Head Coach Gregor Townsend named three uncapped players in a 40-man Scotland squad for their 2018 November internationals on Wednesday.
Scotland will face Wales in Cardiff on Saturday, November 3 and contest the ‘Doddie Weir Cup’, as both teams honour the former Scotland and British & Irish Lions player diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.
A host of commercial, community and corporate activity will take place around the Test to help raise awareness for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation to the thousands in attendance and millions more watching the live broadcast.
Scotland will then return home to Murrayfield for three home Tests against Fiji, South Africa and Argentina on the consecutive Saturdays that follow (10, 17 and 24 November), all of which are on target for capacity crowds, with South Africa sold out and Fiji and Argentina close behind.
“We now begin the last 12 months of our preparations for Rugby World Cup 2019 with four Test matches in four weeks, a similar challenge to the one we’ll face in Japan,” said Townsend.
“We’ve named a 40-man group for this campaign, which highlights the quality of player that is now available to us and the competition for places.
“It also enables us to welcome more players into our training environment and hopefully give a few more players a taste of Test match rugby.
“It’s going to be an exciting year for the squad but our primary focus is fixed on performing well against Wales – familiar opponents who have already recorded a win against us this year.”
Scotland’s uncapped trio are Scarlets back-row Blade Thomson, Exeter Chiefs lock Sam Skinner and Glasgow Warriors centre Sam Johnson.
Thomson and Skinner are eligible for the national team through family connections, Thomson through his paternal grandfather, Robert, from Wishaw, while Skinner’s father, Peter, is from Ayr.
Skinner, 23, was first involved in the then Scottish Exiles (now Scottish Qualified) programme as a teenager, while at Taunton Titans, before he joined the Chiefs in the 2014/15 season.
He was then selected for England U20 – and faced many of his Scotland contemporaries in the age-grade Six Nations – before becoming an increasingly prominent part of the Exeter squad that won the Premiership title for the first time in 2017 and finished as runners-up in last year’s final.
Thomson, 27, arrived in west Wales from Super Rugby side the Hurricanes, having represented New Zealand U20 and the Maori All Blacks, and has been a stand-out performer for the Llanelli side in his debut PRO14 season.
Johnson, 25, is eligible for Scotland on residency grounds, having joined Glasgow Warriors in the summer of 2015.
The Australian-born centre has been a popular figure at the Scotstoun club, making 40 appearances since his arrival and voted last year’s Players’ Player of the Season by his peers.
The squad also welcomes the return of several seasoned campaigners who missed the summer tour either through injury or a summer of scheduled rest, which sees the likes of Alex Dunbar, Jonny Gray, Huw Jones, Greig Laidlaw, Sean Maitland, Willem Nel, Gordon Reid, Finn Russell, Tommy Seymour, Ryan Wilson and Hamish Watson all back in the squad.
The selection also marks the return of centre Matt Scott and scrum-half Henry Pyrgos, who last featured in a Scotland shirt in the side’s 2017 wins over Australia in Sydney in June and Edinburgh last November, respectively.
Townsend added: “We had a productive summer tour in which a number of players made their first outing for their country.
“A lot of those players have continued to perform well for their clubs and have merited re-selection in a strong group.
“We also welcome Blade and both Sams into the squad. We are looking forward to working with them and getting our squad back together for the first time since the summer.
“It will be a very challenging series, with the Wales Test providing a very tough contest before three huge matches at BT Murrayfield later that month.”
Townsend has also invited Edinburgh back-row Luke Crosbie and wing Darcy Graham to train with the squad.
Scotland squad
Forwards (22): Alex Allan, Simon Berghan, Magnus Bradbury, Fraser Brown, Allan Dell, David Denton, Matt Fagerson, Ross Ford, Grant Gilchrist, Jonny Gray, Rob Harley, Murray McCallum, Stuart McInally, Willem Nel, Gordon Reid, Jamie Ritchie, Sam Skinner, Blade Thomson, Ben Toolis, George Turner, Hamish Watson, Ryan Wilson
Backs (18): Alex Dunbar, Dougie Fife, Chris Harris, Adam Hastings, George Horne, Pete Horne, Sam Johnson, Huw Jones, Lee Jones, Blair Kinghorn, Greig Laidlaw, Sean Maitland, Byron McGuigan, Ali Price, Henry Pyrgos, Finn Russell, Matt Scott, Tommy Seymour