Townsend releases five Scotland players back to their clubs and adds six

Uncapped Glasgow second-row Kiran McDonald is one of six players added to Gregor Townsend’s Scotland squad for this Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash with France at BT Murrayfield.

James Lang, Ollie Smith, Oli Kebble, Simon Berghan and Marshall Sykes have also been called up.

Rory Sutherland, Javan Sebastian, Jonny Gray, Scott Cummings and Cam Redpath have all returned to their clubs due to injury issues.

Luke Cowan-Dickie, Six Nations Review and Sinckler’s Sauna | RugbyPass Offload | Episode 21

We’re joined by England’s Luke Cowan-Dickie this week as the Six Nations squads take a break after two rounds of action. We hear from the Exeter Hooker about his journey with England and the Lions, his relationship with Eddie Jones and of course that volleyball moment in Edinburgh during the Calcutta Cup. Max and Ryan give their thoughts on the weekend battles in Cardiff, Paris and Rome, pick their team of the week and look forward to the rest of the tournament.

Luke Cowan-Dickie, Six Nations Review and Sinckler’s Sauna | RugbyPass Offload | Episode 21

We’re joined by England’s Luke Cowan-Dickie this week as the Six Nations squads take a break after two rounds of action. We hear from the Exeter Hooker about his journey with England and the Lions, his relationship with Eddie Jones and of course that volleyball moment in Edinburgh during the Calcutta Cup. Max and Ryan give their thoughts on the weekend battles in Cardiff, Paris and Rome, pick their team of the week and look forward to the rest of the tournament.

“Rory Sutherland sustained a rib injury in the loss over Wales and is undergoing rehab,” confirmed Scottish Rugby. “Jonny Gray will be out of the France match due to an ankle injury and Scott Cummings is ruled out due to a knee injury. Cam Redpath will also be unavailable through injury. They will continue to be assessed in the coming weeks ahead of the remaining two games against Italy and Ireland.”

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has challenged the newly-added players to capitalise on their opportunity to impress.

“While it is disappointing to lose players to injury ahead of the France match, this is a great opportunity for the new players to impress and force their way into our matchday squad,” he told Scottish Rugby.

“The attritional nature of the Guinness Six Nations means there are often changes made to the squad throughout the championship and it is a challenge we are much better equipped to deal with given our current squad depth.

“We wish those that have missed out through injury all the best in their rehabilitation, and we will continue to monitor their progress ahead of the final two games of the championship.”

There is good news for Townsend on the injury front as Josh Bayliss, who missed the opening two matches against England and Wales with concussion, scored a try on his return to action for Bath at the weekend and will be available for selection against the French.

SCOTLAND SQUAD:

FORWARDS:
Ewan Ashman – Sale Sharks – 2 caps
Josh Bayliss – Bath Rugby – 2 caps
Simon Berghan – Glasgow Warriors – 31 caps
Magnus Bradbury – Edinburgh Rugby – 16 caps
Andy Christie – Saracens – uncapped
Allan Dell – London Irish – 32 caps
Rory Darge – Glasgow Warriors – 1 cap
Matt Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors – 19 caps
Zander Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors – 44 caps
Grant Gilchrist – Edinburgh Rugby – 50 caps
Nick Haining – Edinburgh Rugby – 10 caps
Jamie Hodgson – Edinburgh Rugby – 3 caps
Oli Kebble – Glasgow Warriors – 11 caps
Stuart McInally – Edinburgh Rugby – 45 caps
Kiran McDonald – Glasgow Warriors – uncapped
WP Nel – Edinburgh Rugby – 45 caps
Pierre Schoeman – Edinburgh Rugby – 6 caps
Sam Skinner – Exeter Chiefs – 17 caps
Marshall Sykes – Edinburgh Rugby – 1 cap
George Turner – Glasgow Warriors – 20 caps
Hamish Watson – Edinburgh Rugby – 45 caps

BACKS:
Mark Bennett – Edinburgh Rugby – 22 caps
Darcy Graham – Edinburgh Rugby – 24 caps
Chris Harris – Gloucester Rugby – 33 caps
Stuart Hogg – Exeter Chiefs – 90 caps – Captain
Rory Hutchinson – Northampton Saints – 5 caps
Sam Johnson – Glasgow Warriors – 22 caps
Blair Kinghorn – Edinburgh Rugby – 30 caps
James Lang – Edinburgh Rugby – 6 caps
Rufus McLean – Glasgow Warriors – 2 caps
Ali Price – Glasgow Warriors – 48 caps
Kyle Rowe – London Irish – uncapped
Finn Russell – Racing 92 – 60 caps
Ollie Smith – Glasgow Warriors – uncapped
Kyle Steyn – Glasgow Warriors – 3 caps
Sione Tuipulotu- Glasgow Warriors – 3 caps
Duhan van der Merwe – Worcester Warriors – 15 caps
Ben Vellacott – Edinburgh Rugby – uncapped
Ben White – London Irish – 2 caps