Six Nations 2026: Kinghorn and Van der Merwe return for Scotland in Wales

Full-back Tom Jordan and hooker George Turner are on the bench, while Jack Dempsey, Jamie Dobbie and Jamie Ritchie are all out after being ruled out earlier this week.

The Scots opened with a defeat in Italy before a convincing win over England.

Williamson came off the bench in both while Cherry and Fagerson also came on as substitutes in the Calcutta Cup.

Townsend said: “I enjoyed being in Spain this week with the players. It was great. We came here after the win and it was a good training week.” “Vitamin D helps the spirit.

“We want to show our physical fitness in a difficult atmosphere and a difficult match.

“You are only as good as your next game and that is what we are looking forward to. Our players are keen to get back on track.”

Townsend expects Wales, whose coach Steve Tandy previously worked with Scotland as defense coach, to be “very motivated” after defeats to England and France.

“They will learn from those defeats,” Townsend said. “They played very tough teams. They will be highly motivated and will play with a lot of passion.

“The atmosphere is always one of the buzziest in the tournament and I am sure they will play their best rugby again. This is the challenge we are preparing for.”

“The plan is to play our game. We have to adjust our game to what works. We can be physical, move the ball wide and also use kicking effectively. We also have to be aware of what the opposition are doing – we have to deal with their threats.”

“The coaches aren’t playing against each other. It’s the players. It would be great to see that [Steve Tandy] After the match. We’ve shared messages – not a lot this week – but in the first two games.

“We think a lot about Steve, he spent a long time with us and had a great influence on our players. I’m sure after the game we can have a few beers.”