Townsend names 45-man Scotland squad for autumn series

Gregor Townsend has named a 45-player squad for the upcoming 2026 Quilter Nations Series, featuring three uncapped forwards and the return of a few familiar names. Scotland will face the USA, New Zealand, Argentina and Tonga across four weekends in November.

Among the new faces are Liam McConnell, Harri Morris and Alexander Masibaka. McConnell captained Emerging Scotland against Italy last year, while hooker Morris also featured in that match. Masibaka toured with Scotland in the summer and now looks set for a proper crack at senior Test level. All three are part of a growing pool of young forwards Townsend has been quietly bedding in over the past year. Will he be able to unlock a new generation of aggressive men up front to complement the dazzling backline? Can anyone?

Sione Tuipulotu returns from his Lions exploits to captain the squad, a role he would have held in the 2024 Six Nations if not for injury.

Edinburgh skipper Magnus Bradbury makes a long-awaited return to the Scotland fold, having last played for the national side on the 2022 tour to Argentina. He joins a loaded back-row group alongside Jamie Ritchie, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey, Andy Onyeama-Christie, Josh Bayliss, Gregor Brown, and the uncapped duo McConnell and Masibaka.

In the second row, Scott Cummings is back from Lions duty and will link up with Glasgow teammates Max Williamson and Alex Samuel, plus Edinburgh stalwarts Grant Gilchrist and Marshall Sykes. Gregor Brown may well find a home in the second row if he’s used as a utility off the bench.

At hooker, George Turner returns from Japanese exile and heads a group that includes Edinburgh trio Ewan Ashman, Patrick Harrison, and Harri Morris, with Dylan Richardson also rewarded for strong form in the back row where he’s been playing for Edinburgh but is likely to find more use as a hooker for Scotland as Ashman has not yet made the shirt his own.

The mighty Zander Fagerson returns to the squad after his Lions tour was cut short through injury, joining a front-row unit featuring Pierre Schoeman, Rory Sutherland, Nathan McBeth, Murphy Walker, D’Arcy Rae, and Elliot Millar Mills.

As you would expect, the backs have a familiar look. Duhan van der Merwe, closing in on his 50th cap, is joined by Darcy Graham, Kyle Steyn, Arron Reed, Blair Kinghorn, and Kyle Rowe as the back-three options. The midfield features Rory Hutchinson – who will reunite with new Scotland defence coach Lee Radford – , Sione Tuipulotu, Stafford McDowall, Ollie Smith, and Tom Jordan (now at Bristol), giving Townsend plenty of flexibility between power and playmaking. The big name to miss out is of course Huw Jones who is recovering from surgery.

At fly-half, Finn Russell, Adam Hastings, and Fergus Burke offer three contrasting approaches, while Ben White, George Horne, and Jamie Dobie continue as the established scrum-half trio.

With four Tests on the bounce, managing workloads will be key, and Townsend clearly wants to get a proper look at some of the younger forwards coming through. The inclusion of players like McConnell and Masibaka suggests the long-term picture is never far from his mind but it would be surprising if he strays far from the tried and tested for the big fixtures. The return of Andy Onyeama-Christie after a horrific leg injury is particularly welcome and as we’ve seen in previous years he often forces his way into the conversation.

Expect the senior core to feature heavily once the All Blacks arrive in town and others perhaps to rotate back to their clubs, but the earlier games could see a fair bit of rotation. On paper, it’s a strong and balanced group – and if nothing else, there are worse problems to have than too many back-row options.

Backs: Fergus Burke, Jamie Dobie, Darcy Graham, Adam Hastings, Rory Hutchinson, George Horne, Tom Jordan, Blair Kinghorn, Stafford McDowall, Kyle Rowe, Arron Reed, Finn Russell, Ollie Smith, Kyle Steyn, Ross Thompson, Sione Tuipulotu (capt), Duhan van der Merwe, Ben White.
Forwards: Ewan Ashman, Josh Bayliss, Magnus Bradbury, Gregor Brown, Scott Cummings, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey, Matt Fagerson, Zander Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist, Patrick Harrison, Nathan McBeth, Alexander Masibaka, Liam McConnell, Elliot Millar Mills, Harri Morris, Andy Onyeama-Christie, D’Arcy Rae, Dylan Richardson, Jamie Ritchie, Alex Samuel, Pierre Schoeman, Rory Sutherland, Marshall Sykes, George Turner, Murphy Walker, Max Williamson.

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