Duhan van der Merwe is set to make his Test debut for Scotland after being included in their starting lineup for their Test match against Georgia at Murrayfield on Friday evening.
Van der Merwe will start on the right wing as Scotland get their busy Test schedule under way with a warm-up match against Georgia.
The 25-year-old has been in excellent form for Edinburgh, since joining the PRO14 side from Montpellier in 2017, and deservedly gets his first Test start after qualifying to play for Scotland through the residency rule.
Fellow South African-born player and Glasgow Warriors prop Oli Kebble is also set to make his Test debut after being named on Scotland’s bench for the match.
The 28-year-old former Stormers player is the son of former Springbok prop Guy Kebble.
Glasgow Warriors hooker Fraser Brown will captain his country for the first time, winning his 51st cap.
The team features some returning faces with Racing 92 flyhalf Finn Russell poised to win his 50th Scotland cap as a replacement. Russell last played for Scotland against Japan in the 2019 World Cup pool stages and was controversially expelled from their camp ahead of the Six Nations earlier this year for a breach of team protocol.
‘As we start our autumn series the game against Georgia provides a real test as a first-up match and we have taken the opportunity to select a side that reflects where our players are in terms of their game time this season, their current form, as well as the contributions they made during the Six Nations at the start of the year,’ coach Gregor Townsend said.
‘It is a testament to the professionalism and hard work Fraser has given to Scotland in recent years that we have selected him as the captain and he will be well supported by Jamie and Ali, who have grown as leaders over the past couple of seasons.
‘Georgia have a new coaching group in place and will want to put down a marker for their own campaign, so we have picked as strong a squad as possible to go up against what will be a very physical and motivated opponent.’
Scotland – 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Chris Harris, 12 James Lang, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ali Price, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Ben Toolis, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Fraser Brown (c), 1 Rory Sutherland.
Subs: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Rob Harley, 20 Nick Haining, 21 Cornell du Preez, 22 George Horne, 23 Finn Russell.
Photo: Getty Images
