CONFIRMED: Scotland to unleash a Wallaby against the Wallabies
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Former Wallabies loose forward Jack Dempsey has been selected among Scotland’s replacements, ready to be unleashed on debut against his Australian countrymen in the Murrayfield Test.
Sydneysider Dempsey will make his debut for his adopted nation off the bench in Edinburgh on Saturday after overcoming a rib injury to take his place in the side.
The 28-year-old former Waratahs forward, whose maternal grandfather was Scottish, made himself available for Gregor Townsend’s team following a recent change in World Rugby’s international eligibility rules.
Dempsey, who hasn’t played for the Wallabies since winning the last of his 14 caps in the 2019 World Cup, decided to make the switch after moving to play in Scotland last year for the Glasgow Warriors and discussing the change of allegiance with his family.
This time last year, Dempsey was watching the equivalent Scotland-Australia Test in the Murrayfield stands as a fan, nursing a pint of Guinness.
The Scots have suffered a blow with lock Scott Cummings forced out of their November internationals with a broken toe.
He’s been replaced by Edinburgh’s Glen Young, who’ll also be on the bench.
Dave Cherry is preferred to George Turner and Ewan Ashman at hooker, with Jamie Ritchie captaining the side from blindside flank for the first time since he was appointed as Stuart Hogg’s successor.
Scotland: 15 Ollie Smith, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Blair Kinghorn, 9 Ali Price, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie (captain), 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Sam Skinner, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 WP Nel, 19 Glen Young, 20 Jack Dempsey, 21 George Horne, 22 Ross Thompson, 23 Damien Hoyland.
Date: Saturday, October 29
Venue: Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 17.30 (03.30 AEDT Sunday, October 30; 16.30 GMT)
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson (England), Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)
Your Scotland Team for Saturday’s clash with @wallabies has been confirmed 🏴
More ➡️ https://t.co/lc1kNHis4G pic.twitter.com/xivygEd0BM
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) October 27, 2022
