Bath Rugby’s Finn Russell is back in the Scotland starting lineup for Saturday’s Nations Championship match against South Africa in Pretoria, marking a significant boost for the team. Russell, the pivotal fly-half, missed last weekend’s opener against Argentina due to a calf injury but has now fully recovered after missing the end of Bath’s season.
The 33-year-old’s last appearance was on May 16 in Bath’s Gallagher Premiership win over Newcastle Falcons. His absence was felt deeply by Bath, who fell short in their playoff semi-final against Exeter Chiefs, with Russell’s replacement, Santi Carreras, struggling with game management in critical moments.
For Scotland, Russell replaces Bristol Bears’ Tom Jordan in the backline, who moves to the bench. This is the only change to the backs after the 47-38 victory over Argentina.
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Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend confirmed Russell’s fitness: “He trained well all week and is now fully over his calf injury. We held him back last weekend to give him enough prep time for these challenging Test matches, especially this weekend.”
The pack sees two changes. Zander Fagerson comes in for Northampton Saints’ Elliot Millar Mills, who suffered a season-ending injury against Argentina. Gregor Brown, who scored off the bench in Cordoba, starts in the second row replacing Jonny Gray, who is omitted from the squad.
The bench includes Bath’s Josh Bayliss, Leicester Tigers’ Will Hurd, Edinburgh Rugby’s Magnus Bradbury, and Glasgow Warriors’ Stafford McDowall. Notably, last weekend’s replacements George Horne, Fergus Burke, and Darcy Graham are out of the 23.
Scotland aims to secure their first-ever win on South African soil in this fiercely contested encounter.
Scotland Starting XV:
15. Kyle Rowe (Glasgow Warriors, 18 caps)
14. Kyle Steyn (Glasgow Warriors, 34 caps) – Vice Captain
13. Rory Hutchinson (Northampton Saints, 12 caps)
12. Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors, 39 caps) – Captain
11. Jamie Dobie (Glasgow Warriors, 20 caps)
10. Finn Russell (Bath, 94 caps)
9. Ben White (Toulon, 37 caps)
- Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby, 50 caps)
- Ewan Ashman (Edinburgh Rugby, 36 caps)
- Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors, 82 caps)
- Gregor Brown (Glasgow Warriors, 17 caps)
- Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors, 50 caps)
- Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors, 65 caps)
- Rory Darge (Glasgow Warriors, 40 caps) – Vice Captain
- Jack Dempsey (Toshiba Brave Lupus, 34 caps)
Replacements:
16. Gregor Hiddleston (Glasgow Warriors, 1 cap)
17. Rory Sutherland (Glasgow Warriors, 49 caps)
18. Will Hurd (Leicester Tigers, 10 caps)
19. Alex Samuel (Glasgow Warriors, 4 caps)
20. Josh Bayliss (Bath, 16 caps)
21. Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh Rugby, 22 caps)
22. Tom Jordan (Bristol Bears, 18 caps)
23. Stafford McDowall (Glasgow Warriors, 16 caps)