AUCKLAND :Scotland will field the two forwards who are to join the British & Irish Lions in Friday’s test against Samoa at Eden Park in Auckland, coach Gregor Townsend said on Wednesday.
Loosehead prop Rory Sutherland, who played in two tests on the last Lions tour in South Africa, and hooker Ewan Ashman are to travel to Australia on Sunday to bolster the squad for the match against the First Nations-Pasifika team on July 22 in Melbourne.
But they will first play in Friday’s game against Samoa, where Townsend has brought in five players to the starting line-up after last weekend’s 29-14 loss to Fiji and made one other positional switch.
Darcy Graham, who joined up with the Lions on Monday two days after he received two yellow cards and left Scotland a man down for the last part of their loss to Fiji, is replaced on the right wing by Kyle Steyn, who switches over from the left to make way for Arron Reed.
Tom Jordan has been ruled out after fracturing his hand in Suva with Rory Hutchinson and Stafford McDowall taking his and Cameron Redpath’s place in the centres.
Gregor Brown replaces Marshall Sykes in the second row and pairs up with Grant Gilchrist, while Andy Onyeama-Christie returns to the starting line-up on the side of the scrum, coming in for Jamie Ritchie, who hurt his foot and was replaced after 21 minutes last Saturday.
In a 6-2 split on the bench, prop Fin Richardson is in line for his first cap.
Team: 15-Kyle Rowe, 14-Kyle Steyn, 13-Rory Hutchinson, 12-Stafford McDowall, 11-Arron Reed, 10-Fergus Burke, 9-Jamie Dobie, 8-Matt Fagerson, 7-Rory Darge (captain), 6-Andy Onyeama-Christie, 5-Grant Gilchrist, 4-Gregor Brown, 3-Elliot Millar Mills, 2-Ewan Ashman, 1-Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16-George Turner, 17-Nathan McBeth, 18-Fin Richardson, 19-Cameron Henderson, 20-Marshall Sykes, 21-Ben Muncaster, 22-George Horne, 23-Adam Hastings.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Casablanca; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
