Blair Kinghorn will replace Russell at stand-off and Ollie Smith will take the place of full-back Hogg, as was the case in one of last summer’s Tests against Argentina. “We see Blair as a 10 who can play a number of positions,” explaining why he has opted for Kinghorn at number 10. “They have taken on the same teams that we have played, and two of those teams are the best teams in the world right now,” said Townsend. “The week after the New Zealand game we were really focused on a difficult opponent in Argentina and we played really well in that game, which gave us a boost going into this championship. “If we can do something similar against Italy, that will give us a boost heading into the World Cup preparations.”

Source: The Herald March 17, 2023 06:01 UTC