Gregor Townsend lifts lid on plans for Scotland A squad and 19y/o who has caught the eye

Such is the 19-year-old tighthead’s prodigious talent that Gregor Townsend is keen to keep testing the Edinburgh prop and the national coach believes he will benefit from the exposure to a higher standard of rugby.

The national coach is also leaving the door open for those who impress in the A game to make the jump into his Six Nations squad as the tournament unfolds and injuries inevitably bite.

For Blyth-Lafferty, it’s another step up the ladder. The product of Boroughmuir RFC made his senior debut off the bench for Edinburgh against the Ospreys in late November and his first start in the rollicking win over Toulon a week later. He has gone on to start all of the capital side’s games in the Investec Champions Cup.

While results haven’t all gone Edinburgh’s way (they lost heavily away to Castres and Bath) Blyth-Lafferty has been accumulating valuable experience and proving himself capable of handling himself at the top level despite his youth. Townsend expects him to thrive.

“That Toulon game showed that players playing at a higher level, the ones that are going to make it all the way to the top, they don’t just survive in those games, they thrive,” said the coach as he explained Blyth-Lafferty’s selection.

“They learn and they get better. Even during the time he was on last weekend [against Bath], the first couple of scrums were tough and then five or six he locked out and he would have got great learning during that game as well.

“So, yes, this will be a higher level of rugby than he's had, he’s had some great exposures and experiences in Europe. It might end up that he plays under-20s after [the A game], but for this particular weekend, we’ve got an A game and we feel that’s a great environment for him to continue to develop.”

Six uncapped players in Scotland A squad

Townsend has named a squad of only 15 players for the A international but it will be augmented by others dropping down from his main squad who are not going to be involved in the Six Nations opener against Italy in Rome on February 7.

There is a smattering of new faces alongside some experienced campaigners among those selected for the A game which will be played at the Stadio Centro d'Italia – Manlio Scopigno, about an hour’s drive from Rome.

Blyth-Lafferty is one of six uncapped players included, alongside Glasgow Warriors hooker Gregor Hiddleston, Montpellier flanker Alexander Masibaka, Edinburgh prop James Whitcombe and Glasgow halfbacks Dan Lancaster and Ben Afshar.

Hiddleston’s omission from the main Six Nations squad was a major talking point, with Townsend opting for experience in the hooking department as he recalled Dave Cherry alongside Ewan Ashman and George Turner. The coach has urged Hiddleston and others in the A squad to use the match in Rieti to stake a claim to be involved with the top team later in the Six Nations.

“It'll be a big test and we’re going to go in with a strong team in that A game,” said Townsend. “So that’s new for us, to have a game during the Six Nations in which our players can wear the Scotland jersey and show that they deserve to be involved later on in the tournament or once we get to the Nations Cup in the summer.”

Masibaka has been part of Scotland squads before and played in the non-cap international against the Māori All Blacks on the summer tour. Afshar is a former Scotland U20 captain while Whitcombe and Lancaster both played for England U20 but are eligible to switch because they have Scottish grandparents. Lancaster is the son of former England head coach and current Connacht coach Dan Lancaster whose mum is from Scotland.

Joining the uncapped players are a number of campaigners with several full caps, including flanker Andy Onyeama-Christie, lock Cam Henderson, centre Cam Redpath, winger Arron Reed and full-back/wing Harry Paterson.

The team will be led by head coach Nigel Carolan, the Glasgow Warriors attack coach, who will be assisted by fellow Glasgow assistant Scott Forrest and Edinburgh assistant Stevie Lawrie.