Johnson makes Scotland debut in Six Nations opener

Rugby

Sam Johnson will make his international debut for Scotland in the Six Nations opening match against Italy in Edinburgh on Saturday.

The Glasgow Warriors centre is one of the three uncapped players named in the Scotland squad with Jake Kerr and Gary Graham on the substitutes bench.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has made six changes to the team who defeated Argentina 14-9 at Murrayfield Stadium during the Autumn internationals.

There are four changes in the forward line with Stuart McInally, Ben Toolis, Sam Skinner and Ryan Wilson being introduced while wing Tommy Seymour comes in for the injured Sean Maitland.

“It’s a privilege to be involved in the Guinness Six Nations, a tournament that has grown in quality over the past few seasons,” said Townsend in a statement.

“You can sense the excitement throughout the rugby world on the eve of this year’s Championship and we’re looking forward to our starting our campaign at BT Murrayfield.

“Italy have made life tough for Scotland in every Test match we’ve played. I remember that as a player, as a supporter and as a coach – and they were better than us in most of last season’s contest in Rome. They played with pace, were physical and we had to play really, really well in the final quarter to win.

Townsend also confirmed that Glasgow Warriors wing Lee Jones will not feature in the opening matches of the tournament due to a knee injury.

Scotland squad to face Italy:

Team:

15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Blair Kinghorn, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (captain), 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Jamie Ritchie, 6 Sam Skinner, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Ben Toolis, 3 WP Nel, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Allan Dell

Replacements:

16 Jake Kerr, 17 Jamie Bhati, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Gary Graham, 20 Josh Strauss, 21 Ali Price, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Chris Harris

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