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Four talking points ahead of Scotland's out-of-window Fiji Test
By Bryn Palmer
Despite missing several key players including Finn Russell and Blair Kinghorn due to their opening Autumn Nations Series fixture being outside the official Test window, Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has named a strong side to face Fiji on Saturday.
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Scrum-half Ali Price and wing Darcy Graham both start their first Tests since last year’s World Cup while fly-half Adam Hastings, one of nine Glasgow players in the team, earns only his second start in an injury-ravaged two years since he last faced Fiji in 2022.
Here Townsend, embarking on his eighth season in the job, expands on some of his other selection decisions ahead of a November schedule which also brings South Africa, Portugal and Australia to Murrayfield.
New-boy Jordan is a studious learner – but can he sing?
New Zealand-born fly-half Tom Jordan, 26, has been named on the bench after completing a five-year residency period since first arriving in Scotland in 2019 to play club rugby for Ayrshire Bulls.
His career has taken off with Glasgow over the last two seasons under Franco Smith, featuring in every game in their run to last year’s URC title and bringing an abrasive, physical edge at No 10, while proving equally adept at inside centre.
“I had a great chat with him last night,” Townsend said. “I found out more about his family and where he was brought up. Over the last five years since he’s been over in Scotland, I’ve enjoyed seeing how he goes about his work. He’s a learner, he’s very diligent in team meetings, the way he goes about asking questions.
“It’s obviously new for him, some of the language we use, little differences in game plan, but he’s been well prepared. I’ve loved watching him play for Glasgow and he relishes the contact side of it. We did have about five or six minutes of contact yesterday and he enjoyed that as much as the forwards did. He’s been great to work with.”
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As the only possible debutant on Saturday, Jordan is likely to undergo a squad ‘initiation’ by being asked to sing a song as the squad head back from Friday’s final team run. “There might be a song on the bus,” Townsend grinned. “That’s usually the case, and players do dread that more than probably the game at times. But we seem to have a good bunch of singers, so I think it’ll be OK.
“The Fagersons (brothers Zander and Matt) are good. Jamie Ritchie is a very good singer. Sione (Tuipulotu) is a good singer, but (his brother) Mosese was telling me this week that he’s much better than Sione at singing. They’re much more confident and better than we were. We were hopeless back in the day.”
Quiet man Rowe is making some noise
Glasgow’s Kyle Rowe is a specialist winger but in the absence of the unavailable Blair Kinghorn, will start at full-back for Scotland for a fourth time on Saturday as he wins his eighth cap overall.
He scored 12 tries for Warriors last season, already has three in five games this term and bagged his first two for his country against Chile on the summer tour. It was put to Townsend that Rowe might be the most in-form wing he has, despite established duo Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe renewing their partnership on Saturday.
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“Yes, you could definitely say that,” the head coach acknowledged. “He’s just growing in influence. Often after training sessions, we are talking about Kyle and how well he’s trained – his movement, his decisions – and we’re seeing that more and more come out in games, getting more touches on the ball. He is a quality player.
“To come back after being out for a year and having to leave London Irish because they went bust, it’s been great to see him now really in the selection mix for wing this week, even if we’re excited he’s playing at full-back.
“He’s quite quiet off the field, but on the field he’s loud. He communicates really well and you want that in a full-back, and anybody in the backline. You want that loud communication.
“I think he’s enjoying getting more touches on the ball, you can see that. He’s backing himself, whether it’s a little kick-through for others, for himself, or just running hard at the opposition. And you gain confidence with that. As it’s coming off, he’ll look to do that even more in the future.”
Fitter, stronger Price could yet be right for a second Lions tour
Ali Price’s Test career appeared to be winding down quietly after only featuring once off the bench in the nine Tests Scotland have played since their 2023 World Cup campaign.
But the 31-year-old, who has won 67 caps since his debut in 2016 and played in all three Lions Tests – starting two – on their 2021 South Africa tour, has come back reinvigorated after a summer off, losing weight and returning to top form lately with Edinburgh.
Townsend was asked if it was possible Price could yet put himself in contention for another Lions trip as the countdown to next summer’s Australia tour gathers pace. “Well, yes, of course it is,” he said. “I think that might be the individual ambition of a number of our players this year. Ali’s really started the season in great form.
“He’s a very, very good passer. His kicking game has always been good and it was excellent on that Lions tour. So those are two fundamentals of playing nine. The other aspects are making sure you get to the breakdown, you get the ball away quickly and you contribute defensively. And he’s done that really well this season.
“It’s a fitter, stronger, refreshed Ali who’s confident with his running game, confident in defence but also delivering those fundamentals to allow others to play. The competition with George (Horne), Jamie (Dobie) and Ben (White) has brought the best out of Ali since he lost his position last year.
“Right now he’s the scrum-half that we feel is in the best form and can help us win at the weekend. And the opportunity is his to go and grab and continue to play and start for us over the next few weeks.”
Versatile Brown making waves as ‘hybrid’ forward
Gregor Brown’s selection on the bench as back-row cover, meaning former captain Jamie Ritchie misses out on the match-day 23 altogether, is more evidence of the 23-year-old’s rapid recent progress.
The Aberdonian replaced Richie Gray for the final quarter of Glasgow’s URC final victory over the Bulls, won his first three caps for Scotland in the summer – starting at six against Canada and Chile and lock against Uruguay – and has featured in all six games for Warriors this season, alternating between the second and back rows.
That versatility is clearly an attraction for Townsend, with Brown the sort of hybrid back-five forward that provides a head coach with options when deciding on his best 23 and where to try to impact a game.
“It’s definitely a bonus,” he said. “Probably to start at Test level, his best position would be blindside flanker. The real attributes there are he is hard-working, has a big tackle count, is a good ball-carrying player that can also add to the line-out. But if he has to move to the second row, like he’s already done at Test level, then he can do that.
“We’ve not got too many players that are maybe back-rows who can go to second row. We’ve always had a few second-rows that could go to the back row, so it’s interesting for us to see Gregor come through and play so well this season. We feel he’s really added something off the bench and made a big impact, so we want to see him getting that opportunity this week.”
