Preview: Scotland v Fiji

EDINBURGH , SCOTLAND - NOVEMBER 01: Scotland's Huw Jones and Sione Tuipulotu during a Scotland training session at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, on November 01, 2024, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

What they said:

Head Coach Gregor Townsend said: “It’s been a special week for Sione with the captaincy and his brother, Mosese, also making the squad. The transition to leading the team has been a smooth one as he’s been in our senior leadership group for the past couple of seasons.”

“It’s an experienced squad that will take to the field – and one that has a few club combinations.  We’ve had a really productive training week as we’ve had our whole squad in camp, including the other players who are based outside of Scotland.

“Fijian players possess a wonderful skillset, almost as if they have had a rugby ball in their hands for most of their lives. They can find space through passing and offloading, which has come from the love of Sevens rugby in their homeland. Fiji have also become a very strong Test team in recent seasons, based on huge physicality and the number of players they now have playing professional rugby around the world.”

The previous fixture

Scotland last played Fiji in 2022 as part of the Autumn Nations Series. Tries from George Turner, Adam Hastings, Duhan van der Merwe and Ben White secured a 28-12 victory.

Scotland have won seven of the previous nine meetings between the sides.

The teams

Due to the fixture falling outwith the international window, the majority of Scotland’s team is made of Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors players (with the exception of Dylan Richardson of the Sharks), while Fiji select largely from the Fijian Drua who compete in Super Rugby.