Scotland make 15 changes - why Tests take priority and main Māori threat

Three uncapped players picked for tour opener in New Zealand

Scotland’s tour opener against the Māori All Blacks on Saturday is their first game since the Six Nations finale in Paris and Gregor Townsend has selected a completely different XV from the one which lost 35-16 to France.

Lions call-ups and injuries mean many of those who started at the Stade de France are unavailable, but the coach has also chosen to omit a number of his senior players for the non-cap game in Whangārei on New Zealand’s North Island, which kicks off at 4.35am UK time.

Darcy Graham, Tom Jordan, Grant Gilchrist, Jamie Ritchie and Matt Fagerson will all sit this one out. Even Rory Darge, the tour captain, is missing, with Stafford McDowall skippering the team instead. Of the 15 starters in Paris, only Gregor Brown will be involved against the Māori and he starts on the bench.

Fin Richardson will play for Scotland for the first time in Saturday's game against the Māori All Blacks. | SNS Group / SRU

Townsend has picked an experimental line-up which includes one uncapped player in the run-on XV - the Glasgow prop Fin Richardson - and another two among the replacements, Saracens stand-off Fergus Burke and Montpellier back-rower Alexander Masibaka.

The Scotland coach is prioritising the other two fixtures on the tour, understandably because those games against Fiji in Suva and Samoa in Auckland are classed as Test matches and will count towards World Rugby rankings. That has added significance in terms of the impact it could have on seeding for the Rugby World Cup draw which will take place in December.

Consequences if you don’t win

“They are all important obviously, but there is a level of importance when you are playing a proper Test match which makes it a little bit higher,” said Townsend. “There is jeopardy this year in losing ranking points against both Fiji and Samoa.

“We do feel this is like a Test match this week, though. I played against the Maori at Murrayfield and lost, many years ago. I’ve seen how good they are when they come together. They put 50 points on Japan last week. This is going to be as much of a challenge for our group as our next two opponents. But those are Test matches and there are consequences this year if you don't win.

“It will be very tough going to Fiji and playing them on their home patch, with the form they have been in over the last couple of years. Then playing Samoa at Eden Park, where they will have a huge Samoan population backing them. Samoa beat Italy this time last year. They will be three tough matches, two of them Tests, so it is a great tour for us to see where we are and test ourselves against quality teams.”

As Townsend noted, his experience as a player means he won’t underestimate Saturday’s opponents who are made up of players with Māori heritage. He started at stand-off when Scotland lost 24-8 in Edinburgh in 1998 and the Māori also won two years later in New Plymouth in their only other match with Scotland.

Scotland's Rowen Shepherd seeks a way past Maori opponent Adrian Cashmore during at 1998 match at Murrayfield. | TSPL

“They'll be physical,” warned Townsend. “The New Zealanders, and the Maori in particular, bring a physicality and a real quality in terms of the contact area. But they've got very talented players throughout their team, in particular in the backs, where they look to express themselves.”

The Maori backline is expected to include former Glasgow Warriors player Cole Forbes who was named in a Scotland squad in 2021 but was never capped.

Big opportunity for Glasgow prop

Despite the strength of the opposition, Townsend feels this is an opportunity to test his squad’s depth and it will be a big occasion for Richardson who will start at tighthead at Semenoff Stadium. At 26, he is hardly a youngster but he does not have a lot of rugby experience at the top level. He played eight times for Glasgow Warriors last season, including the URC semi-final against Leinster, after joining the club last summer from Exeter Chiefs where he had been loaned out to the Cornish Pirates.

It is a position in which Scotland have struggled to find back-up for Zander Fagerson and Richardson now has the chance to continue his promising end to the club season. Leicester’s Will Hurd will provide cover from the bench.

The other two uncapped players Burke and Masibaka, were both involved with Scotland during the Six Nations without making a match-day 23.

The Māori match also sees the return of a clutch of Scotland players who have not featured for the national side for lengthy spells through injury and other reasons.

Into the former category comes Ollie Smith, who is picked at full-back. The Glasgow man has not played for Scotland since the 2023 Rugby World Cup due to a knee ligament rupture. He is joined in the backline by Edinburgh winger Harry Paterson and Northampton centre Rory Hutchinson. Paterson last played for Scotland on the 2024 summer tour and Hutchinson’s previous outing came in the autumn Test against Portugal.

Up front, there is a welcome return for Andy Onyeama-Christie and Cam Henderson after long-term injuries. Saracens flanker Onyeama-Christie has not played for Scotland since the 2024 Six Nations after fracturing and dislocating his ankle and Leicester lock Henderson is back after recovering from an ACL knee rupture. Both will start on Saturday.

Andy Onyeama-Christie has not played for Scotland since the 2024 Six Nations. | SNS Group

George Turner has been named on the bench following his decision to return to the UK to sign for Harlequins. The 45-times capped hooker missed this year’s Six Nations following his move from Glasgow to Kobe Steelers because the Japanese season clashed.

Max Williamson, his former Glasgow team-mate, joins him on the bench after recovering from a broken thumb.

Elsewhere, Glasgow Warriors pair Adam Hastings and vice-captain George Horne form the half-back partnership, and Sale’s Arron Reed starts on the wing. Nathan McBeth and Patrick Harrison, who both made their debuts on last year’s summer tour, join Richardson in the front row. Josh Bayliss, another vice-captain, and Ben Muncaster are alongside Onyeama-Christie in the back row.

Full Scotland team

Scotland (v Māori All Blacks, Semenoff Stadium, Whangārei, 4.35am UK time): Ollie Smith; Harry Paterson, Rory Hutchinson, Stafford McDowall (capt), Arron Reed; Adam Hastings, George Horne (vice-capt); Nathan McBeth, Patrick Harrison, Fin Richardson, Marshall Sykes, Cameron Henderson, Josh Bayliss (vice-capt), Andy Onyeama-Christie, Ben Muncaster. Replacements: George Turner, Alec Hepburn, Will Hurd, Max Williamson, Gregor Brown, Alexander Masibaka, Fergus Burke, Jamie Dobie.