Scotland announce squad for Six Nations 2018

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has included four uncapped players in a 40-man squad for the upcoming Six Nations 2018 tournament.

Fullback Blair Kinghorn, scrum-half Nathan Fowles and prop Murray McCallum - all from Edinburgh along with Glasgow Warriors prop D’arcy Rae have been called-up in the squad which also sees the return of Greig Laidlaw, Richie Gray, Mark Bennett and Duncan Taylor.

Worcester Warriors' David Denton, who last played a Test in June 2016 has also been recalled while Taylor and Gordon Reid, who missed the autumn internationals due to injuries also return for the Dark Blues that will be captained by John Barclay once again.

“With the announcement of this 40-man squad, we are now entering the key stages of our preparation for this year’s NatWest 6 Nations Championship,” said Townsend.

“It’s a bigger squad than we originally planned –which is largely down to the competition for places – with a number of players having performed well in the Autumn Tests and a few others putting their hands up for selection in recent weeks.

“We welcome Blair Kinghorn into our group for the first time, who has been in excellent form with Edinburgh this season, and also three of our most experienced players in Richie Gray, Greig Laidlaw and Scott Lawson.

“We are looking forward to working with them and the rest of the squad to ensure that we build on the momentum the players generated in 2017."

Scotland squad

Backs: Mark Bennett, Alex Dunbar, Nick Grigg, Chris Harris, Stuart Hogg, Pete Horne, Ruaridh Jackson, Huw Jones, Lee Jones, Blair Kinghorn, Greig Laidlaw, Sean Maitland, Byron McGuigan, Ali Price, Henry Pyrgos, Finn Russell, Tommy Seymour, Duncan Taylor, Nathan Fowles

Forwards: John Barclay (c), Simon Berghan, Jamie Bhatti, Magnus Bradbury, David Denton, Cornell Du Preez, Grant Gilchrist, Jonny Gray, Richie Gray, Luke Hamilton, Rob Harley, Scott Lawson, Murray McCallum, Stuart McInally, Gordon Reid, D’arcy Rae, Ben Toolis, George Turner, Hamish Watson, Jon Welsh, Ryan Wilson