McConnell has long been tipped as a star of the future, but he had to bide his time to get his chance in an Edinburgh back-row stacked with internationals.
The departure of Jamie Ritchie to Perpignan in the summer has opened the door for McConnell – he has started three of Edinburgh’s four matches in the United Rugby Championship this season – and he admits Ritchie has been a major influence on how he plays.
“I think we’re kind of similar in a way, both sixes,” McConnell said. “I probably learned a lot from him. And then, since he’s left, I’ve tried to sort of do things that he used to do while he was at the club.”
McConnell and Harri Morris, the Edinburgh hooker who starts from the bench, are the two uncapped players in the matchday 23.
With the match against the USA falling outside the international Test window, only Scottish-based players are available and Townsend has looked to experiment, with six players in the squad having six caps or fewer.
“There’s a balance of players that are experienced, which I think will raise the level of performance and help those coming into the squad for the first time,” said Townsend, who recently signed a contract extension to remain in post through the 2027 World Cup in Australia.
“In terms of individuals, we’ve looked at players that may require more match minutes. It has been a disrupted season for some of our players because of injury.
“For someone like Scott Cummings, who went on the Lions tour, he came into the season a bit later. So we think, for him, getting another game will be really valuable.”
Even an experimental Scotland XV should have more than enough to take care of the USA before the big challenges arrive in the shape of New Zealand and Argentina back-to-back, with a final game against Tonga to round off the autumn campaign.
“I think we have to go into every game with a focus on winning it,” Townsend said when asked if four wins from four is the target.
“We certainly believe the players can get us wins against any team we come up against. But it’s really down to them. It’s how you adapt during a game, if you’re ahead, if you’re behind, what’s working, what’s not working.
“The quicker we get into that cycle, whether it’s training, in particular this weekend, of enabling them to make decisions, the closer we will be to playing at our best.”
