Image: Duhan van der Merwe has been passed fit to start for Scotland vs Italy in their Six Nations opener Stafford McDowall has been named to start at centre ... Glasgow trio George Horne, Tom ...

The boot of Tommaso Allan keeping the ... Scotland’s captain and star centre, must undergo surgery to repair a pectoral muscle that was damaged in training with Glasgow Warriors last week ...

Tuipulotu's absence would be keenly felt in any line-up and Gregor Townsend's side could certainly have done with their captain's presence here.

Sixth-placed Melrose, level on 37 points with Selkirk at kick-off, have fallen two behind them, on 40 from 15 games, after being held to a 33-all draw at home to Glasgow Hawks at the weekend.

Elsewhere in the backline, Glasgow centre Stafford McDowall gets the nod to replace injured captain Sione Tuipulotu and Tom Jordan provides ... points scorer Tommaso Allan at fullback.

Scotland‘s preparations for the Six Nations suffered a major setback when they lost the services of star inside centre ... 22 Tom Jordan, 23 Kyle Rowe Italy: 15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Ange Capuozzo ...