Preview: Canada v Scotland
JUNE SPOTLIGHT: Edinburgh lock Grant Gilchrist will captain Scotland against Canada at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton this Saturday in the absence of injured hooker Stuart McInally.
McInally has failed to recover sufficiently from the calf strain he sustained on the eve of the squad’s departure for the summer tour, meaning clubmate Gilchrist – who captained Scotland against Argentina and South Africa on the 2014 tour – will skipper the side.
Head Coach Gregor Townsend has selected two debutants for the match, with Edinburgh flank Jamie Ritchie and Harlequins centre James Lang set to earn their first senior international honours in the opening Test of the 2018 Summer Tour.
Former Scotland U20 captain, Ritchie, has made 48 appearances for his club since he signed senior professional terms aged just 17. He will partner with clubmate Magnus Bradbury and David Denton (Leicester Tigers) in the back-row.
Lang – who first wore Scotland colours for Scotland U18 some five years ago (2013) – will partner Newcastle Falcons midfielder Chris Harris on his debut.
Ritchie and Lang are two of four potential debutants named to face the Canadians, with Edinburgh forward Lewis Carmichael joined on the bench by Glasgow Warriors stand-off Adam Hastings.
Scotland Head Coach, Gregor Townsend, said: “The coaches and I have enjoyed working with the players this week in Vancouver and are pleased with how they have performed in training, getting through a lot of technical, tactical and conditioning work.
“We’ve now arrived in Edmonton where we will be putting the finishing touches on our preparation and aim to put a marker down at the beginning of this three-Test tour, against a side which has, historically, been a very tough side for Scotland over the years – especially on home soil.
“A number of opportunities have been given to players to play their way into our thinking on this tour and beyond and we look forward to seeing them take to the field this Saturday,”
Blair Kinghorn – whose two caps to date have come on the wing – has been handed his first international opportunity in his more familiar role of full-back, where he plies his trade for Edinburgh.
He is joined in the back-three by wings Lee Jones (Glasgow Warriors) and Byron McGuigan (Sale Sharks), while experienced stand-off Ruaridh Jackson partners Scarlets scrum-half Sam Hidalgo-Clyne at half-back.
Props Allan Dell and Simon Berghan pack down either side of Glasgow Warriors hooker Fraser Brown, while Ben Toolis joins captain Gilchrist in the second-row to complete the pack.
Canada’s leading try-scorer and most-capped player in the squad, DTH van der Merwe will captain the home team in what will be their first taste of tier one opposition in nearly two years.
6th ranked Scotland, who have been in fine form in 2018, will pose a major challenge to the Canadian outfit. However, Head Coach, Kingsley Jones is happy with his team’s preparations and will take heart from their narrow two-point loss in 2014, when the team’s last met in Canada.
The hosts will, unfortunately, be without the services of Chiefs back-row, Tyler Ardron (concussion) and experienced utility back, Gordon McRorie (ankle) who have been ruled out of Saturday’s encounter due to injury.
“Unfortunately, Tyler Ardron had a bump on the head a few weeks ago, playing for the Chiefs in New Zealand and has failed to pass his protocols so we’ve pulled him out. But it’s a great opportunity for Luke Campbell, Matt Heaton and Lucas Rumball who we’ve been really pleased with over the last few weeks. Dustin Dobravsky will be on the bench who has also done very well,” said Jones.
When asked about Scotland the coach said: “They’re a top side. Gregor Townsend is a very good coach, very positive and we’re expecting a fast game. They’ll try to create opportunities from turnovers and offload the ball so it’s going to be an exciting game for the spectator,”.
Teams:
Canada: 15 Pat Parfrey, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Doug Fraser, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 DTH van der Merwe (captain), 10 Shane O’Leary, 9 Phil Mack, 8 Luke Campbell, 7 Matt Heaton, 6 Lucas Rumball, 5 Evan Olmstead, 4 Paul Ciulini, 3 Jake Ilnicki, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Noah Barker
Replacements: 16 Eric Howard, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Cole Keith, 19 Conor Keys, 20 Dustin Dobravsky, 21 Andrew Ferguson, 22 Cole Davis, 23 Theo Sauder
Scotland: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Chris Harris, 12 James Lang, 11 Byron McGuigan, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 David Denton, 7 Jamie Ritchie, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Grant Gilchrist (captain), 4 Ben Toolis, 3 Simon Berghan, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Allan Dell
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Lewis Carmichael, 20 Luke Hamilton, 21 Ali Price, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Mark Bennett
Date: Saturday, June 9
Venue: Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton
Kick-off: 19.10 (02:10 Sunday, June 10 Scotland time, 01.10 GMT Sunday, June 10)
Referee: Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
Assistant referees: George Clancy (Ireland), Derek Summers (USA)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
