Japan travel to Murrayfield for the first time since 1991 as the two sides meet in battle nearly a decade after their last engagement at McDiarmid Park in November 2004.
SCOTLAND vs JAPAN
Saturday, November 9, 14:30 GMT, Edinburgh
Despite selecting an extended squad Scott Johnson has opted to field a largely first choice side to start the autumn series. Forceful runner David Denton wears his preferred number eight for the first time since the fateful Tongan match a year ago, and Tim Swinson gets another chance to start ahead of Lions tourist Richie Gray. Ruaridh Jackson gets the first crack at the troublesome flyhalf position, with fit-again Duncan Weir hopeful of making an impact from the bench.
Nick De Luca is back in the midfield after missing the entire Six Nations and June tests with injury, and Sean Lamont, as expected, reverts to the wing in place of broken Tim Visser. Sean Maitland returns from his Lions experience at fullback, with his fellow tour mate Stuart Hogg also out injured. In-form Scarlets signing John Barclay hopes to make his claim for a starting jersey as an impact sub.
Japan have made three changes to the side that faced the All Blacks, opting to beef up the second row with World Cup veteran Luke Thompson recalled alongside Suntory club captain Shinya Makabe. The other change is injury enforced as Harumichi Tatekawa’s shoulder injury suffered in Tokyo has ruled him out of the tour. Kosei Ono is recalled at flyhalf in his place, with quicksilver scrumhalf Atsushi Hiwasa taking up a spot in the reserves.
Scotland will be wary not to take the Cherry Blossoms lightly after they impressed in spurts against New Zealand, and will need to be cautious particularly at the set piece where the technical skills of the Japanese forwards shine. With Six Nations spots up for grabs and so much competition in the squad they should be fired up enough to get the job done handily, albeit not without difficulty in the opening half. Look for them to work their way through the game methodically, chipping away and winning comfortably but not overwhelmingly by about 15 points.
Referee: J.P. Doyle (RFU)
Assistants: Leighton Hodges (WRU) & Greg Garner (RFU)
TMO: Marshall Kilgore (IRFU)
