Scotland have been handed a huge boost with Finn Russell declared fit to start against England in the Six Nations, but Darcy Graham misses the Calcutta Cup clash.
The fitness of both players has been a major talking point in the build-up to Saturday’s round three showdown between old rivals at Twickenham, having each been taken off following a nasty clash of heads that occurred during the first half of the 32-18 defeat by Ireland.
Wing Graham was carried off on a stretcher and later diagnosed with concussion after being taken to hospital, while fly-half Russell passed a head injury assessment (HIA) but was not sent back into the game at Murrayfield due to concerns from Scotland’s medical staff.
Scotland had hoped that both players might recover in time to face England, having been progressing through the return-to-play protocols and having taken part in some light skills work at a training camp in Spain earlier this week.
However, Gregor Townsend’s Calcutta Cup team named on Thursday afternoon contained only Russell, who keeps the No10 shirt in a game that could yet prove pivotal to his hopes of starting for the British & Irish Lions in Australia this summer.
However, Graham misses out entirely as Glasgow’s Kyle Rowe comes onto the right wing in his place.
There are two changes from Townsend in the pack to the side beaten by reigning champions Ireland, with Pierre Schoeman replacing Rory Sutherland at loosehead prop.
The other alteration is in the back row, where Matt Fagerson makes way for former captain Jamie Ritchie at blindside flanker.
Scotland have again opted for a 6-2 bench split, with Jamie Dobie and Stafford McDowall the only back cover among the replacements.
Townsend’s side are looking for an unprecedented fifth straight win against England on Saturday and third in a row at Twickenham having dominated the Calcutta Cup rivalry in recent years.
However, having seen off a stubborn Italy fightback at home in round one, they will be looking to bounce back from being outclassed by Ireland against an England team with renewed confidence after following their own defeat by Ireland with a thrilling last-gasp win over pre-competition favourites France.
England named their team to face Scotland on Tuesday, with just one change as Ollie Chessum was picked to replace George Martin in the second row. Marcus Smith remains at full-back with namesake Fin at fly-half.
It has now been confirmed that Bath flanker Ted Hill takes Martin’s place on the bench, with the latter having been struggling with a knee injury after the France game.
Any hopes England had of getting Immanuel Feyi-Waboso back for the end of the Six Nations have now been extinguished, with Exeter confirming on Thursday that the wing faced a minimum of 12-14 weeks on the sidelines after undergoing shoulder surgery, putting a potential spot on the Lions tour in jeopardy.
Scotland team to face England
Starting XV: B Kinghorn (Toulouse); K Rowe (Glasgow), H Jones (Glasgow), T Jordan (Glasgow), D Van der Merwe (Edinburgh); F Russell (Bath), B White (Toulon); P Schoeman (Edinburgh), D Cherry (Edinburgh), Z Fagerson (Glasgow); J Gray (Bordeaux), G Gilchrist (Edinburgh); J Ritchie (Edinburgh), R Darge (Glasgow), J Dempsey (Glasgow)
Replacements: E Ashman (Edinburgh), R Sutherland (Glasgow), W Hurd (Leicester), S Skinner (Edinburgh), G Brown (Glasgow), M Fagerson (Glasgow), J Dobie (Glasgow), S McDowall (Glasgow)
