England-Scotland: Jamie Ritchie captains Scotland in the Six Nations against England but Xander Fagersson misses the game; Ali price fell | Rugby Union News

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Scotland opened the 2023 Six Nations campaign against England at Twickenham on Saturday 4 February (4.45pm CEST); Jimmy Ritchie would drive for the team, while Luke Crosby would make his second start; Xander Fagersson did not play in the side due to fitness issues; Dropping Ali Price from the team by Amar Mehta

Last update: 02/02/23 12:08 PM

Jimmy Ritchie will captain Scotland for the first time in the Six Nations Championship

Jimmy Ritchie would captain Scotland in the opening Six Nations match against England, but Xander Fagersson was not fit enough to be included in Gregor Townsend’s 23-man squad.

Other major team news sees Ali Price – who toured with the British and Irish Lions in the summer of 2021 – dropped from the squad entirely, with Ben White starting, and George Horn among the substitutes.

Experienced duo Richie Gray and Grant Gilchrist are resuming their partnership in the second row after impressing during last year’s Autumn Nation series, with Gilchrist named vice-captain.

Luke Crosby will make his second start for Gregor Townsend’s side and play on the open wing on Saturday.

But there is no place in the side for Fagerson, who was not deemed fit enough to make the 23-man squad, as the Glasgow side continue to recover from a hamstring injury that has kept them on the sidelines since December.

He is in contention for the Calcutta Cup but missed out, strikers coach John Dalziel said on Tuesday, Gregor Townsend said after the team announced Fagerson would be available for selection next week.

Townsend hopes omitting Price will get the most out of him, adding: “Ali has been very good for us during that period. It shows the level of competition not just in that position but in every position.

“We’ve gone for guys who are in really good shape. That’s going to get the best out of Ali. We think we’ll see a reaction and get him back to his best for the rest of the season.

“We spoke a week ago that he needs to improve. He also knows that, he hasn’t been able to get as many games or minutes for Glasgow as he would like. He’s making progress on getting back to the best.”

Pierre Schumann started the loose international in his 17th consecutive international since his debut in 2021, with the evergreen WP Nel – who reached 50 caps in November – named at tighthead and George Turner named at hooker.

Xander Fagersson will miss the opening Six Nations match against England

In the back grade, half Ben White will join the showdown with Finn Russell, a year after making his Calcutta Cup debut at Murrayfield.

Glasgow’s Kyle Stein beat competition from Blair Kinghorn and Shaun Maitland to take the injured Darcy Graham’s place on the wing.

Chris Harris – who started on the bench – is a surprise omission from the XV, with Huw Jones taking over from the Gloucester centre.

Sione Tuipulotu was named alongside Jones as the centre-two, the former scoring his first tries for Scotland in a November win over Argentina, the latter notching no fewer than four tries against England in as many matches against them.

In the back hat-trick, Scotland’s top scorer Stuart Hogg continues at full-back, with Doohan van der Merwe and Kyle Stein lined up on the wings.

Stuart Hogg will play at full back

Townsend chose a bench with a 5-3 split between forwards and fullbacks, with fellow Glasgow Warriors club Fraser Brown, Jamie Bhatti, Simon Bergan and Jack Dempsey, along with Johnny Gray, listed as a replacement for the package.

George Horn, Blair Kinghorn and Chris Harris complete the tour line-up as alternate options.

Asked about the challenges posed by the new England squad under Steve Borthwick, Townsend said: “They are unknowns in terms of the game plan because the last time England played it was a different set of managers.

“We think they will play a game based on attacking and kicking strategy. They have a lot of quality players in their team and they can play in a different way, so we have to adapt.

“The challenges are first of all playing a good team away from home, but also giving the game we’ve worked on our performance.”

Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Kyle Stein, 13 Hugh Jones, 12 Sione Tuipoloto, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White; 1 Pierre Schumann, 2 George Turner, 3 WB Neal, 4 Richie Gray, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 6 Jimmy Ritchie (c), 7 Luke Crosby, 8 Matt Fagerson

Substitutes: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Simon Bergan, 19 Johnny Gray, 20 Jack Dempsey, 21 George Horn, 22 Blair Kinghorn, 23 Chris Harris

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