SCOTLAND HAVE NAMED a 42-man training squad ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, where they will face Joe Schmidt’s Ireland in their opening fixture on 22 September.
Head coach Gregor Townsend has omitted experienced Toulouse lock Richie Gray, although he has kept the door open by indicating that there are a further two spaces in the group for players who impress in the closing stages of the club season.
Among the 42 players named is the uncapped back row Blade Thomson, the New Zealand native who joined Scarlets last summer but has been injured for the majority of the campaign.
Ireland face Scotland in Yokohama on 22 September. Source: James Crombie/INPHO
The 28-year-old back row/lock recently returned to action, however, and has been included alongside fellow uncapped players Rory Hutchinson, a midfielder with Northampton Saints, and Grant Stewart, the Glasgow hooker.
Edinburgh back row John Barclay is line for his third World Cup if still involved when Townsend whittles his squad down to 31 before the tournament.
Overall, Glasgow have 17 players in the wider training squad, while Edinburgh have 13 and there are 12 players from clubs outside Scotland.
Among the other notable omissions from the training squad are Worcester out-half Duncan Weir and Edinburgh midfielders Matt Scott and Mark Bennett.
Scotland’s World Cup preparations include a training camp in Portugal – like Schmidt’s Ireland – as well as home-and-away friendlies against France and Georgia.
Scotland training squad: