Scotland will make 10 changes in their starting XV but only skipper Henry Pyrgos will be making his Rugby World Cup debut when they take on the USA in their second Pool B match at Leeds’ Elland Road on Sunday.
With just three days rest since Wednesday’s 45-10 opening win against Japan, head coach Vern Cotter has rotated his squad while keeping only five players who started in Gloucester. Full-back Stuart Hogg, two-try centre Mark Bennett, fly-half Finn Russell, lock Grant Gilchrist and open-side John Hardie are the players retained.
Pyrgos replaces Grieg Laidlaw as captain and scrum-half, although the squad skipper will probably be involved in some point as he is on the bench althong with Wednesday’s entire front row.
Just ten days separate Scotland’s first three games of their Pool campaign at three different venues – they move to Newcastle after Sunday’s game – and Cotter is mindful to get as much rest for his players as possible within that crunched schedule.
However it seems certain that Hardie, controversially parachuted in to the squad at the eleventh hour but a try-scorer and the leading tackler on Wednesday, is set to start all four pool games if he stays clear of injury.
Scotland team: Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors); Sean Maitland (London Irish), Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors), Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors), Tim Visser (Harlequins); Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors), Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors, capt); Ryan Grant (Glasgow Warriors), Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Jon Welsh (Newcastle Falcons); Richie Gray (Castres), Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby), Alasdair Strokosch (Perpignan), John Hardie (unattached), Josh Strauss (Glasgow Warriors).
Replacements: Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby), Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby), Willem Nel (Edinburgh Rugby), Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors), Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors), Greig Laidlaw (Gloucester), Duncan Weir (Glasgow Warriors), Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby)