Gregor Townsend is eyeing further improvement from Scotland as they seek a third win in a row after making three changes to his starting XV for their 2020 Guinness Six Nations finale against Wales at Principality Stadium on Saturday.
Those trio of alterations all come in the pack as Stuart McInally starts ahead of Fraser Brown at hooker, lock Sam Skinner replaces Scott Cummings and No.8 Magnus Bradbury comes in for Nick Haining – who is unavailable through illness.
Brown and Cummings drop to the bench, while Matt Fagerson is also among the replacements after Bradbury’s promotion to the starting XV.
Having begun the Championship with narrow defeats to Ireland and England, Scotland have responded well to beat both Italy and France – ending the latter’s Grand Slam hopes in Edinburgh last week.
The entire back division remains unchanged for a third Test in a row, while full-back and captain Stuart Hogg will move into joint-seventh on Scotland’s all-time appearance list with his 77th cap.
And as Scotland seek a first win in Cardiff since 2002, coach Townsend is eager for his side to keep building on the promising displays of the previous two rounds.
“We set out this season to improve our consistency over a run of five tough games, something we have done well so far,” said Townsend.
“We’ve stayed in the fight in every game, which is a credit to how hard the players have worked in training and during the Tests.
“It’s also been encouraging to see how well the players have grown together and have taken on board the input from new coaches, Steve (Tandy) and Pieter (de Villiers), who have done a great job in their first season with the team.
“We’ve still got a lot to improve on and we’ll have to fight even harder on Saturday in Cardiff, which is one of the best and toughest places to play Test rugby.
“We have huge respect for the Welsh team, who narrowly missed out on a World Cup Final a few months ago. They are well-coached and have some outstanding players.
“It will be a fantastic occasion and one last opportunity to play to our potential in this Championship.”
Scotland team to play Wales at Principality Stadium in Cardiff
15. Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs) – 76 caps – captain 14. Sean Maitland (Saracens) – 48 caps 13. Chris Harris (Gloucester) – 18 caps 12. Sam Johnson (Glasgow Warriors) – 13 caps 11. Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh) – 21 caps 10. Adam Hastings (Glasgow Warriors) – 20 caps 9. Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) – 32 caps
1. Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh) – 7 caps 2. Stuart McInally (Edinburgh) – 37 caps 3. Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) – 29 caps 4. Sam Skinner (Exeter Chiefs) – 7 caps 5. Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh) – 42 caps 6. Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh) – 18 caps 7. Hamish Watson (Edinburgh) – 32 caps 8. Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh) – 14 caps
Replacements: 16. Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors) – 50 caps 17. Allan Dell (London Irish) – 32 caps 18. Willem Nel (Edinburgh) – 38 caps 19. Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors) – 12 caps 20. Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) – 6 caps 21. George Horne (Glasgow Warriors) – 13 caps 22. Duncan Weir (Worcester Warriors) – 28 caps 23. Kyle Steyn (Glasgow Warriors) – 1 cap
