Scotland team: Greatest try-scorers dropped as Gregor Townsend backs Glasgow Warriors core for Six Nations opener
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend and Glasgow Warriors speedster Jamie Dobie, who has been picked on the wing.
Neither of Scotland’s greatest ever try-scorers will start in their first match of the Six Nations Championship against Italy this weekend.
Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham have spent the past couple of months fighting it out at the top of the list since overtaking Stuart Hogg’s 27.
Van der Merwe, who is on 35 tries, currently leads Graham by one, but both of those players have missed out on the starting XV.
The latter is on the bench, but the call to name Glasgow Warriors duo Jamie Dobie and Kyle Steyn in the back three shows for their Six Nations’ opener that club form has very much been a determining factor.
Gregor Townsend’s decision to omit Van der Merwe is hardly surprising given that he was released to play for Edinburgh last weekend, but the head coach has shown his ruthless edge by having Graham among the replacements.
Glasgow Warriors dominance
There is a strong Glasgow presence throughout the Scotland 23, with four of the backline and five of the pack coming from the Scotstoun-based outfit.
Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones combine at centre, and the aforementioned Dobie and Steyn start, while Tom Jordan at full-back and Finn Russell at fly-half are former Warriors stars.
The only player behind the scrum with a non-Glasgow link is Toulon’s Ben White, who partners Russell in the decision-making positions.
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Up front, it is an all-Warriors loose trio in the form of Jack Dempsey, Rory Darge and Matt Fagerson, while Grant Gilchrist, who is one of the just four Edinburgh players in the 23, combines with Scott Cummings in the engine room.
The XV is completed by a front-row of Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman and Zander Fagerson.
Meanwhile, on the bench, there are five more Glasgow players in the form of Nathan McBeth, Max Williamson, Gregor Brown, George Horne and Adam Hastings.
They are supplemented by George, Elliot Millar Mills and Graham, with Townsend deciding to go for a 5/3 split among the replacements.
Scotland team to face Italy
Scotland: 15 Tom Jordan, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (c), 11 Jamie Dobie, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 George Horne, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Darcy Graham
Date: Saturday, February 7
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Kick-off: 15:10 local (14:10 GMT)
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
Assistant referees: James Doleman (NZR), Katsuki Furuse (JRFU)
TMO: Richard Kelly (NZR)
FPRO: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)
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