Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend on Tuesday announced an unsurprising 39-man squad for the upcoming Six Nations. Only four debutants are featured, including prop Alec Hepburn, a former England international. The 29-year-old Exeter Chiefs player racked up six caps for the Rose XV in 2018. Since then, he has missed the required three years without an international match to be able to join Scotland, his father's country of birth. He is one of four newcomers alongside prop Will Hurd, wing Arron Reed and full-back Harry Paterson.
Your Scotland squad for the 2024 Guinness Men's Six Nations has been confirmed 🏴
More https://t.co/X7Ec1kFCUK pic.twitter.com/AP9IH2v9Hh ➡️
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) January 16, 2024
Head coach Gregor Townsend will be able to draw on the experience of WP Nel (61 caps), Ali Price (66 caps), Finn Russell (75 caps), Richie Gray (78 caps) and Jamie Ritchie (46 caps), as well as Toulouse's Blair Kinghorn and Toulon's Ben White. He did not announce who his captain would be. The coach also called up Kyle Steyn, Jack Dempsey and Rory Darge, three players from the Glasgow Warriors, despite their recent physical problems.
The Thistle XV had an encouraging Six Nations last Championship after three wins (against England, Wales and Italy) and two defeats (France and Ireland), finishing in third place. However, they were eliminated in the group stage of the 2023 World Cup, which was held by Ireland and South Africa. The Scots travel to Cardiff on Saturday 3 February to take on Wales on the opening day of the Championship.
Scotland's Six Nations squad:
Forwards (21): Ewan Ashman (Edinburgh), Josh Bayliss (Bath), Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow), Andy Christie (Saracens), Luke Crosbie (Edinburgh), Scott Cummings (Glasgow), Jack Dempsey (Glasgow), Rory Darge (Glasgow), Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh), Richie Gray (Glasgow), Matt Fagerson (Glasgow), Zander Fagerson (Glasgow), Alec Hepburn (Exeter Chiefs), Will Hurd (Leicester Tigers), Johnny Matthews (Glasgow), WP Nel (Edinburgh), Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh), Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh), Sam Skinner (Edinburgh), George Turner (Glasgow), Glen Young (Edinburgh).
Backs (18): Adam Hastings (Gloucester/ENG), Ben Healy (Edinburgh), George Horne (Glasgow), Darcy Graham (Edinburgh), Rory Hutchinson (Northampton/ENG), Huw Jones (Glasgow), Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse), Stafford McDowall (Glasgow), Harry Paterson (Edinburgh), Ali Price (Edinburgh), Cameron Redpath (Bath/ENG), Arron Reed (Sale/ENG), Kyle Rowe (Glasgow), Finn Russell (Bath/ENG), Kyle Steyn (Glasgow), Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow), Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh), Ben White (Toulon).