Sione Tuipulotu to lead Scotland in Autumn Series

Sione Tuipulotu has been appointed as Scotland’s captain for the upcoming autumn series by head coach Gregor Townsend.

The Glasgow Warriors centre will lead the team through four crucial tests at Murrayfield, marking a significant shift in leadership following this year’s Six Nations, where the captaincy was shared between Rory Darge and Finn Russell.

Both Darge and Russell have been named vice-captains for the autumn fixtures.

The autumn series will see Scotland face Fiji, South Africa, Portugal, and Australia, with Townsend assembling a 45-man squad.

Notably, five uncapped players have been included, with Glasgow's Alex Samuel and Tom Jordan being joined by Edinburgh's Ben Muncaster, Freddy Douglas, and Mosese Tuipulotu, Sione's younger brother.

Several seasoned players have returned to the squad. Edinburgh forward D’Arcy Rae and Northampton’s versatile back Rory Hutchinson have been recalled, while star winger Darcy Graham is set to make his comeback after injury, having missed out since last year’s Rugby World Cup.

Meanwhile, Edinburgh fly-half Ben Healy has been omitted due to a challenging start to the season at club level. Instead, Tom Jordan has earned a call-up alongside the experienced duo of Finn Russell and Adam Hastings.

Veteran forwards George Turner and Richie Gray have made themselves unavailable for selection by transferring from Glasgow to Japan.

“Sione has been one of our key leaders over the last couple of years and thrives in that leadership role," said Townsend.

"We’ve seen that in his outings as Glasgow captain and when he had the opportunity to lead the team against Chile a few months ago.”

Scotland squad:

Forwards: Ewan Ashman, Josh Bayliss, Jamie Bhatti, Gregor Brown, Scott Cummings, Luke Crosbie, Alex Craig, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey, Freddy Douglas, Matt Fagerson, Zander Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist, Patrick Harrison, Will Hurd, Ewan Johnson, Nathan McBeth, Elliot Millar Mills, Ben Muncaster, D’Arcy Rae, Dylan Richardson, Jamie Ritchie, Alex Samuel, Pierre Schoeman, Rory Sutherland, Max Williamson

Backs: Matt Currie, Jamie Dobie, Darcy Graham, Adam Hastings, George Horne, Rory Hutchinson, Huw Jones, Tom Jordan, Blair Kinghorn, Stafford McDowall, Harry Paterson, Ali Price, Arron Reed, Kyle Rowe, Finn Russell, Mosese Tuipulotu, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe, Ben White