Gregor Townsend has called on his Scotland side to ensure their Pacific tour ends on a positive note as they prepare to face Samoa at Eden Park in Auckland this Friday (08:35 BST).
Scotland have had mixed fortunes on tour so far, edging the Maori All Blacks 29-26 before falling 29-14 to Fiji in Suva. Townsend said the players are determined to produce a strong final showing.
“Tours are remembered in part by what you experience off the field but also by how well you play and the results you produce,” he said. “There was definitely a better feeling around the camp after the Maori game than there was after the Fiji game. We want to finish this tour with a real strong performance and finish on a high from a playing point of view.”
Five Changes for Samoa Test
Townsend has made five personnel changes and one positional switch for the final game of the tour. Kyle Steyn moves from left to right wing to accommodate Arron Reed, while Rory Hutchinson and Stafford McDowall form a new centre partnership. With Tom Jordan injured and Darcy Graham now with the British and Irish Lions, the backline sees a reshuffle, and Cameron Redpath drops out.
In the forwards, Gregor Brown returns to the second row in place of Marshall Sykes, and Andy Onyeama-Christie replaces the injured Jamie Ritchie at blindside flanker.
Townsend explained that Lions call-ups Ewan Ashman and Rory Sutherland were both eager to feature before departing for Australia.
“Ewan and Rory were very keen to play,” he said. “They can get to Melbourne on Sunday the same time as the Lions are arriving. So as long as they are available to train on Monday and be available for the Lions game on Tuesday [against First Nations and Pasifika XV].”
Focus on Discipline and Final Impressions
Following a frustrating defeat to Fiji, Townsend stressed the importance of better discipline — particularly around the ruck.
“Discipline can be a number of things that the referee can call you up on, not being offside just giving a bit of space that would be the first one that we can fix, even those borderline calls that we had at the weekend. We’ve got to take that out of the referee and assistant referee’s hands by showing space around the ruck.”
He also noted the positive environment off the pitch and within training sessions, particularly ahead of the Maori game.
“Off the field it’s been excellent and a lot of what the players have been doing in training particularly in the Maori game has been very good so we really want to work towards having that same memories of the tour on the field on Friday night.”
Scotland Team to Face Samoa
Starting XV:
15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Arron Reed, 10 Fergus Burke, 9 Jamie Dobie;
1 Rory Sutherland, 2 Ewan Ashman, 3 Elliot Millar Mills, 4 Gregor Brown, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 6 Andy Onyeama-Christie, 7 Rory Darge (capt), 8 Matt Fagerson
Replacements:
16 George Turner, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Fin Richardson, 19 Cameron Henderson, 20 Marshall Sykes, 21 Ben Muncaster, 22 George Horne, 23 Adam Hastings
