Scotland Six Nations squad: Glasgow dominate with recalls for trio as young forwards overlooked

There are recalls for Dave Cherry, Jonny Gray and Alex Craig but no place for young forwards Gregor Hiddleston, Ollie Blyth-Lafferty and Cam Henderson who are all included in the ‘A’ squad instead.

Glasgow Warriors players dominate, with 19 of their players selected, reflecting their strong first half of the season. There are nine players from Edinburgh.

Scotland open their campaign against Italy in Rome on February 7, a venue they lost at two years ago on their last Six Nations trip to the Stadio Olimpico.

Sione Tuipulotu will captain the side, with no vice-captains picked as yet.

Gray and Cherry both return on the strength of their performances in France, for Bordeaux and Vannes, respectively. Neither has played for Scotland since last year’s Six Nations.

Lock-forward Gray, 31, has helped Bordeaux win four out of four in the Champions Cup as they look to retain the trophy they won last year.

Cherry, 35, plays in the second-tier Pro D2 with Vannes, who are currently top of the table and on course for promotion. He was Scotland’s first-choice hooker throughout last year’s Six Nations but was not involved in the summer tour or the Autumn Nations Series.

Ewan Ashman was first choice in the autumn and is part of the squad again, with George Turner completing the hooker cohort. Ashman suffered a neck spasm during Edinburgh’s defeat by Bath on Friday.

There is no place in the squad for Hiddleston, despite his fine form for Glasgow. Edinburgh trio Harri Morris, Paddy Harrison and Dylan Richardson also miss out - the latter two are carrying injuries.

Zander Fagerson, Elliot Millar Mills and D’arcy Rae are selected as tighthead props, with teenager Blyth-Lafferty omitted. The looseheads are Pierre Schoeman, Rory Sutherland and Nathan McBeth.

The other second-rows alongside Gray are Edinburgh’s Grant Gilchrist and Glasgow Warriors trio Scott Cummings, Max Williamson and Craig. The latter is rewarded for his fine form since returning to Scotland from the Scarlets. He last played for Scotland in the 2024 autumn series. One notable absentee is Henderson who has been a regular for Leicester Tigers this season.

There is a glut of options in the back row, with Townsend selecting nine players in that area if you include Gregor Brown who can also play in the second row.

Young Edinburgh duo Liam McConnell and Freddy Douglas are rewarded for their club form and are picked in a Six Nations squad for the first time. Both flankers have one cap apiece.

Their experienced club-mate and captain Magnus Bradbury is also selected along with Glasgow trio Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge and Jack Dempsey and Perpignan’s Jamie Ritchie. There is no place for Andy Onyeama-Christie, the Saracens back-rower.

In the backs, Glasgow’s excellent start to the season - particularly in Europe - is reflected in call-ups for nine players: Jamie Dobie, Adam Hastings, George Horne, Huw Jones, Stafford McDowall, Kyle Rowe, Ollie Smith, Kyle Steyn and Tuipulotu.

There are only two Edinburgh backs in the squad, wings Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe. They are joined by English-based fly-halves Finn Russell, Tom Jordan and Fergus Burke, Northampton centre Rory Hutchinson and French-based duo Blair Kinghorn and Ben White.

After the Italy opener, Scotland host England at Murrayfield on February 14. A week later they travel to Cardiff to play Wales. There is then a break before France visit Murrayfield on March 7. Scotland conclude their campaign against Ireland in Dublin on March 14.

Scotland squad for 2026 Guinness Six Nations (caps in brackets):

Forwards

Ewan Ashman - Edinburgh Rugby (32)

Josh Bayliss - Bath Rugby (14)

Magnus Bradbury - Edinburgh Rugby (21)

Gregor Brown - Glasgow Warriors (12)

Dave Cherry – Vannes (16)

Scott Cummings - Glasgow Warriors (45)

Alex Craig - Glasgow Warriors (6)

Rory Darge - Glasgow Warriors (34)

Jack Dempsey - Glasgow Warriors (29)

Freddy Douglas - Edinburgh Rugby (1)

Matt Fagerson - Glasgow Warriors (59)

Zander Fagerson - Glasgow Warriors (76)

Grant Gilchrist - Edinburgh Rugby (84)

Jonny Gray - Union Bordeaux Bègles (81)

Nathan McBeth - Glasgow Warriors (5)

Liam McConnell - Edinburgh Rugby (1)

Elliot Millar Mills - Northampton Saints (11)

D'arcy Rae - Edinburgh Rugby (5)

Jamie Ritchie – Perpignan (61)

Pierre Schoeman - Edinburgh Rugby (44)

Rory Sutherland - Glasgow Warriors (46)

George Turner – Harlequins (50)

Max Williamson - Glasgow Warriors (9)

Backs

Fergus Burke – Saracens (3)

Jamie Dobie - Glasgow Warriors (17)

Darcy Graham - Edinburgh Rugby (50)

Adam Hastings - Glasgow Warriors (35)

George Horne - Glasgow Warriors (40)

Rory Hutchinson - Northampton Saints (11)

Huw Jones - Glasgow Warriors (58)

Tom Jordan - Bristol Bears (12)

Blair Kinghorn – Toulouse (63)

Stafford McDowall - Glasgow Warriors (16)

Finn Russell - Bath Rugby (89)

Kyle Rowe- Glasgow Warriors (16)

Ollie Smith - Glasgow Warriors (12)

Kyle Steyn - Glasgow Warriors (28)

Sione Tuipulotu - Glasgow Warriors (33) – CAPTAIN

Duhan van der Merwe - Edinburgh Rugby (52)

Ben White – Toulon (31)