Why Scotland have changed the guard as Duhan van der Merwe and Co make way for Six Nations opener

Blair Kinghorn, Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe were mainstays of the 2025 campaign and all participated in the British and Irish Lions’ tour of Australia. But of the three, only Graham will be involved in the Italy game and the Edinburgh flyer must be content with a place on the bench.

Gregor Townsend has picked on form which means starts for Glasgow Warriors wingers Kyle Steyn and Jamie Dobie, both of whom have been outstanding in the club’s European campaign. They are joined in the starting XV by their former Scotstoun team-mate Tom Jordan who is preferred to Kinghorn at full-back.

Jordan plays most of his rugby at 10 for Bristol Bears but has already shown his versatility at international level, coming on for his Scotland debut at full-back against Fiji in 2024. He started at 15 in the national side’s last match, against Tonga in November, and is equally comfortable at inside centre.

A changing of the guard in the back three would have seemed unlikely this time last year, particularly when van der Merwe and Graham were vying with each other to be Scotland’s leading try-scorer of all time, but the pair’s form has shaded in an Edinburgh team that has struggled to make headway in the URC. It was clear to most outsiders that Steyn and Dobie deserved their chance.

Kinghorn is a different case. He’s hardly had a break since the end of last season when he helped Toulouse win the Top 14 - the final was on June 28 - then joined the Lions tour before returning to his club for the new campaign. He looked short of his best in the autumn international and now makes way for Jordan.

“Selection is about just giving players opportunities and they've earned it,” Townsend said of his new back three. “I feel all three of them individually have taken games to the opposition. They've worked really hard.

‘Hungry players’ looking to come back in

“[In] areas that are really important in the game now and at a Test level we feel they've done very well. But the three players that weren't selected, they're quality players, and their reactions over the last couple of weeks knowing that this competition is in place and how they've trained - that's going to be positive for the future.

“If or when they get back into the squad or they get an opportunity off the bench, like Darcy will on Saturday, we know we're going to have hungry players desperate to get back in the starting team. But for now, we're really pleased with that back three, how they've been playing, but also how they've been combining at training.”

“Blair, Duhan and Darcy, they've had some terrific games for us and they're very proud of playing for Scotland. But there's competition in that back-three area like there is in other positions and we feel Jamie, Kyle and Tom deserve their starts given how well they've been playing.”

To a certain extent, it could be argued that the Lions tour has worked against the ousted trio. It might also work in favour of France, the Six Nations favourites.

“I'm sure there's a stat that says France always wins a championship the year after the Lions tour,” said Townsend. “So they don't get affected by Lions tours. It'll depend on the individual. I think if you look at someone like Finn [Russell], he had 10 weeks off after the Lions tour, and that was an RFU PRL stipulation - five weeks break, five weeks pre-season training – you're not coming back before 10 weeks.

“But I think Blair had four weeks’ holiday and one week training and he was playing. That isn't great after a long season. It's not great after a Lions tour, which is six weeks of midweek games and Test matches and the mental load. And I think Blair's done really well to be able to get through that and play in a variety of positions and play very well at times. But yeah, it could definitely have an effect. We'll see.”

While fatigue may be a factor, injuries, seemingly, are not. With the exception of Liam McConnell who left the squad last week with a rib problem, Townsend has been able to pick from a full-strength squad. Jack Dempsey and Ewan Ashman have recovered from foot and neck issues, respectively, and will both start in Rome. Dobie, meanwhile, has overcome a knee issue.

This will be Townsend’s ninth Six Nations as head coach and he goes into the championship on the back of a disappointing autumn campaign which will be forever remembered for Scotland’s spectacular collapse against Argentina. The coach said there had been honest conversations within the group about how Scotland had blown a 21-0 lead, conceding five tries in the final 23 minutes.

“I think it's just the evolution of the group and moments that you're faced with,” said Townsend. “You've got a choice to be honest to get through those moments and learn from them - or you can sweep it under the carpet.

“And one of those moments arrived in the autumn with how we played in that last 20 minutes against Argentina. We felt we let down our supporters, we didn't handle that period well at all, and the meetings after that were honest and they've continued to be at that level.

“So the pain we felt that day is getting reflected in how we're training and connecting and it's got to be reflected now in the next five games.”