George Turner reaches 50 caps this Saturday as Scotland round off their Quilter Autumn Series against Tonga at Murrayfield. It is a well earned milestone for a player who was a dependable member of the pack before his sojourn in Japan, and who may have thought his test caps were over. He anchors a team that was always going to be heavily reshaped for this fixture, even after the dismal loss to Argentina that has now seen Scotland drop to 9th in the World Rankings.
Skipper Sione Tuipulotu is the only starter retained from last week. He pairs with Ollie Smith in midfield, while Kyle Rowe and Duhan van der Merwe fill the wings. Tom Jordan starts at full-back for the first time in this series.
At standoff, Fergus Burke gets his first home cap at and links up with Ben White, who returns after illness saved him the embarrassment of being associated with last weekend.
In the front row,a similarly guilt (and hopefully pain) free Zander Fagerson is back following the injury that stopped his Lions tour, joining Turner and Rory Sutherland.
Max Williamson and Alex Samuel form a new second row partnership, having come off the bench together in the opener against the USA. In the back row, Jamie Ritchie and Andy Onyeama-Christie make their first appearances of the autumn, with Magnus Bradbury at Number 8 forming a new unit.
The bench includes Ewan Ashman, who set a try scoring mark for a Scotland forward last weekend, along with props Nathan McBeth and late squad call-up Will Hurd. Marshall Sykes and Josh Bayliss cover the remaining forward spots. George Horne, Stafford McDowall and Kyle Steyn provide the backline options.
All of this takes place with a far larger issue looming over it. Gregor Townsend is now under more pressure than at any point in his eight years in charge, and the debate about his future is casting a long shadow over the final week of the autumn, especially with the announcement of his part time consultancy at Newcastle Red Bull giving rise to questions over his focus or commitment to the national side, which has stagnated even with his full attention.
The selection is interesting in places, but almost regardless of result, the match itself will not explain why the first choice XV wilted so badly to lose a 21-0 lead against Los Pumas, nor indeed will it give many of them a chance to respond against a similar level of opposition. The only thing that might give some insight would be if there is a similar level of incoherence and bench misuse in the second half, a period where Scotland struggle badly against higher ranked sides. Given Tonga are ranked lower, expect a better performance from which we learn little.
With so many changes and an experimental feel to the side in many areas – although a lot of these guys should have been given a go long before now – whatever unfolds later today risks being overtaken by the wider discussion about where Scotland go next – and who will be leading them.
Scotland: Tom Jordan, Kyle Rowe, Ollie Smith, Sione Tuipulotu (capt), Duhan van der Merwe, Fergus Burke, Ben White; Rory Sutherland, George Turner, Zander Fagerson, Alex Samuel, Max Williamson, Andy Onyeama-Christie, Jamie Ritchie, Magnus Bradbury.
Replacements: Ewan Ashman, Nathan McBeth, Will Hurd, Marshall Sykes, Josh Bayliss, George Horne, Stafford McDowall, Kyle Steyn.