Scotland forced to make late change for Paris showdown
TEAM UPDATE: Scotland No.8 Matt Fagerson has been ruled out of their final Six Nations match with title hopefuls France on Friday due to an ankle injury said head coach Gregor Townsend.
The 22-year-old is replaced in the starting line-up by Nick Haining with Ryan Wilson coming onto the replacements bench for the clash in Paris.
Should Wilson get some game time he will win his 50th cap.
“Matt suffered an ankle injury in our final training session this week before we headed to Paris,” said Townsend in a Scottish Rugby Union statement.
“It is disappointing for Matt, who has been playing consistently well throughout the championship.
“Nick now has the opportunity from the start to show his abilities in what will be a great challenge for our forward pack.”
Townsend added they had been fortunate to be able to call up someone of Wilson’s experience to bolster the replacements bench.
“We were able to call on Ryan at short notice given Glasgow Warriors had already conducted two Covid tests this week which meant he was safe to travel and join up with the squad yesterday afternoon,” said Townsend.
The championship decider has been postponed since late-February after a Covid-19 outbreak in the French camp.
France will lift their first trophy since 2010 if they can score four tries or more in a victory of more than 20 points on Friday.
If they fail then Wales, who suffered their only defeat at the hands of France last Saturday, will be crowned champions.
It is 22 years since Scotland last beat France in Paris, with flyhalf Townsend one of the stars in a 36-22 victory.
Scotland – revised: 15 Stuart Hogg (captain), 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Nick Haining, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Sam Skinner, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Rory Sutherland.
Replacements: 16 David Cherry, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Alex Craig, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Scott Steele, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Huw Jones.
Date: Friday, March 26
Venue: Stade France, Paris
Kick-off: 21.00 (20.00 UK, 20.00 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referee: Matthew Carley (England) & Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO: Tom Foley (England)
