Gregor Townsend has ripped a page from South Africa’s playbook by changing Scotland’s entire front row as he goes in search of a first win in Cardiff in 20 years. Pierre Schoeman, Stuart McInally and WP Nel start against Wales this weekend as Rory Sutherland, George Turner and Zander Ferguson make their way to the bench.
“We’ve learned a lot of things over the last couple of years,” Scotland’s head coach said. “One thing from playing against South Africa was to have a strong front row right at the end of the game.”
The Springboks lifted the 2019 World Cup and won last years’ British and Irish Lions series by changing their front row all at once, ensuring that their scrum and maul remained a threat throughout the contest. Last week, in a thrilling victory over England in the Edinburgh rain, Scotland did the same and their scrum survived several resets at the death, stubbornly resisting a penalty and holding firm for a three point win.
“We’ve got real depth in our front row,” said Townsend. “We want to use them so they’re fresh and can take Wales on in the second half.”
Not a lot worked for Wales in their 29-7 loss to Ireland, but their set-piece, so often a source of pride, was an especially notable weak point. They lost one scrum and four line-outs as their pack was outmuscled in Dublin.
Head coach Wayne Pivac has chosen to address the cause of his ailments, rather than what he views as its symptom. Ross Moriarty returns to the team at the base of the scrum while two open side flankers take their position either side of him. Taine Basham keeps his place while 22-year-old Jac Morgan makes his Test debut.
Wales: L Williams; Cuthbert, Watkin, Tompkins, Rees-Zammit; Biggar (cap), T Williams; Jones, Elias, Francis, Rowlands, Beard, Basham, Morgan, Moriarty. Replacements: Lake, Thomas, Lewis, GS Davies, Wainwright, G Davies, Sheedy, J Davies
Scotland: Hogg (cap); Graham, Harris, Tuipulotu, Van der Merwe; Russell, Price; Schoeman, McInally, Nel, Gray, Gilchrist, Skinner, Watson, M Fagerson. Replacements: Turner, Sutherland, Z Fagerson, Bradbury, Darge, White, Kinghorn, Redpath
“It’s well documented that we didn’t get what we wanted to in Dublin, and part of that was getting parity in the physical side of the game,” Pivac said. “Whether that’s ball carrying, cleaning rucks, in defence; we came up short. [The loose forwards] give us more speed. They give us something different.”
There is a catch, though. Scotland’s line-out was faultless in securing clean ball against England and Pivac’s loose trio will scarcely worry Townsend’s towers. “They’re not the tallest of men,” Pivac conceded. “We have to be a little creative with what we do there. It’s a good challenge for the coaches.”
So speed will be the name of the game. Townsend has anticipated this by selecting Sione Tuipulotu at inside centre. It will be a second start for the Australian-born utility back, who made his debut as a starter against Tonga in the autumn and came on off the bench last week.
“He’s a very creative player,” said Townsend. “He can bring others into play and has his own running game. But defence is the number one. Coming into our midfield you know you have to defend very well, and that’s something he’s been doing very well in training.”
There are other changes in the Scottish pack as Jamie Ritchie’s hamstring required surgery this week and he remains in doubt for Scotland’s July tour of Argentina. Exeter’s Sam Skinner gets the opportunity in a tight five that will be held to a higher standard this week.
“We can do more in the maul and scrum,” Townsend said. “[The England game] was a seven out of 10 performance. We need an eight or a nine.”
Worrying for Wales, then. But Pivac says every player in his team is hurting after last week’s dour display. “We expect a bigger performance. We’ll have to wait until Saturday to see if it’s big enough.”
