British and Irish Lions duo part of four changes made to Scotland side for Tonga clash

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has brought in British and Irish Lions duo Chris Harris and Rory Sutherland as part of four changes to his starting line-up for Sunday’s Pool B Rugby World Cup clash against Tonga in Nice.

Harris comes in at the expense of Huw Jones at outside centre while Sutherland takes over from Pierre Schoeman at loosehead prop and will make his Rugby World Cup debut at the age of 31.

Kyle Steyn and Scott Cummings also in starting XV

In other alterations, Kyle Steyn comes into the run-on side on the left wing at the expense of Darcy Graham while Scott Cummings is preferred to Grant Gilchrist in the second-row.

Steyn, who starts on the right wing, has fond memories of playing against Tonga as he scored four tries against the Pacific Islanders in an Autumn Nations Series international at Murrayfield in November 2021 during a 60-14 victory for Scotland.

Duhan van der Merwe is named on the other wing and will aim to add to his 20-try tally from 32 caps.

Harris returns to the number 13 jersey for the first time since Scotland sealed a 25-13 victory over Italy in the build-up to their Rugby World Cup campaign and he will partner Sione Tuipulotu, who starts for the fifth consecutive match at inside centre.

Blair Kinghorn continues at full-back while Finn Russell and Ben White are once again named as the half-back partnership.

In the forwards, Sutherland is joined in the front-row by Zander Fagerson (tighthead) and hooker George Turner, while Richie Gray packs down alongside Cummings in the second-row.

The back-row is unchanged from Scotland’s loss to South Africa in their tournament opener, with skipper Jamie Ritchie named at blindside flanker, Rory Darge on the openside and Jack Dempsey again selected at number eight.

Among the replacements, hooker Ewan Ashman and scrum-half George Horne return after missing out on the opening game due to concussion.

Schoeman will start the match on the bench and fellow front-row WP Nel retains his spot in the matchday 23 along with Matt Fagerson, who offers cover across the back-row positions.

Second-row Sam Skinner will be aiming for his first Rugby World Cup appearance from the replacements bench with Jones and Graham looking to make an impact as backline cover.

The team

Scotland: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Jamie Ritchie (c), 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 WP Nel, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 George Horne, 22 Huw Jones, 23 Darcy Graham

Date: Sunday, September 24
Venue: Stade de Nice, Nice
Kick-off: 17:45 local (16:45 BST, 15:45 GMT)
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

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