Scotland name side to face England in Six Nations opener
Zander Fagerson has not been deemed ready to make the 23-man squad for Scotland’s Six Nations opener away to England on Saturday.
The Glasgow prop has been sidelined since the start of December with a hamstring injury and forwards coach John Dalziel said on Tuesday he was in contention and “in the shape of his life” for the Calcutta Cup showdown.
However, Fagerson is clearly being saved for fixtures later in the tournament as he has not been included in the side for this weekend’s match at Twickenham.
Edinburgh prop WP Nel, 36, has been included in the starting XV.
Glasgow’s Kyle Steyn has beaten off competition from Blair Kinghorn and Sean Maitland to take the injured Darcy Graham’s place on the wing.
Chris Harris - who starts on the bench - is a surprise omission from the XV, with Huw Jones taking over from the Gloucester centre.
Other notable selections include Ben White starting at scrum half, with Ali Price - the regular No 9 - not even on the bench, as George Horne provides cover for the position.
Scotland team to face England: 15. Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs), 14. Kyle Steyn (Glasgow Warriors), 13. Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors), 12. Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors), 11. Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby), 10. Finn Russell (Racing 92) , 9. Ben White (London Irish); 1. Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby), 2. George Turner (Glasgow Warriors), 3. WP Nel (Edinburgh Rugby), 4. Richie Gray (Glasgow Warriors), 5. Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby), 6. Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh Rugby), 7. Luke Crosbie (Edinburgh Rugby), 8. Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors)
Replacements: 16. Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors), 17. Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow Warriors), 18. Simon Berghan (Glasgow Warriors), 19. Jonny Gray (Exeter Chiefs), 20. Jack Dempsey (Glasgow Warriors), 21. George Horne (Glasgow Warriors), 22. Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh Rugby), 23. Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby)
