Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has called up six new players to his squad prior to their Guinness Six Nations meeting with France after a series of injuries and withdrawals.
Ollie Smith and Kiran McDonald, both from Glasgow Warriors, have been drafted in and could be in line for their first caps, along with Simon Berghan, Oli Kebble, Marshall Sykes and James Lang.
Javan Sebastian has dropped out while Jonny Gray, Scott Cummings, Cameron Redpath and Rory Sutherland are injured, with all five players returning to their club teams.
British & Irish Lions prop Sutherland has a rib injury while second row Gray has an ankle injury and his fellow lock Scott Cummings has a knee problem.
Gray will miss the rest of the Championship, but the other injured players will be monitored to see how their recovery is progressing before any decisions are made.
On the plus side, Bath Rugby’s Josh Bayliss is available after missing the games against Wales and England and Townsend was keen to highlight the importance of the new players providing him with a decision to make.
He said: “This is a great opportunity for the new players to impress.
“There are often changes made to the squad throughout the championship and it is a challenge we are much better equipped to deal with given our current squad depth.”
Scotland currently sit fourth in the standings after beating England in Round 1 before losing to Wales the following weekend.
They face off against top-of-the-table France at BT Murrayfield on Saturday (February 26) at 2.15pm.
Scotland squad
Forwards: Ewan Ashman (Sale Sharks), Josh Bayliss (Bath), Simon Berghan (Glasgow Warriors), Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh), Andy Christie (Saracens), Allan Dell (London Irish), Rory Darge (Glasgow Warriors, Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh), Nick Haining (Edinburgh), Jamie Hodgson (Edinburgh) Oli Kebble (Glasgow Warriors), Stuart McInally (Edinburgh), Kiran McDonald (Glasgow Warriors), WP Nel (Edinburgh), Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh), Sam Skinner (Exeter Chiefs), Marshall Sykes (Edinburgh), George Turner (Glasgow Warriors), Hamish Watson (Edinburgh).
Backs: Mark Bennett (Edinburgh), Darcy Graham (Edinburgh), Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby), Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs), Rory Hutchinson (Northampton Saints), Sam Johnson (Glasgow Warriors), Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh), James Lang (Edinburgh), Rufus McLean (Glasgow Warriors), Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors), Kyle Rowe (London Irish), Finn Russell (Racing 92), Ollie Smith (Glasgow Warriors), Kyle Steyn (Glasgow Warriors), Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors), Duhan van der Merwe (Worcester Warriors), Ben Vellacott (Edinburgh), Ben White (London Irish).
