Scotland vs USA Prediction: Van der Merwe to mark half-century in style

Autumn International season is here for rugby union fans and Scotland will be aiming to make a fast start as they entertain the United States at Murrayfield on Saturday afternoon (17:40, TNT Sports 2).

With New Zealand and Argentina also due to visit Edinburgh, Gregor Townsend and his side won't want a false start.

These teams last met in a summer Test in 2024 in Washington and the Scots ran out 42-7 winners. It's a youthful Scotland side, but they should be too strong for the visiting Eagles.

Below are my Scotland vs USA predictions, as well as all the essential team news and match odds.

Team News

Townsend fields quite a young side here, made up of players plying their trade at Edinburgh or Glasgow. Centre Stafford McDowall will lead Scotland, with his Glasgow teammate Adam Hastings calling the shots at out-half.

Back row Liam McConnell will make his debut from the start, while Kyle Rowe gets a chance to shine at full-back in the absence of Blair Kinghorn.

Duhan van der Merwe wins his 50th cap, while Edinburgh hooker Harri Morris is in line to collect his first as a replacement.

The United States will be looking to the scrum-half/out-half combo of Ruben de Haas and Chris Hilsenbeck for some creative spark in what is their marquee November Test before games against Georgia and Romania in a bid to bolster their world ranking before next month's World Cup 2027 draw.

Scotland vs USA Odds

Scotland aren't expected to find too many worries and are 1/150 to win, with the USA as big as 28/1 and the draw priced at 100/1.

Scotland are 10/11 conceding a 48-point head start. Van der Merwe is 5/1 market leader to score the opening try.

Duhan van der Merwe to score the first try @ 5/1

This will be a special evening in Edinburgh for Van der Merwe as he brings up a half-century of caps for his adopted nation.

The South African-born winger debuted in blue in 2020 against Georgia and his tally of 32 tries in 49 Test matches is a Scottish record.

He appears to save his best for Scotland duty and he is a potent weapon going forward, manager Townsend pointing out this week the 30-year-old has 'created so many special moments' for his side.

He touched down last summer in Washington and could be first to cross the whitewash in this game.

USA +48 points @ 20/21

Winning a Test match by 49 or more points isn't going to prove straightforward, especially for a relatively young Scotland side who will be introducing replacements without major exposure on this stage.

USA head coach Scott Lawrence has talked of an opportunity for his team to 'elevate' their own standards.

They secured their World Cup qualification by defeating an understrength Samoa side 29-13 in September, amid growing disarray in the domestic game in the States.

They were 35-point losers last summer to the Scots and it was the same margin against an experimental England touring party in July at Audi Field. They may keep the score down.

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