Gregor Townsend believes Scotland's squad is stronger than ever

Gregor Townsend insists Scotland have never been stronger as they prepare to jet out for the World Cup at almost full strength.

Only the injured Sam Skinner and Toulouse lock Richie Gray – who turned down the chance to win a seat on the plane to Japan – were not available to the Dark Blues coach as he named his 31-man squad.

Townsend’s team have one final hurdle to overcome on Friday night as they complete their warm-up schedule against Georgia at Murrayfield.

But he will reduce the risk of picking up any last-minute bumps and bruises by handing a number of unlucky candidates who were overlooked for the tournament a consolation run-out against the Lelos.

And he believes with the majority of his top performers fit, Scotland’s jet out in rude health.

He said: “Success would be playing to our best. Playing to our potential has been our aim from the start.

“We know and we’ve seen it as when we play to our best we are a match for any team in the world.

“How we defended and attacked against the top teams in the world we have won those games.

“We have a stronger squad now than we’ve ever had. We’ve never been in a better position over the last few years to play at our best.”

Townsend has opted to select Stuart McInally ahead of former captains Grieg Laidlaw and John Barclay to lead the team out for their opener with Ireland in Yokohama on September 22.

But the major news surrounds his decision to leave out both Glasgow centre Huw Jones and his midfield rival from Northampton Rory Hutchinson.

Jones burst onto the Test scene with nine tries in his first 14 appearances for the Dark Blues but in the 18 months since he scored a sensational double in the 2018 Calcutta Cup win over England, his form for club and country has dropped off considerably.

And Townsend admitted a lack of experience had counted against Hutchinson despite the 23-year-old making a late bid for selection with a brace on his first Scotland start during Saturday’s win in Tbilisi.