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Scotland name team with three changes to face Italy
Gregor Townsend has made three change to his Scotland team to face Italy in the Guinness Six Nations on Saturday, with hooker Stuart McInally, second row Ben Toolis and centre Chris Harris promoted from the bench for their first starts of the 2020 campaign.
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McInally swaps places with Glasgow Warriors’ Fraser Brown, who moves to the bench, and Toolis comes in for the injured Jonny Gray (hand), while Harris is picked in favour of Huw Jones, with Sale Sharks wing Byron McGuigan taking his place on the bench.
Reflecting on the team changes, Townsend said: “We believe Chris and Stuart deserve this opportunity. They were very close to the starting XV when we entered this campaign. We think this is the right time for them to come in.
“Chris has been excellent for Gloucester this season and has continued to make improvements since the summer. He works very hard on both sides of the ball, which will be important this week.
“Stuart has shown over the past few weeks he’s back to full fitness and is raring to go, and Ben gets an opportunity to start following Jonny’s injury against England.
(Continue reading below…)
Clive Woodward calls on the SRU to take drastic action against Finn Russell
“Second row is a position we have a lot of competition with a number of very good players available for selection. We’re looking forward to seeing how he combines again with Scott (Cummings) after a successful outing together against Russia in the World Cup.”
Edinburgh wing Darcy Graham returned to training last week but did not recover sufficiently from his knee injury to be considered for selection.
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The @johnbarc86 Column:
"As a player and someone who knows Finn, I take issue with the people labelling him selfish."https://t.co/8HVHinXzt2
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 16, 2020
Both Scotland and Italy go into the game with two defeats each so far in this year’s tournament, the Scots losing to Ireland and England while the Italians have lost out to Wales and France.
The Scots have won 22 of the 30 Tests between the nations but the odds are more evenly stacked when they meet in Italy where the results are level on six wins apiece thanks to a recent run of four consecutive away wins for the Scots.
Can Scotland cope with life after Finn Russell? @bensmithrugby breaks down the performances of Adam Hastings in the opening rounds of the Six Nations. https://t.co/SynNRdeAYT #ScotlandRugby #SixNations
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 13, 2020
Townsend added: “Italy are always a very tough opponent, especially in Rome, where we know they’ll look to play with a huge amount of energy.
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“It’s a different Italy team to the one we’ve played in the past. In their opening two games of the championship, they have played with real ambition and width.
“They’ve also selected athletic, ball players who suit this strategy and are comfortable playing at a high tempo. We are well aware of the threats throughout their team and how their attacking game can cause problems for any defence.”
Some backing for Finn Russell. Gavin Henson's comments ? #SixNations #ScotlandRugby pic.twitter.com/SG5vKeNoN1
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 12, 2020
Scotland team (vs Italy, Saturday)
15. Stuart Hogg CAPT (Exeter Chiefs) – 74 caps
14. Sean Maitland (Saracens) – 46 caps
13. Chris Harris (Gloucester)- 16 caps
12. Sam Johnson (Glasgow Warriors) – 11 caps
11. Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh) – 19 caps
10. Adam Hastings (Glasgow Warriors) – 18 caps
9. Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) – 30 caps
1. Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh) – 5 caps
2. Stuart McInally (Edinburgh) – 35 caps
3. Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) – 27 caps
4. Ben Toolis (Edinburgh) – 24 caps
5. Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors) – 10 caps
6. Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh) – 16 caps
7. Hamish Watson (Edinburgh) – 30 caps
8. Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh) – 12 caps
Substitutes:
16. Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors) – 48 caps
17. Allan Dell (London Irish) – 30 caps
18. Willem Nel (Edinburgh) – 36 caps
19. Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh) – 40 caps
20. Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) – 5 caps
21. George Horne (Glasgow Warriors) – 11 caps
22. Rory Hutchinson (Northampton Saints) – 4 caps
23. Byron McGuigan (Sale Sharks) – 9 caps
WATCH: The Rugby Pod looks ahead to round three in the Guinness Six Nations
Comments on RugbyPass
“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
3 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
2 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
3 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
3 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
3 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to comments