Scotland squad ins and outs, depth chart and stats analysed

Now, early in a World Cup cycle that will culminate in Australia in a little over three years’ time, that quartet will be among the leadership group trying to help a fresh batch of uncapped players break through, with development a key factor for the matches this summer.

Here is how Scotland’s selection has changed compared to the initial group picked at the beginning of the 2024 Six Nations.

The changes to the Scotland squad from the Six Nations (Image: Kevin Millar)

Magnus Bradbury, Ross McCann, Ally Miller and Hamish Watson were the other late call-ups to the squad during the Six Nations who have not been included this time round.

Caps

• Ten players have been selected in the squad of 39 who have yet to be capped by Scotland [Six Nations squad – four out of 39].
• Uncapped forwards: Gregor Brown, Patrick Harrison, Will Hurd, Ewan Johnson, Nathan McBeth, Robbie Smith, Max Williamson
• Uncapped backs: Matt Currie, Arron Reed, Gus Warr

• Since Gregor Townsend became head coach following the 2017 Six Nations there have been 63 debuts for the men’s national side.
• Just two players in the squad made their first Scotland appearances prior to Townsend taking over – Rory Sutherland and Huw Jones, both under Vern Cotter [Six Nations squad – seven].
• Another 14 men have been picked who have won fewer than 10 caps each [Six Nations squad – 10].
• There are no players in the squad with more than 50 Scotland caps to their name [Six Nations squad – seven]. However, both Jamie Ritchie and Huw Jones (49 and 48 caps respectively) could reach their half-centuries during the tour.

Player numbers and game time

• There are seven players involved who have not previously been selected in a full Scotland squad. The total number of players included in Scotland men’s Test squads during the Townsend era is 148.
• The coaches have picked 15 Glasgow Warriors, 11 Edinburgh players and 11 Exiles [Six Nations squad – 15 Glasgow, 13 Edinburgh, 11 Exiles].
• This is the first time that Ali Price will play no part in a series during Gregor Townsend’s time in charge (Price was unavailable for selection in the 2021 Summer Tour squad but, ultimately, no games went ahead).
• Harry Paterson’s debut against France during the Six Nations made him the 112th different player to have seen game time in Scotland’s Tests since summer 2017.
• No one has featured in all 79 matches since the start of the Townsend era. Ali Price (62) has made the most appearances. Of the players selected for this tour, Jamie Ritchie (49) has the most games under the current head coach.

Age

• The average age of the squad is 26.4 [Six Nations squad – 28.0].
• The backs’ average age is 26.4 while for the forwards it is 26.5 [Six Nations squad – 27.1 for backs and 28.8 for forwards].
• There are five players currently over the age of 30. Elliot Millar-Mills is the elder statesman – he will turn 32 in between the games against Canada and USA [Six Nations squad – 10 over 30s].
• There are 26 players who will be 30 or younger when the 2027 Rugby World Cup kicks off [Six Nations squad – 18], including eight players born in the 2000s [Six Nationssquad – 3]. Max Williamson is the youngest in the squad (21 years and 10 months)

Scoring

• The squad have combined for 89 Test tries.
• 21 have been scored by forwards, 68 by the backs.
• Duhan van der Merwe has crossed 26 times for Scotland, making him the leading scorer in the Townsend era and just one away from matching Stuart Hogg’s all-time tally.
• Among the forwards selected to tour, Pierre Schoeman and Rory Darge have the most tries with five each.

And Finally

Here is a best guess (with the emphasis on the guess!) at how the depth chart for the current squad stands ahead of the summer tour

Scotland summer tour squad depth chart (Image: Kevin Millar)