Preview: Georgia v Scotland
WORLD CUP WARM-UP: Scotland coach Gregor Townsend made 10 changes to the side that boosted their preparations with victory over France last weekend for the trip to Georgia on Saturday.
Centre Sam Johnson will make his first international appearance since the Six Nations and will be joined in the midfield by Rory Hutchinson, who will make his first Scotland start.
Blair Kinghorn, Allan Dell and Matt Fagerson also make their first starts of the season, while hooker Stuart McInally returns as captain.
“We’re pleased to welcome Sam back into the side, having performed so well for us in the spring, while a number of other players also get the opportunity to build on Saturday’s performance,” said Townsend, whose side bounced back at Murrayfield from a 32-3 thrashing by the French in Nice a week earlier.
“There were improvements in our back-to-back games against France, in particular in defence, game management and at the scrum, as well as some elements of our attack.
“All of these will be put to the test against a very good Georgian side who we expect to be extremely motivated by their passionate home support.”
Scotland will be the first tier-one nation to travel for a Test match on Georgian soil, which doubles as the last opportunity for players to stake their claim for Townsend’s final 31-man group for the World Cup, which will be announced on Tuesday.
https://youtu.be/gwalmBzfcM4
Teams:
Georgia: 15 Soso Matiashvili, 14 Mirian Modebadze, 13 Zurab Dzneladze, 12 Davit Katcharava, 11 Sandro Todua, 10 Tedo Abzhandadze, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 8 Beka Gorgadze, 7 Beka Saghinadze, 6 Otar Giorgadze, 5 Kote Mikautadze, 4 Shalva Sutiashvili, 3 Beka Gigashvili, 2 Shalva Mamukashvili, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili (captain).
Replacements: 16 Giorgi Tchqoidze, 17 Kakha Asieshvili, 18 Levan Chilachava, 19 Giorgi Nemsadze, 20 Lasha Lomidze, 21 Gela Aprasidze, 22 Lasha Khmaladze, 23 Tamaz Mtchedlidze
Scotland: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 John Barclay, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Ben Toolis, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Stuart McInally (captain), 1 Allan Dell.
Replacements: 16 Grant Stewart, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Josh Strauss, 21 Ali Price, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Huw Jones.
Date: Saturday, August 31
Venue: Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi
Kick-off: 20.00 (17.00 BST; 16.00 GMT)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Frank Murphy (Ireland), Dan Jones (Wales)
TMO: Trevor Fisher (England)
