Scotland men’s rugby union coach Gregor Townsend has announced his team to take on Wales in the opening round of the Six Nations.
With regular full-back Blair Kinghorn temporarily out of action having sustained a knock with club side Toulouse, and without a fit Ollie Smith to call upon in his stead, the coach has opted instead for Smith’s club teammate Kyle Rowe, who, while less experienced at full-back, has shone on the wing this season for Glasgow Warriors.
In-form Saracens back-rower Andy Christie has been left out, but there will likely be debuts from the bench for props Alec Hepburn and Elliot Millar-Mills. Aside from Rowe, the backline has a familiar feel, with Kyle Steyn replacing the injured Darcy Graham. The team will be helmed by talismanic fly-half Finn Russell, who will hope to steer Scotland to a first win in Cardiff in twenty-two years.
Rowe lines up against a similarly callow full-back in the form of Cardiff Blues’ Cameron Winnett, while Wales coach Warren Gatland will also likely hand a debut from the bench to back-rower Alex Mann. There is also a first Six Nations start for loosehead prop Corey Domachowski. Elsewhere there are returns to the fold for Owen Watkin and Leon Brown. Veterans George North and Taulupe Faletau miss out due to injury, as do World Cup co-captains Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake.
Although Scotland have not won in Cardiff since 2002, they did defeat Wales in Llanelli in 2020, and backed that up with a thumping victory in Edinburgh last year. They will look to try and overturn Wales at the Principality Stadium this Saturday afternoon.
Elsewhere in the Six Nations, England hand debuts to Ethan Roots and Fraser Dingwall, with three more uncapped players in the forms of Chandler Cunningham-South, Fin Smith, and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso on the bench. They will travel to Rome to play Gonzalo Quesada’s first Italy team, where young nine Alessandro Garbisi joins his brother, outstanding fly-half, Paolo, in the half-backs.
The spotlight however will be on Paris as holders Ireland kick off the tournament against France. Calvin Nash starts on the wing for the men in green, while the home side, shorn of starting half-backs Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack, name an otherwise familiar team with Bordeaux pair Maxime Lucu and Matthieu Jalibert hoping to take the game beyond Andy Farrell’s charges.
Wales vs Scotland kicks off in Cardiff at 4:45 on Saturday.
“Six Nations Rugby Match” by UI International Programs is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.