EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — Scotland coach Gregor Townsend expects Duhan van der Merwe and Blair Kinghorn to be hungry to prove themselves after their recall for the Six Nations trip to Wales this weekend.
The British and Irish Lions backs were dropped for the first two rounds against Italy and England without controversy, due to lacking form and composure in the autumn rugby tests.
Along with another Lion, winger Darcy Graham, they were Scotland’s regular back three. But Scotland started a Six Nations match without at least one of the three for the first time since 2019.
Their replacements failed to click in the opening 18-15 loss to Italy in Rome but repaid Townsend’s faith in the one-sided 31-20 win over England last weekend at Murrayfield. While training in Spain this week the coach has brought the old gang back together for a game Scotland is heavily favored to win on Saturday.
Graham came off the bench in both matches and is in the reserves again. He remains second on Scotland’s all-time leading try-scorer list, one behind van der Merwe’s 35.
Scotland goes after a fourth straight win against Wales, which hasn’t won a Six Nations match anywhere in two years and is coming off a short six-day turnaround. The way Wales has fallen off tackles — 31 against France last Sunday — suggests there will be gaps and room to attack for runners like van der Merwe and Kinghorn.
“Blair was back playing on Sunday night for Toulouse so it’s good to get an outlet when you’ve not been selected,” Townsend said at the team announcement on Thursday. “He’s recovered quickly.
“Duhan’s trained really well and very much been part of our squad, so there’ll be a freshness around both of them coming back in and huge determination to play well.
“For those players that have been in our squad for a few years (getting dropped will) be tough for them to take. They understand the reasons why we had different selections going into our opening two games. And now they have an opportunity to represent their country again.”
Graham has four tries against Wales, van der Merwe has two tries from the last visit to Cardiff in 2024, and Kinghorn has three tries, including two in last year’s 35-29 home win.
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