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Fraser Brown to start at openside as Scotland make 14 changes for Russia

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has made 14 changes to his side for Wednesday's penultimate P...



Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has made 14 changes to his side for Wednesday's penultimate Pool A game with Russia at the Rugby World Cup.

Following on from last week's bonus-point win against Samoa, Townsend has chosen to rest his-frontline players ahead of the final game with hosts Japan, as winger Darcy Graham is the only member of last week's team retained in the first 15.

Interestingly, Townsend has picked hooker Fraser Brown to start in the back-row as an openside flanker. The 30-year-old Glasgow Warrior has featured off the bench in both games so far, and played in the back-row when introduced against Ireland, but this is just the second time in 44 tests he'll start at flanker. His previous start in that position came against Argentina in 2018.

Townsend has chosen to give Finn Russell, Stuart Hogg, Sean Maitland, Jonny Gray and others a night off, with a short turnaround to their must-win final pool game with hosts Japan. Following Japan's bonus point win against Samoa on Saturday, the Scots know 9 points from their final two pool games are a must if they're to stand any chance of an early flight home.

Blair Kinghorn, Peter Horne, Ben Toolis and George Turner will all make their first appearances of the 2019 World Cup, while John Barclay captains the side, having been dropped for last week's win against Samoa.

"First and foremost we've picked a team we believe is capable of defeating an increasingly impressive and combative Russia side, who are looking to finish their Pool campaign on a high," said Gregor Townsend.

"Any successful World Cup campaign is built on a squad effort and those players who didn't get the opportunity to start against Samoa really helped provide that team with a quality week of preparation."

Scotland: Blair Kinghorn; Tommy Seymour, Duncan Taylor, Peter Horne, Darcy Graham; Adam Hastings, George Horne; Gordon Reid, George Turner, Zander Fagerson; Scott Cummings, Ben Toolis; John Barclay, Fraser Brown, Ryan Wilson.

Replacements: Stuart McInally, Simon Berghan, WP Nel, Grant Gilchrist,  Magnus Bradbury, Ritchie, Henry Pyrgos, Chris Harris.

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