Kyle Rowe is set to win only his second Scotland Test cap after being handed a start at full-back in place of Blair Kinghorn, who will miss the first two matches of this year's Six Nations; Finn Russell skippers the side to face Wales in Cardiff, with co-captain Rory Darge out as well
Thursday 1 February 2024 14:39, UK
Kyle Rowe will start at full-back for Scotland in their Six Nations opener against Wales on Saturday after Blair Kinghorn was ruled out due to injury.
Kinghorn has suffered a knee injury which will keep him out of both this weekend's trip to Cardiff and the clash with France at Murrayfield on Saturday, February 10.
It means England-born Rowe will win only his second cap for Scotland after being named to start in the No 15 shirt, having made his Test debut for Scotland against Argentina in 2022.
On that occasion, the 25-year-old Glasgow Warriors back lasted just 12 minutes as a replacement before having to leave the field injured, so will be hoping his first start for Gregor Townsend's side proves more memorable.
Recently-appointed co-captain Rory Darge has also been ruled out due to injury, although is expected to be available to face France, so Finn Russell leads the team as they aim to make a winning start to this year's Six Nations.
Previous skipper Jamie Ritchie, who lost the role last month, has been named in the back-row alongside Matt Fagerson and Luke Crosbie, while Ben White has got the nod to start at scrum-half ahead of Ali Price.
Props Elliot Millar-Mills and Alex Hepburn are both in line to make their debuts off the bench, with Jack Dempsey, who lined up at No 8 in last year's Rugby World Cup, also named among the replacements.
Elsewhere, Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones are reunited in the midfield, and Duhan van der Merwe and Kyle Steyn provide the attacking threat on the wings.
Scotland: 15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (captain), 9 Ben White; 1 Pierre Schoeman, 2 George Turner, 3 Zander Fagerson, 4 Richie Gray, 5 Scott Cummings, 6 Luke Crosbie, 7 Jamie Ritchie, 8 Matt Fagerson.
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Elliot Millar-Mills, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Jack Dempsey, 21 George Horne, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Cameron Redpath.
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