REMEMBER those days when Gregor Townsend was newly installed as the Glasgow Warriors coach and you would wait for the team to be announced with no idea how many changes to expect – the only certainty being that it would be a lot? Well they are back, only now it is Scotland who are feeling the revolution.

The Herald:

Winning, losing, scoring tries, saving scores: none of it matters as Townsend explores his options and keeps everybody, players and pundits alike, guessing. There are eight changes in personnel from the side that started last week, nine if you include Ryan Wilson, who was not in the team Townsend selected but came in at the final second when John Hardie's back went.

Add the positional switches from a wholesale shuffle in the back row to accommodate Hamish Watson returning, Duncan Taylor reverting to centre instead of full back while Ben Toolis and Alex Dunbar both switch roles at lock and centre respectively, and only the half backs, Ali Price and Finn Russell, provide continuity.

It does allow for one emotional moment, probably some time in the second half, when Ross Ford comes off the bench to win his record-equalling 109th cap for Scotland.

"It is a brilliant achievement," Townsend enthused. "Not only that but he has been one of our best performers. Two tries [last week against Italy] were pretty good as well.

"This is a great achievement but we also believe he can carry on playing and have a big role up to, and including, the World Cup."

There is method in Townsend's madness. Some of the changes were clearly preplanned: the Edinburgh front row started in the heat of Singapore and gets the chance to rest on the bench while the Glasgow front row starts; Lee Jones comes in for his first cap since 2012 in a like-for-like swap with Damien Hoyland; Jonny Gray is restored to the side after being rested.

It is also worth pointing out that last season when Townsend pretty-much abandoned the policy of wholesale changes at Glasgow, was by a long way the worst of his time at the club. It worked at that level, and he feels he needs a crash course in how his players will perform under pressure.

"We knew there would be changes, we also wanted to see players playing Test match level," he explained. The travel, the quick turnaround after playing an intense Test match in Singapore, it is of benefit to bring in people who had not played 80 minutes in that game.

"It would be great if we could win. It would be a huge boost to this group of players and to Scottish rugby as whole. We are playing the Wallabies in Australia and they are at full strength. It’s a great challenge for us but we believe we can win. If we do it would be fantastic."

Not all the changes were necessarily preplanned. Tim Visser might have held onto his spot but banged a rib and is not risked – he should have recovered in time to face Fiji – and it is not clear when Townsend decided to try Greig Tonks out at full back.

It was always going to be a problem position on tour with Stuart Hogg heading for New Zealand and Sean Maitland injured, but all the same, Tonks was not only a late addition to the travelling squad but has spent the season playing second-tier rugby for London Irish in the Championship.

They did romp through the season to bounce back in to the Premiership, where Townsend thinks they have the personnel to challenge in the top half, but it is still a huge step up in quality for the player, who has been out in the cold in Scotland terms since failing to make the 2015 Rugby World Cup squad.

"London Irish have been the outstanding team in the Championship and he has played very well," Townsend said. "The way he plays fits in with the way we have been training; he is a very good passer, makes good decisions, can step up at first or second receiver, has a good kicking game where that balance with Finn [Russell] at 10, left foot, right foot, is important.

"He has played regularly at full back and one aspect of the Wallabies game, as we saw last week [against Fiji], is their aerial game, especially with Israel Folau [the full back] being so good in the air – one try came directly from a kick and they were unlucky not to score a second one.

"What we don't want is to come back and say we took 34 [players] but have only looked at 25. We are in a situation now where we have have 28 out of 34 players involved in the first two games. We are generally pleased with the effort and the intent to play last week. There were things that could improve but also players who really went out and grabbed their opportunities."

Australia: I Folau; D Haylett-Petty, T Kuridrani, K Hunt, E Nabuli; B Foley, W Genia, T Robertson, T Polota-Nau, A Alaalatoa, S Carter, A Coleman, N Hanigan, M Hooper, S Higginbotham. Replacements: TBC.

Australia: I Folau (Waratahs); D Haylett-Petty (Western Force), T Kuridrani (Brumbies), K Hunt (Reds), E Nabuli (Reds); B Foley (Waratahs), W Genia (Stade Francais), T Robertson (Waratahs), T Polota-Nau (Western Force), A Alaalatoa (Brumbies), S Carter (Brumbies), A Coleman (Western Force), N Hanigan (Waratahs), M Hooper (Waratahs), S Higginbotham (Reds). Replacements: TBC.

Scotland: G Tonks (London Irish); L Jones (Glasgow Warriors), A Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors), D Taylor (Saracens), R Hughes (Glasgow Warriors); F Russell (Glasgow Warriors), A Price (Glasgow Warriors); G Reid (Glasgow Warriors), F Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Z Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), B Toolis (Edinburgh), J Gray (Glasgow Warriors), J Barclay (Scarlets), H Watson (Edinburgh), R Wilson (Glasgow Warriors). Replacements: R Ford (Edinburgh), A Dell (Edinburgh), WP Nel (Edinburgh), T Swinson (Glasgow Warriors), J Strauss (Glasgow Warriors), H Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors), T Jackson (Harlequins), M Scott (Gloucester).