Hogg and Russell face Wallabies as Townsend recalls his Lions

Scotland have selected star players Stuart Hogg, Finn Russell, Chris Harris and Duhan van der Merwe for their Autumn Nations Series test against Australia.

Head coach Gregor Townsend was unable to call on his English and French-based players for last week’s match against Tonga but the dark blues will be at full strength to take on the in-form Wallabies.

Hogg resumes the captaincy from full back while Russell returns at stand-off. Van der Merwe starts on the wing and Harris at outside centre.

All four were capped in the British and Irish Lions tests against South Africa during the summer. They join fellow Lions tourists Ali Price, Hamish Watson and Zander Fagerson in the starting 15.

In other changes from the 60-14 victory over Tonga, Darcy Graham moves from 15 to the wing, while Grant Gilchrist and Sam Skinner partner in the second row.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Introducing your Scotland team to face the @wallabies in this Sunday's 2021 Autumn Nations Series fixture at @BTMurrayfield.

Read more ➡️ https://t.co/uWMSceyfXV #AsOne | @autumnnations pic.twitter.com/kWpdMUauUp
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) November 5, 2021

Townsend said: “While there were several positives to take from the win against Tonga we face a very different opponent in Australia this week.

“They are coming into this fixture clearly off the back of good results and full of confidence, so we will need to bring focus, accuracy and aggression for the full 80 minutes.”

Meanwhile Australia have recalled experienced back Kurtley Beale, who plays at Racing 92 with Finn Russell.

It has been a strong year so far for the Wallabies, who are led by former Glasgow Warriors head coach Dave Rennie.

They defeated world champions South Africa in back-to-back test matches in September and are on a run of five wins in a row.

After spending three years in charge of the Warriors, Rennie admitted his return to Scotland makes Sunday’s clash even more significant to him.

He said: “It is special, I loved my time here in Scotland.

“We had some fantastic men at Glasgow so I have watched them with interest over the last couple of years – but it doesn’t change my desire for a result at the weekend!

“It’s the great thing about our game – it is global and you make a lot of good friendships.

“I am certainly looking forward to catching up with them after the game.

“It has been a good year for us, we are learning a lot about ourselves, so coming up here to Murrayfield will be a challenge.

“There will be a massive crowd and it will be a great experience for our boys.”