Just days after their historic 48-7 victory over Italy, Scotland coach Vern Cotter has selected his 31-man squad for the forthcoming World Cup, which for them starts on the 23rd September against Japan.
There are some surprising absentees from Scotland’s Rugby World Cup squad, particularly in the back row. John Barclay misses out – despite scoring a try and winning a penalty in the recent win over Italy – and so do fellow back rowers Adam Ashe, Blair Cowan and Rob Harley. In their place are the inexperienced duo of John Hardie and Josh Strauss, who will compete with David Denton, Alasdair Strokosch, and Ryan Wilson for the three back row positions.
Moving up the pack, and to a more predictable selection, as second rowers Jonny and Richie Gray, Grant Gilchrist, and Tim Swinson have all booked their places in the touring party. However, experienced hard-man Jim Hamilton misses out, and his sheer physicality may be missed in the engine room of the Scottish pack.
The front row contains Alasdair Dickinson, Ryan Grant, Jon Welsh, Gordon Reid, William Nel, Fraser Brown, Ross Ford, and former flanker Stuart McInally. Competition should be fierce in this area, however, the front row who started at the weekend – Dickinson, Ford and Nel – caused the historically powerful Italian scrum all sorts of problems, winning four scrum penalties in the first-half. These three men are in pole position for the jerseys.
Greig Laidlaw (captain), Henry Pyrgos and Sam Hidalgo-Clyne will battle for the nine shirt, whilst only two fly-halves have been selected, Finn Russell and Duncan Weir. Wasps’ Ruaridh Jackson misses out, in spite of his ability to cover fullback.
The midfield selection may raise eyebrows as there is no place for Alex Dunbar, who is deemed unfit. Instead, Mark Bennett, Peter Horne, who is able to cover fly-half, Matt Scott, and Richie Vernon will travel the short journey down to England.
Outside of them are British and Irish Lions, Sean Maitland and Stuart Hogg, as well as Tommy Seymour, Sean Lamont, and Tim Visser.
Interestingly, only 14 backs have been selected, with only two of these being able to adequately cover fullback – Hogg and Maitland.
The players who have missed out may well be the main talking point of this selection, however the squad does contain a good mix of youth and experience, as well as a strong blend of athleticism and dynamism. For sure, this squad looks, on paper, to be capable enough to escape Pool B, but to advance beyond that? We’ll find out in a few weeks time.
Squad in full:
Stuart Hogg.
Sean Lamont, Sean Maitland, Tommy Seymour, Tim Visser.
Mark Bennett, Peter Horne, Matt Scott, Richie Vernon.
Finn Russell, Duncan Weir.
Greig Laidlaw, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Henry Pyrgos.
Alasdair Dickinson, Ryan Grant, Gordon Reid, WP Nel, Jon Welsh.
Fraser Brown, Ross Ford, Stuart McInally.
Grant Gilchrist, Jonny Gray, Richie Gray, Tim Swinson.
David Denton, John Hardie, Josh Strauss, Alasdair Strockosch, Ryan Wilson.
Main Photo
