Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has included 12 uncapped players in his 42-man squad for the upcoming Autumn Nations Series.
Ewan Ashman, Josh Bayliss, Rory Darge, Dylan Richardson, Luke Crosbie, Jamie Hodgson, Marshall Sykes and Pierre Schoeman are all included as forwards for Scotland’s four matches.
Glasgow Warriors quartet Jamie Dobie, Rufus McLean, Ross Thompson, and Sione Tuipulotu make up the rest of the uncapped selections, with the four backs in line for their first international starts.
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Townsend has also been able to recall a host of experienced players who helped Scotland claim historic away wins against England and France in the 2021 Guinness Six Nations.
Captain Stuart Hogg, half-back pairing Ali Price and Finn Russell, centre Chris Harris, winger Duhan van de Merwe, flanker Hamish Watson, and props Zander Fagerson and Rory Sutherland have all returned after impressing on the British and Irish Lions summer tour of South Africa.
Townsend said: “It’s exciting to bring together a blend of highly experienced and uncapped players for our first week of the Autumn Nations Series campaign.
“There have been some notable performances from both our home-based players and those at clubs outside of Scotland, which has enabled us as coaches to select a group which are playing well and will be motivated across the four games.
“We also feel that this is the right time to bring in some younger players given their early season form.
“They have created opportunities for themselves to represent their country, and we believe that they will thrive in the Test match environment.
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“We face four tough matches in four weeks, and Tonga, Australia, South Africa, and Japan each present a different challenge and an opportunity to perform in front of our people at BT Murrayfield. It’s great to hear that we will now play Australia in front of a capacity crowd at BT Murrayfield, and it means a huge amount to the players to have this level of support.”
Alongside the Lions contingent, Matt Scott, Huw Jones, and fly-half Adam Hastings return to the squad alongside flanker Sam Skinner following Scotland’s summer tour squad, which was hampered by Covid cancellations.
SCOTLAND SQUAD
Forwards:
Ewan Ashman – Sale Sharks – uncapped, Josh Bayliss – Bath Rugby – uncapped, Jamie Bhatti – Glasgow Warriors – 18 caps, Fraser Brown – Glasgow Warriors – 54 caps, Luke Crosbie – Edinburgh Rugby – uncapped, Rory Darge – Glasgow Warriors – uncapped, Matt Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors – 13 caps, Zander Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors – 38 caps, Grant Gilchrist – Edinburgh Rugby – 45 caps, Nick Haining – Edinburgh Rugby – 8 caps, Rob Harley – Glasgow Warriors – 22 caps, Jamie Hodgson – Edinburgh Rugby – uncapped, Oli Kebble – Glasgow Warriors – 8 caps, Murray McCallum – Glasgow Warriors – 3 caps, Stuart McInally – Edinburgh Rugby – 40 caps, Dylan Richardson – Cell C Sharks – uncapped, Jamie Ritchie – Edinburgh Rugby – 27 caps, Sam Skinner – Exeter Chiefs – 12 caps, Pierre Schoeman – Edinburgh Rugby – uncapped, Rory Sutherland – Worcester Warriors – 16 caps, Marshall Sykes – Edinburgh Rugby – uncapped, George Turner – Glasgow Warriors – 17 caps, Hamish Watson – Edinburgh Rugby – 41 caps
Backs:
Mark Bennett – Edinburgh Rugby – 22 caps, Darcy Graham – Edinburgh Rugby – 19 caps, Jamie Dobie – Glasgow Warriors – uncapped, Chris Harris – Gloucester Rugby – 28 caps, Adam Hastings – Gloucester Rugby – 23 caps, Stuart Hogg – Exeter Chiefs – 85 caps, George Horne – Glasgow Warriors – 14 caps, Damien Hoyland – Edinburgh Rugby – 4 caps, Sam Johnson – Glasgow Warriors – 18 caps, Huw Jones – Harlequins – 31 caps, Blair Kinghorn – Edinburgh Rugby – 25 caps, Duhan van de Merwe – Worcester Warriors – 10 caps
