Scotland have been boosted by the return of Ben White, who has been named in their side to take on Georgia in their final Rugby World Cup warm-up match.
The scrum-half was an injury concern after he limped off in Scotland’s victory over France two-and-a-half weeks ago with a nasty-looking ankle issue.
There were initially worries that it would rule him out for part of the World Cup, but it was not as bad as first feared, and he is fit enough to return for this clash.
Strong backline
He partners Finn Russell at half-back in a talented backline, which looks close to full strength ahead of the global tournament.
Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones once again combine in midfield, while Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham, who replaces Kyle Steyn, are the wingers.
The return of Ollie Smith at full-back is the only other alteration behind the scrum as he looks to stake his claim in the XV, with Blair Kinghorn impressing in France last time out.
Up front, there are also three changes, but none of them come in the back-row as Jack Dempsey, Rory Darge, and captain Jamie Ritchie once again line up together.
The alterations instead come in the front five as Sam Skinner, Dave Cherry, and Jamie Bhatti start.
They take the place of Richie Gray, George Turner and Pierre Schoeman, who all miss out on this weekend’s 23.
Rory Sutherland, Javan Sebastian, Scott Cummings and George Horne, who all featured against Les Bleus off the bench, are once again among the replacements, and they are joined by Ewan Ashman, Matt Fagerson, Ben Healy and Chris Harris.
The team
Scotland: 15 Ollie Smith, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Jamie Ritchie (c), 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Sam Skinner, 3 WP Nel, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 George Horne, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Chris Harris
Date: Saturday, August 26
Venue: Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 17:30 BST (16:30 GMT)
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees: Tual Trainini (France), Ludovic Cayre (France)
TMO: Thomas Charabas (France)
READ MORE: Bullish Duhan van der Merwe convinced Scotland can beat the best
The article Ben White returns from injury as Scotland name strong side to face Georgia appeared first on Planetrugby.com.
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