Why Gregor Townsend ended 34y/o's Scotland exile with Six Nations surprise pick

The 34-year-old hooker has been given the nod ahead of his Edinburgh team-mate Ewan Ashman, who was a first pick during the autumn series but now finds himself on the bench.

Cherry has not played for the national side since coming off the bench against South Africa in Scotland’s opening game of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in Marseille. He left the squad in unusual circumstances soon after following an accident in the team hotel. He fell down stairs, suffered a concussion and returned home.

Capped 11 times, the durable Cherry now has the opportunity to re-establish himself in the national side after impressing Townsend with his performances for Edinburgh. The head coach cited the hooker’s ability at the set-piece as the chief reason behind his selection, with Cherry’s accuracy at the lineout and scrummaging nous among his biggest strengths.

“He's been playing well for Edinburgh,” said Townsend. “We feel Dave's strengths will suit what we want him to do. Dave's got set-piece experience and set-piece accuracy - that's probably his biggest strength and that's something that we expect from him. But there's more to Dave's game than that and likewise I would say Ewan's biggest strengths are the power, the physicality, the speed he brings - but there's more to his game. So we're looking for them to bring those strengths and more.”

Clearly, Ashman will have a big role to play off the bench but his demotion is a surprise after he started in November against Fiji, South Africa and Australia. At 24, Ashman is 10 years Cherry’s junior but has twice as many caps as his Edinburgh team-mate and was widely seen as the Scotland hooker of the future in a period where the national side lost the experienced trio of Stuart McInally, Fraser Brown and George Turner in quick succession.

Ashman is expected to still play a big role in this Six Nations but it is Cherry who will have the first opportunity to show his worth.

There is also a return to for Jonny Gray, who has not featured for Scotland since the 2023 Six Nations due to a lengthy knee issue. A move to Bordeaux-Begles has revitalised Gray and he will start in the second row alongside Grant Gilchrist.

One of the other big calls Townsend had to make was in the back row and the coach has decided to go with Jamie Ritchie, co-captain Rory Darge and Matt Fagerson. It means Jack Dempsey has to make do with a place on the bench. Dempsey has played just one club game since injuring his shoulder against South Africa in November. Fagerson will start at No 8, with Ritchie selected as blindside flanker and Darge on the openside.

As expected, Stafford McDowall has been picked at inside centre and will fill the void left by Sione Tuipulotu, the injured Scotland captain.

“I feel Stafford has earned it,” said Townsend. “He started in our last Six Nations game over in Ireland and played very well. Whenever he's been given the opportunity, whether on summer tour or a November Test, he's really stepped up.”

Scotland (v Italy, Guinness Six Nations, Murrayfield, Saturday): 15. Blair Kinghorn; 14. Darcy Graham, 13. Huw Jones, 12. Stafford McDowall, 11. Duhan van der Merwe; 10. Finn Russell (co-capt), 9. Ben White; 1. Pierre Schoeman, 2. Dave Cherry, 3. Zander Fagerson, 4. Jonny Gray, 5. Grant Gilchrist, 6. Jamie Ritchie, 7. Rory Darge (co-capt), 8. Matt Fagerson. Replacements: 16. Ewan Ashman, 17. Rory Sutherland, 18. Will Hurd, 19. Gregor Brown, 20. Jack Dempsey, 21. George Horne, 22. Tom Jordan, 23. Kyle Rowe.