Tom English
BBC Scotland chief sports writer

The big man is back from the wilderness.

In fact, make that the two big men are back from the wilderness.

With the return of Duhan van der Merwe and Blair Kinghorn - no minutes so far in this championship - there is more than a hint of Gregor Townsend putting the band back together.

The pair are pure and pedigree attackers and with Wales missing tackles left, right and centre in their opening games then it makes sense to unleash these guys now.

This is a very aggressive move by Townsend. Wales won't like it one little bit. And Darcy Graham is on the bench as back-up X-factor.

Townsend is on full assault mode here. They'll try to run the legs off Wales and destroy them with pace and power and the kind of unstructured rugby that Scotland thrive on.

Scotland have won their past three matches against Wales, including their most recent trip to Cardiff in 2024.

They led 27-0 that day, eventually clinging on for a 27-26 victory - their first win in Cardiff in 22 years.

Scotland will fancy their chances of backing that up given Wales have lost 23 out of the previous 25 internationals and suffered 13 successive Six Nations defeats.

Image source, Getty Images

Blair Kinghorn and Duhan van der Merwe were both left out of the squads for Scotland's first two matches of the competition - against Italy and England - but they are in from the start against winless Wales.

Are you pleased with the team? Get in touch.

The headline news is that British and Irish Lions duo Blair Kinghorn and Duhan van der Merwe return to Scotland's back three.

Jamie Dobie is of course injured, while Tom Jordan drops to the bench.

Dave Cherry is preferred to start at hooker ahead of George Turner, while Max Williamson comes into the second row and Gregor Brown moves into a reshuffled back row with Matt Fagerson starting at number eight.

Gregor Townsend sticks with a five-three split on the bench.

Scotland XV to face Wales: Kinghorn, Steyn, Jones, Tuipulotu, Van der Merwe, Russell, White; McBeth, Cherry, Z. Fagerson, Williamson, Cummings, Brown, Darge, M. Fagerson.

Replacements: Turner, Schoeman, Millar Mills, Gilchrist, Bayliss, Horne, Jordan, Graham.

Scotland will need to make two changes in the back row for Saturday's Six Nations visit to Wales, with Jamie Ritchie and Jack Dempsey injured, along with winger Jamie Dobie.

The trio were all withdrawn during the 31-20 win over England at Murrayfield.

Dempsey has damaged a bicep, Ritchie has a knee issue, while a shoulder problem rules Dobie out.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland

Scotland's incredible dismantling of England prompted joyous scenes among their fans, but also left a familiar question hanging in the air - can they back it up?

The Scots have now beaten England nine times in the Six Nations, with the first victory in 2000 coming in the final round of the Championship.

Following six of the other eight triumphs, Scotland have gone on to lose their next match.

Which brings us to Principality Stadium on Saturday. Round three and an opportunity for Scotland to properly put themselves in the mix for the title.

The emotional and physical energy expended in delivering these incredible Calcutta Cup victories has proved hard for Scotland to recover from and then replicate.

Scotland bounced back brilliantly from the gut punch of defeat to Italy in Rome to dispatch England in sensational fashion, but the memories of the Stadio Olimpico will remain with them, serving as a cautionary tale as they prepare to face a Wales side at a low ebb.

In case you haven't watched the highlights enough over the past few days, here they are again.

Who would you like to see involved against Wales?

Let us know via the link at the top of the page.

Good morning everyone.

Scotland travel to Cardiff in the Six Nations on Saturday, looking to build on last weekend's superb victory over England at Murrayfield.

We're expecting Gregor Townsend to name his matchday squad shortly - before speaking to the media at 13:00 - so stick with us and we'll bring you the team news and reaction.

Image source, Getty Images