Stuart McInally named Scotland captain for encounter against Wales

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has named Edinburgh hooker Stuart McInally as the captain for the autumn international opener against Wales to be played at Millennium Stadium this weekend.

The decision follows after regular skipper Greig Laidlaw is unavailable for the Saturday's game as Clermont has decided against releasing him with the game falling outside the international window while John Barclay is sidelined with an injury.

With Racing 92 not releasing Finn Russell, Townsend has named 22-year-old Adam Hastings at fly-half while Tommy Seymour, Lee Jones, Huw Jones, Alex Dunbar, and Ali Price all make a return to bolster the back-line.

Jonny Gray, Willem Nel, Hamish Watson and Ryan Wilson also return after they were rested for the summer tour while Darcy Graham is the only uncapped player in the squad and could make his first Test appearance from the bench.

“We’ve had a productive two weeks, both in St Andrews and Edinburgh, and the players have worked hard to put our game into place," said Townsend.

”As always we expect a very tough Test match against Wales in Cardiff – a contest that will be physically and technically demanding in a noisy arena. It’s a challenge we look forward to facing.”

Scotland: Blair Kinghorn, Tommy Seymour, Huw Jones, Alex Dunbar, Lee Jones; Adam Hastings, Ali Price; Allan Dell, Stuart McInally, Willem Nel; Ben Toolis, Jonny Gray; Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson, Ryan Wilson

Replacements: Fraser Brown, Alex Allan, Simon Berghan, Grant Gilchrist, Matt Fagerson, George Horne, Peter Horne, Darcy Graham