Scotland vice-captain John Barclay hopes to earn place against Japan by impressing in Russia clash

Scotland vice-captain John Barclay is hoping to earn a place in Gregor Townsend’s plans for their crucial World Cup clash with Japan by impressing against Russia on Wednesday.

The Edinburgh flanker was dropped for the 34-0 thrashing of Samoa after a disappointing display against Ireland but will lead a second-string side against the Bears in Shizuoka.

Scotland head coach Townsend is keeping most of his top stars back for their final group game against the hosts after making 14 changes to the side that dispatched Samoa in Kobe.

Scotland change 14 for Russia game

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has made 14 changes for Wednesday's crucial Rugby World Cup clash with Russia in Shizuoka.

Barclay is keen to show Townsend he is worth a full recall for the Japan game as well, however, when the sides go head-to-head in Yokohama in a game that could decide which side advances to the quarter-finals of the tournament.

For now, though, his focus is on the game against Russia.

"The big game for me is Russia, I have no idea what the team will be for Japan," said Barclay.

"I guess the reality is that the guys who are playing against Russia will be on the outskirts for the next game. It doesn't take much to work out.

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"But, equally, for the guys who are playing against Russia there is huge motivation to get involved for that Japan match.

"The reality is there will need to be a big performance and I need to prove I deserve to be involved against Japan.

"I have been disappointed, I have been frustrated since the Ireland game. The whole game was frustrating, but it's part of being a rugby player.

"It's the first time I have been left out of the squad since I returned to the fold. It's been tough, but know all my focus is on Russia."

Scotland: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Duncan Taylor, 12 Pete Horne, 11 Darcy Graham, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne; 1 Gordon Reid, 2 George Turner, 3 Zander Fagerson, 4 Scott Cummings, 5 Ben Toolis, 6 John Barclay (c), 7 Fraser Brown, 8 Ryan Wilson.

Replacements: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Simon Berghan, 18 Willem Nel, 19 Grant Gilchrist, 20 Magnus Bradbury, 21 Jamie Ritchie, 22 Henry Pyrgos, 23 Chris Harris.

Russia: 15 Vasily Artemyev (c), 14 German Davydov, 13 Vladimir Ostroushko, 12 Dmitry Gerasimov, 11 Vladislav Sozonov, 10 Ramil Gaisin, 9 Dmitry Perov; 1 Valery Morozov, 2 Stanislav Selskii, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 4 Andrey Ostrikov, 5 Evgeny Elgin, 6 Vitaly Zhivatov, 7 Tagir Gadzhiev, 8 Nikita Vavilin.

Replacements: 16 Sergey Chernyshev, 17 Azamat Bitiev, 18 Vladimir Podrezov, 19 Bogdan Fedotko, 20 Andrey Garbuzov, 21 Sergey Ianiushkin, 22 Anton Sychev, 23 Yury Kushnarev.