What channel is Scotland v Georgia? Is it on TV? How to watch final Rugby World Cup warm-up

Scotland’s Rugby World Cup preparations continue this weekend when they play Georgia in their final warm-up match at Scottish Gas Murrayfield.

Scrum-half Ben White is back in the Scotland team after recovering from an ankle injury. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

It’s the last chance for home supporters to see the team before they leave for France for next month’s tournament and head coach Gregor Townsend has selected a strong team to face the east Europeans. Scotland have already beaten Italy and France at Murrayfield in warm-up matches which form part of rugby's Summer Nations Series but they got beaten away by the French in their last outing, losing 30-27 in Saint-Etienne in a closely-fought game which the hosts won with a late Thomas Ramos penalty.

Scotland played well in France, coming back from 27-10 down to tie things up at 27-27 before Ramos’ decisive strike, and Townsend’s desire to build further on the combinations within his team has influenced his selection for this weekend. Georgia’s main strengths lie in their pack and Townsend expects a particularly tough test at scrum and maul which should be good preparation for Scotland’s opening World Cup match against South Africa in Marseille on September 10.

Who: Scotland v Georgia

What: Summer Nations Series

Where: Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh

When: 5.30pm, Saturday, August 26

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)

How to watch Scotland v Georgia on TV

Amazon’s Prime Video has secured the rights to the Summer Nations Series in the UK. The subscription video and on-demand streaming service has broadcast the autumn internationals in recent seasons and its coverage can be accessed as part of Amazon’s Prime subscription. New customers can subscribe to a free 30-day trial.

Previously v Georgia

It’s the sixth meeting of the sides and Scotland have won the previous five. The sides first played each other at the 2011 Rugby World Cup when Andy Robinson’s team came out on top 15-6. All the Scotland points came from the boot of stand-off Dan Parks who kicked four penalties and a drop goal in Invercargill. Subsequent victories were more convincing. Scotland overpowered their east European opponents 43-16 at Rugby Park in 2016 in a match which saw scrum-half Ali Price make his Test debut. They met twice in 2019 ahead of the World Cup, with Townsend’s team winning 44-10 in Tbilisi and 36-9 at Murrayfield. The last meeting was in October 2020, with Scotland scoring eight tries in a 48-7 victory. Darcy Graham and Fraser Brown scored two apiece and Hamish Watson, Stuart McInally, Duhan van der Merwe and Blair Kinghorn all weighed in with one. Adam Hastings converted four. The match was played at an empty Murrayfield due to Covid.

Team news

Scotland have been forced into a late change. Darcy Graham, who was due to start at Murrayfield on Saturday, was ruled out with a “mild quad strain” and is replaced on the right wing by Kyle Steyn. The match sees a return for scrum-half Ben White who missed the game in France due to an ankle injury. There is also a change at full-back, with Ollie Smith coming in for Blair Kinghorn. Dave Cherry gets a run at hooker and Jamie Bhatti is at loosehead prop, replacing George Turner and Pierre Schoeman respectively. In the second row, Sam Skinner takes the place of Richie Gray.

Scotland: 15 Ollie Smith; 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe; 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White; 1 Jamie Bhatti, 2 Dave Cherry, 3 WP Nel, 4 Sam Skinner, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 6 Jamie Ritchie (c), 7 Rory Darge, 8 Jack Dempsey. 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.

Georgia: 15 Davit Niniashvili; 14 Aka Tabutsadze, 13 Demur Tapladze, 12 Merab Sharikadze (c), 11 Miriani Modebadze; 10 Luka Matkava, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze. 1 Misha Nariashvili, 2 Shalva Mamukashvili, 3 Beka Gigashvili, 4 Lado Chachanidze, 5 Konstantine Mikautadze, 6 Luka Ivanishvili, 7 Mikheil Gachechiladze, 8 Tornike Jalaghonia. Replacements: 16 Tengiz Zamtaradze, 17 Guram Gogichashvili, 18 Guram Papidze, 19 Lasha Jaiani, 20 Sandro Mamamtavrishvili, 21 Gela Aprasidze, 22 Tedo Abzhandadze, 23 Giorgi Kveseladze.

After the match

Supporters are being encouraged to stay in their seats after the final whistle on Saturday as the team will take a lap around the pitch, before Townsend delivers a thank you message.