Scotland call up experienced replacement for summer tour as Edinburgh man forced to withdraw

Rory Hutchinson has been called into the Scotland squad for their summer tour to New Zealand and Fiji.

The Northampton Saints centre has been drafted in to replace Matt Currie who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.

Hutchinson was last capped in November when he played at outside centre in the 59-21 win over Portugal during the Autumn Nations Series. The 29-year-old has enjoyed another impressive season with Northampton, helping them reach the Investec Champions Cup final, a year after they won Gallagher Premiership.

Rory Hutchinson last played for Scotland against Portugal at Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium on November 16, 2024. | SNS Group

He started the Euro final against Bordeaux-Begles but couldn’t prevent the Saints slipping to a 28-20 defeat in Cardiff.

Cambridge-born Hutchinson qualifies for Scotland through his maternal grandparents and has been capped eight times. He toured with the national side in Argentina in 2022.

Matt Currie playing for Scotland against Chile during last summer's tour. | Getty Images for Scottish Rugby

Currie, 24, has been capped four times and was called up for the summer tour on the back of a solid campaign with Edinburgh during which he helped the capital club reach the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup and the quarter-finals of the United Rugby Championship. The centre from Dumfries made his full Scotland debut against Canada during last summer’s tour of the Americas.

The Scotland squad are due to fly to New Zealand this week and will open the tour against the Māori All Blacks in Whangārei a week on Saturday. They will then face Fiji in Suva on July 12 before returning to New Zealand to play Samoa at Eden Park in Auckland on July 18.