-
Mark Bennett has been left out of the Scotland squad for the two-Test series in Japan this summer as he aims for a Team GB place at Rio 2016
-
The centre Bennett is being considered for the Sevens team in Brazil in August
-
Only three players in coach Vern Cotter’s “tight” 27-man squad were not named for the 2016 Six Nations
Mark Bennett is being considered for the Sevens team in Brazil in August and therefore has been left out of Vern Cotter’s Scotland squad for their summer tour of Japan.
Scotland will play the first clash with the Brave Blossoms – their first full-cap international on Japanese soil – at the Toyota Stadium on June 18 before facing the 2019 World Cup hosts for a second time a week later at the Ajinomoto Stadium.
Cotter said: “Being a two-match tour, rather than three, allows us to take a smaller squad – a tight group – though opportunities still remain for other players to come in.
“This squad still has a lot of work to do to get better and this is another opportunity to analyse our last game against Ireland and the RBS 6 Nations Championship as a whole, in order to move forward.
“The first game will be especially tough. We have five days to prepare following our arrival in Japan to face a team one place below us in the world rankings, on home soil.
“We are aware of the fact that the world rankings for the Rugby World Cup are ongoing and that the only way we’ll influence those ranking positively is to win games.”
Scotland squad for Japan tour
Forwards
Props: Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh), Moray Low (Exeter Chiefs), Willem Nel (Edinburgh), Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh). Hookers: Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors); Ross Ford (Edinburgh), Stuart McInally (Edinburgh Rugby). Locks:Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors), Richie Gray (Castres), Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors). Back-rowers: John Barclay (Scarlets), David Denton (Bath), John Hardie (Edinburgh), Josh Strauss (Glasgow Warriors); Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors).
Backs
Full-back: Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors). Wings: Damien Hoyland (Edinburgh), Sean Maitland (London Irish), Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors), Tim Visser (Harlequins). Centres: Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors), Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors), Duncan Taylor (Saracens). Fly-halves:Ruaridh Jackson (Wasps), Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors). Scrum-halves:Greig Laidlaw (Gloucester), Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors).