Townsend cuts four, confirms official Scotland World Cup squad

Gregor Townsend has confirmed his official Scotland squad of 33 for the upcoming Rugby World Cup, omitting Josh Bayliss, Stuart McInally, Murphy Walker and Jamie Dobie from the existing 37 to get down to the requisite number.

The announcement of the Jamie Ritchie-skippered squad of 19 forwards and 14 backs brings to an end a process that began on May 9 when the head coach announced an initial training squad of 41 and he went on to run the rule over a total of 44 players – 24 forwards and 20 backs.

It was July 9 when the first significant changes took place, Stuart Hogg announcing his retirement and Andy Christie stepping out due to injury.
This allowed for Ruaridh McConnochie and Bayliss to link up with the squad.

Predicting Pool B’s winner | The Breakdown

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McConnochie, who went to Japan 2019 with England before he changed his allegiance to Scotland, didn’t stay in the race for long due to injury and Kyle Rowe, another call-up, was one of four players released back to their clubs on August 7 along with Stafford McDowall, Adam Hastings and Cameron Henderson.

That left Townsend working with 37 players heading into last weekend’s Summer Nations Series rematch with France in Saint-Etienne and with one more warm-up match remaining – the August 26 home clash with Georgia at Murrayfield – the coach has now decided on his chosen 33 for a France 2023 campaign that begins with the September 10 pool encounter in Marseille versus defending champions South Africa.

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— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) August 15, 2023

Skipper Ritchie is one of 15 players to have appeared at a previous World Cup, with second rows Richie Gray and Grant Gilchrist, tighthead WP Nel and out-half Finn Russell all set for a third tournament. Back-rower Jack Dempsey represented Australia in Japan four years ago.

One of seven players named with more than 50 Scotland appearances, Gray is the most-capped squad member on 75 caps, with veteran Nel the eldest at 37 years old.

At the other end of the experience spectrum, full-back Ollie Smith is the youngest having recently turned 23, with stand-off Ben Healy the least-capped with two.

The 33 contains 14 players each from Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors, three Gallagher Premiership-based players (Chris Harris, Cameron Redpath and Russell) and one Top 14 (Ben White). Rory Sutherland is unattached since recently leaving Ulster.

McInally’s exclusion will herald his retirement as a player. A captain at Japan 2019, the 33-year-old had announced at the end of last season that he would retire after this autumn’s showpiece in France to become an airplane pilot.

Scotland Rugby World Cup squad
Forwards (19):
Ewan Ashman (Edinburgh Rugby) 8 caps
Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow Warriors) 31 caps
Dave Cherry (Edinburgh Rugby) 9 caps
Luke Crosbie (Edinburgh Rugby) 5 caps
Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors) 28 caps*
Rory Darge (Glasgow Warriors) 10 caps
Jack Dempsey (Glasgow Warriors) 11 caps
Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) 35 caps
Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) 59 caps*
Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby) 64 caps**
Richie Gray (Glasgow Warriors) 75 caps**
WP Nel (Edinburgh Rugby) 55 caps**
Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh Rugby) – CAPTAIN – 42 caps*
Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby) 23 caps
Javan Sebastian (Edinburgh Rugby) 5 caps
Sam Skinner (Edinburgh Rugby) 27 caps
Rory Sutherland (Unattached) 25 caps
George Turner (Glasgow Warriors) 37 caps*
Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby) 58 caps*

Backs (14):
Darcy Graham (Edinburgh Rugby) 35 caps*
Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby) 43 caps*
Ben Healy (Edinburgh Rugby) 2 caps
George Horne (Glasgow Warriors) 22 caps*
Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors) 38 caps
Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh Rugby) 46 caps*
Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) 63 caps*
Cameron Redpath (Bath Rugby) 7 caps
Finn Russell (Bath Rugby) 71 caps**
Ollie Smith (Glasgow Warriors) 5 caps
Kyle Steyn (Glasgow Warriors) 12 caps
Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors) 18 caps
Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby) 30 caps
Ben White (RC Toulon) 15 caps
(* denotes past Rugby World Cup selection)