Scotland: Jonny Gray returns to XV for Six Nations encounter with England

Colin Newboult

Scotland's Jonny Gray during the Guinness Six Nations match at BT Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh. Picture date: Saturday February 13, 2021.

Gregor Townsend has named his team to face England on Saturday in the 2022 Six Nations opener at Murrayfield.

After missing out on the Autumn Nations Series matches through injury, Exeter Chiefs’ Jonny Gray makes his return to the starting line up for the first time since March 2021 when he played against Ireland. He is joined by Edinburgh’s Grant Gilchrist in the second-row, who will be one appearance away from reaching 50 caps after stepping out against England.

Elsewhere in the forwards, Worcester Warriors’ prop Rory Sutherland is named after playing in all of last year’s Six Nations matches. He is joined in the front-row by Glasgow Warriors pair, hooker George Turner and prop Zander Fagerson.

Experienced back-row

Edinburgh duo Jamie Ritchie and Hamish Watson will combine with Matt Fagerson from Glasgow Warriors in the back-row.

Racing 92’s Finn Russell and Glasgow Warrior Ali Price will partner each other at nine and 10 respectively for the fourth consecutive game, while Worcester’s Duhan van der Merwe starts on the wing. Darcy Graham will be on the opposite flank following impressive form with Edinburgh which sees them currently top the United Rugby Championship table.

Gloucester’s Chris Harris and Glasgow’s Sam Johnson are set to combine in the centre once again, with captain Stuart Hogg starting at full-back in his ninth Calcutta Cup match.

On the bench, London Irish scrum-half Ben White will have the opportunity to make his Scotland debut with Edinburgh’s Blair Kinghorn and Glasgow’s Sione Tuipulotu other options in the backs.

Also in the replacements, Magnus Bradbury could make his first appearance for Scotland since 2020 with Sam Skinner, WP Nel, Pierre Schoeman and Stuart McInally all named on the bench.

Townsend said: “We feel privileged to be involved in the oldest international rugby fixture on Saturday, against our nearest rivals.

“We are aware of how much winning at Twickenham boosted the spirits of our supporters at the start of last year’s tournament, and we’re looking forward to playing in front of them in person this year.

“We are under no illusions on the tough challenge we have ahead of us against an England side who defeated the World Champions in their last outing.

“The starting 15 we have named has a consistent feel to it which is great for cohesion but we will also benefit from returning players such as Jonny Gray and Rory Sutherland who have been important players for us in recent seasons.

“Ben White has been in very good form for London Irish and has trained well in the last two weeks, so can approach his first involvement at Test level with real confidence.”

Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg (c), 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 WP Nel, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Magnus Bradbury, 21 Ben White, 22 Blair Kinghorn, 23 Sione Tuipulotu

Date: Saturday, February 5
Venue: BT Murrayfield
Kick-off: 16:45 GMT
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Nic Berry (Australia), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

READ MORE: England name side to take on Scotland in Six Nations.