Greig Laidlaw returns to captain Scotland against Italy

Greig Laidlaw will captain Scotland in their third World Cup warm-up match.

The Gloucester scrum-half, who has not featured in their two previous summer Tests, will follow Henry Pyrgos and Grant Gilchrist in skippering the team when he leads them out against Italy at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Vern Cotter has made 15 changes to the 25-man squad that clinched a late victory in Turin last weekend.

Laidlaw is among eight players who will make their first summer appearance on Saturday as they bid to stay in the squad when it is announced two days later.

Backs Tim Visser, Mark Bennett, Finn Russell, Stuart Hogg, Tommy Seymour and forwards Jonny Gray and Ryan Wilson are also in line to make their first outings of the summer.

Lock Gilchrist returns after missing the victory in Italy through illness.

Glasgow flanker Wilson is back in contention after his Scottish Rugby Union suspension expired on Sunday.

The 26-year-old was suspended without pay for three months from his club in February after being convicted of assaulting two Glasgow Hawks players on a night out, but his Scotland ban ran until August 23.

Wilson, who has nine caps, missed the RBS 6 Nations campaign as a result of the suspension.