Scotland face Italy in the Six Nations in Rome on Saturday afternoon; the visitors have made five changes to their team following their 36-17 defeat at home to Grand Slam-chasing France in the last round of fixtures
Thursday 10 March 2022 12:58, UK
Ali Price is set to make his 50th appearance for Scotland, having been named in the team to face Italy on Saturday in the penultimate round of the 2022 Six Nations.
The 28-year-old Glasgow Warriors' scrum-half made his international debut in 2016 against Georgia at Rugby Park and has since gone on to create an established partnership with Finn Russell at No 10. The two will start for the seventh successive occasion on Saturday.
In one of five changes made to the team that were defeated against France, Sam Johnson returns to the line-up following his start in the victory over England on the opening weekend. Matt Fagerson is back from injury to start at No 8, while Edinburgh back-rower Hamish Watson also returns after missing out against France through Covid.
Kyle Steyn makes his first start in the Six Nations after coming off the bench against France in 2020. The Glasgow winger marked his first Scotland start in style last year, scoring four tries in the Autumn Internationals against Tonga. Front-rower George Turner is the other new addition to the team.
Edinburgh's Darcy Graham will occupy the opposite wing following three impressive performances so far in the championship, with Exeter Chiefs full-back Stuart Hogg once again captaining the side.
Stuart McInally, Magnus Bradbury, Duhan Van Der Merwe, Sione Tuipulotu and Nick Haining are the five players to drop out of the team.
Fresh from signing a long-term contract with Glasgow, Rory Darge retains his place, while Edinburgh's Grant Gilchrist and Exeter's Sam Skinner are unchanged in the second-row from the France match. Glasgow prop Zander Fagerson keeps his place in the first XV along with Edinburgh's Pierre Schoeman.
In the replacements, Ben Vellacott is in line to make his debut. The scrum-half has been capped for Scotland Under-20s and joined Edinburgh Rugby this season following two years at Gloucester Rugby.
Adam Hastings could make his first appearance of the 2022 Six Nations from the bench, taking his place alongside Sione Tuipulotu, who is also named as a replacement.
Stuart McInally, WP Nel and Allan Dell are options in the front row as replacements while Edinburgh duo Magnus Bradbury and Jamie Hodgson are available to come off the bench in the back five.
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Kyle Steyn, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price; 1 Pierre Schoeman, 2 George Turner, 3 Zander Fagerson, 4 Sam Skinner, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 6 Rory Darge, 7 Hamish Watson, 8. Matt Fagerson.
Replacements: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Allan Dell, 18 WP Nel, 19 Jamie Hodgson, 20 Magnus Bradbury, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Sione Tuipulotu.
