Townsend names 39-man Six Nations squad with Russell and Darge as co-captains
Glasgow back-rower Rory Darge and Bath stand-off Finn Russell have been named as Scotland’s new co-captains for the upcoming Guinness Six Nations.
It has also been revealed that free-scoring wing Darcy Graham has been ruled out of the opening two matches through injury.
Jamie Ritchie had been the skipper since replacing Stuart Hogg in the role for the 2022 Autumn series but, with the Edinburgh flanker having been hindered by shoulder and jaw injuries following last year’s World Cup, Gregor Townsend has opted to make a change in order to “further grow and develop the leadership within the squad”.
Both Russell, 31, and Darge, 23, have previous experience of captaining the team in Ritchie’s absence.
The talismanic Russell, who has been in impressive form since moving to Bath from Racing 92, is likely to lead the Scots in the opening match away to Wales as 23-year-old Darge is expected to miss the early part of the championship as he battles to recover from a knee injury sustained at the end of December.
“Appointing co-captains for this year’s Guinness Six Nations allows us to further grow and develop the leadership within the squad,” head coach Townsend told Scottish Rugby on Sunday morning.
“Rory and Finn captained Scotland last summer and bring different strengths and styles of leadership to the table.
“Both are highly respected within our squad and have been part of our leadership group for some time.
“I’m sure they will thrive with this responsibility and lean on our other leaders to drive certain aspects of our preparation, mindset and performance.”
Ritchie was sidelined for a month after the World Cup due to a shoulder injury sustained in the first half of the pool-stage defeat by Ireland in October. After returning in mid-November for six Edinburgh matches, the back-rower suffered a jaw injury in the win over Glasgow on 30 December.
Townsend said last week that he was undecided on the captaincy and that he needed to see Ritchie “put his best foot forward” in Friday’s Challenge Cup match away to Scarlets.
However, the 27-year-old was restricted to a second-half substitute appearance as he made his return to action.
Russell’s appointment as captain is particularly significant as the influential fly-half has had a strained relationship with Townsend at times in the past.
Russell was cut from the squad ahead of the 2020 Six Nations after he missed a training session following a late-night drinking session and he was also controversially omitted from the initial squad for the 2022 autumn Tests as Townsend appeared intent on phasing him out before injuries prompted him to recall the former Glasgow fly-half midway through the series.
“Playing for Scotland is a huge honour and to co-captain the side is a privilege and something I am proud of,” Russell said.
“We have such a talented squad and to lead them alongside Rory represents a massive opportunity. I can’t wait to get started with this year’s championship.”
In the same update that confirmed the change of captaincy, Scottish Rugby revealed that Edinburgh wing Darcy Graham will miss the opening two matches away to Wales and at home to France with a quad injury.
The 26-year-old – Scotland’s second highest try-scorer of all time – has been replaced in the squad by Ross McCann, a 26-year-old wing who played for Scotland Under-20s before becoming a full-time Scotland 7s player.
FORWARDS:
Ewan Ashman – Edinburgh Rugby
Josh Bayliss – Bath Rugby
Jamie Bhatti – Glasgow Warriors
Andy Christie – Saracens
Luke Crosbie – Edinburgh Rugby
Scott Cummings – Glasgow Warriors
Jack Dempsey – Glasgow Warriors
Rory Darge – Glasgow Warriors CO-CAPTAIN
Grant Gilchrist – Edinburgh Rugby
Richie Gray – Glasgow Warriors
Matt Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors
Zander Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors
Alec Hepburn – Exeter Chiefs (uncapped)
Will Hurd – Leicester Tigers (uncapped)
Johnny Matthews – Glasgow Warriors
WP Nel – Edinburgh Rugby
Jamie Ritchie – Edinburgh Rugby
Pierre Schoeman – Edinburgh Rugby
Sam Skinner – Edinburgh Rugby
George Turner – Glasgow Warriors
Glen Young – Edinburgh Rugby
BACKS:
Adam Hastings – Gloucester Rugby
Ben Healy – Edinburgh Rugby
George Horne – Glasgow Warriors
Rory Hutchinson – Northampton Saints
Huw Jones – Glasgow Warriors
Blair Kinghorn – Toulouse
Stafford McDowall – Glasgow Warriors
Ross McCann – Great Britain Sevens (uncapped)
Harry Paterson – Edinburgh Rugby (uncapped)
Ali Price – Edinburgh Rugby
Cameron Redpath – Bath Rugby
Arron Reed – Sale Sharks (uncapped)
Kyle Rowe – Glasgow Warriors
Finn Russell – Bath Rugby CO-CAPTAIN
Kyle Steyn – Glasgow Warriors
Sione Tuipulotu – Glasgow Warriors
Duhan van der Merwe – Edinburgh Rugby
Ben White – Toulon
additional reporting RugbyPass
Comments on RugbyPass
PSTD, I salute you.
6 Go to commentsWhy don't they just give up on scrums and lineouts, cut the number of players to 13, and call the game ‘rugby league’? These idiots are determined to destroy the game as we know it, and instead of ‘attracting youngsters to the game’ as Beaumont suggests, it’ll deter a lot of the less skilled, maybe overweight kids who it is perfect for. World Rugby is detestable. And as for the 20 minute ‘red’ - why not teach the players to tackle better? (Like the current tackle height trials are supposed to do, but will probably be squashed by the NZRU as usual). I despair for the union game, I really do.
34 Go to commentsHere’s hoping the emphasis on how the tmo interfaces on game infractions is taken into account more seriously than what was adjudicated during the 23 wc. That was a shambles, plus Barnes the abs ref never contested some of the calls, something he’s known for. And then we're left with wr opologizing after the game that smith’s try was legit. I was even more pizzed. And as for the red card if the infringement is clearly intentional foul then the individual is out of the game and after 20mins the bench replacement comes on. So, there’s then the degree of seriousness taken into account within the 20min stand down.
34 Go to commentsNot sure they the article doesn’t hit on TMO this year, that’s were they were putting focus right. The fact the other areas haven’t improved shows just how poor the comp is at focusing on its direction. There should still have been further gains in both those areas this year even it if didn’t have the same focus as others. The whistle to restart time, like touch finders of 26 seconds, surely has to be a key focus area next year. Why should a side be given so much time to kick for touch? Cut that down to 5 or 10 seconds, penalties both become less of key stalling/defensive strategy, and become more ‘live’ with tap kicks becoming much more favourable quick actions. Theres absolutely no reason we have to wait over 10 secs for the preferred kicker to walk up and try and take maximum advantage, especially when half the time its just a delay tactic to give the forwards time to plan, as the kicker hardly even trys to find the corner with his kick, anyone could have kicked it straight out for the lineout.
34 Go to commentsShame. Hope something else can be arranged.
3 Go to commentsTitans of under-20s rugby …. Reporters tired verbiage akin to calling every player a “star” and any Fijian side as ”Flying”. The French English and Irish are the Titans of U20 rugby. Noone in the South is now. This tournament is however, good prep to regain titan status.
1 Go to commentsWill be humbling coming back and playing second fiddle to Dmac.
2 Go to commentsSounds like quite a bit of development has occurred regarding Mo’unga’s situation. Either NZR has stepped up their offer (big time) or RMo has had a reality check on what it will be like to be outside of the high performance environment of AB rugby. Maybe both. It reads like there are only a few remaining details to be sorted out before it is a done deal.
2 Go to commentsCurrently, a prop that has been substituted can go back on field if his original replacement gets injured. Can a red carded prop go back if his replacement gets injured, or will it be uncontested scrums?
13 Go to commentsWhat about a free kick from a scrum? Can you call another scrum? Or are they just giving straight penalties now?
34 Go to commentsLoved that comment by Andrew that the ‘water boys’ rule was changed in 2020 just to stymie the Boks!
34 Go to commentsOne of the best the Boks have ever produced. PSDT has an engine that goes non-stop for the full 80 min.
6 Go to commentsThe real deal.
6 Go to commentsIt’s been said that Nienaber will head back to SA too before next World Cup , hoarding all the amazing IP gained in Irish system … get a grip … Irish system needs to Milk the likes of Barrett . First time a leading all Black in his prime has gone to Ireland for any period of time . Enjoy it .
22 Go to comments20 min RC is the only good solution of a bunch of bad solutions. Ridiculous that it has taken this long and caused so many uneven contests. In general these are all very good changes - one is surprised that NH brokers were able to see sense at long last.
13 Go to comments“While a red card will mean a temporary team disadvantage, the replacement system will focus punishment on the offending player instead of disrupting the game itself.” This might work for amateur rugby, where players just want to be on the pitch for as long as possible, but hopefully we’ve got to a point where top level professionals care about the success of their team much more than about whether they personally are on the pitch or not.
13 Go to commentsa lot of focus on the targeting of south africa, but aspects of this are positive. The croc roll; the offside law; and time limits on set pieces are all good. calling for a mark off kick offs is baffling, but I guess we’ll see how it plays out in practice
34 Go to commentsSpeeding the game up is great, but I think we will find that the increase in viewership this year mostly comes down to the competition being more competitive…the fall of the Crusaders has been a boon for viewership. This should be at the heart of super rugby changes - how to make the comp more even
34 Go to commentsThe fact that the press were largely to blame for his taking a break is nothing short of disgusting. He’s made a few mistakes but difficult to name a player of any substance who gives it a full go hasn’t also made mistakes? On behalf of a large number of Bokke fans, bring back Farrell !!!!!
3 Go to commentsPSTD is a fantastic flanker. He could benefit from a bit of self-promotion / flair and he is not quite the danger man that Ardie is. That said, he is my 1st pick to build a backrow around. His speed and hustle made up for Duane who got quite a bit slower at the 8.
6 Go to comments