Only Gregor Brown, who moves from the back of the scrum to the second row, and prop Rory Sutherland remain from the starting lineup in Scotland’s last test against Fiji in mid-July when they won 33-17.
Sutherland starts at loosehead with Pierre Schoeman on the bench, making hooker Ewan Ashman the only player from Edinburgh Rugby in the starting XV while there are 10 players from Glasgow Warriors.
Coach Gregor Townsend had some tough selection calls and picked British & Irish Lion Huw Jones to make a comeback from injury alongside captain Sione Tuipulotu at centre, while Kyle Rowe got the nod for fullback ahead of Blair Kinghorn.
Matt Fagerson returns from a groin injury to start at blind-side flank.
Scotland's top two try scorers, Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe, were left out of the matchday squad.
Nations Championship 2026
The inaugural Nations Championship will see six northern hemisphere and six southern hemisphere nations battle it out across six rounds in the July and November international windows before assembling in Twickenham for one unforgettable finals weekend on November 27-29.
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Scotland team:
Starters: 15-Kyle Rowe, 14-Kyle Steyn, 13-Huw Jones, 12-Sione Tuipulotu (captain), 11-Jamie Dobie, 10-Finn Russell, 9-Ben White, 8-Jack Dempsey, 7-Rory Darge, 6-Matt Fagerson, 5-Scott Cummings, 4-Gregor Brown, 3-Zander Fagerson, 2-Ewan Ashman, 1-Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16-Gregor Hiddleston, 17-Pierre Schoeman, 18-Will Hurd, 19-Max Williamson, 20-Josh Bayliss, 21-George Horne, 22-Tom Jordan, 23-Blair Kinghorn
New Zealand team:
Starters: 15-Beauden Barrett, 14-Will Jordan, 13-Quinn Tupaea, 12-Jordie Barrett, 11-Josh Moorby, 10-Damian McKenzie, 9-Cam Roigard, 8-Wallace Sititi, 7-Peter Lakai, 6-Tupou Vaa’i, 5-Fabian Holland, 4-Scott Barrett, 3-Fletcher Newell, 2-Codie Taylor (captain), 1-Ethan de Groot
Replacements: 16-Asafo Aumua, 17-George Bower, 18-Pasilio Tosi, 19-Christian Lio-Willie, 20-Anton Segner, 21-Cortez Ratima, 22-Timoci Tavatavanawai, 23-Rieko Ioane
