Townsend goes with tried and trusted for autumn leg of Nations Championship
In a selection which favours experience over experimentation, Gregor Townsend sprang one surprise by including Ollie Leatherbarrow in his Scotland squad for the autumn leg of the Nations Championship.
The Newcastle Red Bulls back-rower’s call-up comes at the expense of Magnus Bradbury who has been omitted despite a strong start to the season with Edinburgh. Indeed the capital club supply only five of the players in Townsend’s 37-man roster, a meagre tally given they currently sit top of the United Rugby Championship with four wins from four.
By contrast, there are 19 representatives from Glasgow Warriors, the preeminent Scottish side of recent seasons, for the home matches against New Zealand, Australia and Japan and a fourth game at Twickenham on Finals Weekend.
A further eight came from the English Prem, including Leatherbarrow, 24, who was born in Macclesfield and is eligible for Scotland through his grandmother from Perth.
‘He's a very good ball carrier’
A former Scotland Under-20 international, he is in his fourth season at Newcastle after moving from Exeter Chiefs in 2023. He can play across the back row and Townsend sees him as a strong ball-carrier in the mould of Jack Dempsey who is in the Nations Championship squad but won’t be available for the 2027 Six Nations having made the move to Toshiba Brave Lupus in Tokyo.
“I think Magnus did start the season really well,” said Townsend as he explained Bradbury’s absence and Leatherbarrow’s inclusion. “We've obviously given him feedback around his game, where we're looking for more from him.
“He had a really good [summer] tour off the bench against South Africa and [starting against] Fiji, and we know Magnus is hugely motivated for Scotland. We know the qualities he brings. We're also aware that Jack is not going to be available in the Six Nations, so it's an opportunity for us to look at someone else in our environment.
“Hopefully, he [Ollie] will get opportunities in the next few weeks, because he's playing really well. We know he can cover all three positions in the back row. He's a very good ball carrier.
“He's an openside by trade, but he's played a lot of rugby at six and eight. He'll be challenging for a place now and in the Six Nations, like Magnus will be as well.”
Has started only one game for Newcastle this season
Leatherbarrow has started only one game for Newcastle this season, coming off the bench in another six. Bradbury, meanwhile, has started all five for Edinburgh.
Also absent from the squad is Freddy Douglas, Bradbury’s back-row team-mate at Edinburgh. Douglas is a specialist openside and Townsend feels the inclusion of Rory Darge, Jamie Ritchie and Leatherbarrow gives him enough cover in that position.
Other notable omissions include scrum-half Hector Patterson, 21, and tighthead prop Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 20, two of Edinburgh’s young guns who have started the season impressively but have time on their side. At the other end of the spectrum, Grant Gilchrist is also excluded but Townsend shot down suggestions that this signalled the beginning of the end of the 36-year-old lock’s international career.
“No, not at all. That was a close call,” said Townsend.
Gilchrist has only recently returned to the Edinburgh side after recovering from a bicep injury and Townsend believes he can force his way back into the international reckoning.
“Grant played in some of our best games last year,” said the coach. “He's still playing some of his best rugby.”
Townsend has picked this squad with one eye on next year’s Rugby World Cup in Australia. Duhan van der Merwe is included despite only playing 18 minutes for Edinburgh this season, in Friday’s win over the Lions. The winger had to come off with a hand injury but it is not as bad as first feared and he is in line to play this weekend against Benetton.
Josh McKay, the Glasgow Warriors full-back, will qualify for Scotland on residency grounds ahead of the Japan match but is not in Townsend’s squad. The coach said the New Zealand-born player was “very, very keen” to play for Scotland and could be drafted in depending on form and injuries.
Scotland squad named for Nations Championship
Here is the 37-man squad for the four matches which are New Zealand, Australia and Japan at Murrayfield plus one more Test as part of ‘Finals Weekend’ at Twickenham:
Forwards (21): Ewan Ashman – Edinburgh Rugby, Josh Bayliss – Bath Rugby, Gregor Brown – Glasgow Warriors, Scott Cummings – Glasgow Warriors, Alex Craig – Glasgow Warriors, Rory Darge – Glasgow Warriors, Jack Dempsey – Toshiba Brave Lupus, Matt Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors, Zander Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors, Jonny Gray – Perpignan, Gregor Hiddleston – Glasgow Warriors, Will Hurd – Leicester Tigers, Ollie Leatherbarrow – Newcastle Red Bulls, Nathan McBeth – Glasgow Warriors, Liam McConnell – Edinburgh Rugby, Elliot Millar Mills – Newcastle Red Bulls, Jamie Ritchie – Glasgow Warriors, Pierre Schoeman, Rory Sutherland, Seb Stephen, Max Williamson. Backs (16): Fergus Burke – Saracens, Jamie Dobie – Glasgow Warriors, Darcy Graham – Edinburgh Rugby, George Horne – Glasgow Warriors, Rory Hutchinson – Northampton Saints, Huw Jones – Toulon, Tom Jordan – Bristol Bears, Blair Kinghorn – Toulouse, Stafford McDowall – Glasgow Warriors, Kyle Rowe – Glasgow Warriors, Finn Russell – Bath Rugby, Ollie Smith – Glasgow Warriors, Kyle Steyn – Glasgow Warriors, Sione Tuipulotu – Captain – Glasgow Warriors, Duhan van der Merwe – Edinburgh Rugby, Ben White – Toulon.