(Reuters) -Only Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu keeps his place in their starting line-up to face Tonga on Sunday, with coach Gregor Townsend on Friday handing opportunities to fringe players but also including several British & Irish Lions.
The test is the last of four November internationals for the Scots, who have been bitterly disappointed by defeats over the last two weeks to New Zealand and Argentina at Murrayfield.
Last Sunday’s clash against Argentina saw them let a 21-0 lead slip as they went down 33-24 and they were level with the All Blacks the week before only to let it slip near the end.
The match against Tonga will be a first start of this month’s four-test series for Tom Jordan, who has been picked at fullback, and the flanks Jamie Ritchie and Andy Onyeama-Christie, while Fergus Burke wins only a second cap in place of Finn Russell at flyhalf.
Duhan van der Merwe, who was surprisingly dropped for the All Blacks clash and only used off the bench last Sunday against Argentina, is back in the lineup, as is fellow Lion Ben White, who was ill last week.
Zander Fagerson, selected for the Lions tour of Australia but then having to withdraw because of a calf injury, gets his first run out after recovering and will be scrumming down at tighthead, while loosehead Rory Sutherland has recovered from a concussion sustained against New Zealand a fortnight ago.
The match will mark a 50th cap for George Turner.
Team:
15-Tom Jordan, 14-Kyle Rowe, 13-Ollie Smith, 12-Sione Tuipulotu (captain), 11-Duhan van der Merwe, 10-Fergus Burke, 9-Ben White, 8-Magnus Bradbury, 7-Jamie Ritchie, 6-Andy Onyeama-Christie, 5-Max Williamson, 4-Alex Samuel, 3-Zander Fagerson, 2-George Turner, 1-Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16-Ewan Ashman, 17-Nathan McBeth, 18-Will Hurd, 19-Marshall Sykes, 20-Josh Bayliss, 21-George Horne, 22-Stafford McDowall, 23-Kyle Steyn
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Ken Ferris)
