Scotland go full strength in bid for first-ever win over All Blacks

Scotland go full strength in search of a first-ever win over the All Blacks

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has named a full-strength side for Saturday's Nations Championship meeting with New Zealand at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, recalling British and Irish Lions Huw Jones and Blair Kinghorn as his team chase a first-ever victory over the All Blacks.

Scotland and New Zealand meet on Saturday 7 November 2026, with kick-off at 2.10pm, in round four of the Nations Championship. The match will be shown live on ITV Sport. Townsend's side won two of their three matches in July, and a win on Saturday could lift Scotland to the top of the Nations Championship northern hemisphere pool.

Captain Sione Tuipulotu leads the side from inside centre, with Jones returning beside him in midfield. The pair have not featured for Scotland since the 2026 Six Nations, and Jones's return reunites a centre partnership Townsend has trusted in the biggest matches. Finn Russell starts at fly-half and will win his 96th Scotland cap, with Ben White at scrum-half for the seventh time alongside Russell this calendar year.

A Glasgow core and a 121-year wait

Ten of Scotland's starting fifteen play for Glasgow Warriors, including an all-Glasgow back three of Kyle Rowe at full-back and Kyle Steyn and Jamie Dobie on the wings. Steyn is a vice-captain, alongside flanker Rory Darge. Ewan Ashman is the only Edinburgh Rugby player in the starting side, packing down at hooker between Rory Sutherland and Zander Fagerson.

Scotland have never beaten New Zealand. The teams have met 33 times since their first Test in 1905 at Inverleith in Edinburgh, with New Zealand winning 31 and two matches drawn. Both draws came at Murrayfield, 0-0 on 18 January 1964 and 25-25 on 12 November 1983, and the last ten meetings between the sides have all been played at Murrayfield.

Only Gregor Brown and Sutherland remain from the starting side that beat Fiji 33-17 in mid-July, a measure of how much Townsend has changed his team for the return to home soil. Brown moves from the back of the scrum into the second row alongside Scott Cummings, while Matt Fagerson returns from a groin injury to start at blindside flanker, with Darge on the openside and Jack Dempsey at number eight.

Rennie keeps faith with a settled All Blacks side

New Zealand head coach Dave Rennie has made only two changes to the starting side that beat Australia 43-21 in Sydney on 17 October, with five changes in total to the matchday 23. Prop Ethan de Groot returns at loosehead, and Jordie Barrett is back from injury at inside centre, with Quinn Tupaea outside him.

Codie Taylor captains the visitors from hooker, with Fletcher Newell completing the front row and Scott Barrett and Fabian Holland forming the second-row partnership. Tupou Vaa'i, Peter Lakai and Wallace Sititi make up the back row in the continued absence of regular captain Ardie Savea.

Cam Roigard starts at scrum-half and Damian McKenzie at fly-half, with Beauden Barrett, who has won 147 Test caps, at full-back. Will Jordan starts on the wing and is the leading try-scorer in the 2026 Nations Championship, with six tries from three matches. "Scotland are a quality side," Rennie said. "They are very well coached and have built a lot of depth over recent years. They play a very similar brand of footy to us and we know we'll need to be at our best on Saturday."

A sombre week in the visitors' camp

The All Blacks will wear black armbands in memory of their long-serving head of security, Logan Cadwallader, who died suddenly in Edinburgh on Sunday morning. Their white jerseys will also feature a poppy in recognition of Armistice Day.

"It's been a really tough week for our group following the passing of Logan," Rennie said. "He was one of us, and he will be very much in our thoughts as we take the field on Saturday. The boys have leaned on each other and prepared well, so we're ready to go."

What is at stake at Murrayfield

Both teams sit second in their respective hemisphere leaderboards in the Nations Championship, and the winners will strengthen their place heading into the final rounds. New Zealand face Wales and England after Scotland, while Scotland face Australia and Japan before the finals weekend at Twickenham on 27-30 November.

"They're playing some excellent rugby right now and it's our first game of the season, which is always the toughest challenge for us too," Townsend said of New Zealand. He described the visitors as a team playing much more ambitious rugby, adding that they had played a lot of Test matches over the summer.

Scotland's bench follows a traditional five-three split, with Gregor Hiddleston, Pierre Schoeman, Will Hurd, Max Williamson and Josh Bayliss covering the forwards, and George Horne, Tom Jordan and Kinghorn covering the backs. Andrew Brace of Ireland will referee the match. For Scotland, 121 years of history say this is the hardest fixture in the calendar. Townsend's selection says they intend to treat it as a winnable one.