Low to tour Japan with Scotland

By Steve Grace
10/5/2016

Exeter Chiefs prop Moray Low has been named in a 27-man Scotland squad for the national team’s two-Test summer tour of Japan next month.

The Test matches will be played on consecutive Saturdays at J1 League football stadia; the first at the Toyota Stadium in Toyota City (18 June), the second at the Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo (25 June), homes of Nagoya Grampus and FC Tokyo respectively.

The relatively short tour has allowed head coach Vern Cotter to select a tight group for the rematch of last year’s Rugby World Cup pool fixture where, after a tense start, Scotland produced a clinical five-try finish to win 45-10.

Cotter, said: “Being a two-match tour, rather than three, allows us to take a smaller squad; a tight group, though opportunities still remain for other players to come in.

“This squad still has a lot of work to do to get better and this is another opportunity to analyse our last game against Ireland and the RBS 6 Nations Championship as a whole, in order to move forward.

“We will be working on becoming smarter in the way that we look to win, with winning, of course, being our focus.”

The majority of the squad - including Low - played a key role in Scotland’s recent RBS 6 Nations campaign, with just three players in today’s selection missing out on Championship exposure – Henry Pyrgos (recovered from a wrist injury in time for the final game against Ireland but was an unused replacement), hooker Fraser Brown (absent through injury), and promising young Edinburgh Rugby wing Damien Hoyland (22).

Cotter added: “The first game will be especially tough. We have five days to prepare following our arrival in Japan to face a team one place below us in the world rankings, on home soil.

“You only have to look at the crowd numbers and the passion that the Japanese people have at the Sun Wolves [inaugural Japanese Super Rugby team] fixtures at home to know that this will be a real test for the players.”

The tour has the added significance of being in the host country of Rugby World Cup 2019, with Cotter conscious of the added importance of Test results as the pool draw looms this coming season.

“We are aware of the fact that the world rankings for the Rugby World Cup are ongoing, and that the only way we’ll influence those ranking positively is to win games,” said Cotter.

“Winning is our primary focus, while also developing our leadership group, our experience and becoming better at controlling fixtures by understanding and exploiting the opportunities in the game to build and apply pressure by varying our attack.”

2016 Summer Tour (live on BBC):

Saturday 18 June: Japan v Scotland, Toyota Stadium, Toyota City (kick-off 7.20pm local)
Saturday 25 June: Japan v Scotland, Ajinomoto Stadium, Tokyo (kick-off 7.20pm local)