SAINTS prop Luke Douglas will captain Scotland in the absence of Danny Brough for their final World Cup group game against Samoa.

Scotland coach Steve McCormack has turned to the 31-year-old Saints front rower after Brough was sent home from the tournament, with two colleagues, after being too drunk to board the plane in Christchurch.

It is a huge honour for Douglas, but also a tough task facing them after the disruption of the past week especially after such a heavy loss against New Zealand.

Although Scotland have conceded 124 points in their opening two games, they will go through to the quarter-finals - and a potential clash with Australia in Darwin - with victory over Samoa, who have also lost their first two group fixtures.

The top three in the pool go through.

Front row forwards Sam Brooks and Johnny Walker were also axed from the squad as a disciplinary measure, leaving McCormack just 21 players from which to select his team for Saturday's game in Cairns.

Danny Addy switches to Brough's stand-off role.

Callum Phillips starts at hooker and Lewis Tierney reverts to full-back from the wing to allow Shane Toal to make his first appearance of the World Cup.

Samoa, too, will have a new captain, Sam Tagataese taking over from Frank Pritchard, who drops to the bench among a raft of changes made by coach Matt Parish following his side's defeat by Tonga.

Castleford stand-off Ben Roberts is another player demoted to the bench, with Parish opting to start with Fa'amanu Brown and Penrith rookie Jarome Luai in the halves, while Matthew Wright replaces Ken Maumalo on the wing and Frank Winterstein and Bunty Afoa have been named in the starting pack in place of Leeson Ah Mau and Pritchard.

Scotland: L Tierney (Catalans); S Toal (Barrow), B Hellewell (London), L Stein (Penrith), M Russell (Warrington); D Addy (Hull KR), O Thomas (Bradford); L Douglas (St Helens, capt), C Phillips (Workington), B Kavanagh (Hull KR), F Mariano (Featherstone), D Ferguson (Huddersfield), J Bell (New Zealand Warriors).

Interchange: K Bentley (Toulouse), B Wilkinson (Bradford), A Bentley (Toulouse), J Anderson (Sydney Roosters).