Published 24th Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
Scotland return to the Nations Championship next month with Test matches against New Zealand, Australia and Japan at Murrayfield.
They will then face one final fixture against another team from the Southern Hemisphere table as part of ‘Finals Weekend’ at Twickenham in this inaugural edition of the new competition. Gregor Townsend is set to name his squad for those clashes on Monday and it is looking increasingly likely he could be forced to leave out some big name individuals.
That’s down to two reasons with the first being an unprecedented level of depth to choose from with both Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh having had such strong starts to their 2026/27 campaigns. It then comes down to just how large of a group ends up being named and that is the thing that could spell bad news for a few.
For the July leg of this tournament it was a 36-man squad that was initially named. When the Rugby World Cup rolls around next year there will be some even tougher calls with that number reduced to 33 but, for now, there are no exact limitations on numbers.
Townsend may very well opt to go with a 38-man selection or even 40 but, for the purposes of our prediction, we have worked off the basis of it being the same size as it was earlier in the year. The Scotsman’s Chief Rugby Writer Graham Bean and sports reporter Martyn Simpson recently sat down to try and predict the 36-man Scotland squad for their November Test matches and here is their selection:
Front row = 9/36
A group of 36 players allows for two in each position of a starting XV plus six more and we are anticipating that the bulk of those additional six slots will go to forwards. That is largely down to so many of Scotland’s backs having the versatility to cover multiple positions.
At loose-head it should be Pierre Schoeman in first place with Nathan McBeth, who has started the season well with Glasgow Warriors, behind him. A third option for the number one jersey will likely be one of Rory Sutherland, who has missed that start of the new season but is in line to play for Warriors this weekend, or Alec Hepburn who arrived at Edinburgh over the summer.
For continuity on previous squads plus test level experience it will more likely be Sutherland. Hooker is fairly straightforward with Ewan Ashman backed up by Gregor Hiddleston and Seb Stephen.
Zander Fagerson is the main man at tight-head and Elliot Millar Mills seemed to have established himself as the deputy in that position before his summer injury. Will Hurd has been the other player in recent squads but we expect the Leicester Tigers man to make way for Edinburgh’s rising star Ollie Blyth-Lafferty. Not just that, it’s quite likely he could already be seen as ahead of Millar Mills in the pecking order which is a credit to how the 20-year-old has taken to senior rugby.
Second row = 14/36
Someone is going to be hard done by in the lock department and that’s even with the prediction that Townsend will name five in the group. Scott Cummings is nailed on and Gregor Brown his likely partner in the big games with the Aberdonian also covering the back row.
Grant Gilchrist has been given every chance to make the squad as he is set to return from injury with Edinburgh this weekend while Jonny Gray is back playing regularly in the Top 14 with new club Perpignan.
Alex Samuel likely would have been second row number five but he will miss out through injury. Cam Henderson continues to be a consistent presence for Leicester Tigers but doesn’t seem favoured in the national team set up meaning one of Glasgow duo Alex Craig or Max Williamson should go with the latter likely preferred due to his superior size and power while Glen Young is another who could be in with a shout.
Back row = 21/36
The number six jersey offers the biggest question in this department. Matt Fagerson and Josh Bayliss will likely be named and both are capable of covering across the entire back row.
We anticipate one more player will take up a spot here and it will be one of Jamie Ritchie or Liam McConnell. While Ritchie has the obvious Test level experience advantage he hasn’t played for some time and although he is in line to make his Glasgow Warriors debut this weekend the 22-year-old from Edinburgh has already earned massive plaudits this campaign and that could very well make the former Scotland skipper the first big name player to miss out.
Rory Darge and Freddy Douglas will be the sevens, both specialists in that position and expert jackalers. The Number 8s will be Jack Dempsey and Magnus Bradbury with the Edinburgh skipper another who can cover across the entire back row.
Scrum-half = 23/36
As we only now move on to the backs there are just 15 spaces remaining, meaning we have enough for two in each position and one spare. The scrum-half choices will almost certainly be Ben White and George Horne.
It’s the brutal reality of playing in a specialised backs position that means there’s no room for Ali Price despite his excellent form for Montpellier at the end of last season and start of this. It’s also a shame for Hector Patterson who is another that has been in excellent form for Edinburgh.
Fly-half = 25/36
Finn Russell will, barring injury, earn his 100th Scotland cap in November. The question here is, who goes as his deputy?
Fergus Burke has filled that position of late but Adam Hastings has started life in France well with Montpellier and Townsend has previously shown he will pick on form. It’s a tough one to call and could go either way but we have a feeling that Hastings could be getting the call.
A special mention here for Jake Dalziel who is on track for a very, very bright future at Test level but with tough calls to be made it’s not likely we’ll see the teenager called up this time around. Inviting him to train with the senior team and gain that experience, if possible, would be a good shout though.
Centre = 29/36
This is perhaps the biggest contention we faced when selecting our predicted squad. The choices of Sione Tuipulotu along with Rory Hutchinson and Stafford McDowall were easy ones but which of those latter two ends up partnering the skipper against New Zealand is a another question for another day.
If there’s going to be one more centre who goes then it should be Huw Jones but it’s not unfair to ask if that’s the right call. His record for Scotland speaks for itself but he’s so synonymous with the 13 jersey at this point (despite having covered wing and full-back in the past) that we generally considered him as a potential sacrifice to make room for a bit more versatility.
There are basically two schools of thought, either he’s an ‘x-factor’ that you want to have in the group to call upon or he’s a luxury you can’t afford if he isn’t going to start when numbers are so tight. In the end, we’ve included him in our group but he has had a tough start since moving to Toulon this summer and may find himself struggling to justify his selection come the Six Nations and Rugby World Cup next year.
Winger = 33/36
Kyle Steyn and Jamie Dobie are easy picks especially with the latter also covering scrum-half. It’s not just that though, he’s been so good for club and country in his less favoured position out wide this year that he’d be nailed on even without that versatility.
Darcy Graham’s miracle return from injury should secure his spot while Kyle Rowe has more than earned the other with his performances in the URC while also offering cover at full back where he did well for the national team in the summer. That leaves one time record try scorer Duhan van der Merwe missing out.
The Edinburgh wingers is clearly the biggest player in terms of name value and previous contributions that we don’t think will make it but he has yet to play this season and remains unavailable for this weekend’s fixture against the Lions. Even still, on current form he probably doesn’t make it in the squad ahead of any of the above names.
Full back = 36/36
There are fitness questions over Blair Kinghorn but if he’s fit he’ll be selected. That leaves the final slot for Tom Jordan who covers both fly-half and full back convincingly.
The 36th and final place in our squad goes to Ollie Smith. Far from the biggest or most glamorous name but a steady pair of hands who justifies his selection through being able to cover pretty much every position in the backs.
While Josh McKay does become available for Scotland next month we feel the former New Zealand under 20 international may miss out on the initial selection and be called up after week one or two. It’s pretty uncommon for a squad to come through two weeks of Test matches without a knock or two so the Glasgow full back will likely be the first on stand by when that happens.
Predicted 36-man Scotland squad
Forwards: Pierre Schoeman, Nathan McBeth, Rory Sutherland, Ewan Ashman, Gregor Hiddleston, Seb Stephen, Zander Fagerson, Elliot Millar Mills, Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, Scott Cummings, Gregor Brown, Grant Gilchrist, Jonny Gray, Max Williamson.
Backs: Matt Fagerson, Josh Bayliss, Liam McConnell, Rory Darge, Freddy Douglas, Jack Dempsey, Magnus Bradbury, Ben White, George Horne, Finn Russell, Adam Hastings, Sione Tuipulotu, Rory Hutchinson, Stafford McDowall, Huw Jones, Kyle Steyn, Jamie Dobie, Darcy Graham, Kyle Rowe, Blair Kinghorn, Tom Jordan, Ollie Smith.
Get our rugby newsletter by clicking here