Edinburgh lock Grant Gilchrist will captain Scotland against Canada at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton this Saturday as Gregor Townsend’s men begin their summer campaign.
Edinburgh lock Grant Gilchrist will captain Scotland against Canada at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton this Saturday as Gregor Townsend’s men begin their summer campaign.
Stuart McInally has failed to recover sufficiently from the calf strain he sustained on the eve of the squad’s departure for the summer tour, meaning clubmate Gilchrist – who captained Scotland against Argentina and South Africa on the 2014 tour – will skipper the side.
Head coach Townsend has selected two debutants for the match, with Edinburgh flanker Jamie Ritchie and Harlequins centre James Lang set to earn their first senior international honours in the opening Test of the 2018 Summer Tour.
Former Scotland U20 captain, Ritchie, has made 48 appearances for his club since he signed senior professional terms aged just 17 – he partners clubmate Magnus Bradbury and David Denton in the back row.
Lang – who first wore Scotland colours for Scotland U18 some five years ago – will partner Newcastle Falcons midfielder Chris Harris on his debut, with Blair Kinghorn at full-back.
Ritchie and Lang are two of four potential debutants named to face the Canadians, with Edinburgh forward Lewis Carmichael joined on the bench by Glasgow Warriors stand-off Adam Hastings.
WHAT THEY SAID
Townsend commented: “The coaches and I have enjoyed working with the players this week in Vancouver and are pleased with how they have performed in training, getting through a lot of technical, tactical and conditioning work.
“We’ve now arrived in Edmonton where we will be putting the finishing touches on our preparation and aim to put a marker down at the beginning of this three-Test tour, against a side which has, historically, been a very tough side for Scotland over the years – especially on home soil.
“A number of opportunities have been given to players to play their way into our thinking on this tour and beyond and we look forward to seeing them take to the field this Saturday.”
THE OPPOSITION
Townsend tries out his new combinations against a Canada side that would hope to be in better form, having lost to Georgia, Romania and Samoa in recent times.
There are plenty of familiar faces for European audiences, with Ospreys man Jeff Hassler on the wing and Newcastle Falcons lock Evan Olmstead also starting.
Glasgow Warriors wing DTH van der Merwe is the newly-appointed Canadian skipper and brings plenty of experience, as do Nick Blevins and Phil Mack.
Van der Merwe has shown he can score tries against any opposition and has also proved a capable goal kicker for his country having scored more than 160 points.
KEY STAT – The last time these two sides met was in 2014, with Scotland being pushed close but running out 19-17 winners in Toronto.
Scotland team to play Canada at the Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Saturday 9 June (kick-off 7pm local time, Sunday 2am UK time) – live on BBC 15. Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh) – 2 caps 14. Lee Jones (Glasgow Warriors) – 8 caps 13. Chris Harris (Newcastle Falcons) – 2 caps 12. James Lang (Harlequins) – uncapped 11. Byron McGuigan (Sale Sharks) – 3 caps 10. Ruaridh Jackson VICE CAPTAIN (Glasgow Warriors) – 32 caps
9. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Scarlets) – 9 caps 1. Allan Dell (Edinburgh) – 10 caps 2. Fraser Brown VICE CAPTAIN (Glasgow Warriors) – 31 caps 3. Simon Berghan (Edinburgh) – 8 caps 4. Ben Toolis (Edinburgh) – 9 caps 5. Grant Gilchrist CAPTAIN (Edinburgh) – 22 caps 6. Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh) – 2 caps 7. Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh) – uncapped 8. David Denton (Leicester Tigers) – 39 caps
Substitutes
16. George Turner (Glasgow Warriors) – 2 caps 17. Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow Warriors) – 8 caps 18. Murray McCallum (Edinburgh) – 1 cap 19. Lewis Carmichael (Edinburgh) – uncapped 20. Luke Hamilton (unattached) – 1 cap 21. Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) – 16 caps 22. Adam Hastings (Glasgow Warriors) – uncapped 23. Mark Bennett (Edinburgh) – 20 caps
