Skip to main content

Scotland team vs All Blacks: Russell and Tuipulotu back, Van der Merwe out

Finn Russell and captain Sione Tuipulotu return for Saturday's Murrayfield Test, while Duhan van der Merwe and record try-scorer Darcy Graham are left out.

By RuckBee Newsroom1 min read
A close portrait of a blond rugby player in a navy Scotland jersey, looking aside, with a floodlit castle, old stone streets and a team bus.
AI illustration

Scotland have brought Finn Russell and Sione Tuipulotu back into their side to face New Zealand, and left out Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham. Russell returns at fly-half and Tuipulotu, the captain, is back in the centres. Neither played in the July win over Fiji, a 33-17 victory.

Van der Merwe, a wing, is left out of the XV, as is record try-scorer Graham. Huw Jones also returns, at outside centre alongside Tuipulotu, after missing the July leg of the Nations Championship.

Up front there is far more change. Rory Sutherland is the only forward starting who also started against Fiji, according to BBC Sport.

The Test is at Murrayfield on Saturday 7 November, with kick-off at 14:10 GMT, in the Nations Championship. It is the first of four November Tests for Scotland, with Australia and Japan also visiting Edinburgh.

Dave Rennie, a former Glasgow coach who succeeded Gregor Townsend there, now coaches New Zealand.

Rennie said: "Scotland are a quality side. They are very well coached and have built a lot of depth over recent years."

Read the All Blacks team vs Scotland for the visitors' selection.

Sources

All pro rugby stories
A tight huddle of five intense red-jerseyed rugby players, the central man with arms outstretched binding teammates.

Pro Rugby

Romania v Tonga opens Nations Cup round four in Bucharest

Level at three wins each in six meetings since 2013, Romania and Tonga meet in Bucharest with unbeaten Georgia and USA setting the pace in the pools.

A smiling young woman with a ponytail sits at a desk gesturing toward a laptop showing a video call with six smiling women.

Pro Rugby

URC Women's Leadership Academy opens 2027 applications to 30 November

Fifty applicants aged 18–26 from around the world will be chosen, and one will be named the Academy's MVP with work experience at the URC Grand Final.

Ten business people in suits sit and stand around a wooden boardroom table, sliding plain folders across it.

Pro Rugby

Ten agents appointed for Rugby World Cup 2027 hospitality packages

Ten agencies from seven countries were picked from 45 applicants to sell hospitality for the tournament in Australia, which starts on Friday 1 October 2027.