Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has named his side to take on England in their opening game of the Six Nations, with Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones starting in the centres.
Townsend’s charges head to Twickenham on Saturday looking to retain the Calcutta Cup after reclaiming it in 2021 with an 11-7 victory in London.
Tuipulotu and Jones start
The in-form Glasgow Warriors pairing of Tuipulotu and Jones make up the centre pairing after standout performances in the United Rugby Championship and Challenge Cup. Tuipulotu also scored his first tries for Scotland in the Autumn Nations Series win over Argentina last November.
Meanwhile, with Darcy Graham ruled out through injury, Townsend has selected Glasgow captain Kyle Steyn on the right wing with Duhan van der Merwe on the left. Scotland’s record try-scorer Stuart Hogg lines up at full-back and will earn his 97th Scotland cap.
London Irish scrum-half Ben White starts in the number nine jersey and will link up with Finn Russell at fly-half.
Starting pack
In the pack, Jamie Ritchie captains the side from blindside flanker, leading Scotland for the first time in the Championship. Luke Crosbie starts at openside, with Matt Fagerson completing the back-row.
Vice-captain Grant Gilchrist starts in the second-row alongside Richie Gray, resuming the partnership that featured during the autumn.
Pierre Schoeman earns his 17th consecutive Test cap since his debut in 2021 as he starts at loosehead prop, with WP Nel selected at tighthead and George Turner at hooker.
There is a 5-3 split on the bench in favour of the forwards, with Glasgow’s Fraser Brown, Jamie Bhatti and Simon Berghan providing front-row cover.
Jonny Gray covers the second-row, with Jack Dempsey in the back-row. Finally, George Horne, Blair Kinghorn and Chris Harris complete the matchday squad as backline replacements.
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Luke Crosbie, 6 Jamie Ritchie (c), 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Richie Gray, 3 WP Nel, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Jonny Gray, 20 Jack Dempsey, 21 George Horne, 22 Blair Kinghorn, 23 Chris Harris
Date: Saturday, February 4
Venue: Twickenham
Kick-off: 16:45 GMT
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), James Doleman (New Zealand)
TMO: Brendan Pickerill (New Zealand)
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