Scotland shake up team for Six Nations opener

Scotland coach Gregor Townsend has shaken up his starting line-up to take on Italy in the Six Nations in Rome on Saturday, leaving out regular fullback Blair Kinghorn and their two top try scorers when he named the team on Thursday.

Kinghorn is replaced by Tom Jordan at fullback for their opening match of the tournament, while Darcy Graham was relegated to the bench and Duhan van der Merwe left out.

Van der Merwe has a record 35 tries for Scotland, with Graham one behind him, but Townsend selected Jamie Dobie, who also plays at scrum-half, and Kyle Steyn on the wings instead. Left wing Dobie gets his first Six Nations start.

The injured trio of Ewan Ashman, Jack Dempsey, and Jamie Dobie have all recovered in time to make the line-up after being injury doubts last weekend.

Huw Jones, who played for the British & Irish Lions in Australia last year, is returning to the Scotland set-up after missing the November tests as he recovered from surgery on his Achilles tendon. He will partner captain Sione Tuipulotu in what will be the 18th test match the pair have played together, including for the Lions.

The XV taking on Italy in our @SixNationsRugby opener 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿#AsOne pic.twitter.com/F8GxZ67kj7 — Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) February 5, 2026

There is also a return for prop forward Zander Fagerson while Scott Cummings, who missed last year’s championship through injury, returns to Six Nations action alongside Grant Gilchrist in the second row.

Nine of the players in the starting line-up come from Glasgow Warriors and another five on the bench, reflecting the stellar season Scotland’s top team are having.

Team: 15-Tom Jordan, 14-Kyle Steyn, 13-Huw Jones, 12-Sione Tuipulotu (captain), 11-Jamie Dobie, 10-Finn Russell, 9-Ben White, 8-Jack Dempsey, 7-Rory Darge, 6-Matt Fagerson, 5-Grant Gilchrist, 4-Scott Cummings, 3-Zander Fagerson, 2-Ewan Ashman, 1-Pierre Schoeman

Replacements: 16-George Turner, 17-Nathan McBeth, 18-Elliot Millar-Mills, 19-Max Williamson, 20-Gregor Brown, 21-George Horne, 22-Adam Hastings, 23-Darcy Graham.