Scots make six changes for Samoa clash

Scotland arrived in windy Wellington today chasing their first Test win of the year as they take on Samoa.

The Scottish side includes six changes from their last outing, a defeat to Ireland which condemned Matt Williams’ side to the Six Nations wooden spoon in his first campaign at the helm.

With so many players having retired since the World Cup, Williams has placed the emphasis firmly on development and Glasgow winger Sean Lamont was handed his debut cap on the right wing ahead of Simon Danielli.

With Simon Taylor injured, a reshuffled back row saw Ally Hogg switch to number eight and Donnie MacFadyen earning his third Scotland cap at openside flanker.

Gordon Ross reclaimed the fly-half role and Ben Hinshelwood started in the centres after promising 20-year-old Tom Philip ruptured knee ligaments in training.

The Samoans, fresh from a 24-14 victory over Tonga last weekend, were captained by former Borders number eight Semo Sititi, who scored a try against Scotland in the 1999 World Cup.

The two sides had met four times before, with Samoa’s best result a 15-15 draw at Murrayfield in 1995.