Hawick’s Darcy Graham still awaiting first start for Scottish national rugby team since November after being named on bench for third match running
Hawick’s Darcy Graham is the only fellow Borderer in Scottish national rugby team head coach Gregor Townsend’s match-day squad to take on Wales away this Saturday in rugby’s 2026 Six Nations.
The 28-year-old is named as a replacement for the third match running and will pick up his 53rd cap if brought on in Cardiff.
The Edinburgh right-winger took over from full-back Tom Jordan on 69 minutes during the Scots’ 31-20 Calcutta Cup win against England at the capital’s Murrayfield Stadium on Saturday to earn his 52nd since making his international debut in 2018, seven of them from the bench, yielding 34 tries, the latest of them during an 85-0 autumn test thumping of the USA in November.
That followed a 31-minute shift during his country’s 18-15 opening-round loss away to Italy a week earlier as a replacement for left-winger Jamie Dobie.
Graham is one of two Borderers in ex-Gala back Townsend’s 42-strong tournament squad, the other being fellow ex-Green Rory Sutherland.
The 46-times-capped loosehead prop, 33, hasn’t been selected for either of his country’s senior match-day squads to date this championship but was given a start for Scotland A’s 24-24 draw away to an Italian XV in Rieti in Lazio a week ago on Friday, with Alec Hepburn taking over on 41 minutes.
Graham, last given a starting place for November’s 33-24 loss to Argentina at Murrayfield, is joined on Saturday’s substitutes’ bench by George Turner, Pierre Schoeman, Elliot Millar Mills, Grant Gilchrist, Josh Bayliss, George Horne and Tom Jordan.
Glasgow Warriors inside-centre Sione Tuipulotu will be skippering and his fellow backs are Blair Kinghorn, Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones and Duhan van der Merwe.
Up front are Finn Russell, Ben White, Nathan McBeth, Dave Cherry, Zander and Matt Fagerson, Max Williamson, Scott Cummings, Gregor Brown and ex-Southern Knight Rory Darge.
Saturday’s fifth Calcutta Cup win for Scotland in their last half-dozen attempts ended a run of seven defeats versus top ten-ranked opposition and it leaves Scotland second to France in the championship table, on six points from two rounds, four shy of pole position but six better off than upcoming opponents Wales, beaten 54-12 hosting the French on Sunday.
Kick-off in Cardiff is at 4.40pm and Scotland head south looking for a fourth win on the bounce against Wales.
Looking ahead to going up against former Scotland defence coach Steve Tandy’s Welsh side this weekend, Townsend, 52, said: “There’s another game next week obviously and we’re on a seven-day turnaround. That is going to focus minds.
“It brings back so many good memories having the trophy in there but we now know we’ve got a job to do. There’s a championship to go for now.
“The only way we can go after this championship is if we win next week, and then we have a week off, so that’s a goal for us now.
“I’m just so pleased for the players. For them to play at that level against such a top team – the accuracy, the ambition, the bravery and then the colossal effort in the second half when guys were getting injured and players having to come on and the possession that England had – was great to see.”
Though the Welsh have lost both their Six Nations games so far by a combined margin of 83 points, having been beaten 48-7 away to England in round one prior to Sunday’s defeat by France, Townsend isn’t underestimating the challenge facing his visitors, saying: “Cardiff’s a really tough venue.
“I think the home venues are definitely something in the Six Nations you can use to your advantage. All the home teams won last week and having a home crowd gives you a huge advantage.
“We know Cardiff is one of the noisiest atmospheres. I really hope there are lots of Scots there.
“Last time we were there, it was one of our best performances. I think we had 45 minutes of error-free rugby almost. It was outstanding but it shows you that Wales can come back. They came back that day and at the end we got the control back. We know we’ll have to play well for 80 minutes.
“Wales, I think, in the second half against England showed a lot more of who they are. They’ve got some great individuals, an excellent coaching team, and they really went to England in that second half.”
The Scots’ remaining games after this weekend are hosting France on Saturday, March 7, and away to Ireland a week later, both with kick-offs at 2.10pm.