Cornell du Preez to make his first start for Scotland against world champions New Zealand
Thursday 16 November 2017 16:24, UK
Cornell du Preez will make his first start for Scotland after being included in the starting line-up to face world champions New Zealand at Murrayfield.
Edinburgh No 8 Du Preez is one of two enforced changes by head coach Gregor Townsend, with prop Zander Fagerson also coming into the side that beat Samoa 44-38 last weekend, as front-row WP Nel (broken arm) and back-row Ryan Wilson (shoulder) are ruled out through injury.
Back-row Luke Hamilton and utility back Byron McGuigan could make their debuts from the bench after they were included for the first time, while Grant Gilchrist and Simon Berghan were also named amongst the replacements with Chris Harris dropping out of the 23.
Tim Swinson misses out after suffering a hand injury that will keep him out of the remainder of the autumn internationals.
Tommy Seymour keeps his spot in an all-Glasgow back-line despite suffering a toe injury last weekend, and will line up as the Dark Blues look to secure a first-ever win over the All Blacks.
Townsend said: "The players are looking forward to getting back out on the pitch after last weekend's high-scoring match against Samoa, which highlighted a few areas we've sought to improve this week at training.
"The task of facing New Zealand is one of the biggest challenges in sport and one that our players relish. They have been in brilliant form this season and continue to set very high standards whenever they play."
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Lee Jones; 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 1 Darryl Marfo, 2 Stuart McInally, 3 Zander Fagerson, 4 Ben Toolis, 5 Jonny Gray, 6 John Barclay (c), 7 Hamish Watson, 8 Cornell du Preez.
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Grant Gilchrist, 20 Luke Hamilton, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Pete Horne, 23 Byron McGuigan.
