Three Saffas in Scotland side to front Boks

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Gregor Townsend has selected Duhan van der Merwe, Pierre Schoeman and Oli Kebble in the Scotland match-day squad for the Test against the Springboks at Murrayfield on Saturday.

There are four personnel changes to the starting XV that defeated Australia this past Sunday with two each in the forwards and backs, and two on the replacements bench from the Wallabies fixture, along with a positional change in the pack.

Van der Merwe starts at left wing and Schoeman will scrum down at loosehead against their compatriots, while Kebble will be used as a replacement off the bench if needed.

Stuart Hogg leads the team from fullback, winning his 87th cap, which draws him level with lock Scott Murray in fourth position on the all-time Scotland-capped list.

He will be joined in the back row by wings Rufus McLean and Van der Merwe in the back three.

Leicester Tigers centre Matt Scott earns his first Scotland start since June 2017, when he played against Italy in Singapore in Gregor Townsend’s first match as head coach.

Scott comes in for his 40th Scotland cap and will be partnered in midfield by Chris Harris, who played against South Africa for the British & Irish Lions earlier this year.

Lions halfback pairing Finn Russell and Ali Price both start following their strong showing against Australia.

In the pack, flank Nick Haining comes into the starting back row alongside Jamie Ritchie and Matt Fagerson.

There is a return to the front row for hooker Stuart McInally as he packs down with Zander Fagerson and Schoeman, who earns his third start at loosehead prop.

Grant Gilchrist and Sam Skinner continue their second-row partnership following their role in the win over the Wallabies on Sunday.

Townsend has added experience to the replacements bench with Blair Kinghorn providing cover across the backs alongside George Horne and Adam Hastings.

Hamish Watson, who also featured for the B&I Lions against the Boks, is named among the replacements.

Another replacement, Ewan Ashman, is in line for his second cap with props Jamie Bhatti and Kebble and lock Jamie Hodgson completing the bench.

Commenting on what they expect from the clash with the Boks, Townsend said: “Sunday’s result against Australia was another positive step in the evolution of this team, but there is more to come from this group. And we’ll have to raise our level of performance on Saturday against the world champions.

“We know what to expect from the Springboks in how they play and the physicality they will bring across the team. We have therefore selected a side that we believe can both meet that challenge and give us the platform to impose our game on the opposition. It should be a full-blooded contest and will require an intensity and focus across our 23-man squad for the full 80 minutes.

“As a playing and coaching group we took a huge amount of energy from the crowd at Murrayfield through their outstanding support against Australia. We can’t wait to get back out in front of our people again this weekend.”

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