Ford is a record-breaker as Scotland make 12 changes
● Head coach Townsend overhauls side as his men go for three out of three in Fiji
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has handed hooker Ross Ford his record 110th cap and Nick Grigg his first in the team to face Fiji in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
In all, Townsend has made 12 changes from the side which won 24-19 against Australia in Sydney on Saturday.
The departure of stand-off Finn Russell to join up with the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand and the release of centre Alex Dunbar from the touring squad, left two places open in the starting XV.
But, rather than simply replacethem,townsendopted for radical change to his team.
Duncan Taylor, who will partner Grigg in the centre, Jonny Gray at lock and John Barclay in the back row are the only survivors from the win over the Wallabies.
Fiji coach John Mckee has been similarly radical as he hones his side for their Rugby World Cup qualifiers next month. He made seven changes from the side which beat Italy 22-19 in Suva, including leaving Glasgow Warriors favourite Niko Matawalu out of the squad altogether.
There is a place, however, for the offloading skills of lock Leone Nakarawa, although Mckee did not see too much of an advantage of those two having an inside line on their opponents.
He said: “Naks and Niko [Nakarawa and Matawalu] know the Scottish boys well, but things move on quickly in the game.
“Even although they were at Glasgow a couple of years ago things have changed.
“We saw the way Scotland changed quite a bit under Vern Cotter. Gregor [Townsend] is in charge now so there is more change again.
“Talking to Leone Nakarawa particularly, he has a lot of respect for Scotland because with Racing this season they lost twice to Glasgow.”
For the Scots, who have enjoyed a happy and successful tour, it is important that they finish on a high.
Townsend said: “It would be great. We have really enjoyed the tour, seeing three different countries and we have two wins so far. It would be great to have an unbeaten tour.”
Ruaridh Jackson wins his first cap in a year but slots in at full-back, with Peter Horne again moving to stand-off as Russell’s understudy. After two matches sticking with club units in the front row, the new-look version for this game is more mix-and match with Glasgow loosehead prop Alex Allan joining Edinburgh’s Ford and tighthead WP Nel.
The second row is back to the Glasgow pairing of Jonny Gray and Tim Swinson, while the back row of skipper John Barclay, No 8 Josh Strauss and John Hardie is the one that should have played against Italy in Singapore before Hardie hurt himself in the warm-up.
There is again a six-two split
in favour of the forwards on the bench – partly a reflection of the versatility of so many backs, partly that Townsend expects the bigger forwards to wilt more in the heat.
Grigg, as Townsend pointed out, the players’ player of the season at Glasgow, will be the only one of the uncapped players brought on tour to go home with a game. Sean Kennedy, George Turner and D’arcy Rae will all have to wait.
“Nick [Grigg] is up against some pretty good players at Glasgow,” Townsend added of his new cap. “He is excellent in attack and defence and made lots of line breaks and tackle breaks. He was also one of our best defenders.”
At the opposite end, he was quick to pay tribute to Ford, recalled to the starting side after being rested on the bench last week and looking to rediscover the scoring touch he found in Singapore.
“His last start was pretty good – two tries – and it is a credit to his dedication that he wants to keep improving.
“He wants to play for another few years and judging by the way he’s training and playing at the moment that could definitely happen,” Townsend added.
Meanwhile, Ford has spoken of his shock at learning that former Scotland international Doddie Weir has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease at the age of 46.
Ford, who played with Weir at the Borders, said: “It was a shock. He was one of those boys every time you met him he was smiling and he would take the mickey out of you. He is such a great boy, such a positive boy.
“I haven’t spoken to him but the way he is going on about things he is very positive about it.
“He is going to do everything he can but you would not expect anything else from Dod.
“He is just one of those boys who is a big character. He will not want everybody to feel sorry for him he will just find a way to take the mickey out of it and get on with it. He enjoys life.”