Scotland Head Coach Gregor Townsend has called upon the services of eight Glasgow Warriors ahead of Saturday’s clash with Japan, as the men in blue look to close out the calendar year in style at BT Murrayfield.
Four of those selected were also involved in the most recent meeting between the two teams, the Pool A decider at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Yokohama.
An all-Glasgow Warriors front-row sees George Turner return to the fray after recovering from an injury sustained against Australia a fortnight ago, with the hooker set to win his 20th cap on Saturday afternoon.
Jamie Bhatti starts at loose-head, his first outing in the number one shirt since the 2019 summer Test against France in Nice.
Zander Fagerson completes the front-row, having scored his first international try in Scotland’s previous clash with the Brave Blossoms.
The engine room sees Scott Cummings make his return to action after a six-week lay-off following a hand injury picked up against the Sharks, packing down for his first Scotland cap since March’s meeting with Ireland.
Ali Price continues at scrum-half for the fifth successive match, having come off the bench for the British and Irish Lions against Japan at BT Murrayfield.
Sam Johnson comes back into the starting XV having missed last weekend’s defeat to South Africa, lining up at inside centre as he did in Yokohama.
The replacements see Matt Fagerson rotate to the bench after three consecutive starts, after making more carries than any other Scottish forward last weekend.
George Horne completes the Glasgow contingent, after a 10-minute cameo off the bench last weekend.
The match is live on Amazon Prime Video, with kick-off at 1pm on Saturday.
Scotland team to face Japan in the 2021 Autumn Nations Series at BT Murrayfield, live on Amazon Prime – kick-off 1pm.
15. Stuart Hogg (c) – Exeter Chiefs – 87 caps
14. Darcy Graham – Edinburgh Rugby – 21 caps
13. Chris Harris – Gloucester Rugby – 30 caps
12. Sam Johnson – Glasgow Warriors – 20 caps
11. Duhan van der Merwe – Worcester Warriors – 12 caps
10. Finn Russell – Racing 92 – 57 caps
9. Ali Price – Glasgow Warriors – 45 caps
1. Jamie Bhatti – Glasgow Warriors – 21 caps
2. George Turner – Glasgow Warriors – 19 caps
3. Zander Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors – 41 caps
4. Scott Cummings – Glasgow Warriors – 20 caps
5. Grant Gilchrist – Edinburgh Rugby – 47 caps
6. Jamie Ritchie – Edinburgh Rugby – 30 caps
7. Hamish Watson – Edinburgh Rugby – 45 caps
8. Josh Bayliss – Bath Rugby – 1 cap
Replacements
16. Stuart McInally – Edinburgh Rugby 42 caps
17. Pierre Schoeman – Edinburgh Rugby – 3 caps
18. Javan Sebastian – Scarlets – Uncapped
19. Sam Skinner – Exeter Chiefs – 14 caps
20. Dylan Richardson – Cell C Sharks – Uncapped
21. Matt Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors – 16 caps
22. George Horne – Glasgow Warriors – 16 caps
23. Blair Kinghorn – Edinburgh Rugby – 27 caps
