THERE was a time when a Scotland team composed solely of home-based players would have been noticeably understrength in many areas of the side. Not any more.
True, there are some conspicuous absentees from the starting line-up selected by Gregor Townsend to face Australia tomorrow, but around two-thirds of that 15 can be regarded as first choices and not one will be making his Test debut. When it comes to the bench, only one man is set to play his first game for Scotland – and the one in question, former Australia forward Jack Dempsey, can hardly be considered inexperienced.
The fact that this game is taking place outside of the recognised Test window is the reason why Townsend has only been able to choose from Glasgow and Edinburgh players, meaning regulars such as Exeter duo Stuart Hogg and Jonny Gray plus Gloucester’s Chris Harris will have to wait until next week’s match against Fiji for their chance. Racing 92 stand-off Finn Russell, of course, has been left out of the squad for the Autumn Nations Series, and appears unlikely to return any time soon, despite Townsend’s protestations yesterday that the door is always open.
