Sharks forward Dylan Richardson has been retained in Scotland’s 42-man squad for the end-of-year Tests, which will include a clash with the Springboks.
Last week, Richardson was named as one of four South African-born players to be included in Scotland’s training squad, and he increasingly looks in line for a Test cap.
In total, Scotland coach Gregor Townsend called up the full complement of 2021 British & Irish Lions. The extended group welcomes back captain Stuart Hogg, halfback pairing Ali Price and Finn Russell, centre Chris Harris, wing Duhan van der Merwe, flank Hamish Watson as well as props Zander Fagerson and Rory Sutherland following their involvement in the South African series.
A total of 11 new players were also added to the squad ahead of the opening game against Tonga on 30 October from the training group, which came together earlier this week at the Oriam High Performance Centre.
Meanwhile, Townsend has selected 12 uncapped players to be part of the squad following their initial involvement in the training group this week.
In the pack, Ewan Ashman, Josh Bayliss, Rory Darge, Richardson, Luke Crosbie, Jamie Hodgson, Marshall Sykes and Pierre Schoeman will all be keen to feature in the four-match series, which begins against Tonga and has Scotland playing Australia, South Africa and Japan on consecutive weekends.
“There have been some notable performances from both our home-based players and those at clubs outside of Scotland, which has enabled us as coaches to select a group which are playing well and will be motivated across the four games,” Townsend commented.
“We also feel that this the right time to bring in some younger players given their early season form. They have created opportunities for themselves to represent their country and we believe that they will thrive in the Test-match environment.
“We face four tough matches in four weeks and Tonga, Australia, South Africa and Japan each present a different challenge and an opportunity to perform in front of our people at BT Murrayfield.”
