Gregor Townsend explains Canada team selection as 10 Scotland new boys set Springboks challenge

The head coach has selected five uncapped players in his starting team and another five on the bench for the national side’s opening tour match in Ottawa. The backline looks particularly callow, boasting a grand total of eight caps.

There are debuts for the Sale Sharks pair Arron Reed, on the left wing, and Gus Warr, at scrum-half, after they helped their club reach the Premiership play-offs. Matt Currie, the Edinburgh centre, is the third fresh face among the backs.

Up front, Glasgow Warriors’ stellar season is recognised with first caps for Max Williamson, at lock, and Gregor Brown, in the back row, following their notable contribution to the club’s triumphant campaign in the United Rugby Championship.

There are a further five uncapped players among the replacements and all are expected to feature at some point against Canada. They are Northampton hooker Robbie Smith, Glasgow loosehead Nathan McBeth, Leicester Tigers tighthead Will Hurd, Oyonnax second row Ewan Johnson and Scotland Sevens winger Ross McCann who was called into the squad last week and has signed for Edinburgh for next season.

Townsend acknowledged that the 10 have little time to find their feet but said those who do will have the opportunity to stake a claim for the bigger tests that lie ahead, including the visit of world champions South Africa to Murrayfield in November.

“They understand the expectations we have of them and the belief we have in them,” said the coach. “You don’t have much time to adapt at Test level. You have to try to build cohesion as quickly as possible.

“We had a number of the players in last week, so they’ve had four training sessions to be prepared for this game. We have run as this team to play Canada for all of those sessions. The players have adapted really well and put their best foot forward.

“With any player who is winning his first cap, we want to see in their performance what got them into the squad and selected in the first place, which is their game, their strengths. When you play Test level and wear the navy blue jersey, you have to give as much effort as you’ve ever given. That’s what that jersey demands of you.

“When we selected the squad, one of the principles we had was ‘do we believe these players can play for us not just now, but in November and in the Six Nations?’. That’s the goal, players who we think can make a difference for us as we go into next season.

“I’ll give the example of Elliot Millar Mills. Will Hurd got injured on the Saturday playing for Leicester the week before we came into our Six Nations camp. Elliot was called up on the Sunday night, I think it was.

“Elliot grabbed his opportunity coming off the bench against Wales and in other games and has taken his game to another level since the Six Nations and now we have a view of him as someone who is competing really hard with Zander [Fagerson]. He not only adds depth at tighthead but he makes a difference when he plays.

“That’s just one example from the Six Nations, there’ll be a lot more over the next few weeks of players grabbing their opportunity and being genuine contenders for our Test team that plays South Africa in November.”

Townsend has named two new co-captains for the first game of the four-match tour. Again, the Glasgow connection is strong, with centre Stafford McDowall chosen to lead alongside Edinburgh openside Luke Crosbie. Crosbie led Scotland in an A international against Chile in 2022, a match in which Currie also played.

The match against Canada kicks off at 10pm UK time and will be shown live on TNT Sport. Scotland’s tour continues with Tests against USA, Chile and Uruguay.