Borderer Rory Sutherland in line for 34th cap for Scottish national rugby team after being selected as replacement v South Africa
Hawick’s Rory Sutherland is line for his 34th cap for Scotland’s national rugby team after being selected as a replacement for their autumn test at home to South Africa this coming weekend.
Kick-off against the Springboks at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium on Sunday is at 4.10pm.
Glasgow Warriors loosehead prop Sutherland, 32, was also on the substitutes’ bench for the Scots’ 57-17 win against Fiji at Murrayfield on Saturday gone, coming on as a 48th-minute replacement for Pierre Schoeman for his 33rd cap.
He was one of two Borderers in the Scots’ match-day squad versus Fiji, with fellow ex-Green Darcy Graham marking his international comeback after almost 13 months out by scoring four tries prior to being forced off by a head injury on 67 minutes.
Sutherland will be the region’s only representative on Sunday, however, as right-winger Graham, 27, failed two post-match head-injury assessments, sidelining him for just short of two weeks.
Head coach Gregor Townsend is hopeful that he’ll be fit to play in the Scots’ third test of this autumn, versus Portugal on Saturday, November 16, though.
Former Southern Knights openside flanker Rory Darge is also in Sunday’s match-day squad and he’ll be starting for his 24th cap.
Sutherland and Graham are among three Borderers in Scotland’s autumn test squad, the other being twice-capped former Peebles hooker Patrick Harrison.
Joining Sutherland on Sunday’s substitutes' bench are Dylan Richardson, Elliot Millar Mills, Max Williamson, Josh Bayliss, Jamie Ritchie, Jamie Dobie and Stafford McDowall.
Darge’s fellow starters are captain Sione Tuipulotu, Tom Jordan, Blair Kinghorn, Huw Jones, Duhan van der Merwe, Finn Russell, Ben White, Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, Zander and Matt Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist, Scott Cummings and Jack Dempsey.
The Scots go into this weekend’s test hoping to end an eight-game losing streak against the world champions stretching back to 2012.
Their last win against the Springboks – ranked second in the world at present, five places higher than their hosts – was at Murrayfield in November 2010, by 21-17.
All of head coach Andy Robinson’s hosts’ points that day were kicked by Australian-born fly-half Dan Parks via six penalties and one drop-goal.
Their starting line-up also included four Borderers – Hawick’s Nikki Walker and Scott MacLeod, Melrose’s Kelly Brown and Kelso’s Ross Ford – with Gala’s Chris Paterson joining them from the bench later on.
That was only Scotland’s fifth win ever against the South Africans and former Gala and Border Reivers player Townsend is fully aware of how challenging a prospect trying to notch up a sixth will be.
“There will be a focus on what we need to get right because of the opposition,” said the 51-year-old.
“I think we’ll have to be on it every action, every minute against South Africa because they're the best team in the world, world champions, however we want to describe them.
“They’ve got multiple threats throughout the team.
“It’ll be an open game, we believe. Our defence will have to be really on point, not just for their physicality that’s coming but also their threats when they move the ball wide.”