EDINBURGH : Scotland’s Stuart Hogg, stripped of the captaincy last month, returns to the team this weekend after being named on Thursday among six changes in the side to meet Fiji at Murrayfield.
Hogg was replaced by Jamie Ritchie as captain when coach Gregor Townsend made several surprise choices last month in his squad for four autumn internationals, including dropping mercurial flyhalf Finn Russell.
Hogg was unavailable for last Saturday’s 16-15 loss to Australia at Murrayfield but is back for his first test since the Six Nations tournament earlier this year.
The 33-year-old lock Richie Gray, who last played in the 2021 Six Nations, has also earned a recall on the back of his impressive form at Glasgow Warriors.
Hogg takes over at fullback from Ollie Smith, while fellow British & Irish Lion Chris Harris, who was not released by his English club last weekend, forms a new centre partnership with Cameron Redpath in place of Mark Bennett and Sione Tuipulotu.
Adam Hastings has been chosen ahead of Blair Kinghorn at flyhalf after Kinghorn missed a last-gasp kick against the Wallabies last weekend that would have handed Scotland victory.
In the pack, Dave Cherry has a hamstring injury and is out of the squad, with George Turner taking over at hooker.
Gray, whose younger brother Jonny is among the replacements for Saturday’s match with the Pacific Islanders, is in for Sam Skinner, who will miss the rest of the November tests with a broken bone in his foot.
Tighthead prop Murphy Walker could earn a first cap off the bench.
Team: 15-Stuart Hogg, 14-Darcy Graham, 13-Chris Harris, 12-Cameron Redpath, 11-Duhan van der Merwe, 10-Adam Hastings, 9-Ali Price, 8-Matt Fagerson, 7-Hamish Watson, 6-Jamie Ritchie (captain), 5-Grant Gilchrist, 4-Richie Gray, 3-Zander Fagerson, 2- George Turner, 1-Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16-Ewan Ashman, 17-Rory Sutherland, 18-Murphy Walker, 19-Jonny Gray, 20-Jack Dempsey, 21-Ben White, 22-Blair Kinghorn, 23-Sione Tuipulotu
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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