Scotland lose 77 caps worth of experience as forward duo ruled out

Forwards Jamie Ritchie (knee) and Elliot Millar Mills (leg) have withdrawn from Scotland’s Nations Championship squad due to injury.

Both Ritchie and Millar Mills, who have 77 caps between them, picked up knocks playing for their respective clubs at the weekend, Glasgow Warriors and Newcastle Red Bulls.

It is a bitter blow for Ritchie in particular, who returned home to Scotland this summer after a spell playing in France with Perpignan and was hoping to add to his 62 caps, the last of which was won during this year’s Six Nations.

Flanker Ritchie went off early in his second appearance for Glasgow and head coach Franco Smith stated afterwards that he expected the forward to be out for about four weeks.

The former Edinburgh and Scotland captain has had a difficult 2026, suffering a knee injury in Scotland’s Calcutta Cup win over England in February, which ruled him out of the rest of the Guinness Six Nations.

He then missed Scotland’s summer encounters after picking up an ankle injury in his final game for Perpignan in May.

The 30-year-old was gradually introduced to action with his new club but lasted only eight minutes of Warriors’ 29-20 win over Lions in the BKT United Rugby Championship.

Head coach Gregor Townsend has opted to bring three players in as cover, Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, Freddy Douglas and D’arcy Rae.

The Edinburgh trio have now joined up with the national squad as preparations continue for Test matches against New Zealand, Australia and Japan on consecutive weekends at Murrayfield.

Tight-head Blyth-Lafferty, 20, has been threatening to win a first cap for some time and continued his form from last season into this, while back-rower Douglas, who is a year older, has three caps to his name and has yet to taste defeat in a dark blue jersey at senior level.

D’arcy Rae’s eight caps have been won over a seven-year stretch, from his debut against Ireland in February 2019 through to his last appearance against Fiji in round three of the Nations Championship. His return from a calf injury has proved to be most timely.

Sale Sharks scrum-half Gus Warr, who won two caps on the summer tour of the Americas in 2024, will train with the squad this week, while soon-to-be-eligible Glasgow full-back Josh McKay will also join the group, continuing his rehab from a hamstring injury.