Stafford McDowall relishing Scotland captaincy chance

Stafford McDowall is determined to make the most of his chance to lead Scotland against Portugal on Saturday, and says captaining his country is something that may never come along again.

The Glasgow centre leads a much-changed Scottish team, with Tom Jordan the only survivor in the starting side from last week’s defeat by South Africa.

Over 60,000 fans are expected to attend the match at Murrayfield, and McDowall is relishing the opportunity to lead the team out.

“It’s something that I didn’t think I’d have the chance to do,” said the 26-year-old.

“It is a dream come true to play for Scotland and start a game at Murrayfield, never mind lead the team out. So it’s hopefully something I’ll be able to take in and remember for the rest of my life.

“I think the closer we get to the game the more it’ll probably hit me and I’ll get a bit more nervous. It hit me a bit more when I had to do a bit more talking and stuff like that than the last couple of weeks.

“It’s something that I might never get a chance to do again, lead a Scotland team out at Murrayfield, so I’ll try and embrace and enjoy the moment.”