Scotland name 7 uncapped players in Six Nations squad

Head Coach Gregor Townsend has named seven uncapped players in a 39-man Scotland squad for the 2019 Six Nations.

Three of those are uncapped hookers after injuries to Fraser Brown and George Turner, with David Cherry (Edinburgh) [picture right], Jake Kerr (Leicester Tigers) and Grant Stewart (Glasgow Warriors) included.

They are joined by back-row Gary Graham (Newcastle Falcons), who was called into an England training camp by Eddie Jones, and tighthead prop D’Arcy Rae (Glasgow Warriors), with centres Sam Johnson (Glasgow Warriors) and Chris Dean (Edinburgh) the only uncapped backs.

Of the group, former Scotland U20 caps Cherry, Kerr and Dean are the only players to have no previous involvement with the senior national side, with the others selected in extended or training squads in recent seasons.

Johnson missed out on the recent Autumn Tests through injury and Graham was an unused addition mid campaign, while Rae and Stewart have also come close to caps in previous camps as unused squad members on the 2017 and 2018 summer tours respectively.

Newcastle Falcons back-row John Hardie makes his return to a Scotland squad for the first time since the 2018 Six Nations. Hardie was released by Edinburgh at the end of last season, training with Clermont in the summer, before landing a deal with Newcastle Falcons. He recently signed a new long-term deal with the Gallagher Premiership club.

Squad regulars Jonny Gray and Tommy Seymour puts them – selection permitting – on track to reach a half century of Scotland caps during the championship, currently just three and four caps from the milestone.

Scotland finished last year’s championship in third place with three wins for the second time since five nations became six, with Head Coach Gregor Townsend keen to see continued improvements from his side.

He said: “There’s certainly been a lot of improvement from this group of players in recent seasons and I believe there’s much more to come. They’ve a genuine desire to get better and reach their potential in what is a huge year for our sport.

“In the past 18 months we’ve played 18 Test matches and have introduced 18 new players to Test-level rugby. Once again, our squad features players aiming to take that step, which is a testimony to their performances this season and the growing strength in depth of Scottish rugby.

“We are very proud of what a number of our players have achieved since the Autumn Tests, particularly with Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors both aiming to make the last eight of the Heineken Champions Cup for the first time and both sitting in strong positions in their respective Guinness PRO14 conferences.

“We’ve also seen some excellent performances from players representing clubs in France and England, which is a credit to their commitment and work ethic.

“It is a privilege for our players to be involved in the Guinness Six Nations, which is such a prestigious tournament and will be highly competitive once again.

“We look forward to taking on the challenge of Italy and working hard as a squad over the next two weeks to deliver a winning performance.”

Scotland will open the campaign against Italy at BT Murrayfield on Saturday 2 February.

SCOTLAND SQUAD: 2019 GUINNESS SIX NATIONS

FORWARDS (22)

Alex Allan (Glasgow Warriors) – 7 caps

Adam Ashe (Glasgow Warriors) – 6 caps

Simon Berghan (Edinburgh) – 14 caps

Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow Warriors) – 11 caps

David Cherry (Edinburgh) – uncapped

Allan Dell (Edinburgh) – 17 caps

Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh) – 28 caps

Gary Graham (Newcastle Falcons) – uncapped

Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors) – 47 caps

John Hardie (Newcastle Falcons) – 16 caps

Jake Kerr (Leicester Tigers) – uncapped

Stuart McInally (Edinburgh) – 22 caps

Willem Nel (Edinburgh) – 26 caps

D’Arcy Rae (Glasgow Warriors) - uncapped

Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh) – 6 caps

Sam Skinner (Exeter Chiefs) – 3 caps

Grant Stewart (Glasgow Warriors) – uncapped

Josh Strauss (Sale Sharks) – 17 caps

Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors) – 38 caps

Ben Toolis (Edinburgh) – 14 caps

Hamish Watson (Edinburgh) – 23 caps

Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors) – 41 caps

BACKS (17)

Chris Dean (Edinburgh) – uncapped

Darcy Graham (Edinburgh) – 1 cap

Nick Grigg (Glasgow Warriors) – 6 caps

Sam Johnson (Glasgow Warriors) – uncapped

Chris Harris (Newcastle Falcons) – 6 caps

Adam Hastings (Glasgow Warriors) – 7 caps

Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors) – 65 caps

George Horne (Glasgow Warriors) – 4 caps

Pete Horne (Glasgow Warriors) – 38 caps

Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors) – 19 caps

Lee Jones (Glasgow Warriors) – 10 caps

Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh) – 7 caps

Greig Laidlaw CAPTAIN (Clermont Auvergne) – 66 caps

Sean Maitland (Saracens) – 37 caps

Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) – 19 caps

Finn Russell (Racing 92) – 40 caps

Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) – 46 caps

Unavailable through injury: John Barclay (Edinburgh), Mark Bennett (Edinburgh), Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh), Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Lewis Carmichael (Edinburgh), David Denton (Leicester Tigers), Cornell Du Preez (Worcester Warriors), Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), Richie Gray (Toulouse), Luke Hamilton (Edinburgh), Damien Hoyland (Edinburgh), Byron McGuigan (Sale Sharks), Matt Scott (Edinburgh), Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh), Duncan Taylor (Saracens), Blade Thomson (Scarlets), George Turner (Glasgow Warriors), Jon Welsh (Newcastle Falcons).

Watch: Rugby World Cup Japan city guide - Fukuoka