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Scotland Names 45-Player Squad

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has named a 45-player squad for the upcoming Quilter Nations Series, with the uncapped forward trio of Liam McConnell, Harri Morris and Alexander Masibaka included.

Flanker McConnell and hooker Morris, from Edinburgh Rugby, both played for Emerging Scotland last year against Italy with McConnell captaining the side.

Masibaka toured with Scotland in the summer and will be aiming for his first cap this autumn. Fresh from his Lions exploits, Sione Tuipulotu returns to the Scotland squad and will lead them as captain.

Ahead of fixtures on consecutive weekends against USA, New Zealand, Argentina and Tonga, 45 players have been initially selected, comprising 27 forwards and 18 backs.

Of the former, Edinburgh Rugby captain Magnus Bradbury returns to the international fold, seeking a first Scotland cap since the 2022 tour to Argentina.

Bradbury is part of a back-row contingent including the uncapped Masibaka and McConnell, as well as Jamie Ritchie, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey, Andy Onyeama-Christie, Josh Bayliss and Gregor Brown.

In the second row, fresh from the British & Irish Lions tour in the summer, Scott Cummings is joined by Glasgow Warriors teammates Max Williamson and Alex Samuel, alongside evergreen Edinburgh Rugby stalwart Grant Gilchrist and clubmate Marshall Sykes.

There are four hookers named, with George Turner joined by Edinburgh Rugby trio Ewan Ashman, Partick Harrison and Harri Morris. Ashman is one of 11 British & Irish Lions included. Dylan Richardson has impressed at flanker recently for Edinburgh and he also selected.

The forward selection is completed by the seven-strong group of Pierre Schoeman, Rory Sutherland, D’Arcy Rae, Nathan McBeth, Murphy Walker and Elliot Millar Mills, with Zander Fagerson making a welcome return to the international squad after injury curtailed his British & Irish Lions journey in the summer.

The backs have a familiar look, with Duhan van der Merwe – on the cusp of 50 Scotland caps – named alongside Darcy Graham, Kyle Steyn, Arron Reed, Blair Kinghorn and Kyle Rowe.

Sione Tuipulotu, Rory Hutchinson, Ollie Smith, Tom Jordan and Stafford McDowall are options in the centres, with Finn Russell, Adam Hastings and Fergus Burke included as the three stand-offs.

Finally, Ben White, George Horne and Jamie Dobie once more make up the scrum-half selection.

Scotland squad for the 2025 Quilter Nations Series (caps in brackets):

Backs (18)

  • Fergus Burke – Saracens (2)
  • Jamie Dobie – Glasgow Warriors (14)
  • Darcy Graham – Edinburgh Rugby (47)
  • Adam Hastings – Glasgow Warriors (34)
  • Rory Hutchinson – Northampton Saints (9)
  • George Horne – Glasgow Warriors (38)
  • Tom Jordan – Bristol Bears (9)
  • Blair Kinghorn – Toulouse (60)
  • Stafford McDowall – Glasgow Warriors (14)
  • Kyle Rowe – Glasgow Warriors (14)
  • Arron Reed – Sale Sharks (4)
  • Finn Russell – Bath Rugby (87)
  • Ollie Smith – Glasgow Warriors (11)
  • Kyle Steyn – Glasgow Warriors (25)
  • Ross Thompson – Edinburgh Rugby (5)
  • Sione Tuipulotu – Glasgow Warriors (30) – Captain
  • Duhan van der Merwe – Edinburgh Rugby (49)
  • Ben White – Toulon (29)

Forwards (27)

  • Ewan Ashman – Edinburgh Rugby (29)
  • Josh Bayliss – Bath Rugby (11)
  • Magnus Bradbury – Edinburgh Rugby (19)
  • Gregor Brown – Glasgow Warriors (10)
  • Scott Cummings – Glasgow Warriors (42)
  • Rory Darge – Glasgow Warriors (32)
  • Jack Dempsey – Glasgow Warriors (26)
  • Matt Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors (57)
  • Zander Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors (75)
  • Grant Gilchrist – Edinburgh Rugby (82)
  • Patrick Harrison – Edinburgh Rugby (3)
  • Nathan McBeth – Glasgow Warriors (3)
  • Alexander Masibaka – Montpellier (uncapped)
  • Liam McConnell – Edinburgh Rugby (uncapped)
  • Elliot Millar Mills – Northampton Saints (9)
  • Harri Morris – Edinburgh Rugby (uncapped)
  • Andy Onyeama-Christie – Saracens (9)
  • D’Arcy Rae – Edinburgh Rugby (2)
  • Dylan Richardson – Edinburgh Rugby (6)
  • Jamie Ritchie – Perpignan (60)
  • Alex Samuel – Glasgow Warriors (1)
  • Pierre Schoeman – Edinburgh Rugby (42)
  • Rory Sutherland – Glasgow Warriors (43)
  • Marshall Sykes – Edinburgh Rugby (4)
  • George Turner – Harlequins (47)
  • Murphy Walker – Glasgow Warriors (5)
  • Max Williamson – Glasgow Warriors (7)
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