Huw Jones dropped as Scotland seek to extend Italy’s drought
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - FEBRUARY 08: Scotland Head Coach, Gregor Townsend overseas his teams warmup during the 2020 Guinness Six Nations match between Scotland and England at Murrayfield on February 08, 2020 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has made three changes to Scotland’s team to travel to Rome this weekend in the Six Nations.
The sides go into the round three of the Guinness Six Nations match smarting from opening round defeats – Scotland succumbing to Ireland and England in Dublin and Edinburgh, while Italy’s losses to Wales and France came on the road.
Scotland have won 22 of the 30 Tests between the nations but the odds are more evenly stacked when they meet in Italy, with the Azzurri’s last win in the competition coming against Scotland in 2015.
Looking ahead to the match at Stadio Olimpico, Townsend said: “Italy are always a very tough opponent, especially in Rome, where we know they’ll look to play with a huge amount of energy.
“It’s a different Italy team to the one we’ve played in the past. In their opening two games of the championship they have played with real ambition and width.
“They’ve also selected athletic, ball players who suit this strategy and are comfortable playing at a high tempo.
“We are well aware of the threats throughout their team and how their attacking gae can cause problems for any defence.”
Scotland’s changes see Edinburgh forwards Stuart McInally (hooker) and Ben Toolis (second-row), and Gloucester centre Chris Harris, promoted from the bench for their first start of the 2020 campaign.
McInally swaps places with Glasgow Warriors’ Fraser Brown, who moves to the bench, and Toolis comes in for the injured Jonny Gray (hand), while Harris is picked in favour of Huw Jones, with Sale Sharks wing Byron McGuigan taking his place on the bench.
Reflecting on the team changes, Townsend added: “We believe Chris [Harris] and Stuart [McInally] deserve this opportunity. They were very close to the starting fifteen when we entered this campaign. We think this is the right time for them to come in.
“Chris has been excellent for Gloucester this season and has continued to make improvements since the summer. He works very hard on both sides of the ball, which will be important this week.
“Stuart [McInally] has shown over the past few weeks he’s back to full fitness and is raring to go and Ben gets an opportunity to start following Jonny’s injury against England.
“Second-row is a position we have a lot of competition with a number of very good players available for selection. We’re looking forward to seeing how he combines again with Scott [Cummings] after a successful outing together against Russia in the World Cup.”
Scotland team to play Italy at the Stadio Olimpico:
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg (capt), 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Blair Kinghorn, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ali Price; 1 Rory Sutherland, 2 Stuart McInally, 3 Zander Fagerson, 4 Ben Toolis, 5 Scott Cummings, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 7 Hamish Watson, 8 Magnus Bradbury
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Willem Nel, 19 Grant Gilchrist, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 George Horne, 22 Rory Hutchinson, 23 Byron McGuigan
