Autumn Nations Series | Darge named Scotland captain for Summer Nations Series clash with Italy

by Tom Masters

Rory Darge will captain Scotland for the first time in the opening match of the Summer Nations Series against Italy on Saturday.

The 23-year-old has just seven caps to his name but will lead the side out at Scottish Gas Murrayfield as Gregor Townsend’s men get their World Cup preparation in full swing.

Darge, who captained Scotland U20s during the 2020 U20 Six Nations, will be supported by vice-captains Chris Harris and Sam Skinner as Townsend looks to identify new leaders following the retirement of Stuart Hogg.

Centre Stafford McDowall is in line for his debut, joining Harris in midfield, while second row Cameron Henderson is set to make his debut from the bench.

There are some other newer faces to the Scotland line-up, including fly-half Ben Healy, who is set to earn his second cap, outside Ali Price, who is the most capped member of the Scotland squad on Saturday.

Tighthead prop Murphy Walker, full-back Ollie Smith and Luke Crosbie are the other three members of the starting XV with fewer than 10 caps, as well as captain Darge, McDowall and Healy.

Darcy Graham returns to the Scotland fold for the first time since the 2022 Autumn Nations Series, joining Smith and Kyle Steyn in the back three.

Rory Sutherland and George Turner start with Walker in the front row, with Scott Cummings joining Skinner in the engine room, in front of a back row of Crosbie, Darge and Matt Fagerson.

Townsend has named an inexperienced bench as he looks to mix things up, with five of the eight players also having fewer than 10 caps.

Debutant Henderson is joined by Javan Sebastian, Josh Bayliss, Jamie Dobie and Cameron Redpath, while there are three experienced heads in Stuart McInally, Jamie Bhatti and Blair Kinghorn.

Scotland team to face Italy at Scottish Gas Murrayfield on Saturday 29^th July (kick-off 3:15pm):

15 Ollie Smith, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Kyle Steyn, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Ali Price, 1 Rory Sutherland, 2 George Turner, 3 Murphy Walker, 4 Sam Skinner, 5 Scott Cummings, 6 Luke Crosbie, 7 Rory Darge (C), 8 Matt Fagerson

Replacements: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Cameron Henderson, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Jamie Dobie, 22 Blair Kinghorn, 23 Cameron Redpath