Stafford McDowall to captain Scotland at Scottish Gas Murrayfield

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - NOVEMBER 02: Scotland’s Stafford McDowall in action during The Famous Grouse Nations Series match between Scotland and Fiji at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, on November 02, 2024, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

McDowall has previously captained Glasgow Warriors and co-captained Scotland against Canada in the summer.

He will partner Rory Hutchinson, who has impressed for Northampton Saints and will play for Scotland for the first time since the 2022 summer tour against Argentina.

On the wing, Darcy Graham returns after recovering from sustaining a concussion in his sensational four-try display against Fiji earlier this month. Arron Reed will play on the opposite wing after making his debut on summer tour, scoring two tries against Canada. Tom Jordan retains his place at full-back.

Glasgow Warriors duo Adam Hastings and George Horne will be the half-back pairing with  scrum-half Horne named as vice-captain.

In the pack, Patrick Harrison and Will Hurd will add to the two caps they gained on summer tour with Jamie Bhatti also starting in the front row.

In the second row, Alex Samuel is set for a first Scotland cap. He made his professional debut in a Glasgow Warriors 37-0 victory over Benetton in November 2022 and has been involved in previous national training squads. He will be partnered with Scarlets’ Alex Craig.

Josh Bayliss remains in the matchday 23 following his involvement in the thrilling clash against South Africa last weekend. Joining the Bath number eight in the back row is vice-captain Luke Crosbie and Ben Muncaster, who is also primed to make a Scotland debut. Muncaster has been involved in the squad previously, playing for Scotland A against Chile in the 2022 summer tour.

On the bench, new call up Johnny Matthews is named. He has been capped once, in a try-scoring performance over Romania at the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Elliot Millar Mills retains his place among the replacements along with Rory Sutherland. Ewan Johnson is selected as a second row replacement, the young Oyannax lock having made his debut during the summer.

19-year-old Freddy Douglas could make his Scotland debut from the bench, and would become Scotland men’s youngest debutant since Donald White in 1963. The powerful back-rower represented Scotland U18 just 18 months ago in the 2023 U18 Six Nations Festival, and joined the Scottish Rugby Academy aligned to Edinburgh Rugby in the summer of 2023. He has featured for Edinburgh A this season, and also represented Scotland U20 in the U20 Six Nations and World Rugby U20 Trophy in 2024. He made the most tackles (77) and breakdown steals (12) in the U20 Six Nations.

After being involved in the first two matches of the autumn, Jamie Dobie is selected on the bench alongside Kyle Rowe, who returns after missing the South Africa match through injury, and Matt Currie who is set to make his first Scotland appearance at Scottish Gas Murrayfield.

There is still time to get your tickets and join 60,000 other Scotland fans. 

Scotland to face Portugal at Scottish Gas Murrayfield on Saturday 16 November, kick-off 3.10pm, live on TNT Sports

15. Tom Jordan – Glasgow Warriors (2)
14. Darcy Graham – Edinburgh Rugby (40)
13. Rory Hutchinson – Northampton Saints (7)
12. Stafford McDowall – Glasgow Warriors (7) CAPTAIN
11. Arron Reed – Sale Sharks (2)

10. Adam Hastings – Glasgow Warriors (31)
9. George Horne – Glasgow Warriors (32) VICE-CAPTAIN

1. Jamie Bhatti – Glasgow Warriors (34)
2. Patrick Harrison – Edinburgh Rugby (2)
3. Will Hurd – Leicester Tigers (2)
4. Alex Craig – Scarlets (4)
5. Alex Samuel – Glasgow Warriors (uncapped)
6. Luke Crosbie – Edinburgh Rugby (11) VICE-CAPTAIN
7. Ben Muncaster – Edinburgh Rugby (uncapped)
8. Josh Bayliss – Bath Rugby (8)

Replacements

16. Johnny Matthews – Glasgow Warriors (1)
17. Rory Sutherland – Glasgow Warriors (35)
18. Elliot Millar Mills – Northampton Saints (6)
19. Ewan Johnson – Oyonnax (3)
20. Freddy Douglas – Edinburgh Rugby (uncapped)
21. Jamie Dobie – Glasgow Warriors (8)
22. Matt Currie – Edinburgh Rugby (3)
23. Kyle Rowe – Glasgow Warriors (8)