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Gregor Townsend has backed Duhan van der Merwe to use a personally disappointing British and Irish Lions tour as motivational fuel for the season after selecting the winger to win his 50th cap. Scotland’s all-time record try-scorer will reach the landmark against the USA on Saturday in their opening match of the Quilter Nations Series. There are stiffer tests to follow, against New Zealand, Argentina and Tonga, but Townsend hopes this will be the start of a big year for van der Merwe who has scored 31 tries in 49 games for Scotland. He was also the top try-scorer for the Lions on their summer tour of Australia but his five scores all came against provincial and invitational sides. Unlike in South Africa four years ago when he started all three games against the Springboks, van der Merwe was overlooked for the Test matches with the Wallabies. “I think he's using it as fuel for the season,” said Townsend, the Scotland head coach, who has picked the uncapped Liam McConnell and Harri Morris in his squad to face the US, with the former starting and the latter on the bench. “I think he knows that it obviously didn't go as well as it did four years ago. And he knows perhaps the reasons why, but also if he had the opportunity again, how he would do things differently. “But I think it's given him fuel for this season, and maybe more in the Six Nations when he comes up against players that he was competing for in the Lions tour. But he's now got a lot of competition [with Scotland]. Kyle Steyn, Kyle Rowe, Arron Reed are playing very well, and did very well in our summer tour as well.” Van der Merwe will start on the left against the US, with Darcy Graham on the right. The two wingers missed Edinburgh’s game against Cardiff last week through heel and knee injuries, respectively, but have been passed fit. The pair have matched each other virtually try for try in recent years and Graham is not far behind his team-mate with 30 tries in 47 Scotland appearances. But it’s Duhan’s day on Saturday, with the South African-born winger bringing up his half-century just five years after his debut. He qualified on residency grounds and Townsend admitted the player was a little apprehensive ahead of his first Scotland game, against Georgia in 2020. “I know he was a little bit worried back then about coming to the squad, because he tended to get in fights with Glasgow players whenever he played Glasgow,” explained the coach. “And then he became best mates with everyone, so it's a real credit to him. “I think players qualifying on residency is a big thing. They are coming into a group where there are players who've dreamt about playing for Scotland since they were four or five years old. He's won the respect of the group by who he is as a person, but also how he's worked. “He's one of the best ball carriers in the world, and the stats show that.” Stafford McDowall will captain Scotland against the US, with regular skipper Sione Tuipulotu sitting this one out as Townsend keeps one eye on the All Blacks game on November 8. The team for the autumn opener is made up of home-based players only as the match falls outside the designated international window and there are eight selected from Glasgow Warriors and seven from Edinburgh. The match will mark the return to Scotland colours of No 8 Jack Dempsey who has not played for the national team since the Six Nations game against Wales in March due to a hamstring injury he sustained that day. Scotland v USA (Murrayfield, Saturday, 5:40pm) Scotland: 15. Kyle Rowe (Glasgow Warriors); 14. Darcy Graham (Edinburgh), 13. Ollie Smith (Glasgow Warriors), 12. Stafford McDowall (Glasgow Warriors, capt), 11. Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh); 10. Adam Hastings (Glasgow Warriors), 9. Jamie Dobie (Glasgow Warriors, vice-capt); 1. Rory Sutherland (Glasgow Warriors), 2. Patrick Harrison (Edinburgh), 3. D'Arcy Rae (Edinburgh), 4. Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors), 5. Marshall Sykes (Edinburgh), 6. Liam McConnell (Edinburgh), 7. Dylan Richardson (Edinburgh), 8. Jack Dempsey (Glasgow Warriors). Replacements: 16. Harri Morris (Edinburgh), 17. Nathan McBeth (Glasgow Warriors), 18. Murphy Walker (Glasgow Warriors), 19. Alex Samuel (Glasgow Warriors), 20. Max Williamson (Glasgow Warriors), 21. Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh), 22. George Horne (Glasgow Warriors), 23. Ross Thompson (Edinburgh).
