Vern Cotter announces Scotland's Six Nations squad: Ryan Wilson not included - Ruck

Vern Cotter announces Scotland’s Six Nations squad: Ryan Wilson not included

  •  Ryan Wilson has been left out after he was cited for allegedly grabbing the testicles of Northampton’s scrum-half Lee Dickson
  • The squad includes uncapped Zander Fagerson and Rory Sutherland
Props Zander Fagerson and Rory Sutherland are the shock names in the final 35 man Scotland squad for the upcoming 2016 Nations.

Vern Cotter names both the uncapped in his squad and if Fagerson features he will become the fourth youngest prop in Scotland’s history and the youngest in 68 years.

The youngster who turns 20 on Wednesday currently plays tighthead for the Glasgow Warriors in his native Scotland in the Guinness Pro 12.

Sutherland wins his first call-up in his first season with Edinburgh since he joined them from Gala.

There are more surprises in the front-row men with Moray Low of Exeter and Glasgow’s Pat McArthur are recalled to the squad after an 18-month absence.



Scarlets back-row star John Barclay, a surprise omission from the World Cup squad, is recalled along with centres Alex Dunbar (Glasgow) and Duncan Taylor (Saracens) who missed last year’s internationals because of injuries.

However, there is no place for Glasgow’s Ryan Wilson, who faces a potentially lengthy ban after being cited for allegedly grabbing the testicles of Northampton’s scrum-half Lee Dickson.

Cotter confirmed however that he was left out on form, and not because of the citing.

The Head Coach said “We’re happy with the way he has been improving but we feel that the (other) players are playing better than he is at the moment.

“We’ve selected a mixture of experience with some exciting young players coming through, some of whom have experienced the Rugby World Cup and are eager to move forward, take the Six Nations head on and show that we can develop our game and be competitive.”

Fraser Brown, Grant Gilchrist, Henry Pyrgos, Jon Welsh and Richie Vernon – who were all in the World Cup squad – miss out through injury.

Lock Gilchrist (Edinburgh) and scrum-half Pyrgos (Glasgow) have been invited to train with the squad when it convenes for a pre-Championship camp in St Andrews this Sunday, before returning to their clubs to continue their recovery from groin and wrist injuries respectively.

Gloucester scrum-half Greg Laidlaw will once again captain the side. He has been very impressive for the English side this season.

Scotland, who finished bottom of last year’s Six Nations after losing every game, kick off the tournament at home to England on Feb. 6. They suffered heartbreak in the World Cup, suffering defeat in the quarter-finals, losing to Australia.


Forwards: Adam Ashe (Glasgow Warriors), John Barclay (Scarlets), Blair Cowan (London Irish), David Denton (Bath), Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh), Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), Ross Ford (Edinburgh), Chris Fusaro (Glasgow Warriors), Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors), Richie Gray (Castres), John Hardie (Edinburgh), Moray Low (Exeter Chiefs), Pat MacArthur (Glasgow Warriors), Stuart McInally (Edinburgh Rugby), Willem Nel (Edinburgh), Gordon Reid (Glasgow Warriors), Josh Strauss (Glasgow Warriors), Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh), Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors), Ben Toolis (Edinburgh).
Backs: Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors), Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors), Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors), Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh), Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors), Ruaridh Jackson (Wasps), Greig Laidlaw (Gloucester), Sean Lamont (Glasgow Warriors), Sean Maitland (London Irish), Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors), Matt Scott (Edinburgh), Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors), Duncan Taylor (Saracens) Duncan Weir (Glasgow Warriors), Tim Visser (Harlequins).