Scotland coach Townsend unveils shock call-up ahead of Six Nations
Yesterday at 06:57 AM
SQUAD UPDATE: Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has called up five players ahead of the opening weekend of the Six Nations when his side take on Italy at Murrayfield.
Euan Ferrie, Cameron Henderson, Ewan Johnson, Alexander Masibaka and Ollie Smith have all joined up with the squad.
Masibaka is the big surprise in that announcement.
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He will replace Josh Bayliss in the squad, who sustained a groin injury playing for Bath in their victory over Sale Sharks. He will remain with Bath for further assessment to determine exact timescales.
Masibaka plays in the Pro D2 with French side Soyaux-Angoulême.
The 23-year-old is currently on loan from Montpellier having previously played for the Western Force.
Born and raised in Western Australia, he plays across the back row and qualifies for Scotland through his Paisley-born mother.
Uncapped Euan Ferrie was a member of the URC-winning Glasgow Warriors squad last season and has previously trained with the national team.
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Cameron Henderson made his debut for Scotland in 2023 against Italy before sustaining a knee injury at the end of the year. He has since bounced back, playing well and consistently for Leicester Tigers recently.
Ewan Johnson made his debut on Scotland's July tour last year, in a 73-12 victory over Canada. The Oyonnax lock also made his first appearance at Murrayfield against Portugal in 2024 and played in the Scotland 'A' victory over Chile at the end of the year.
Ollie Smith made his long-awaited comeback in a Glasgow Warriors jersey at the weekend in their win over Connacht and caps off his return from injury with a call-up to the Scotland squad after playing for Emerging Scotland at the tail end of last year.
Scotland squad for the 2025 Six Nations:
Forwards: Ewan Ashman, Jamie Bhatti, Gregor Brown, Dave Cherry, Luke Crosbie, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey, Matt Fagerson, Zander Fagerson, Euan Ferrie (uncapped), Grant Gilchrist, Jonny Gray, Cameron Henderson, Patrick Harrison, Will Hurd, Ewan Johnson, Jack Mann (uncapped), Alexander Masibaka (uncapped), D'Arcy Rae, Jamie Ritchie, Pierre Schoeman, Rory Sutherland, Marshall Sykes.
Backs: Fergus Burke (uncapped), Matt Currie, Jamie Dobie, Darcy Graham, George Horne, Rory Hutchinson, Huw Jones, Tom Jordan, Blair Kinghorn, Stafford McDowall, Finn Russell, Arron Reed, Kyle Rowe, Duhan van der Merwe, Ollie Smith, Ben White.
