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Scotland make 4 changes for Wallabies

Cape Town - Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has made four changes to his starting XV to face Australia in their year-end Test at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Three of the changes appear in the pack, where Glasgow Warriors number eight Ryan Wilson returns to start after missing the All Blacks match with a shoulder injury.

Edinburgh lock Grant Gilchrist starts his first match of the series alongside Jonny Gray, while tighthead prop Simon Berghan earns his first start for the national team in the front row.

Recent squad addition Sean Maitland (Saracens) is the only change to an otherwise all-Glasgow Warriors back-line.

He starts in place of wing Lee Jones - who misses out on the matchday 23 - to combine with Stuart Hogg and Tommy Seymour in the back-three, leaving an unchanged half-back pairing (Ali Price and Finn Russell) and midfield (Alex Dunbar and Huw Jones), providing Dunbar completes the graduated return-to-play protocol, having sustained a concussion last weekend.

Last week’s starting back-row Cornell du Preez, lock Ben Toolis and prop Zander Fagerson move to the bench, where Fraser Brown - who recovered from a knee injury to join the squad this week - replaces fellow Glasgow Warriors hooker George Turner.

Townsend’s men are keen to end their three-Test series on a high after an opening win over Samoa (44-38) and a narrow loss to world champions New Zealand (22-17).

“This is the third and final game of our autumn series and the players are looking forward to ending it on a high," he said.

“Last weekend’s game was a proper Test match – intense, competitive and full of drama. Unfortunately, we just fell short of our goal, and were disappointed with the loss, but take confidence going into the game against Australia.

“Scotland’s recent history against Australia has been one of close-fought matches and, after a couple of narrow defeats, we managed to record a win last June out in Sydney.

“Our players have been training hard and will draw on all they’ve learned in the games against Samoa and New Zealand to rise to the challenge of this final Autumn Test.”

Teams:

Scotland

15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 John Barclay (c), 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Simon Berghan, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Darryl Marfo 

Substitutes: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Ben Toolis, 20 Cornell du Preez, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Pete Horne, 23 Byron McGuigan

Australia 

TBA

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