Tonga last faced Scotland at Murrayfield 20 years ago in a 43-20 win for the home side in 2001.

The teams have faced each other twice since then, both in Scotland, with a win apiece in fixtures played in Aberdeen in 2012 and Kilmarnock in 2014.

Following the impact of Covid-19 on Scotland’s planned summer test series which saw games against England A, Romania and Georgia all cancelled the Autumn Nations Series provides an additional opportunity for the Dark Blues to prepare for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, where Tonga could well be Pool B opponents.

Australia, South Africa and Japan will also play Scotland at BT Murrayfield over the Autumn Nations Series on consecutive weekends in November following the Tonga match.

Tonga take on Scotland ahead of their own northern hemisphere schedule which sees them face England at Twickenham the following weekend on 6 November.

Ticket offers for the Tonga match – which is expected to be
played with an afternoon kick-off – are being developed to help make the game
accessible to everyone and will also be distributed in support of good causes.

Scottish Rugby Chief Executive Mark Dodson said: “Following Scotland’s disrupted summer campaign we are pleased to be able to welcome Tonga to BT Murrayfield as part of our Autumn Nations Series.

“I’d like to thank Tonga Rugby CEO Peter Harding and the Tongan Rugby Union for their proactivity in working with us to secure this fixture to ensure we can give fans, players and coaches another test match to enjoy in 2021.

“Matches with Tonga are always competitive and physically demanding games and we feel this is the ideal way for our Autumn Nations Series to kick off and we look forward to welcoming Tonga back to Scotland.”

Tonga Rugby Union CEO Peter Harding said: “Tonga Rugby Union thank Scottish Rugby and their staff for the assistance in getting this fixture off the ground.

“Both Unions have worked well together to generate an exciting event. Edinburgh is one of the great Rugby destinations and BT Murrayfield is always a special venue.

“The intention of the ‘Ikale Tahi is to always walk toward the challenge of playing the best teams as often as we can and the exciting team currently playing under Scotland Head Coach Gregor Townsend certainly provides a challenge.”

Ticketing information:

Prices for this extra game start at £16 for adults and £11
for U18s, with U12s tickets only £1 (in Bronze and Silver category). 2-Match
Packages and individual match tickets go on sale for all four Autumn Nations
Series games at 10am on Monday 2 August. The sale will be online only from the
Scottish Rugby Online Ticket Centre.