Scottish Rugby named 10 Glasgow Warriors in Scotland's starting side on 5 November for Saturday's Nations Championship Test against New Zealand at Murrayfield. Captain Sione Tuipulotu leads a selection aiming to give Scotland its first victory over the All Blacks.
Glasgow core runs through the side
Tuipulotu starts at inside centre alongside Huw Jones. Kyle Steyn and Jamie Dobie occupy the wings, with Kyle Rowe at full-back. That gives Scotland a Glasgow trio across the back field, while Finn Russell and Ben White form the half-back pairing. Scottish Rugby's 5 November team announcement says Russell is preparing for another appearance alongside White after repeated starts together this year.
The club connection continues in the pack. Scott Cummings and Gregor Brown form the second row; Matt Fagerson and Rory Darge take the flanks, with Jack Dempsey at the base of the scrum. Rory Sutherland starts at loosehead prop, Ewan Ashman at hooker and Zander Fagerson at tighthead. Townsend has Pierre Schoeman, Will Hurd, Max Williamson and Josh Bayliss among his forward replacements.
Glasgow Warriors' 5 November release says 13 club players made Scotland's matchday 23. SportsRivo compared the club's replacement names with Scottish Rugby's team sheet: Gregor Hiddleston, Max Williamson and George Horne are the three Warriors on the bench. The cross-check separates the club's starting contingent from its full matchday presence, without treating the wider squad as the selected side.
A Test with a long history and table stakes
New Zealand Rugby's review ahead of the 7 November match records 31 All Blacks wins and two draws from 33 Tests with Scotland. Scotland have never beaten New Zealand. Scottish Rugby's fixture archive also shows New Zealand winning the previous Murrayfield meeting after Scotland erased a half-time deficit. The new selection therefore precedes another attempt to change a long-standing result pattern.
Scottish Rugby's 3 November Nations Championship explainer placed Scotland second in the northern table, one point behind France, after the southern series. It says group-stage placings determine the corresponding opponents at Finals Weekend in London. Scotland's home matches against New Zealand, Australia and Japan can still alter that position. Saturday's game matters to both the current table and the eventual finals pairing.
What the selection sets up
- Tuipulotu and Jones will start together in midfield, while Rowe, Steyn and Dobie fill the back three. Scottish Rugby's team sheet fixes those roles for the New Zealand match.
- Russell and White will start at half-back. George Horne, Tom Jordan and Blair Kinghorn are named as the backline replacements, giving Townsend his confirmed options beyond the starting pair.
- The New Zealand fixture contributes to Scotland's northern table position. Scottish Rugby's 3 November competition explainer says the final hemisphere placings decide London's cross-hemisphere match-ups.
New Zealand match next
Scottish Rugby lists Scotland against New Zealand at Scottish Gas Murrayfield on Saturday, 7 November, with kick-off at 2.10pm local time. Australia and Japan are scheduled as Scotland's subsequent home opponents before the London finals weekend. The Test has not yet been played.
Source: Scottish Rugby