Scotland Six Nations squad: Cameron Redpath returns as Ben White handed first call up

Scotland have named five uncapped players in a 39 man squad for the 2022 Six Nations Championship.

Head Coach Gregor Townsend has gone with a blend of experienced campaigners and retaliative new comers with full-back Stuart Hogg once against captaining his nation.

Unlike their Welsh counterparts, the Scots have been able to choose from a strong pull of players without too many injury concerns.

Here is everything you need to know about the selection and the new names in the squad ahead of their Calcutta Cup opener with England at Murrayfield on February 5:

Scotland name 39 man squad for 2022 Six Nations

The Scots have opted for a slightly bigger provisional squad than England and Wales.

Amongst the most welcome returns to the fold is Bath centre Cameron Redpath who put in a brilliant performance against England a Twickenham last year in what was his first cap.

Injury then ruled the 22-year old out for the rest of the tournament and the subsequent Autumn Internationals but he has recently returned to action with his club and is now back in the Scotland squad.

Unlike Wales, who are missing several key players through injury, Gregor Townsend has a near full strength pull to choose from and has called on almost all the regular players he has relied on over the past few years.

Captain Stuart Hogg is the most capped player in the squad with 88 while British & Irish Lions teammates Finn Russell, Duhan van der Merwe, Ali Price, Hamish Watson, Chris Harris, Rory Sutherland and Zander Fagerson are included as expected.

However, there are some notable absences with Gloucester stand-off Adam Hastings, Glasgow half-backs Jamie Dobie, George Horne and Ross Thompson and Harlequins centre Huw Jones all missing out on selection.

Here is the full 39 man squad named by Scotland for the 2022 Six Nations Championship:

• Ewan Ashman
• Josh Bayliss
• Jamie Bhatti
• Magnus Bradbury
• Andy Christie
• Scott Cummings
• Rory Darge
• Matt Fagerson
• Zander Fagerson
• Grant Gilchrist
• Jonny Gray
• Nick Haining
• Jamie Hodgson
• Stuart McInally
• WP Nel
• Jamie Ritchie
• Pierre Schoeman
• Javan Sebastian
• Sam Skinner
• Rory Sutherland
• George Turner
• Hamish Watson
• Mark Bennett
• Darcy Graham
• Chris Harris
• Stuart Hogg
• Rory Hutchinson
• Sam Johnson
• Blair Kinghorn
• Rufus McLean
• Ali Price
• Cameron Redpath
• Kyle Rowe
• Finn Russell
• Kyle Steyn
• Sione Tuipulotu
• Duhan van der Merwe
• Ben Vellacott
• Ben White

Who is Ben White? Five uncapped players in Scotland squad

London Irish scrum-half Ben White is the biggest surprise named in the squad as one of five uncapped players.

The 23-year old, who represented England at Under-20 level, previously played for Doncaster Knights and Leicester Tigers before moving to The Exiles.

The other uncapped players in the squad are fellow London Irish back Kyle Rowe, Edinburgh scrum-half Ben Vellacott, Glasgow Warriors flanker Rory Darge and Saracens back rower Andy Christie.

Darge and Vellacott have earner their places in the squad after impressing for Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh respectively in the United Rugby Championship.

What has Head Coach Gregor Townsend?

Scotland Head Coach Gregor Townsend commented on his squad selection for the 2022 Six Nations in the official announcement, saying: “When you look through the squad this is the most competitive I’ve seen it in so many areas and that’s testament to the strength and depth we have.

“We are able to call-up several new players into the squad such as Andy Christie, Kyle Rowe and Ben White. We have been aware of all of the uncapped players for a while now and recently they have all experienced a breakthrough in terms of their performances at club level.

“A key part of the squad selection was rewarding form and that definitely applies to Ben Vellacott and Rory Darge who have been excellent for their clubs this season.

“We’re delighted to be able to include Cameron Redpath in the squad after missing the last few months with injury. He managed to get a game under his belt prior to the squad selection so we’ll see how he performs for Bath and in our training over the next couple of weeks.

“The Guinness Six Nations is the best competition we have in rugby so to be involved in it is a real privilege, especially starting with our oldest rivals in front of a sold-out home crowd.”

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