Scotland head into Saturday's Nations Championship fixture against Fiji at Murrayfield without Kyle Steyn, Rory Darge and Alex Samuel. Steyn is sidelined with a foot issue, Darge is unavailable due to concussion, and Samuel — who withdrew on the morning of the Loftus Versfeld Test — will require surgery on his knee and faces several weeks out, Gregor Townsend confirmed.
All three were either named to start or part of the squad for the 42-28 defeat to the Springboks last weekend.
Flanker Matt Fagerson has drawn positives from Scotland's opening two Nations Championship rounds, pointing specifically to their response after falling 14-0 down at Loftus. "We didn't cave in like we saw England do it last week," he said, adding that the squad believes it is "building something pretty special" after a process that began with the hurt of the Argentina autumn defeat.
Scotland finish their mid-year campaign at home, an advantage no other Six Nations side shares in this window, and Fagerson is targeting a winning send-off in front of a home crowd.