Milestone for B&I Lions star as Scotland switch it up
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Glasgow Warriors and British and Irish Lion prop Zander Fagerson will make his 50th appearance for Scotland this weekend in the series decider against Argentina in Santiago del Estero.
Fagerson broke into the Glasgow Warriors team back in 2014 before making his Scotland debut against England in 2016. He was then selected for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and has been a mainstay in the squad since his first appearance.
The match will also be a historic occasion for Ollie Smith who starts at fullback. The Ayrshire boy has come through the international age groups and has been rewarded after featuring regularly for Glasgow Warriors last season.
Hamish Watson will captain the team for the first time, rounding off a memorable week for the Edinburgh back-row after joining the 50-cap club in the victory over Argentina last weekend.
The back-row is unchanged following their impressive display in Salta with Glasgow Warriors’ duo Rory Darge and Matt Fagerson keeping their places.
Exeter Chiefs’ second-row Jonny Gray is back in the team after not being involved last week and he will be joined by Scott Cummings who has featured in the last two matches of this Test series.
In the front-row, Zander Fagerson will be joined by Sale Sharks’ hooker Ewan Ashman, who will make his first start in a test match after making two appearances in the 2021 Autumn Nations Series, scoring a memorable winning try against Australia. He came off the bench in the first Test this summer. Rory Sutherland also returns to the team, the British & Irish Lion having missed last week’s second Test.
Ali Price returns to the starting line-up as Vice-Captain and will be paired with Blair Kinghorn who makes his fourth successive start at flyhalf. On the wing, Duhan van der Merwe retains his slot and Glasgow Warriors wing Rufus McLean will start for the first time since the Autumn Nations Series, against South Africa.
In the centre Mark Bennett will make his third start of the series and Sione Tuipulotu will partner him.
Edinburgh forward pack duo Pierre Schoeman and Dave Cherry are options off the bench after starting the game last week and Glen Young is in line for making his first cap. The Edinburgh second-row featured in the Scotland A game against Chile last month. Javan Sebastian and Saracens’ Andy Christie are also named on the bench.
George Horne will be aiming for his first involvement in the Test Series and also listed as a replacement is Glasgow Warriors pairing Ross Thompson and Sam Johnson.
Scotland: 15 Ollie Smith, 14 Rufus McLean, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Blair Kinghorn, 9 Ali Price, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Rory Darge, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Rory Sutherland.
Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Glen Young, 20 Andy Christie, 21 Goerge Horne, 22 Ross Thompson, 23 Sam Johnson.
Date: Saturday, July 16
Venue: Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades, Santiago del Estero
Kick-off: 16.10 (20.10 UK & Irland Time; 19.10 GMT)
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Mathieu Raynal (France) & Tual Trainini (France)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
