Townsend names uncapped trio in Scotland tour squad
Gregor Townsend has named uncapped trio Nick Grigg, D'Arcy Rae and George Turner in his first Scotland squad for the Tests against Italy, Australia and Fiji next month.
Glasgow Warriors duo Grigg and Rae could make their international debuts against the Azzurri in Singapore on June 10 along with Edinburgh hooker Turner.
New Zealand-born centre Grigg, 24, has experienced a rapid rise, having only made his debut for the Warriors last September.
Prop Rae is in line for his full Scotland bow at the age of 22, having worked his way through the age grades, while Turner has also been given the nod by new head coach Townsend after playing at youth level for his country.
BREAKING | Here's YOUR Scotland squad for the 2017 summer tour against @azzurri @qantaswallabies @fijirugby #AsOne pic.twitter.com/OPP9Vc3AFi
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) May 8, 2017
Pete Horne and WP Nel have been named in a 34-man squad after recovering from injuries, while Lee Jones, Ruaridh Jackson and Sam Hidalgo-Clyne earned recalls.
Edinburgh scrum-half Hidalgo-Clyne was included following captain Greig Laidlaw's British and Irish Lions call-up for the tour of New Zealand. John Barclay will be skipper for the tour.
Scotland take on Australia in Sydney on June 17 and Fiji in Suva a week later.
Townsend said: "We have assembled a strong squad and this is an opportunity for them work with us for the first time. We're going to have three weeks' preparation in Scotland before we head overseas, which will enable us to implement the key components of how we will play.
"Ultimately, though, this is a tour that will be about competition – for each individual to compete for a starting place and for them to work hard and find a way to win every time they play."
Scotland squad:
Forwards: Alex Allan, Allan Dell, Zander Fagerson, Willem Nel, D'Arcy Rae, Gordon Reid, Fraser Brown, Ross Ford, George Turner, Richie Gray, Jonny Gray, Tim Swinson, Ben Toolis, John Barclay (captain), Magnus Bradbury, John Hardie, Rob Harley, Josh Strauss, Hamish Watson, Ryan Wilson.
Backs: Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Ali Price, Henry Pyrgos, Pete Horne, Finn Russell, Alex Dunbar, Nick Grigg, Matt Scott, Duncan Taylor, Damien Hoyland, Ruaridh Jackson, Lee Jones, Sean Maitland, Tim Visser.
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So if this ain’t the best Irish team ever then who exactly is? I don’t remember any other Irish team being this good & winning a series in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Yes I may rip them often for 8 X QF RWC exits & twice not even making it to the QF, but they’re a damn good team who many think can only improve, including me!
Go to commentsNot a squeek out of Leinster for weeks about this match. So quiet. The first team have been quitely building for this encounter under Nienaber’s direction. All fresh, all highly motivated. They are expecting a season’s best performance from Northhampton. They will match that. They will be fresher and apparently they will have 80,000 out of the 83,000 shouting for them. I do expect Northhampton to turn up big time. Not to be missed. On a tangent it is evident how the loss of a few Premiership teams has in some respect helped other Premiership teams and England. More quality over less teams makes the teams better, which has a knock on effect on England. Not the only factor contributing to England’s rise but one of them.
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