Stuart Hogg to lead Scotland in Six Nations 2020
Stuart Hogg has played 72 Tests for Scotland
©PA
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has named fullback Stuart Hogg as the captain for the upcoming Six Nations tournament.
Hogg will take over the reins from Stuart McInally, who captained the side during the World Cup in Japan last year following which he announced retirement from international rugby.
The 27-year-old has played 72 Tests for the Dark Blues in the last seven years and moved from Glasgow Warriors to Exeter Chiefs ahead of the 2019/20 season.
The 38-member squad also consists of six uncapped players including three from Glasgow Warriors -Tom Gordon, Kyle Steyn and Ratu Tagive along with Edinburgh duo Luke Crosbie and Nick Haining and Gloucester's Alex Craig.
“We’ve put a bigger emphasis on form as a guide for our selection, with those picked backed to go out and grab their opportunity," said Townsend.
“A number of young players have broken through at their clubs, while the bulk of the squad [23/31] from Japan has been reselected based on some strong individual performances and huge effort throughout our World Cup camp.
“We’re on to our next campaign now and it’s going to be very tough given the competition we face. Ireland have only lost one championship game at home in the last five years, and England were in great form in Japan.
“There are some real quality players who have missed out on selection, either through injury or the form of others in the group and I’m sure they’ll continue to knock hard on the squad selection door throughout the Six Nations period.
“It’s a positive that we’ve depth in the number of positions and more players available to play than we did this time last season so let’s hope that continues over the duration of the tournament.”
Scotland will kick-start the Six Nations 2020 campaign with a clash against Ireland at Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 1st February.
Scotland Six Nations squad:
Forwards: Simon Berghan, Jamie Bhatti, Magnus Bradbury, Fraser Brown, Alex Craig, Luke Crosbie, Scott Cummings, Allan Dell, Cornell du Preez, Zander Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist, Tom Gordon, Jonny Gray, Nick Haining, Stuart McInally, Willem Nel, Jamie Ritchie, Rory Sutherland, Ben Toolis, George Turner, Hamish Watson
Backs: Darcy Graham, Chris Harris, Adam Hastings, Stuart Hogg (c), George Horne, Rory Hutchinson, Sam Johnson, Huw Jones, Blair Kinghorn, Sean Maitland, Byron McGuigan, Ali Price, Henry Pyrgos, Finn Russell, Matt Scott, Kyle Steyn, Ratu Tagive
