Ex-England wing Ruaridh McConnochie named in Scotland squad of 40

Gregor Townsend has named four new players in his 40-strong Scotland squad for the upcoming Guinness Six Nations, a campaign that begins with the February 4 match away to England at Twickenham. An SRU statement read: “Bath wing Ruaridh McConnochie, Glasgow centre Stafford McDowall and stand-off Ben Healy, who recently agreed on a move to Edinburgh from Munster, are all named in head coach Gregor Townsend’s Scotland selection, with Leicester second row Cameron Henderson also in contention for full international honours.

“McConnochie, who won two caps for England in 2019, is now eligible to be selected due to World Rugby’s eligibility rules allowing a capped player to switch allegiance to another country they are eligible to play for following a three-year cooling off period.

“Healy, who will move to Edinburgh ahead of the 2023/24 season, qualifies through his maternal grandparents, having represented Ireland at U20s level. Second row Cameron Henderson joined Leicester Tigers ahead of the 2020/21 season, having previously been a part of both the Scottish Rugby academy and Stirling County’s Super6 squad. He was selected for the ultimately cancelled 2021 summer squad for matches with England A, Romania and Georgia.

“McDowall has been in great form for Glasgow Warriors this season and recently captained the club for their away win against Perpignan in the European Rugby Challenge Cup.

“In a squad headed up by captain Jamie Ritchie, who led Scotland in all four of the 2022 Autumn Nations Series fixtures, there are returns for experienced players such as Saracens’ Sean Maitland, who has 15 tries from his 53 caps, and centre Huw Jones, who re-joined Glasgow ahead of the current season and will hope to add to his 31 Scotland appearances, and twelve tries.

“There are ten players who have earned at least 50 Scotland caps, with Exeter full-back Stuart Hogg, on 96 appearances for his country, approaching a landmark figure on the eve of the championship.”

Scotland’s Guinness Six Nations squad
Forwards (23):
Ewan Ashman (Sale Sharks) 6 caps
Josh Bayliss (Bath Rugby) 3 caps
Simon Berghan (Glasgow Warriors) 31 caps
Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow Warriors) 25 caps
Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors) 57 caps
Dave Cherry (Edinburgh Rugby) 8 caps
Andy Christie (Saracens) 4 caps
Luke Crosbie (Edinburgh Rugby) 2 caps
Jack Dempsey (Glasgow Warriors) 4 caps
Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) 28 caps
Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) 54 caps
Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby) 59 caps
Jonny Gray (Exeter Chiefs) 72 caps
Richie Gray (Glasgow Warriors) 69 caps
Cameron Henderson (Leicester Tigers) uncapped
WP Nel (Edinburgh Rugby) 50 caps
Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh Rugby) – CAPTAIN – 36 caps
Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby) 16 caps
Javan Sebastian (Scarlets) 3 caps
Sam Skinner (Edinburgh Rugby) 23 caps
Rory Sutherland (Ulster Rugby) 22 caps
George Turner (Glasgow Warriors) 29 caps
Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby) 54 caps

Backs (17):
Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby) 39 caps
Ben Healy (Munster Rugby) uncapped
Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs) 96 caps
George Horne (Glasgow Warriors) 18 caps
Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors) 31 caps
Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh Rugby) 38 caps
Sean Maitland (Saracens) 53 caps
Ruaridh McConnochie (Bath Rugby) uncapped
Stafford McDowell (Glasgow Warriors) uncapped
Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) 58 caps
Cameron Redpath (Bath Rugby) 4 caps
Finn Russell (Racing 92) 65 caps
Ollie Smith (Glasgow Warriors) 2 caps
Kyle Steyn (Glasgow Warriors) 5 caps
Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors) 11 caps
Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby) 23 caps
Ben White (London Irish) 9 caps