Borderer Darcy Graham named on bench for second game on bounce as Scotland prepare to host England in rugby’s 2026 Six Nations
Hawick’s Darcy Graham has been named as a replacement for the second game on the bounce as Scotland prepare to host England in round two of rugby’s 2026 Six Nations this coming Saturday.
That match kicks off at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium at 4.40pm as head coach Gregor Townsend’s hosts look to bounce back from an 18-15 opening-day defeat away to Italy seven days prior.
Graham, 28, was among the Scots’ replacements in Rome, taking over from Jamie Dobie on 49 minutes to earn his 51st cap, six of them from the bench.
The Edinburgh right-winger is the only fellow Borderer in Townsend’s match-day squad of 23 but is joined by another ex-Green, 46-times-capped loosehead prop Rory Sutherland, in the Scots’ 42-strong tournament squad.
Sutherland, 33, hasn’t been selected for a senior match-day squad so far this championship but was given a starting place for Scotland A’s 24-24 draw away to an Italian XV in Rieti in Lazio last Friday, making way for Alec Hepburn on 41 minutes.
Graham is one of only two Edinburgh players in Saturday’s squad, the other being fellow substitute Pierre Schoeman, with ten starting places, including captain Sione Tuipulotu at inside-centre, and four spots on the bench going to their United Rugby Championship rivals Glasgow Warriors, reflecting their relative standings in that competition at the moment, defending champions Warriors being in pole position, on 44 points from 11 fixtures, and the capital city club lying 13th, on 18 from ten.
Tuipulotu’s fellow backs are Tom Jordan, Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Dobie, Finn Russell and Ben White.
Up front are 35-times-capped ex-Southern Knight Rory Darge, Nathan McBeth, George Turner, Zander Fagerson, Gregor Brown, Scott Cummings, Jamie Ritchie and Jack Dempsey.
Alongside Graham and Schoeman on the bench will be Dave Cherry, Elliot Millar Mills, Max Williamson, Matt Fagerson, George Horne and Adam Hastings.
Looking back at the weekend’s loss in Rome, Scotland’s second on the bounce there following one by 31-29 in 2024 and ahead to taking on head coach Steve Borthwick’s England, 48-7 winners at home to Wales on Saturday gone, former Gala back Townsend, 52, the national team’s head coach since 2017, said: “Losing against Italy, it’s happened before, but losing your first game of the championship is tough for everyone.
“We’ve done very well in recent championships with our starts, whether it’s the first game or the second game. This is a blow. It’s clearly a blow that we didn’t get the win.
“Even though we’ve got this huge game next week ahead of us, which is always a stand-alone game, it’s on the back of a defeat, so it’s tough for everybody right now.”
The Scots go into Saturday’s game seeking a fifth Calcutta Cup win in their last six attempts and unbeaten by the English at Murrayfield since 2020.