Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has handed first international starts to a number of players as he made 10 changes for the latest match of their summer tour of the Americas.
Lock Ewan Johnson, of French club Oyonnax, and props Nathan McBeth and Will Hurd will all make their full debuts when Scotland take on Chile in Santiago on Saturday night.
Glasgow flanker Gregor Brown and Sale backs Gus Warr and Arron Reed will also win their second caps following debuts in the opening win over Canada. Hooker Dylan Richardson wins his third cap.
Sione Tuipulotu and Jamie Ritchie will together captain the team while Kyle Steyn switches from the wing into the centre.
Townsend, whose side have beaten Canada and the United States before flying to South America, said: “It’s a chance for us to to look at the players in another Test match setting. It’s a different team, different climate challenges than we had in North America. And we’re we’re excited to see that group go out again.
“We were always planning to get the original squad at least two games on this tour to really give them a chance to experience Test rugby, for those that were winning the first cap and then to grow from that experience and to get into a second game.
“So there are a few players winning the second caps, a number of them starting like Nathan Macbeth, Will Hurd, and Ewan Johnson.
“And then we’ve got some experience in there with Jamie and Sione, our co-captains and Kyle playing at 13.
“It was something that we discussed with Kyle before the tour. A tour like this with four games gives us a chance to grow depth in certain positions and for Kyle to get a chance to play 13, a position he’s played well in the past, that will add to our depth.”
Edinburgh hooker Patrick Harrison is in line to make his Scotland debut off the bench.
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) July 18, 2024
Scotland team to play Chile
Forwards: 1 Nathan McBeth (Glasgow Warriors), 2 Dylan Richardson (Sharks), 3 Will Hurd (Leicester Tigers), 4 Alex Craig (Scarlets), 5 Ewan Johnson (Oyonnax), 6 Gregor Brown (Glasgow Warriors), 7 Jamie Ritchie (Co-Captain, Edinburgh Rugby), 8 Josh Bayliss (Bath Rugby)
Backs: 9 Gus Warr (Sale Sharks), 10 Ben Healy (Edinburgh Rugby), 11 Arron Reed (Sale Sharks), 12 Sione Tuipulotu (Co-Captain, Glasgow Warriors), 13 Kyle Steyn (Glasgow Warriors), 14 Jamie Dobie (Glasgow Warriors), 15 Kyle Rowe (Glasgow Warriors)
Replacements: 16 Patrick Harrison (Edinburgh Rugby)*, 17 Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby), 18 Javan Sebastian (Edinburgh Rugby), 19 Max Williamson (Glasgow Warriors), 20 Rory Darge (Glasgow Warriors), 21 Adam Hastings (Glasgow Warriors), 22 Stafford McDowall (Glasgow Warriors), 23 Matt Currie (Edinburgh Rugby)
* Denotes uncapped player