Scotland team: Darcy Graham returns as Gregor Townsend names three uncapped players for Portugal clash
Darcy Graham celebrating try for Scotland against Fiji in 2024.
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has made wholesale changes to his side that lost to the Springboks for Saturday’s Autumn Nations Series clash with Portugal.
Stafford McDowall will skipper his country in the third Test of the team’s end-of-year international campaign in front of more than 55,000 supporters at Murrayfield.
McDowall has previously led Glasgow Warriors and co-captained Scotland against Canada in July and will link up with Northampton’s Rory Hutchinson in the midfield.
Darcy Graham returns
On the wing, Darcy Graham returns after recovering from sustaining a concussion in his sensational four-try display against Fiji earlier this month. Arron Reed will play on the opposite wing after making his debut on the mid-year tour, scoring two tries against Canada, whilst the in-form Tom Jordan retains his place at full-back.
Glasgow Warriors pair Adam Hastings and George Horne will be the half-back pairing, with scrum-half Horne selected as a vice-captain by head coach Townsend.
In the forward pack, Patrick Harrison and Will Hurd will add to the two caps they gained on the mid-year tour, with prop Jamie Bhatti also starting in the front-row.
In the second-row, Alex Samuel is set for a first Scotland cap and will be partnered with Scarlets forward Alex Craig in the Scotland engine room for this fixture.
Josh Bayliss remains in the matchday 23 following his involvement in the thrilling clash against South Africa last weekend. Joining the Bath number eight in the back-row is vice-captain Luke Crosbie and Ben Muncaster, who is also set to make his international bow. Muncaster has previously played for Scotland A back in 2022.
On the bench, new call-up Johnny Matthews is named. He has been capped once, in a try-scoring performance against Romania at the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Elliot Millar Mills retains his place on the bench along with Rory Sutherland. Ewan Johnson is selected as a second-row option, the Oyannax lock having made his bow in July.
19-year-old Freddy Douglas could make his Test debut from the replacements bench, and would become Scotland men’s youngest debutant since Donald White in 1963.
After being involved in the first two games of the autumn, Jamie Dobie is named on the bench alongside Kyle Rowe and Matt Currie, who is poised for his home debut.
Scotland team to face Portugal
Scotland: 15 Tom Jordan, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Stafford McDowall (c), 11 Arron Reed, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Josh Bayliss, 7 Ben Muncaster, 6 Luke Crosbie, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Will Hurd, 2 Patrick Harrison, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Ewan Johnson, 20 Freddy Douglas, 21 Jamie Dobie, 22 Matt Currie, 23 Kyle Rowe
Date: Saturday, November 16
Venue: Scottish Gas Murrayfield
Kick-off: 15:10 GMT
Referee: Takehito Namekawa (JRFU)
Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce (RFU), Anthony Woodthorpe (RFU)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)
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