Scotland name Autumn Nations squad with two uncapped rising Edinburgh stars joining 45 man group
Gregor Townsend has named his squad for the upcoming Quilter Nation Series tests.
27 forwards and 18 backs have been selected for the November tests.
After the success of their Summer Pacific Tour, Scotland now look ahead to four home Autumn International Series fixtures, this time around they’ll have no players on British and Irish Lions duties. In four mammoth Murrayfield matches, the Scots will face USA, New Zealand, Argentina and Tonga.
As Townsend announced his squad, the backs have a familiar look, with some experienced customers such as Duhan Van Der Merwe, who is set to acquire 50 caps during the series and Sione Tuipulotu, who will return to the squad as captain having impressed for the Lions in the summer. However in the forward line, there are some fresh faces.
McConnell and Morris set for first Scotland cap
Edinburgh Rugby’s Liam McConnell and Harri Morris are yet to feature for their country, however that could change for the upcoming series. 21-year old Flanker, McConnell has impressed as captain for the Emerging Scotland side while Morris has earned his first call up at hooker, behind Ewan Ashman, George Turner and Patrick Harrison.
Montpellier number eight, Alexander Makisaba could get his first official cap, having been called up. The 24-year old featured in the non-cap match against Maori All Blacks in July. Former Edinburgh captain, Magnus Bradbury will return to the International fold for the first time since the 2022 tour of Argentina. Having impressed for Sean Everitt’s side of late, Dylan Richardson has also been selected.
Zander Fagerson will make a return to the squad after his injury-burdened Lions tour in the summer. The veteran, tight-head prop suffered a horrific calf injury, forcing him to withdraw from the tour. Edinburgh’s Pierre Schoeman, Marshall Sykes, D’Arcy Rae and Grant Gilchrist have all also been included.
As for the backs, it’s the usual suspects, with Finn Russell, Adam Hastings and Fergus Burke selected as the stand-offs. Russell remains the highest capped member of the squad, with the upcoming series set to take him into over 90 appearances. Darcy Graham and Ross Thompson make up the 13 Edinburgh stars included in Townsend’s 45.
The Squad
Scotland squad for the 2025 Quilter Nations Series:
Backs (18)
Fergus Burke – Saracens, Jamie Dobie – Glasgow Warriors, Darcy Graham – Edinburgh Rugby, Adam Hastings – Glasgow Warriors, Rory Hutchinson – Northampton Saints, George Horne – Glasgow Warriors, Tom Jordan – Bristol Bears, Blair Kinghorn – Toulouse, Stafford McDowall – Glasgow Warriors, Kyle Rowe – Glasgow Warriors, Arron Reed – Sale Sharks, Finn Russell – Bath Rugby, Ollie Smith – Glasgow Warriors, Kyle Steyn – Glasgow Warriors, Ross Thompson – Edinburgh Rugby, Sione Tuipulotu (C) – Glasgow Warriors, Duhan van der Merwe – Edinburgh Rugby, Ben White – Toulon
Forwards (27)
Ewan Ashman – Edinburgh Rugby, Josh Bayliss – Bath Rugby, Magnus Bradbury – Edinburgh Rugby, Gregor Brown – Glasgow Warriors, Scott Cummings – Glasgow Warriors, Rory Darge – Glasgow Warriors, Jack Dempsey – Glasgow Warriors, Matt Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors, Zander Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors, Grant Gilchrist – Edinburgh Rugby, Patrick Harrison – Edinburgh Rugby, Nathan McBeth – Glasgow Warriors, Alexander Masibaka – Montpellier, Liam McConnell – Edinburgh Rugby, Elliot Millar Mills – Northampton Saints, Harri Morris – Edinburgh Rugby, Andy Onyeama-Christie – Saracens, D’Arcy Rae – Edinburgh Rugby, Dylan Richardson – Edinburgh Rugby, Jamie Ritchie – Perpignan, Alex Samuel – Glasgow Warriors, Pierre Schoeman – Edinburgh Rugby, Rory Sutherland – Glasgow Warriors, Marshall Sykes – Edinburgh Rugby, George Turner – Harlequins, Murphy Walker – Glasgow Warriors, Max Williamson – Glasgow Warriors