SCOTLAND HEAD COACH Gregor Townsend confirmed his 31-man Rugby World Cup squad at a public event at Linlithgow Palace, birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots, on Tuesday afternoon.
Hundreds of supporters turned out to see Edinburgh hooker Stuart McInally announced as captain of a group that features a split of 17 forwards and 14 backs, each of whom was announced one-by-one as part of a live squad reveal.
However, there was no sign of centres Huw Jones or Rory Hutchinson, with forwards Josh Strauss, Matt Fagerson and Magnus Bradbury also missing out on the plane to the Far East.
Glasgow star Jones made quite the impact upon his introduction to Test rugby, scoring 10 tries in just 17 caps, but his poor form over the past year has cost him a ticket to Japan.
Hutchinson of the Northampton Saints put his hand up for inclusion during his first Test start against Georgia at the weekend, dotting down twice, but also misses out: Townsend has selected Peter Horne and Chris Harris as back-up to the expected first-choice pairing of Sam Johnson and Duncan Taylor.
“We’re delighted with the squad and believe we’ve picked a group capable of playing our best rugby and doing this consistently throughout the tournament,” said Townsend.
“The players have worked hard to be in the best physical shape of their careers and we know that when they play to their potential they are capable of beating any team in the world.”
Scotland Rugby World Cup squad
Forwards (17):
Stuart McInally
Jonny Gray
Ryan Wilson
Fraser Brown
Hamish Watson
Zander Fagerson
Gordon Reid
Simon Berghan
Grant Gilchrist
Duncan Taylor
Allan Dell
WP Nel
George Turner
Ben Toolis
Blade Thomson
Jamie Ritchie
Scott Cummings
Backs (14):
Greig Laidlaw
Stuart Hogg
Tommy Seymour
Finn Russell
Peter Horne
Sean Maitland
Ali Price
Darcy Graham
Adam Hastings
Chris Harris
Blair Kinghorn
Sam Johnson
George Horne
Duncan Taylor
Murray Kinsella joins Gavan Casey, Ryan Bailey and Sean Farrell with their immediate reaction to Ireland’s 31-man squad for the Rugby World Cup in Japan.
The42 Rugby Weekly / SoundCloud
