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Scotland axe Duhan van der Merwe for All Blacks clash
By Josh Raisey
Scotland’s joint-leading try scorer, Duhan van der Merwe, has been dropped for their clash with the All Blacks this weekend at Scottish Gas Murrayfield.
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In search of their first-ever win over the All Blacks, Gregor Townsend has opted for Kyle Steyn out wide instead of the two-time British & Irish Lion, who has effectively been a mainstay in the Scotland XV since making his debut in 2020.
The decision comes a week after Darcy Graham levelled Van der Merwe as Scotland’s highest try scorer with a hat-trick against the United States, bringing the pair to 34 tries apiece. Graham has been retained on the other wing.
Townsend has tinkered quite heavily with his squad from the 85-0 win over the USA, as expected, aided by the return of his England and France-based players.
Bath’s Finn Russell has unsurprisingly come back into the starting XV, as has Toulouse’s Blair Kinghorn at full-back, Toulon’s Ben White at scrum-half and Northampton Saints’ Rory Hutchinson at outside centre. Hutchinson will partner captain Sione Tuipulotu in the midfield, who also missed the victory over the Eagles.
The power and size of the All Blacks bench was decisive in their victory over Ireland in Chicago last week, with replacements Wallace Sititi and Tamaiti Williams both scoring tries.
To counter this power on the bench, Townsend has opted for the 6-2 split on the bench, with back-rows Rory Darge and Josh Bayliss both making the cut.
The versatile duo of Jamie Dobie and Tom Jordan will serve as the two replacements among the backs, but are capable of covering every position in the back line between them.
Scotland XV
15. Blair Kinghorn – Toulouse (60)
14. Darcy Graham – Edinburgh Rugby (48)
13. Rory Hutchinson – Northampton Saints (9)
12. Sione Tuipulotu – Glasgow Warriors (30) – Captain
11. Kyle Steyn – Glasgow Warriors (25)
10. Finn Russell – Bath Rugby (87) – Vice-captain
9. Ben White – Toulon (29)
1. Pierre Schoeman – Edinburgh Rugby (42)
2. Ewan Ashman – Edinburgh Rugby (29)
3. D’Arcy Rae – Edinburgh Rugby (3)
4. Scott Cummings – Glasgow Warriors (43)
5. Grant Gilchrist – Edinburgh Rugby (82) – Vice-captain
6. Gregor Brown – Glasgow Warriors (10)
7. Matt Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors (57)
8. Jack Dempsey – Glasgow Warriors (27)
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Replacements
16. George Turner – Harlequins (47)
17. Rory Sutherland – Glasgow Warriors (44)
18. Elliot Millar Mills – Northampton Saints (9)
19. Marshall Sykes – Edinburgh Rugby (5)
20. Rory Darge – Glasgow Warriors (32)
21. Josh Bayliss – Bath Rugby (11)
22. Jamie Dobie – Glasgow Warriors (15)
23. Tom Jordan – Bristol Bears (9)
