Scotland have announced their plans for their summer tour.

Scotland have confirmed their opposition for a trio to test matches in the southern hemisphere during their summer tour.

Gregor Townsend’s men will head to New Zealand as their summer gets underway with a meeting with Maori All Blacks on the first Saturday of July and their could be a fresh feel about the Scotland squad if, as expected, a number of key players are selected for the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia. Scotland have not met the Maoris since 2000 and this will represent only the third meeting of the two sides.

A week later, Townsend and his players will head to Fiji’s HFC Bank Stadium as they see action on the Pacific island for the first time since 2017 and round off a trio of challenging games with a meeting with Samoa on Friday, July 18. That game will take place at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand and that will represent Scotland’s first fixture at the historic stadium since they suffered a 16-12 defeat against England in the pool stage of the 2011 World Cup.

What has Gregor Townsend said about Scotland’s summer tour?

Gregor Townsend's future has come under scrutiny. | Getty Images

placeholder image — Gregor Townsend's future has come under scrutiny. | Getty Images

He told the Scottish Rugby website: “It’s the first time since 2000 that we’ve been to New Zealand and spending time in a country with such a deep rugby culture is a unique and special experience. There are players and coaches within our group who have never been there before and I know they are looking forward to the opportunity as well as the challenges we will face on the Tour. Playing against the Māori All Blacks will be a proper introduction to New Zealand rugby and they will provide a strong test, especially in the contact area.

“Fiji have shown over the past few seasons that they are a rising force in world rugby and will relish the chance of playing a Six Nations country at home. We will be challenged in attack and defence as well as very different weather conditions that we are used to in the northern hemisphere. Finally, Samoa are one of the most physical teams in world rugby with how hard they hit in the tackle. They were very competitive at the World Cup in 2023 and secured an impressive win over Italy last summer.

“Playing at Eden Park is a wonderful opportunity for both teams and it will be a great setting to end our tour of the South Pacific. With the Lions tour happening at the same time, I’m expecting that we will have to call up some players that weren’t involved in the Six Nations. But it will be an experienced group overall that we are planning to take out on tour, as we know these are three very tough games for us.”