Scotland recall Jones, Russell and Tuipulotu for All Blacks

Scotland’s head coach named a heavily Glasgow-flavoured side on Thursday, with two Toulon players starting and Toulouse’s Blair Kinghorn on the bench.

Thirteen Warriors in the squad

Glasgow supply ten of the starting XV and 13 of the 23, including the whole back three of Kyle Rowe, Kyle Steyn and Jamie Dobie. Rowe, in form since the start of the season, is preferred to Blair Kinghorn, who has seen little game time at full-back for Toulouse recently. Townsend said Kinghorn, back at fly-half in Toulouse’s last two games, would mainly cover the back three from the bench.

In midfield Huw Jones is reunited with Sione Tuipulotu, his centre partner for four years. Absent in July, the Toulon centre earned his place with his display against Pau, where he scored his first try for the club. His Toulon team-mate Ben White partners Finn Russell, who wins his 96th cap. Scotland’s two all-time leading try-scorers, Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham, are not in the 23.

Scotland: Rowe; Steyn, H Jones, Tuipulotu (capt), Dobie; Russell, White; Sutherland, Ashman, Z Fagerson, Brown, Cummings, M Fagerson, Darge, Dempsey. Replacements: Hiddleston, Schoeman, Hurd, Williamson, Bayliss, Horne, T Jordan, Kinghorn.

Three defeats by less than ten points

Scotland have failed to win any of their 33 Tests against New Zealand since 1905 (two draws, in 1964 and 1983), RugbyPass notes. The last three meetings were tight, though: 17-22 in 2017, 23-31 in 2022 and 17-25 in November 2025, when Scotland came back from 17-0 down to 17-17 before a late Damian McKenzie try.

Dave Rennie, Glasgow coach from 2017 to 2020, keeps almost the same side that beat Australia 43-21 in Sydney. Jordie Barrett returns at centre and Ethan de Groot in the front row, while Codie Taylor stays captain in Ardie Savea’s absence. The All Blacks will wear a white jersey with an Armistice Day poppy and black armbands in memory of their head of security Logan Cadwallader, who died in Edinburgh on Sunday.

New Zealand: B Barrett; Jordan, Tupaea, J Barrett, Moorby; McKenzie, Roigard; De Groot, Taylor (capt), Newell, S Barrett, Holland, Vaa’i, Lakai, Sititi. Replacements: Aumua, Bower, Tosi, Lio-Willie, Segner, Ratima, Tavatavanawai, R Ioane.

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland).