Scotland v New Zealand - Teams and Prediction
PREVIEW: All Black star Beauden Barrett says there is something very familiar about Finn Russell’s approach to the game.
The two playmakers will face each other on Saturday as Scotland welcomes New Zealand to Murrayfield for their Nations Series encounter.
The All Blacks will enter the match after a 26-13 victory over Ireland last weekend, while Scotland recorded an 85-0 win over the USA.
Ahead of Saturday’s showdown, Barrett acknowledged the threat Russell will pose in open play.
“I admire Finn, always have,” said Barrett.
“I love the way he plays with freedom; it is almost like he’s not worried about anything. That’s probably why you see the brilliance.
“It’s like he’s got nothing to lose and plays with zero care and a lot of freedom.
“So often that relates to me in the way that, or that’s how I play my best footy too, having that expectation, or that feeling of freedom. He epitomises it.”
The All Blacks have never lost to Scotland, but their last few meetings at Murrayfield suggest that the gap in class has been closing over the years.
“I made that clear to the team by sharing a couple of my experiences in recent Test matches here and how difficult it is to play the Scottish at home,” said Barrett.
“That’s exactly what we’re expecting.”
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Meanwhile, flank Wallace Sititi, who will be starting in the No.6 jersey, has a connection with Scotland.
As a child, he spent some time there when his father was playing in the Borders region. He was also close to being born in Scotland, but his mother’s father was ill back in Samoa, and she flew back to be with him.
“My dad was not present at my birth in Samoa, so he named me after William Wallace because he loved the movie Braveheart,” said Sititi.
“My parents thought William was a bit too common as a first name, so he ended up with Wallace.
“[Scotland] has a strong connection for myself and my family. It’s been a special feeling being back here and experiencing it.
“Two or three weeks after my birth my mum flew back here so I spent the early years of my life here. I don’t remember too much, so, in a sense, this is my first time in Scotland.”
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Van der Merwe dropped
Scotland have dropped joint record try-scorer Duhan van der Merwe and former captain Jamie Ritchie.
Glasgow wing Kyle Steyn starts instead of Van der Merwe, with club-mate Gregor Brown lining up at blindside flank in place of Perpignan loose forward Ritchie.
“It’s really rewarding Kyle’s form this season, and probably since he came back from injury after the Six Nations,” said Scotland coach Gregor Townsend.
“Not all of our players have been able to play a number of games leading into this tournament, but Kyle’s been consistently strong in all aspects of his game, so he’s earned this opportunity.”
This is the first time the South Africa-born Van der Merwe has been dropped for Test duty by Townsend.
“Of course, he’d be disappointed, but he’s trained well this week and that’s all you ask for players, to park the disappointment and get behind the team that’s selected at the weekend,” said the coach.
As for the challenge of trying to guide the Dark Blues to their first win over the All Blacks, former Scotland playmaker Townsend added: “They [New Zealand] are a form side, they’re a cohesive side. They’ve picked, I believe, the strongest team available to them.
“We’re playing the number two team in the world. We’ve just got to deliver close to our best performance this weekend.”
Players to watch
For Scotland: Leaving Duhan van der Merwe out of the Scotland matchday squad was a bit of a surprise by Gregor Townsend, but he has faith in Kyle Steyn out wide. British & Irish Lions duo Finn Russell and Ben White will resume their halfback partnership following a successful tour to Australia earlier this year. The flyhalf/scrumhalf combination started all matches during the 2025 Six Nations. Fellow Lion Scott Cummings will face the All Blacks for the first time and partners Grant Gilchrist, who featured in the previous two such contests, in the second row. Northampton Saints’ Rory Hutchinson comes into the midfield and will partner captain Sione Tuipulotu in the centre.
For New Zealand: Josh Lord comes in for Scott Barrett at lock and Leicester Fainga’anuku for Jordie Barrett in the All Blacks’ midfield. Another change to the starting 15 sees Wallace Sititi return at blindside flank following a breakthrough 2024 campaign. Beauden Barrett, the other Barrett brother in the squad, is at flyhalf, with flank Ardie Savea taking over the captaincy. Centre Quinn Tupaea gets the No.12 jersey, and his direct running in that inside channel could pose some challenges for Scotland’s defence. Lock Fabian Holland was a standout performer in the win over Ireland and Scott Robertson would want more of the same, especially in the physical exchanges.
Prediction
Rugby365: New Zealand by 10 points.
Teams:
Scotland: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (captain), 11 Kyle Steyn, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben While, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Matt Fagerson, 6 Gregor Brown, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 D’Arcy Rae, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Rory Darge, 21 Josh Bayliss, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Tom Jordan.
New Zealand: 15 Will Jordan, 14 Leroy Carter, 13 Leicester Fainga’anuku, 12 Quinn Tupaea, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Peter Lakai, 7 Ardie Savea (captain), 6 Wallace Sititi, 5 Fabian Holland, 4 Josh Lord, 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot.
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Sam Darry, 20 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Billy Proctor, 23 Damian McKenzie.
Date: Saturday, November 8
Venue: Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 15.10 (15.10 GMT; 04.10 NZDT Sunday, November 9)
Expected weather: It will be partly cloudy with a gentle breeze and a temperature around 13°C at kick-off.
Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant referees: Pierre Brousset (France) & Morné Ferreira (South Africa)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Sources: @AllBlacks & AFP
