The USA opens their end-of-year tour in Scotland on Saturday, appearing at Murrayfield for the first time in 25 years. For the Eagles it also represents the official start to the build-up to the 2027 World Cup, having achieved qualification in their last outing against Samoa. Both sides will be short of full strength as the match falls outside of the World Rugby-defined November test window.
Current World Ranking: 8 (81.57 points)
2025-07-18 – Samoa 12, Scotland 41 (Auckland)
2025-07-12 – Fiji 29, Scotland 14 (Suva)
2025-07-05 – NZ Maori 26, Scotland 29 (Whangarei)
2025-03-15 – France 35, Scotland 16 (Paris)
2025-03-08 – Scotland 35, Wales 29 (Edinburgh)
Current World Ranking: 15 (67.40 points)
2025-09-14 – USA 29, Samoa 13 (Denver)
2025-09-06 – USA 21, Japan 47 (Sacramento)
2025-08-22 – Canada 34, USA 20 (Calgary)
2025-07-19 – USA 5, England 40 (Washington DC)
2025-07-12 – USA 20, Spain 31 (Charlotte)
 |
IN | OUT |
| 2 | Patrick Harrison | Ewan Ashman |
| 3 | D’Arcy Rae | Elliot Millar-Mills |
| 4 | Scott Cummings | Grant Gilchrist |
| 5 | Marshall Sykes | Gregor Brown |
| 6 | Liam McConnell | Andy Onyeama-Christie |
| 7 | Dylan Richardson | Rory Darge |
| 8 | Jack Dempsey | Matt Fagerson |
| 10 | Adam Hastings | Fergus Burke |
| 11 | Duhan van der Merwe | Arron Reed |
| 13 | Ollie Smith | Rory Hutchinson |
| 14 | Darcy Graham | Kyle Steyn |
|
IN | OUT |
| 1 | Ezekiel Lindenmuth | Jack Iscaro |
| 2 | Kaleb Geiger | Kapeli Pifeleti |
| 15 | Erich Storti | Rufus McLean |
- it’s an all-domestic selection from Gregor Townsend, with every player in the match day squad from either Edinburgh or Glasgow in the URC
- Duhan van der Merwe will be the most experienced man on the pitch as he celebrates his 50th cap for Scotland… the powerhouse winger is one of four Scots who suited up for the British & Irish Lions on their tour of Australia, the others Rory Sutherland, Scott Cummings, and Darcy Graham
- at the other end of the career spectrum, 21-year-old flanker Liam McConnell is set for a test debut, while 24-year-old reserve hooker Harri Morris is also uncapped
- headlining the the stars missing for the Scots are openside flanker Rory Darge, flyhalf Finn Russell, and midfield combo Patrick Tuipulotu and Huw Jones
- Scott Lawrence has named an effective unchanged lineup from the team that beat Samoa, with Jack Iscaro and Kapeli Pifeleti both tied up with their French clubs and Rufus McLean not considered to face his former team due to his prior sentence on domestic abuse charges
- all but one of the Eagles match day squad appeared in Major League Rugby this past season, with 21-year-old collegiate star Dom Besag the only exception… Toby Fricker has since returned to Bristol Bears and is the only European-based inclusion
- five leading front rowers are unavailable to Eagles due to club commitments… France-based duo Renger van Eerten and Nafi Ma’afu are missing… while the injury list includes star flyhalf AJ MacGinty and established forwards Sam Golla, Ben Bonasso, and Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz
- Adam Hastings is the only Scotsman starter who also featured in the famous defeat to the Eagles at Houston in 2018… reserve scrumhalf George Horne was at No9 that day… none of the victorious USA side remain with only a handful still active players
Gregor Townsend (Head Coach)
“We certainly believe the players can get us wins against any team we come up against, but it’s really then down to them. It’s how you adapt during a game if you’re ahead, if you’re behind, what’s working, what’s not working. The quicker we get into that cycle, whether it’s at training, in particular this weekend, of enabling them to make decisions, the closer we will be to playing at our best.”
Scott Lawrence (Head Coach)
“So far the team has adapted well to the travel and have good clarity here in Edinburgh. This game is another opportunity to elevate our standard of play, work on playing faster and more physical as we build to where we want to be at test match level.”
Brisk but mostly sunny conditions are on the forecast. Prior to the win over Samoa the Eagles were not in great form and without their overseas contingent look short on power up front. They will again be at a disadvantage in the lineout, and don’t have anyone with game breaking speed in the backline. A stronger Eagles side lost by 35 points at home to the Scots a year ago, so it’s hard to see anything but a similar result on Saturday. Scotland are clear favorites in Edinburgh.
SCOTLAND
1 Rory Sutherland, 2 Patrick Harrison, 3 D’Arcy Rae, 4 Scott Cummings, 5 Marshall Sykes, 6 Liam McConnell, 7 Dylan Richardson, 8 Jack Dempsey, 9 Jamie Dobie, 10 Adam Hastings, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 12 Stafford McDowall (capt.), 13 Ollie Smith, 14 Darcy Graham, 15 Kyle Rowe
Replacements: 16 Harri Morris, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Murphy Walker, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Max Williamson, 21 Magnus Bradbury, 22 George Horne, 23 Ross Thompson
USA
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth, 2 Kaleb Geiger, 3 Pono Davis, 4 Marno Redelinghuys, 5 Jason Damm (capt.), 6 Vili Helu, 7 Cory Daniel, 8 Paddy Ryan, 9 Ruben de Haas, 10 Christopher Hilsenbeck, 11 Toby Fricker, 12 Tommaso Boni, 13 Dom Besag, 14 Mitch Wilson, 15 Erich Storti
Replacements: 16 Sean McNulty, 17 Payton Telea-Ilalio, 18 Maliu Niuafe, 19 Tevita Naqali, 20 Makeen Alikhan, 21 Ethan McVeigh, 22 Tavite Lopeti, 23 Luke Carty
Date: Saturday, November 1
Venue: Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Kickoff: 17:40 local (10:40 Pacific, 13:40 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 46°F (8°C), wind SW 13-19mph (21-31km/h)
Broadcasts: Paramount+ (USA), DAZN (Canada), RugbyPass TV
Referee: Damián Schneider (Argentina)
Assistants: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy) & Katsuki Furuse (Japan)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
HEAD-TO-HEAD (7): Scotland 6, USA 1
2024-07-12 – USA 7, Scotland 42 (Washington DC)
2018-06-16 – USA 30, Scotland 29 (Houston)
2015-09-27 – Scotland 39, USA 16 (Leeds)
2014-06-07 – USA 6, Scotland 24 (Houston)
2003-10-20 – Scotland 39, USA 15 (Brisbane)
2002-06-02 – USA 23, Scotland 65 (San Francisco)
2000-11-04 – Scotland 53, USA 6 (Edinburgh)
