Townsend releases five Scotland players back to their clubs and adds six

Uncapped Glasgow second-row Kiran McDonald is one of six players added to Gregor Townsend’s Scotland squad for this Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash with France at BT Murrayfield.

James Lang, Ollie Smith, Oli Kebble, Simon Berghan and Marshall Sykes have also been called up.

Rory Sutherland, Javan Sebastian, Jonny Gray, Scott Cummings and Cam Redpath have all returned to their clubs due to injury issues.

"Rory Sutherland sustained a rib injury in the loss over Wales and is undergoing rehab," confirmed Scottish Rugby. "Jonny Gray will be out of the France match due to an ankle injury and Scott Cummings is ruled out due to a knee injury. Cam Redpath will also be unavailable through injury. They will continue to be assessed in the coming weeks ahead of the remaining two games against Italy and Ireland."

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has challenged the newly-added players to capitalise on their opportunity to impress.

“While it is disappointing to lose players to injury ahead of the France match, this is a great opportunity for the new players to impress and force their way into our matchday squad,” he told Scottish Rugby.

“The attritional nature of the Guinness Six Nations means 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.

“We wish those that have missed out through injury all the best in their rehabilitation, and we will continue to monitor their progress ahead of the final two games of the championship.”

There is good news for Townsend on the injury front as Josh Bayliss, who missed the opening two matches against England and Wales with concussion, scored a try on his return to action for Bath at the weekend and will be available for selection against the French.

SCOTLAND SQUAD:

FORWARDS:

Ewan Ashman - Sale Sharks – 2 caps

Josh Bayliss – Bath Rugby – 2 caps

Simon Berghan - Glasgow Warriors - 31 caps

Magnus Bradbury – Edinburgh Rugby - 16 caps

Andy Christie - Saracens - uncapped

Allan Dell - London Irish - 32 caps

Rory Darge – Glasgow Warriors – 1 cap

Matt Fagerson - Glasgow Warriors - 19 caps

Zander Fagerson - Glasgow Warriors - 44 caps

Grant Gilchrist - Edinburgh Rugby – 50 caps

Nick Haining – Edinburgh Rugby – 10 caps

Jamie Hodgson - Edinburgh Rugby – 3 caps

Oli Kebble - Glasgow Warriors - 11 caps

Stuart McInally – Edinburgh Rugby – 45 caps

Kiran McDonald – Glasgow Warriors – uncapped

WP Nel - Edinburgh Rugby - 45 caps

Pierre Schoeman - Edinburgh Rugby - 6 caps

Sam Skinner - Exeter Chiefs - 17 caps

Marshall Sykes - Edinburgh Rugby - 1 cap

George Turner - Glasgow Warriors – 20 caps

Hamish Watson - Edinburgh Rugby – 45 caps

BACKS:

Mark Bennett - Edinburgh Rugby - 22 caps

Darcy Graham - Edinburgh Rugby - 24 caps

Chris Harris - Gloucester Rugby - 33 caps

Stuart Hogg - Exeter Chiefs - 90 caps - Captain

Rory Hutchinson - Northampton Saints - 5 caps

Sam Johnson - Glasgow Warriors - 22 caps

Blair Kinghorn - Edinburgh Rugby - 30 caps

James Lang - Edinburgh Rugby – 6 caps

Rufus McLean - Glasgow Warriors - 2 caps

Ali Price - Glasgow Warriors - 48 caps

Kyle Rowe - London Irish - uncapped

Finn Russell - Racing 92 - 60 caps

Ollie Smith - Glasgow Warriors - uncapped

Kyle Steyn - Glasgow Warriors - 3 caps

Sione Tuipulotu- Glasgow Warriors – 3 caps

Duhan van der Merwe - Worcester Warriors - 15 caps

Ben Vellacott - Edinburgh Rugby – uncapped

Ben White - London Irish – 2 caps