Hamish Watson to make his 50th appearance for Scotland

Edinburgh Rugby and British & Irish Lion Hamish Watson will make his 50th appearance for Scotland this Saturday when they face Argentina in the second Test of the tour series in Salta.

Watson made his debut for Scotland in 2015 against Italy and has since gone on to start 43 times, scoring six tries. He has recovered from injury which ruled him out of last week’s first Test.

Rory Darge made his return from injury in the first test and will make his fourth start for his country on Saturday. The 22-year-old made his debut for Scotland earlier this year against Wales.

Fellow Glasgow Warriors back-rower Matt Fagerson starts at number eight for the second time this test series.

Edinburgh Rugby’s new addition Sam Skinner replaces Jonny Gray in the starting line-up and will partner captain Grant Gilchrist in the second-row.

Edinburgh and Glasgow props Pierre Schoeman and Zander Fagerson retain their places and are joined in the front row by Dave Cherry at hooker. The Edinburgh player’s last appearances for Scotland came in 2021 when he played in all five of the Guinness Six Nations matches, making his debut against England in the victory at Twickenham.

London Irish's Ben White comes into the starting XV at number 9 and will make his first start for his country. White’s first appearance for Scotland came earlier this year when he scored a try against England in the win at BT Murrayfield. He will earn his sixth cap this weekend.

The rest of the backline is unchanged from last week with Blair Kinghorn starting at 10. Edinburgh’s Darcy Graham and Worcester Warriors’ Duhan van der Merwe are employed on the wings with Northampton Saints’ Rory Hutchinson keeping his place at full-back following his try in the opening test. Fellow try-scorer Mark Bennett also retains his place alongside Sam Johnson in the centre.

On the bench, London Irish winger Kyle Rowe could make his first appearance for Scotland. The former Scotland 7s player was previously included in Gregor Townsend’s squad during the Guinness Six Nations.

Glasgow duo Ali Price and Ross Thompson are the options at 9 and 10 from the bench.

Saracens back-rower Andy Christie will be aiming for his second Scotland cap and Glasgow Warriors’ second-row Scott Cummings will be looking for his first appearance of the year. Javan Sebastian, George Turner and Jamie Bhatti make up the rest of the replacement options.

Scotland team to face Argentina at the Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena, Salta, live on Sky Sports, Saturday 9 July - kick-off 8.10pm BST.

15. Rory Hutchinson - Northampton Saints - 6 caps
14. Darcy Graham - Edinburgh Rugby - 28 caps
13. Mark Bennett - Edinburgh Rugby - 25 caps
12. Sam Johnson - Glasgow Warriors - 25 caps
11. Duhan van der Merwe - Worcester Warriors - 17 caps
10. Blair Kinghorn - Edinburgh Rugby - 32 caps
9. Ben White - London Irish - 5 caps
1. Pierre Schoeman - Edinburgh Rugby - 10 caps
2. Dave Cherry - Edinburgh Rugby - 5 caps
3. Zander Fagerson - Glasgow Warriors - 48 caps
4. Sam Skinner - Edinburgh Rugby - 21 caps
5. Grant Gilchrist - Edinburgh Rugby - (Captain) - 54 caps
6. Rory Darge - Glasgow Warriors - 5 caps
7. Hamish Watson - Edinburgh Rugby (Vice-Captain) - 49 caps
8. Matt Fagerson - Glasgow Warriors - 22 caps

Replacements

16. George Turner - Glasgow Warriors - 26 caps
17. Jamie Bhatti - Glasgow Warriors - 22 caps
18. Javan Sebastian - Scarlets - 2 caps
19. Scott Cummings - Glasgow Warriors - 21 caps
20. Andy Christie - Saracens - 1 cap
21. Ali Price - Glasgow Warriors - 52 caps
22. Ross Thompson - Glasgow Warriors - 1 cap
23. Kyle Rowe - London Irish - uncapped