Powerful wing Duhan van der Merwe is set to win his 50th Scotland cap on Saturday in the team’s Autumn Nations Series opener against USA at Scottish Gas Murrayfield.
Van der Merwe, who has scored 32 tries to date and is currently the country’s record men’s try scorer, returns to the blue shirt after recently wearing red for the Lions.
The Edinburgh flyer is joined in the back three by fellow wing Darcy Graham and full-back, Kyle Rowe, with captain Stafford McDowall in the centres with Ollie Smith.
Skipper McDowall
McDowall will captain his country, having assumed the role during the summer match against New Zealand Mãori and also against Portugal last November.
In selecting his first matchday 23 of the season, Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has given a debut to Edinburgh back-row Liam McConnell, with hooker and clubmate Harri Morris also primed for a first Scotland outing from the bench.
Jamie Dobie, named as a vice-captain, starts at scrum-half alongside half-back partner Adam Hastings, who gets the nod in the absence of Finn Russell.
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In the pack, McConnell starts at blindside flanker with Dylan Richardson on the openside and Jack Dempsey, who features for the first time since the Six Nations, at number eight.
Scott Cummings is also named a vice-captain and is joined by Marshall Sykes in the second-row, with loosehead prop Rory Sutherland, Patrick Harrison (hooker) and tighthead D’Arcy Rae, who wins a first Scotland start, selected in the front-row.
On the bench, Morris is listed alongside fellow front-rows Nathan McBeth and Murphy Walker, along with Alex Samuel and Max Williamson. Edinburgh captain Magnus Bradbury, in line for a first Scotland outing since 2022, makes a return to an international 23.
The squad is completed by scrum-half George Horne and Ross Thompson, who will cover fly-half.
Team to face USA
Scotland: 15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Ollie Smith, 12 Stafford McDowall (c), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Jamie Dobie, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Dylan Richardson, 6 Liam McConnell, 5 Marshall Sykes, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 D’Arcy Rae, 2 Patrick Harrison, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Harri Morris, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Murphy Walker, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Max Williamson, 21 Magnus Bradbury, 22 George Horne, 23 Ross Thompson
Date: Saturday, November 1
Venue: Scottish Gas Murrayfield
Kick-off: 17:40 GMT
Referee: Damián Schneider (UAR)
Assistant Referees: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR), Katsuki Furuse (JRFU)
TMO: Leo Colgan (IRFU)
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