Five restored to Scotland line-up to face Samoa
Kyle Steyn moves from left to right wing as Arron Reed comes in at 11 while Rory Hutchinson and Stafford McDowall make up a new centre partnership.
Advertisement
In the pack, Gregor Brown comes into the second row and Andy Onyeama-Christie takes over at blindside flanker.
Darcy Graham was red carded in Saturday's loss to Fiji while Tom Jordan and Jamie Ritchie had been ruled out of Friday's Test. Lock Marshall Sykes drops to the bench while Cameron Redpath misses out.
Loosehead prop Rory Sutherland and hooker Ewan Ashman will join up with the British and Irish Lions squad touring Australia after featuring against Samoa.
Gregor Townsend's Scots beat Maori All Blacks 29-26 in Whangarei before last weekend's 29-14 defeat in Suva.
Scotland XI to face Samoa
Scotland: Kyle Rowe, Kyle Steyn, Rory Hutchinson, Stafford McDowall, Arron Reed, Fergus Burke, Jamie Dobie; Rory Sutherland, Ewan Ashman, Elliot Millar Mills, Gregor Brown, Grant Gilchrist, Andy Onyeama, Rory Darge (capt), Matt Fagerson.
Advertisement
Replacements: George Turner, Nathan McBeth, Fin Richardson, Cameron Henderson, Marshall Sykes, Ben Muncaster, George Horne, Adam Hastings.
Related internet links
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
34 minutes ago
- New York Times
The British Open Is Special to Tom Watson. He Won It Five Times.
A half century has passed since Tom Watson captured the first of his five British Opens, defeating Jack Newton by one in an 18-hole playoff at Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland. Watson's most memorable Open triumph, however, came in 1977 at Turnberry in Scotland when he closed with a 65 to edge Jack Nicklaus by a stroke in what became known as the Duel in the Sun. Turnberry was also the venue for one of Watson's toughest losses. In the 2009 British Open, Watson led by one on the final hole but made a bogey and fell to Stewart Cink in a four-hole playoff. With this year's Open starting Thursday at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland, Watson, 75, reflected on his past appearances. The following conversation has been edited and condensed. What stands out about your British Open win in 1975? What stands out is when I was receiving the trophy from the captain of the R&A, he said to the crowd, 'Now I'd like to introduce as the champion golfer of the year, Tom Kite.' That's how unknown I was. What did the victory do for your confidence? It was obviously a victory in a very important tournament, but I was still trying to learn how to win. I hadn't learned how yet. I felt I had the tools to win, but I didn't perform when the chips were down. A lot of it has to do with trusting your golf swing, but it also had to do with swinging too fast and making quick decisions. I finally learned by walking a beat slower and deep breathing coupled with a trust in your golf swing. Things started to fall into place. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
6 hours ago
- New York Times
‘Big logistical issues' to fix before Open Championship returns to Trump Turnberry, says R&A chief
President Donald Trump has been warned that 'big logistical issues' remain a barrier to his Turnberry resort course hosting the Open Championship. The Scottish venue — widely rated as one of the finest in the world — last staged golf's oldest major in 2009 when Stewart Cink famously defeated veteran U.S. star Tom Watson. Advertisement Trump purchased the five-star resort in 2014 and has regularly queried why it has not returned to the rota of courses used for the tournament. A key consideration for the Royal & Ancient Golf Club (R&A), which organises the Open, is infrastructure. Turnberry is revered but also remote and with few transport links, which limits attendance. In 2009, around 123,000 spectators attended the tournament. This week, around 280,000 spectators are expected to descend on Royal Portrush for the 153rd edition of the competition. Asked at a news conference on Wednesday about Turnberry's chances of a return, R&A chief executive Mark Darbon revealed that he has been in dialogue with Trump's son, Eric, but reiterated the problems posed by the course. 'I think we have been extremely clear on our position in regard to Turnberry,' Darbon said. 'We love the golf course but we have some big logistical issues there. 'You've seen the scale of the set-up here (at Portrush) and there's some work to do on the road, rail and accommodation infrastructure around Turnberry. 'We've explicitly not taken it out of our pool of venues but we'd need to address those logistical challenges should we return. 'We need a venue that can accommodate a modern Open Championship from a logistical and commercial perspective and we want to be at venues that enable us to continue to tell the wonderful story that underpins the world's oldest major championship.' He added: 'I met a couple of months ago with Eric Trump and some of the leadership from the Trump golf organisation and from Turnberry. We had a really good discussion. I think they understand clearly where we're coming from. We talked through some of the challenges that we have so we've got a good dialogue with them.' Darbon took over from Martin Slumbers as chief executive of the R&A last year, so this was his first time addressing media ahead of an Open. Advertisement Slumbers had previously suggested Turnberry would not be a host venue while Trump was involved in American politics, as it would create unwanted coverage that would overshadow the tournament. Asked whether that remains the case, Darbon replied: 'It's a somewhat hypothetical question in that unless we address the logistical challenges, it's difficult for us to go back.' While golf fans would welcome a return to Turnberry as many enjoy the variety of Open Championship venues, the focus in more recent years has been on access, availability of tickets and the overall experience. Getting to a major golfing event in the UK is difficult because the demand far outweighs the supply. Venues across England and Scotland have also worked hard to improve public transport links, accommodation and hospitality offerings to cater for the large audience, so there is an expectation that everything is in place when spectators visit. If Turnberry can guarantee all these factors have been improved then it should be a suitable host. After a nearly decade-long absence, Trump National Doral Golf Club is expected to return to the PGA Tour circuit in 2026, according to the Sports Business Journal, so it will be interesting to see if the Scottish venue follows in the future. Turnberry was not the only venue in discussion today, as another Scottish links, Muirfield, has been waiting for a recall since 2013. Darbon added: 'There's some things that we need to evolve at Muirfield, the practice ground in particular is a challenge for us with a modern Open and there's some work we need to do with the venue to facilitate some of the infrastructure that we require, some cabling to enable the scale of the production that we have these days. But it's a good dialogue and we'd love to be back there in the future.' (Top photo of Trump at Turnberry in 2023:)
Washington Post
6 hours ago
- Washington Post
Trump's Turnberry faces logistical hurdles for British Open return
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — President Donald Trump is not getting a British Open to the Turnberry course he owns in the near future, an issue the R&A's new chief executive said Wednesday was more about transportation than politics. Turnberry is regarded as the most beautiful of the links on the Open rotation, set along the Ayrshire coast in Scotland across from the Ailsa Craig. It last hosted the Open in 2009, before Trump bought the resort. Mark Darbon, who took over at the R&A this year from Martin Slumbers, said Turnberry had not been taken off the list of potential British Open sites, but transportation and other issues had to be addressed. 'I think we've been extremely clear on our position in respect of Turnberry. We love the golf course but we've got some big logistical challenges there,' he said. 'You see the scale of their setup here and we've got some work to do on the road, rail and accommodation infrastructure around Turnberry.' Darbon said the R&A met with Eric Trump and other leaders of Trump Golf a few months ago and the talks had been constructive. 'I think they understand clearly where we're coming from. We talked through some of the challenges that we have so we've got a good dialogue with them,' he said. Slumbers had previously said the R&A would not be going to Turnberry until it was comfortable the topic would be about golf and not the owner. Turnberry has only hosted the British Open four times, first in 1977 with the famous 'Duel in the Sun' when Tom Watson beat Jack Nicklaus. But the Open is getting bigger, and the roads are limited getting to Turnberry. There has been speculation Trump, whose golf courses have never hosted a men's major, might ask the British government to intercede in getting the Open back to Turnberry. 'We have an ongoing dialogue with the UK government given that we're a major event that creates significant value into the UK economy,' Darbon said. 'We've spoken to them specifically about Turnberry and I think they've made it clear that the decision around where we take our championship rests with us. 'I would find it difficult to predict whether there will be any discussion on The Open if the President is making a visit here.' Turnberry is not the only Scottish links being ignored by the R&A. Muirfield, located along the Firth of Forth east of Edinburgh, is reputed to be the purest of links courses. Its first Open was in 1892, and there have been 15 others, most recently in 2013 won by Phil Mickelson. Only St. Andrews has hosted more Opens than Muirfield. But it has not been back there since 2013 as the R&A has been geared toward taking golf's oldest championship to courses that can hold big crowds. It is expected 278,000 spectators will be at Royal Portrush this week, the second-largest behind St. Andrews. The last Open at Muirfield had 142,000 spectators. The Open will be at Royal Birkdale next year, and then St. Andrews in 2027. The site for 2028 has not been announced. Muirfield has never gone more than 11 years — except for interruptions from World War I and World War II — between Opens. 'We love the golf course at Muirfield. We're in a discussion with the venue right now,' Darbon said. 'There's some things that we need to evolve at Muirfield — the practice ground in particular is a challenge for us with a modern Open and there's some work we need to do with the venue to facilitate some of the infrastructure that we require. 'But it's a good dialogue and we'd love to be back there in the future.' ___ AP golf:
