Nine changes to Scotland team to face Fiji

Glasgow Warriors and British & Irish Lions full-back Stuart Hogg returns to the starting Scotland line-up for this Saturday’s November Test against Fiji in front of a capacity crowd at Murrayfield Stadium.

Hogg has been absent from competitive action since having surgery on an ankle injury he sustained in September, while representing his club in the Guinness PRO14.

He is among nine changes to the starting Scotland line-up from Saturday’s defeat to Wales as Head Coach Gregor Townsend rewards several players who performed well off the bench, while welcoming the availability of exile players during World Rugby’s designated international window.

Four such players come into the starting line-up, where Exeter Chiefs lock Sam Skinner is set to make his debut, while half-backs Greig Laidlaw (Clermont Auvergne) and Finn Russell (Racing 92), and wing Sean Maitland (Saracens), are also set to start.

It will be Laidlaw's first Scotland outing since kicking the match-winning penalty against Italy in the Six Nations earlier this year, securing a third-placed Championship finish for the visitors in Rome.

It will also be the first time the scrum-half - who has captained the national team more than any other player - will lead the side under Head Coach Gregor Townsend.

Glasgow Warriors duo Alex Dunbar and Tommy Seymour return to start in the backs, while Pete Horne is promoted from last week’s bench in Cardiff to partner fellow Warrior Dunbar in midfield.

Debutant Skinner is one of four changes to the pack, with hooker Fraser Brown, lock Grant Gilchrist and number 8 Matt Fagerson promoted from last week’s bench, while props Allan Dell and Willem Nel, and back-row forwards Ryan Wilson and Jamie Ritchie, are all reinstated.

Scotland team to play Fiji at Murrayfield Stadium