Scotland will be without Jonny Gray and will not be able to call on Scott Cummings and Cam Redpath for Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations game with France at BT Murrayfield.
Gray has a right ankle injury and did not play for his club Exeter at the weekend. The ankle was heavily strapped during the 20-17 loss to Wales before half-time but Gray played the entire game.
Cummings was a likely replacement in the second row but the Glasgow lock missed the weekend game against Benetton with a knee injury. With him ruled out, Sam Skinner is likely to move to the second row as he did in the win against France in Paris last year.
May be back for final two games
Scotland squad update:
Ahead of this weekend’s @SixNationsRugby return, six players have met up with the Scotland Squad and five players have returned to their clubs.
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) February 21, 2022
Redpath has returned to Bath with an undisclosed injury. The Bath centre, Gray and Cummings could be available for the final two rounds of the championship. However Jamie Ritchie and Rory Sutherland, who suffered a rib injury against Wales, will miss the rest of the Six Nations.
Scotland have called up six players to cover the loss of the injured group. James Lang, Oli Kebble, Marshall Sykes and Simon Berghan have been recalled. The uncapped Glasgow pair Kiran McDonald and Ollie Smith joined the squad at Oriam on Monday morning.
Smith is another former Strathallan School player joining the national squad. The Fagerson brothers, Jamie Ritchie, George Horne and Murray McCallum, all FPs of the Perthshire school, have been called up in recent years.
The 21-year-old has starred for Glasgow after being blooded this season. He was man of the match scoring a try against Benetton at the weekend.
Props Berghan and Kebble rejoin the squad after not being involved in the first two games. Both played significant roles in last year’s championship. Edinburgh’s Sykes was capped off the bench against Tonga in November.
Bath’s Josh Bayliss has rejoined the squad after recovering from concussion. He scored in his club’s game against Leicester at the weekend.
‘There are often changes made in the championship’
How good 🔥
Your @URCOfficial Player of the Match this evening – Ollie Smith.#WhateverItTakes ⚔️🛡️ pic.twitter.com/lEuuen9H1s
— Glasgow Warriors (@GlasgowWarriors) February 19, 2022
Scotland came into the championship with virtually a clean bill of health. But Gregor Townsend said the attritional nature of the Six Nations was always going to take a toll.
“There are often changes made throughout the championship. It is a challenge we are much better equipped to deal with given our current squad depth,” he said.
“This is a great opportunity for the new players to impress and force their way into our match day squad.”
Squad
Forwards: Ewan Ashman (Sale), Josh Bayliss (Bath), Simon Berghan (Glasgow Warriors), Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh Rugby), Andy Christie (Saracens), Allan Dell (London Irish), Rory Darge (Glasgow Warriors), Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby), Nick Haining (Edinburgh Rugby), Jamie Hodgson (Edinburgh Rugby), Oli Kebble (Glasgow Warriors), Stuart McInally (Edinburgh Rugby) Kiran McDonald (Glasgow Warriors), WP Nel (Edinburgh Rugby), Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby), Sam Skinner (Exeter Chiefs), Marshall Sykes (Edinburgh Rugby), George Turner (Glasgow Warriors), Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby)
Backs: Mark Bennett (Edinburgh Rugby), Darcy Graham (Edinburgh Rugby), Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby), Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs, capt), Rory Hutchinson (Northampton Saints), Sam Johnson (Glasgow Warriors), Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh Rugby), James Lang (Edinburgh Rugby), 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 Rugby), Ben White (London Irish).