South African adds his name to Scotland history books
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: There will be two significant milestones when Scotland take to the field against Argentina in the Nations Championship opener on Saturday.
Pierre Schoeman and Scott Cummings will become the latest Scotland internationals to earn 50 caps for Scotland this weekend, after the pair were both selected for Saturday’s Nations Championship clash with Argentina.
The British & Irish Lions pair both start in the pack for Scotland’s opening match of rugby’s newest competition, as Gregor Townsend’s squad prepare to take on Los Pumas in Cordoba this weekend.
Schoeman, who made his debut against Tonga in 2021, is joined in the front-row by Ewan Ashman and Elliot Millar Mills, the latter having started for Northampton Saints in their PREM Final victory over Exeter Chiefs a fortnight ago.
Cummings runs out for his half-century in the engine room, after making his first appearance in 2019 against France and is joined by Jonny Gray to form an experienced second-row partnership.
The back-row is unchanged from the final round of the Guinness Six Nations back in March, as Matt Fagerson and Rory Darge line up either side of Jack Dempsey in the loose forwards.
Behind the scrum, Ben White wears the number nine jersey, whilst Tom Jordan starts at flyhalf for Saturday’s showdown.
Sione Tuipulotu captains the side from inside centre, partnering Rory Hutchinson – another of Northampton’s title-winners – in the midfield combination.
An all-Glasgow Warriors back-three sees Kyle Steyn and Jamie Dobie selected on the wings, with Kyle Rowe rounding out the starting XV as he lines up at fullback.
A potential Scotland debut awaits Gregor Hiddleston on Saturday, after the Glasgow Warriors hooker was selected amongst the replacements for his first involvement with a senior Scotland matchday squad.
Hiddleston is joined by Glasgow Warriors team-mates Rory Sutherland and Zander Fagerson as the front-row cover, the latter set to win his 82nd cap for his country should he come off the bench this weekend.
Alex Samuel provides cover at second-row as he prepares for his first Scotland appearance since November’s win over Tonga at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, whilst Gregor Brown and George Horne both return to action after recovering from injuries sustained in the closing stages of the United Rugby Championship season.
Fergus Burke is selected amongst the replacements one year on from making his first start for Scotland on the 2025 summer tour, as Darcy Graham completes the matchday 23 set to run out in Cordoba.
Scotland: 15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (captain), 11 Jamie Dobie, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Elliot Millar Mills, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 George Horne, 22 Fergus Burke, 23 Darcy Graham.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Venue: Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Cordoba
Kick-off: 16.10 (20.10 BST; 19.10 GMT)
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)
Assistant Referees: Paul Williams (NZR) & Jordan Way (RA)
TMO: Brett Cronan (RA)
