Vern Cotter has announced the Scotland training squad for the Rugby World Cup at 46 players, to be reduced down to 31 come the tournament. There’s no room for Roddy Grant, but John Barclay will appear for the first time since 2013 having been named the Scarlets management player of the season and making a case all season that has proved more powerful than any past grudges and will delight many. Grant is unlucky to miss out in favour of Hugh Blake (Rob Harley’s being counted as a lock) while there are a few speculative selections including Grant Gilchrist, Ryan Grant, Tim Swinson and most of the centres who are on the injury comeback trail.
Vern has also left the door open for players to play their way in. But that could be tricky given the season is over.
A few more old heads reappear in the shape of Chris Cusiter, Ruaridh Jackson and Al Strokosch but surely they will now assume the role of outside options and valuable leadership/brains trust rather than incumbents, with a lot of work to do to unseat the young tyros currently holding sway.
Project players WP Nel and Josh Strauss who don’t qualify just yet but will soon have largely earned their call-ups, while congratulations to Mike Cusack who has qualified on residency unheralded, Stuart McInally who has kept more obvious hookers out (MacArthur, Hall, Lawson), and Rory Hughes (completing the rehabilitation of the Chip Shop 3/4 all of whom are in this squad), Allan Dell and Damien Hoyland who earn first chances of a cap.
Big names absent are Johnnie Beattie, Geoff Cross, Chris Fusaro and Dougie Fife along with Roddy Grant and Ben Toolis.
Assuming they are all fit come late summer (definitely not the case right now), pick your team out of this lot!
EXTENDED SCOTLAND SQUAD: RUGBY WORLD CUP 2015
FORWARDS (x25)
Prop (7):
Mike Cusack (Glasgow Warriors) – Uncapped
Allan Dell (Edinburgh Rugby) – uncapped
Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby) – 44 caps; 4 RWC appearances (2007 and 2011)
Ryan Grant (Glasgow Warriors) – 22 caps
Willem Nel (Edinburgh Rugby) – Uncapped
Gordon Reid (Glasgow Warriors) – 8 caps
Jon Welsh (Newcastle Falcons) – 4 caps
Hooker (3):
Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors) – 8 caps
Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby) – 85 caps; 8 RWC appearances (2007 and 2011)
Stuart McInally (Edinburgh Rugby) – Uncapped
Second–row (6):
Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby) – 8 caps
Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors) – 13 caps
Richie Gray (Castres) – 44 caps
Jim Hamilton (Saracens) – 61 caps; 6 RWC appearances (2007 and 2011)
Robert Harley (Glasgow Warriors) – 15 caps
Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors) – 12 caps
Back–row (9):
Adam Ashe (Glasgow Warriors) – 5 caps
John Barclay (Scarlets) – 43 caps; 4 RWC appearances (2007 and 2011)
Hugh Blake (Glasgow Warriors) – Uncapped
Blair Cowan (London Irish) – 11 caps
David Denton (Edinburgh Rugby) – 25 caps
Josh Strauss (Glasgow Warriors) – Uncapped
Alasdair Strokosch (Perpignan) – 44 caps; 3 RWC appearances (2011)
Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors) – 9 caps
Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby) – 1 cap
BACKS (x21)
Scrum–half (4):
Chris Cusiter (Sale Sharks) – 70 caps; 6 RWC appearances (2007 and 2011)
Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh Rugby) – 5 caps
Greig Laidlaw (Gloucester) – 39 caps
Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors) – 13 caps
Stand–off (3):
Ruaridh Jackson (Wasps) – 25 caps; 3 RWC appearances (2011)
Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors) – 9 caps
Duncan Weir (Glasgow Warriors) – 18 caps
Centre (6):
Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors) – 7 caps
Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors) – 14 caps
Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors) – 7 caps
Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby) – 25 caps
Duncan Taylor (Saracens) – 12 caps
Richie Vernon (Glasgow Warriors) – 20 caps; 3 RWC appearances (2011)
Back–three (8):
Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors) – 32 caps
Damien Hoyland (Edinburgh Rugby) – Uncapped
Rory Hughes (Glasgow Warriors) – Uncapped
Sean Lamont (Glasgow Warriors) – 93 caps; 8 RWC appearances (2007 and 2011)
Sean Maitland (London Irish) – 15 caps
Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) – 17 caps
Greig Tonks (Edinburgh Rugby) – 4 caps
Tim Visser (Harlequins) – 18 caps
Summer Test schedule:
Saturday 15 August: Ireland v Scotland, Aviva Stadium, Dublin (kick-off 5pm)
Saturday 22 August: Italy v Scotland, Stadio Olympico, Turin (kick-off tbc)
Saturday 29 August: Scotland v Italy, BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh (kick-off 3.15pm)
Saturday 5 September: France v Scotland, Stade de France, Paris (kick-off 8pm GMT)
RWC 2015 Pool stages:
Wednesday 23 September: Scotland v Japan, Kingsholm (kick-off 2.30pm)
Sunday 27 September: Scotland v USA, Elland Road (kick-off 2.30pm)
Saturday 3 October: South Africa v Scotland, St James Park (kick-off 4.45pm)
Saturday 10 October: Samoa v Scotland, St James Park (kick-off 2.30pm)
