Gregor Townsend has left the door ajar for Richie Gray to make the Rugby World Cup but the big lock is one of several notable names not in the Scotland coach’s training squad for the tournament in Japan.
Gray will be playing for Toulouse in the closing weeks of the Top 14 season in France and is a likely candidate for one of the two places – one forward and one back – Townsend has left open “for those operating at the business end of the season” having named a squad of 42 this morning.
However the 62-times capped former British Lion will be under pressure from Glasgow’s Scott Cummings, who has been in fine form for the Warriors in the last few weeks but is not included among Townsend’s initial 42.
Four players who played some part in the 2018-19 international season – Alex Dunbar, Alex Allan, Lee Jones and Rob Harley – are not in the 42. John Barclay, Blade Thomson and Duncan Taylor, who missed the entire campaign in the autumn and Six Nations through injury, are included.
New Zealand-born Thomson, who was in the autumn tests squad before suffering a concussion playing for Scarlets, Northampton centre Rory Hutchinson and Glasgow’s hooker Grant Skinner are the three uncapped players in the squad.
Forwards: John Barclay, Simon Berghan (both Edinburgh), Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow), Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh), Fraser Brown (Glasgow), Allan Dell (Edinburgh), Matt Fagerson, Zander Fagerson (both Glasgow), Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh), Gary Graham (Newcastle), Jonny Gray (Glasgow), Stuart McInally, WP Nel (Edinburgh), Gordon Reid (London Irish), Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh), Sam Skinner (Exeter Chiefs), Grant Stewart (Glasgow), Josh Strauss (Sale Sharks), Blade Thomson (Scarlets), Ben Toolis (Edinburgh), George Turner (Glasgow), Hamish Watson (Edinburgh), Ryan Wilson (Glasgow).
Backs: Darcy Graham (Edinburgh), Nick Grigg (Glasgow), Chris Harris (Newcastle), Adam Hastings, Stuart Hogg, George Horne, Peter Horne (all Glasgow), Rory Hutchinson (Northampton), Huw Jones, Sam Johnson (both Glasgow), Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh), Greig Laidlaw(Clermont-Auvergne), Sean Maitland (Saracens), Byron McGuigan (Sale Sharks), Ali Price (Glasgow), Henry Pyrgos (Edinburgh), Finn Russell (Racing 92), Tommy Seymour (Glasgow), Duncan Taylor (Saracens).
