Gregor Townsend names final Scotland squad for Rugby World Cup

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has named his 33-man squad for next month’s Rugby World Cup in France.

Townsend has finalised his selection for the competition, picking 19 forwards and 14 backs, and will put them through their paces in the final warm-up game against Georgia on August 26.

Led by captain Jamie Ritchie, the players will aim to progress from a tough group at the World Cup, where they will face South Africa, Tonga, Romania and Ireland.

The squad contains 14 players from Edinburgh Rugby and 14 from Glasgow Warriors, with four of the group, Finn Russell, Cameron Redpath, Chris Harris and Ben White, plying their trade outside Scotland.

Stuart McInally is the most notable not to make the cut, with the 33-year-old Edinburgh hooker now set to retire after saying that he would end his career after the tournament.

Jamie Dobie , Murphy Walker and Josh Bayliss are the other three players who have been released from the squad.

“There’s real competition in the squad. Players are delighted to have made the 33, but they all want to be in that starting team.”

Head Coach Gregor Townsend talks through his selection for Rugby World Cup 2023.#AsOne pic.twitter.com/0Nu3YsvXJ2
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) August 16, 2023

“It’s been a really enjoyable preparation period from a coaching perspective,” Townsend said. “We’ve never seen the players play as well.

“I know the players have enjoyed spending a lot of time with each other. We’ve done a lot of off-the-field trips but really it’s the hard work that they’ve put in that has forged strong bonds.

“We can’t wait to see them go into the tournament now.”

Scotland squad for Rugby World Cup 2023

Forwards

Ewan Ashman (Edinburgh Rugby) 8 caps
Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow Warriors) 31 caps
Dave Cherry (Edinburgh Rugby) 9 caps
Luke Crosbie (Edinburgh Rugby) 5 caps
Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors) 28 caps
Rory Darge (Glasgow Warriors) 10 caps
Jack Dempsey (Glasgow Warriors) 11 caps
Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) 35 caps
Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) 59 caps
Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby) 64 caps
Richie Gray (Glasgow Warriors) 75 caps
WP Nel (Edinburgh Rugby) 55 caps
Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh Rugby) – CAPTAIN – 42 caps
Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby) 23 caps
Javan Sebastian (Edinburgh Rugby) 5 caps
Sam Skinner (Edinburgh Rugby) 27 caps
Rory Sutherland (Unattached) 25 caps
George Turner (Glasgow Warriors) 37 caps
Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby) 58 caps

Backs

Darcy Graham (Edinburgh Rugby) 35 caps
Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby) 43 caps
Ben Healy (Edinburgh Rugby) 2 caps
George Horne (Glasgow Warriors) 22 caps
Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors) 38 caps
Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh Rugby) 46 caps
Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) 63 caps
Cameron Redpath (Bath Rugby) 7 caps
Finn Russell (Bath Rugby) 71 caps
Ollie Smith (Glasgow Warriors) 5 caps
Kyle Steyn (Glasgow Warriors) 12 caps
Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors) 18 caps
Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby) 30 caps
Ben White (RC Toulon) 15 caps