Five uncapped players have been named by Gregor Townsend in his 39-man Scotland squad for the Guinness Six Nations while Cameron Redpath also returns to the international mix.
Saracens back-rower Andy Christie and London Irish scrum-half Ben White are both rewarded with call-ups ahead of the Championship opener against England on February 5.
They are joined in the squad by fellow uncapped players Rory Darge (flanker, Glasgow Warriors), Ben Vellacott (scrum-half, Edinburgh) and Kyle Rowe (wing, London Irish).
Rowe was previously a member of the Scotland Sevens and U20s teams while Christie also represented Scotland at youth level, playing for the U16s.
Elsewhere, there is also a recall for 22-year-old Redpath, who starred on his debut in last year’s Championship as Scotland defeated England at Twickenham for the first time in 38 years.
Injury meant Redpath has not won another cap since that historic night but having recently returned to action for Bath, the centre could face England again in Round 1.
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend said: “When you look through the squad this is the most competitive I’ve seen it in so many areas and that’s testament to the strength and depth we have.
“We are able to call-up several new players into the squad such as Andy Christie, Kyle Rowe and Ben White. We have been aware of all of the uncapped players for a while now and recently they have all experienced a breakthrough in terms of their performances at club level.
“A key part of the squad selection was rewarding form and that definitely applies to Ben Vellacott and Rory Darge who have been excellent for their clubs this season.
“We’re delighted to be able to include Cameron Redpath in the squad after missing the last few months with injury. He managed to get a game under his belt prior to the squad selection so we’ll see how he performs for Bath and in our training over the next couple of weeks.
The story of the 2021 Guinness Six Nations
“The Guinness Six Nations is the best competition we have in rugby so to be involved in it is a real privilege, especially starting with our oldest rivals in front of a sold-out home crowd.”
Northampton centre Rory Hutchinson also earns selection having not featured for Scotland in 2021, while back-row Magnus Bradbury, prop WP Nel and lock Jonny Gray return having all missed the Autumn Nations Series.
Stuart Hogg, fresh from claiming top spot in Scotland’s all-time try scoring list in November, once again captains his country and is joined by fellow Lions Finn Russell, Ali Price, Zander Fagerson, Chris Harris, Rory Sutherland, Duhan van der Merwe and Hamish Watson.
Ewan Ashman, Jamie Hodgson, Josh Bayliss, Javan Sebastian, Pierre Schoeman, Rufus McLean and Sione Tuipulotu all received their first Scotland caps in the autumn and are named again.
Scotland squad for Guinness Six Nations:
FORWARDS
Ewan Ashman – Sale Sharks – 2 caps Josh Bayliss – Bath Rugby – 2 caps Jamie Bhatti – Glasgow Warriors – 22 caps Magnus Bradbury – Edinburgh Rugby – 14 caps Andy Christie – Saracens – uncapped Scott Cummings – Glasgow Warriors – 21 caps Rory Darge – Glasgow Warriors – uncapped Matt Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors – 17 caps Zander Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors – 42 caps Grant Gilchrist – Edinburgh Rugby – 48 caps Jonny Gray – Exeter Chiefs – 64 caps Nick Haining – Edinburgh Rugby – 10 caps Jamie Hodgson – Edinburgh Rugby – 3 caps Stuart McInally – Edinburgh Rugby – 43 caps WP Nel – Edinburgh Rugby – 43 caps Jamie Ritchie – Edinburgh Rugby – 31 caps Pierre Schoeman – Edinburgh Rugby – 4 caps Javan Sebastian – Scarlets – 1 cap Sam Skinner – Exeter Chiefs – 15 caps Rory Sutherland – Worcester Warriors – 16 caps George Turner – Glasgow Warriors – 20 caps Hamish Watson – Edinburgh Rugby – 45 caps
BACKS
Mark Bennett – Edinburgh Rugby – 22 caps Darcy Graham – Edinburgh Rugby – 22 caps Chris Harris – Gloucester Rugby – 31 caps Stuart Hogg – Exeter Chiefs – 88 caps – Captain Rory Hutchinson – Northampton Saints – 5 caps Sam Johnson – Glasgow Warriors – 21 caps Blair Kinghorn – Edinburgh Rugby – 28 caps Rufus McLean – Glasgow Warriors – 2 caps Ali Price – Glasgow Warriors – 46 caps Cameron Redpath – Bath Rugby – 1 cap Kyle Rowe – London Irish – uncapped Finn Russell – Racing 92 – 58 caps Kyle Steyn – Glasgow Warriors – 3 caps Sione Tuipulotu- Glasgow Warriors – 1 cap Duhan van der Merwe – Worcester Warriors – 13 caps Ben Vellacott – Edinburgh Rugby – uncapped Ben White – London Irish – uncapped
