Bath Rugby wing Ruaridh McConnochie, Glasgow Warriors centre Stafford McDowall, and Edinburgh Rugby stand-off Ben Healy, who recently agreed to join Edinburgh from Munster, have all been selected by head coach Gregor Townsend for Scotland’s squad for the 2023 Six Nations tournament.
Leicester Tigers second row Cameron Henderson is also in contention for full international honors. McConnochie, who won two caps for England in 2019, is now eligible to be selected by Scotland due to World Rugby’s eligibility rules allowing capped players to switch allegiance to another country they are eligible to play for after a three-year cooling-off period.
Healy, who will move to Edinburgh before the 2023/24 season, qualifies through his maternal grandparents, having represented Ireland at under-20 level. Cameron Henderson joined Leicester Tigers ahead of the 2020/21 season, having previously been a part of both the FOSROC Scottish Rugby Academy and Stirling County’s FOSROC Super6 squad.
He was selected for the ultimately canceled 2021 summer squad for matches with England A, Romania, and Georgia. McDowall has been in great form for Glasgow Warriors this season and recently captained the club for their away win against Perpignan in the European Rugby Challenge Cup.
The squad is headed by captain Ritchie, who led Scotland in all four of the 2022 Autumn Nations Series fixtures. Experienced players such as Saracens’ Sean Maitland, who has 15 tries from his 53 caps, and Glasgow Warriors center Huw Jones, who has 31 Scotland appearances and 12 tries, are also included. There are 10 players who have earned at least 50 Scotland caps, with Exeter Chiefs full-back Stuart Hogg, on 96 appearances for his country, approaching a milestone.
Scotland squad for the 2023 Guinness Six Nations
Forwards
Ewan Ashman (Sale Sharks) 6 caps
Josh Bayliss (Bath Rugby) 3 caps
Simon Berghan (Glasgow Warriors) 31 caps
Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow Warriors) 25 caps
Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors) 57 caps
Dave Cherry (Edinburgh Rugby) 8 caps
Andy Christie (Saracens) 4 caps
Luke Crosbie (Edinburgh Rugby) 2 caps
Jack Dempsey (Glasgow Warriors) 4 caps
Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) 28 caps
Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) 54 caps
Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby) 59 caps
Jonny Gray (Exeter Chiefs) 72 caps
Richie Gray (Glasgow Warriors) 69 caps
Cameron Henderson (Leicester Tigers) uncapped
WP Nel (Edinburgh Rugby) 50 caps
Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh Rugby) – CAPTAIN – 36 caps
Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby) 16 caps
Javan Sebastian (Scarlets) 3 caps
Sam Skinner (Edinburgh Rugby) 23 caps
Rory Sutherland (Ulster Rugby) 22 caps
George Turner (Glasgow Warriors) 29 caps
Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby) 54 caps
Backs
Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby) 39 caps
Ben Healy (Munster Rugby) uncapped
Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs) 96 caps
George Horne (Glasgow Warriors) 18 caps
Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors) 31 caps
Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh Rugby) 38 caps
Sean Maitland (Saracens) 53 caps
Ruaridh McConnochie (Bath Rugby) uncapped
Stafford McDowall (Glasgow Warriors) uncapped
Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) 58 caps
Cameron Redpath (Bath Rugby) 4 caps
Finn Russell (Racing 92) 65 caps
Ollie Smith (Glasgow Warriors) 2 caps
Kyle Steyn (Glasgow Warriors) 5 caps
Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors) 11 caps
Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby) 23 caps
Ben White (London Irish) 9 caps
2023 Guinness Six Nations Fixtures
England v Scotland, Saturday 4 February, kick-off 4.45pm, Twickenham
Scotland v Wales, Saturday 11 February, kick-off 4.45pm, BT Murrayfield
France v Scotland, Sunday 26 February, kick-off 3pm, Stade de France
Scotland v Ireland, Sunday 12 March, kick-off 3pm, BT Murrayfield
Scotland v Italy, Saturday 19 March, kick-off 12.30pm, BT Murrayfield
