SIX players have been added to the Scotland squad ahead of next Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash against England at BT Murrayfield, including a triumvirate of high-profile English based players in Harlequins winger Tim Visser, Gloucester centre Matt Scott and Sale Sharks number eight Josh Strauss.
Scott had just returned from an ankle injury when the initial squad was announced, while Visser and Strauss simply didn’t make the cut.
Edinburgh’s WP Nel returns from a broken arm sustained in November to increase head coach Gregor Townsend’s options at tight-head prop; and second-row Tim Swinson, who has been out with a broken hand, also gets the call after managing 69 minutes for Glasgow Warriors on Friday night.
Uncapped Glasgow Warriors hooker James Malcolm is the sixth addition to the squad. There is no Zander Fagerson, who trained with the squad in Gala on Friday but hasn’t recovered sufficiently from a foot injury to be a realistic contender for selection in six days’ time.
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The new faces replace Saracens centre Duncan Taylor (head) and Toulouse lock Richie Gray (calf), who are yet to recover from the injuries which kept them out of the opening two games of the championship, as well as Magnus Bradbury, Nathan Fowles, Murray McCallum (all Edinburgh Rugby) and D’arcy Rae (Glasgow Warriors).
Lee Jones (Glasgow Warriors) and Neil Cochrane (Edinburgh Rugby) will remain with their clubs to complete the graduated return to play protocols after sustaining head injuries at the weekend.
Currie Chieftains scrum-half Charlie Shiel and Edinburgh wing Darcy Graham have also been invited to train with the squad on Monday and Tuesday.
Scotland NatWest 6 Nations squad –
BACKS (16) –
Mark Bennett (Edinburgh Rugby) – 20 caps
Nick Grigg (Glasgow Warriors) – 1 cap
Chris Harris (Newcastle Falcons) – 2 caps
Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors) – 57 caps
Pete Horne (Glasgow Warriors) – 30 caps
Ruaridh Jackson (Glasgow Warriors) – 32 caps
Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors) – 13 caps
Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh Rugby) – uncapped
Greig Laidlaw (ASM Clermont Auvergne) – 60 caps
Sean Maitland (Saracens) – 31 caps
Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) – 13 caps
Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors) – 27 caps
Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors) – 34 caps
Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) – 41 caps
Matt Scott (Gloucester) – 39 caps
Tim Visser (Harlequins) – 33 caps
FORWARDS (20) –
John Barclay CAPTAIN (Scarlets) – 68 caps
Simon Berghan (Edinburgh Rugby) – 6 caps
Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow Warriors) – 5 caps
David Denton (Worcester Warriors) – 36 caps
Cornell Du Preez (Edinburgh Rugby) – 6 caps
Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby) – 20 caps
Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors) – 40 caps
Luke Hamilton (Leicester Tigers) – 1 cap
Rob Harley (Glasgow Warriors) – 20 caps
Scott Lawson (Newcastle Falcons) – 47 caps
James Malcolm (Glasgow Warriors) – uncapped
Stuart McInally (Edinburgh Rugby) – 14 caps
Willem Nel (Edinburgh Rugby) – 19 caps
Gordon Reid (London Irish) – 29 caps
Josh Strauss (Sale Sharks) – 14 caps
Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors) – 33 caps
Ben Toolis (Edinburgh Rugby) – 9 caps
Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby) – 17 caps
Jon Welsh (Newcastle Falcons) – 12 caps
Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors) – 34 caps
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