Scotland's head coach Gregor Townsend has confirmed that fly-half Finn Russell will not be available for the team's opening Nations Championship match against Argentina. Russell is still recovering from a calf injury sustained during the latter stages of his domestic season with Bath. The match is scheduled to take place on Saturday at Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Cordoba.
Tom Jordan is slated to start at fly-half in Russell's absence, with Fergus Burke listed among the replacements. Russell could potentially feature in Scotland's subsequent matches against South Africa on July 11 in Pretoria or Fiji on July 18 at Murrayfield.
In other team news, Jonny Gray is set to return to the lineup after missing the entirety of this year's Six Nations Championship. Fellow lock Scott Cummings and prop Pierre Schoeman are also expected to earn their 50th caps in the match against Argentina. Townsend expressed his pleasure at Gray's return, noting his strong form since moving to Perpignan and highlighting the partnership he will renew with Cummings in the second row.
The starting XV for the Argentina match shows eight changes from the team that concluded the Six Nations with a defeat to Ireland in Dublin. Full-back Kyle Rowe, center Rory Hutchinson, wing Jamie Dobie, fly-half Tom Jordan, hooker George Turner, prop Elliot Millar-Mills, and Cummings are all coming into the side. Kyle Steyn will shift from the left to the right wing to accommodate Dobie. Prop Zander Fagerson and wing Darcy Graham, who were starters against Ireland, will begin on the bench.
Gregor Hiddleston is in line to make his Scotland debut from the bench. Townsend emphasized the need for the team to quickly establish cohesion, noting that this is their first game since the Six Nations. He expressed confidence in the team's depth and their ability to utilize the bench to maintain or increase energy levels, building on evidence from previous matches where they demonstrated the capacity to challenge top international teams when their game plan is executed effectively in both attack and defense.
The Scotland team to face Argentina is as follows: Rowe, Steyn, Hutchinson, Tuipulotu (captain), Dobie, Jordan, White; Schoeman, Ashman, Millar-Mills, Gray, Cummings, M Fagerson, Darge, Dempsey. Replacements include: Hiddleston, Sutherland, Z Fagerson, Samuel, Brown, Horne, Burke, Graham.