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Townsend brings in fresh faces in Scotland squad

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Gregor Townsend has picked a number of new faces in his 35-man Scotland squad for the 2021 Guinness Six Nations including Bath centre Cameron Redpath.

Gregor Townsend has picked a number of new faces in his 35-man Scotland squad for the 2021 Guinness Six Nations including Bath centre Cameron Redpath.

The 21-year-old, who is the son of former Scotland captain Bryan, is eligible for both England and Scotland, and has previously featured in squads picked by Eddie Jones.

However, he is not capped and could now make his debut for Scotland after being selected by Townsend.

Stuart Hogg will captain the side once again with Richie Gray and Gary Graham among the other players recalled.

Gray has been impressing since returning to Glasgow Warriors, and could feature in the second row alongside brother Jonny.

Graham, meanwhile, has been a standout performer for Newcastle Falcons in the Gallagher Premiership, and will be hoping for a first cap since 2019.

As well as Redpath, hooker Ewan Ashman, a star for Scotland Under-20s at the World Championships in 2019, is also in line for a debut. The other uncapped players called up are hooker David Cherry of Edinburgh and Gloucester lock Alex Craig.

Finn Russell features, having recovered from the injury that kept him out for the majority of the autumn, but Adam Hastings is not fit.

Townsend has also called on three additional players to train with the squad, Glasgow Warriors duo Jamie Dobie and Rufus McLean and Edinburgh back-rower Rory Darge.

And the Scotland coach is optimistic that his side can build on a promising autumn campaign.

He said: “As coaches we have selected a group which we believe can build on the work our players put in throughout the recent Autumn Nations Cup campaign and kick on again in terms of performance levels.

“The depth we have across the squad enables us to bring in some new players who have excelled in recent weeks and others who we believe can perform at Test level.

“Our tournament gets off to a fantastic start with a fixture we look forward to every year against England and the opportunity to win back the Calcutta Cup at Twickenham.

“We are very aware how different this year’s competition will be due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but it also provides a huge amount of positivity and enjoyment for millions of supporters and we are looking forward to contesting every match and giving this championship our very best.”

Scotland will kick off their campaign away to England looking to win back the Calcutta Cup after their narrow defeat at BT Murrayfield in Round 2 last year.

They will then host Wales the following week.

SCOTLAND SQUAD FOR 2021 GUINNESS SIX NATIONS

FORWARDS (20)

Ewan Ashman (Sale Sharks) – Uncapped Simon Berghan (Edinburgh) – 28 caps David Cherry (Edinburgh) – Uncapped Alex Craig (Gloucester) – Uncapped Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors) – 17 caps Allan Dell – London Irish – 32 caps Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) – 9 caps Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) – 34 caps Gary Graham (Newcastle Falcons) – 2 caps Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh) – 42 caps Jonny Gray (Exeter Chiefs) – 61 caps Richie Gray (Glasgow Warriors) – 65 caps Oli Kebble (Glasgow Warriors) – 5 caps Willem Nel (Edinburgh) – 40 caps Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh) – 23 caps Grant Stewart (Glasgow Warriors) – 3 caps Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh) – 11 caps Blade Thomson (Scarlets) – 9 caps George Turner (Glasgow Warriors) – 12 caps Hamish Watson (Edinburgh) – 36 caps

BACKS (15)

Darcy Graham (Edinburgh) – 15 caps Chris Harris (Gloucester) – 23 caps Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs) CAPTAIN – 80 caps Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors) – 26 caps Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh) – 25 caps James Lang (Harlequins) – 5 caps Sean Maitland (Saracens) – 50 caps Byron McGuigan (Sale Sharks) – 10 caps Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) – 37 caps Cameron Redpath – (Bath Rugby) – Uncapped Finn Russell (Racing 92) – 51 caps Scott Steele (Harlequins) – 1 cap Duncan Taylor (Saracens) – 28 caps Jaco van der Walt (Edinburgh) – 1 cap Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh) – 5 caps