Chiefs trio to face England

By Mark Stevens
3/2/22

Three Exeter Chiefs players have been named in Gregor Townsend’s Scotland squadto face England on Saturday in the 2022 Guinness Six Nations opener at BT Murrayfield (4:45pm)

Captain Stuart Hogg, together with Jonny Gray, will both start the fixture, whole Sam Skinner has been named on the bench, meaning there will be seven Chiefs named across the two squad.

After missing out on the Autumn Nations Cup matches through injury, 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 Rugby’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.

Edinburgh Rugby 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 9 and 10 respectively for the fourth consecutive game, meanwhile Worcester Warriors’ Duhan van der Merwe starts on the wing. Darcy Graham will be on the opposite flank following impressive form with Edinburgh Rugby which sees them currently top the United Rugby Championship table.

Gloucester Rugby’s Chris Harris and Glasgow Warriors’ Sam Johnson are set to combine in the centre once again, while Hogg starts 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 Rugby’s Blair Kinghorn and Glasgow Warriors’ Sione Tuipulotu other options in the backs.

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

Scotland Head Coach Gregor 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 TEAM TO FACE ENGLAND

15. Stuart Hogg - Exeter Chiefs - (Captain) - 88 caps
14. Darcy Graham - Edinburgh Rugby - 22 caps
13. Chris Harris – Gloucester Rugby - 31 caps
12. Sam Johnson - Glasgow Warriors - 21 caps
11. Duhan van der Merwe - Worcester Warriors - 13 caps
10. Finn Russell – Racing 92 -  58 caps
9. Ali Price – Glasgow Warriors - 46 caps
1. Rory Sutherland - Worcester Warriors - 16 caps
2. George Turner - Glasgow Warriors - 20 caps
3. Zander Fagerson - Glasgow Warriors - 42 caps
4. Jonny Gray – Exeter Chiefs – 64 caps
5. Grant Gilchrist - Edinburgh Rugby - 48 caps
6. Jamie Ritchie - Edinburgh Rugby - 31 caps
7. Hamish Watson - Edinburgh Rugby - 45 caps
8. Matt Fagerson - Glasgow Warriors - 17 caps

16. Stuart McInally - Edinburgh Rugby - 43 caps
17. Pierre Schoeman - Edinburgh Rugby - 4 caps
18. WP Nel - Edinburgh Rugby - 43 caps
19. Sam Skinner - Exeter Chiefs - 15 caps
20. Magnus Bradbury - Edinburgh Rugby - 14 caps
21. Ben White - London Irish - Uncapped
22 Blair Kinghorn - Edinburgh Rugby - 28 caps
23 Sione Tuipulotu - Glasgow Warriors - 1 cap