Townsend names 40-man Scotland squad for Six Nations

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has named a 40-player squad for the 2026 Six Nations, with centre Huw Jones returning to the group ahead of the championship opener against Italy in Rome on Saturday, February 7.

The squad is made up of 23 forwards and 17 backs and will again be captained by Glasgow Warriors centre Sione Tuipulotu. Among the headline inclusions are second row Jonny Gray and hooker Dave Cherry, both recalled after strong club form in France.

Gray returns after featuring for Bordeaux Bègles, who secured top seeding in the Champions Cup knockout stages, while Cherry has been a regular starter for Vannes during their push to the top of the Pro D2 table. Cherry joins Ewan Ashman, now Scotland’s leading try-scoring hooker, and George Turner, who recently reached 50 international caps.

In the front row, Pierre Schoeman, Rory Sutherland and Nathan McBeth are named at loosehead, with Zander Fagerson, Elliot Millar-Mills and D’Arcy Rae covering tighthead. Grant Gilchrist and Scott Cummings are joined by Gray in the second row, alongside Max Williamson and Alex Craig, while Gregor Brown provides additional versatility across lock and blindside flanker.

The back row includes Rory Darge, Matt Fagerson and Jack Dempsey, with Jamie Ritchie, Josh Bayliss, Magnus Bradbury and young Edinburgh forwards Liam McConnell and Freddy Douglas also selected.

In the backs, Jones is named alongside Stafford McDowall and Rory Hutchinson in midfield. Finn Russell leads the fly-half options, supported by Adam Hastings and Fergus Burke, while Ben White and George Horne are the specialist scrum-halves.

Scotland Six Nations squad:

Forwards: Ewan Ashman (Edinburgh), Josh Bayliss (Bath), Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh), Gregor Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Dave Cherry (Vannes), Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors), Alex Craig (Glasgow Warriors), Rory Darge (Glasgow Warriors), Jack Dempsey (Glasgow Warriors), Freddy Douglas (Edinburgh), Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh), Jonny Gray (Union Bordeaux Bègles), Nathan McBeth (Glasgow Warriors), Liam McConnell (Edinburgh), Elliot Millar Mills (Northampton Saints), D’arcy Rae (Edinburgh), Jamie Ritchie (Perpignan), Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh), Rory Sutherland (Glasgow Warriors), George Turner (Harlequins), Max Williamson (Glasgow Warriors)

Backs: Fergus Burke (Saracens), Jamie Dobie (Glasgow Warriors), Darcy Graham (Edinburgh), Adam Hastings (Glasgow Warriors), George Horne (Glasgow Warriors), Rory Hutchinson (Northampton Saints), Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors), Tom Jordan (Bristol Bears), Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse), Stafford McDowall (Glasgow Warriors), Finn Russell (Bath), Kyle Rowe (Glasgow Warriors), Ollie Smith (Glasgow Warriors)
Kyle Steyn (Glasgow Warriors, Sione Tuipulotu (Captain – Glasgow Warriors), Duhan van der Merwe Edinburgh, Ben White (Toulon)