had a part to play. He had nowhere to put Dobie , other than a 9 for a 9 replacement. But 2 fundamentals came to light for me. 1) We were knackered after a tough match last week. We were always going to be poor in the last 30 minutes. The Argentinians kept great players on the bench to capitalise. Why did that not feature in his tactics. 2) leadership. Who was taking control.
No on-field leadership. No calm at 21-0. Just huge personal stupidity. Finger points at Dobie, hero last week to utter dunce by box-kicking into oblivion at every opportunity, handing the ball to rampaging Pumas. How does idiocy like that occur?
But ultimately it’s Townsend who lost this game. By not replacing Dobie with energetic Horne. By bringing on DVM when we were being trammelled though the middle. By bringing on the interminably inept Turner – one line-out, one absurdly mis-timed throw yet again. By leaving Jordan benched.
And after this cataclysmically embarrassing defeat, not an ounce of anger from the coach to send a message to fans, just the predictable platitudes. Get rid. Now. Get a proven pro who’s actually won anything.
A few heroes? Darcy Graham, smallest man, winning high balls and so many vicious tackles. Karl Steyn always urgent and composed. Sione, Dempsey, Ashman at charge. Russell needs 100 lines in his jotter.
Scotland are now an international laughing stock. Nice legacy, Townsend.
I would not be surprised if Dobie was following the coaches orders. Not at all surprised. We have heard it before.
Exactly what I was thinking. If he was going off script or kicking poorly then Toonie should have hooked him earlier.
He was never actually hooked which further corroborates Tam’s assertion that he was following orders from the boss. I think they all need a bit of coaching from Mike Tyson to quote ” everyone has a plan , till they get a punch in the mouth “.
He was never actually hooked ! Maybe you have something there.
The battle for the 2026 Wooden Spoon is going to be Wales v Scotland in Cardiff. I don’t fancy Scotland’s chances with Townsend in charge.
Thank god I will be out of the country during the 6N
SRB – anyone got time for an analysis of the new nations cup? Scotland playing Argentina (are we being mocked 😔), then South Africa and finishing up with Fiji looks like a brutal travel schedule (although I note the SRU website doesn’t say where the Fiji game will be played). England and wales on the same rotation as Scotland but in a different order.
We then have NZ, Australia and Japan in November, followed by a meaningless “finals” weekend in London.
Must be great for the money men, probably great for the fans but draining for the players.
Total shish huh?Im still waiting for the game to come up on You Tube so cant comment..any suggestions how to approach this when it does?
Give it a ‘long pass’ perhaps.
Am I reading this correctly : We are now 9th in the Rankings behind Fiji ! What is more ,not far in front of Italy.
Red Bull costs you wins…
With the dust settling what is clear for me is that we can’t afford to get any selection errors in the 23. We don’t have a bomb squad and so the bench split and every single pick is critical.
Duhan getting a sweetener bench spot for being dropped against NZ was criminal. Darge was not back to his best afterr his injury and Turner was just a bad call. Townsend got the 23 badly wrong with too many favourites/loyalty picks and not enough merit based decision making. The annoying thing is that he never seems to learn and has done this before. He needs to stop worrying about his popularity with senior players and start putting outcomes first.
The tide has turned. On today’s Scottish Rugby Podcast, the previously supportive Andy Burke and Tom English unite in saying it’s time for Townsend to go. And that in their estimation, based on private conversations and a multiplicity of public posts, is that “a majority of fans and others believe it’s time to roll the dice”. They also wonder what long-term players are getting out of the coaching team after ten years. Nothing new.
Tom English doubts that the SRU has a mind to move on. But he is certain that “the time is now, do it now” before we get the same high hopes and low achievements in the next 6N. We have never been 6N contenders. Never.
Andy Robinson was sacked as in 2012 after Tonga beat us 21-15 in 2012. If the SRU need nudging, I am not certain I want the result on Sunday I wanted a month ago.
What kept them. We have capped numerous players, changed all the support coaches, the pitch was upgraded, changed the stadium name, developed a new ticketing system blah de blah.
We have changed everything but the head coach and the mascot.
Here come the the pundits.
You forgot about the announcer at Murrayfield as well…. lol
Folks, off topic but would like to congratulate our football cousins in their qualification to the World Cup last night. Well done guys.
Steve Clarke to take over from Toonie!
A stat has been floating about recently about how scotland have performed against tier 1 opposition in the last 30 minutes
Scotland: 6 – Tier 1 Oppo: 83…..
Something is going horribly wrong in the last 30 minutes consistently under Townsend.
1. Fitness is an issue
2. Bench selections (or the lack of use of them) are an issue.
3. Lack of Depth (Besides Tighthead i no longer buy this)
4. A combination of the above
Why not have some hard-nosed reliable players on the bench who both increase intensity and add consistency. Bayliss is a flashy option against tier 2.
Bradbury, Ritchie, Skinner, are 3 credible examples which come to mind. Don’t always need to start your first choice but can finish with them (as we saw Argentina do)
I would not mind seeing a comparison to Glasgow who seem to hump teams in the last 20 minutes. I canny wait to see the bench let loose. But that is just my gut , stats might help. I do not think what we lack is the skill or the ability physically. What is going on in the minds of our players. How do we overcome the plucky scots label.
We also have a soft underbelly under Townsend and there is definitely a mental issue in closing out games, especially tight ones. Edinburgh have a similar problem. They always seem to lose games with a late score or can’t hold onto a lead and see out a game. This is something I would expect an elite head coach to address.
I see that the Newcastle Managing Director Rob Petrie has come out to stress that Toonie’s involvement is ‘light touch’ and that they are mindful of his main role with Scotland. It’s almost as if someone has asked them to brief the media with the aim of taking some heat of Townsend.
I watched the Scotland squad warming up on Sunday at Murrayfield, I fully understand the need to warm up but I was shocked at how intense it was & the length of time it went on for. There were players standing with their hands on their hips trying to get their breath back. Our warm up lasted longer than Argentina’s & seemed far more physical, I was exhausted watching them. I wonder who got it right considering we ran out of steam in the last quarter & Argentina finished so strongly as we unfortunately witnessed, we do lose a lot of tries late in the game.
Turner starting as hooker in an all change team, not expecting to win many lineouts with his erratic throwing, yet another example of picking his favourites. I feel sorry for Bayliss not getting a start.
I do not feel excited about this at all . I wonder how they feel ! Anything but confident I would think.
Good to see Andy OC start and I’ll be interested to see Fergus Burke at 10.
I wonder if the message to some of these players is that they have a shot at claiming a spot in the starting Six Nations team?
I agree with the comment above about Turner, was this not an opportunity to give someone else international experience?
It does seem a bit disrespectful to Tonga to have changed the team quite so much.
Is it a good or bad thing for Scotland that there is so much experience in the changed squad? Good as it might show strength in depth or bad as some of the players (Sutherland/Turner) are older and it’s a sign that there’s no young replacements coming through?
The only thing wrong with this team is Townsend.
Absolutely right, SAS.
Turner? Unbelievable. Thankfully Lazy Boy Kinghorn has gone, but this idiosyncratic selection is not just an insult to Tonga, it’s a petulant selection from a coach who knows he’s on the way out.
Based on what I have seen this autumn, we will be humiliated this 6N.
The Southen Hemisphere are settling their sides for the RWC . Bit of tweaking for injuries and building experience on what we have seen.
Scotland: Still testing combinations , 4 tests , 4 different sides , players dropped for this test , when they should be on the pitch , getting over the trauma of last week.
The next outing for 2/3rd of last weeks 23 will be against a dynamic , confident, Italy , in Rome.
On what planet !!
The exchange between Tom English and Toonie on the BBC website was interesting. Toonie coming out with some mind boggling stuff like it’s the best rugby he’s seen in eight years but was on the training field?! What happens on the training field means diddly squat if it isn’t backed up in tests. How many ranking points do we get for good training sessions? It seemed very obvious to me that he doesn’t consider himself to be the problem.
Smartest man the room. I am not aware of any offers from anywhere to hire him. What does that tell you !
They are all fools bar the Red Bull guy?
On more than one occasion the SRU have renewed his contract at precisely the wrong time. They should have incentivised him to get an extension but instead they are handing out extensions before he proves he deserves one. Madness to give him another one in September before the AIs.
He is not the only one but who do Sports Coaches not understand it is about managing people. Nothing cam be achieved without them. You need to win their confidence.
Amidst the muck and mire of Scottish rugby, here’s a positive. Hollie Davidson played a stormer this afternoon refereeing Wales NZ. Challked off two NZ tries and commanded respect from all sides. Brilliant!
Fully concur with EdinburghRock
Absolutely. Thought she handled the occasion well and even had the courage to reverse her on field decision after awarding a try that subsequently looked to be held up. I think other refs would have stuck with their on field decision in the absence of clear and obvious evidence to overturn it (which by the letter of the law would be correct) but the law itself is flawed as it restricts refs from changing their mind if they make a mistake at the time.
Also, a shout out to Matthew Carley for being one of the few refs to card multiple Irish players for repeatedly cheating. Perhaps they get away with it against teams they are able to bully up front and dominate at the scrum.