Ritchie named Scotland captain as 14 selected for Autumn Nations Series

Gregor Townsend’s side kickstart their Autumn Nations Series against Australia at BT Murrayfield on Saturday 29 October (kick-off 5.30pm) before taking on Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina in consecutive weeks, with all matches live on Amazon Prime.

Dave Cherry (hooker), Pierre Schoeman (loosehead), WP Nel (tighthead), Grant Gilchrist (lock), Sam Skinner (lock), Luke Crosbie (back-row), Nick Haining (back-row) and Hamish Watson (back-row) are all selected among the forwards.

In the backs, Blair Kinghorn (stand-off), Mark Bennett (centre), Duhan van der Merwe (wing), Darcy Graham (wing) and Damien Hoyland (back-three) also get the nod.

With next Saturday’s opening Test against Australia taking place outside the autumn international window, the Scotland team will be comprised entirely of home-based personnel, giving supporters the first opportunity to watch Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors players in action at BT Murrayfield ahead of December’s eagerly anticipated 150^th anniversary 1872 Cup decider at the national stadium.

Click here for the full squad announcement from Scottish Rugby.

Scotland Autumn Nations Series fixtures
(All matches at BT Murrayfield)

Scotland vs Australia, Saturday 29 October (kick-off 5.30pm)
Scotland vs Fiji, Saturday 5 November (kick-off 1pm)
Scotland vs New Zealand, Saturday 13 November (kick-off 2.15pm)
Scotland vs Argentina, Saturday 19 November (kick-off 3.15pm)

Scotland Autumn Nations Series Squad

Forwards

Ewan Ashman (Sale Sharks) 4 caps
Josh Bayliss (Bath Rugby) 3 caps
Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow Warriors) 22 caps
Dave Cherry (Edinburgh Rugby) 7 caps
Andy Christie (Saracens) 3 caps
Luke Crosbie (Edinburgh Rugby) 2 caps
Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors) 23 caps
Jack Dempsey (Glasgow Warriors) uncapped
Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) 24 caps
Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) 50 caps
Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby) 55 caps
Jonny Gray (Exeter Chiefs) 69 caps
Richie Gray (Glasgow Warriors) 67 caps
Nick Haining (Edinburgh Rugby) 11 caps
WP Nel (Edinburgh Rugby) 48 caps
Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh Rugby) – CAPTAIN – 32 caps
Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby) 12 caps
Sam Skinner (Edinburgh Rugby) 22 caps
Rory Sutherland (Ulster Rugby) 20 caps
George Turner (Glasgow Warriors) 27 caps
Murphy Walker (Glasgow Warriors) uncapped
Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby) 51 caps

Backs

Mark Bennett (Edinburgh Rugby) 27 caps
Darcy Graham (Edinburgh Rugby) 29 caps
Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby) 36 caps
Adam Hastings (Gloucester Rugby) 26 caps
Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs) 93 caps
George Horne (Glasgow Warriors) 17 caps
Damien Hoyland (Edinburgh Rugby) 4 caps
Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh Rugby) 34 caps
Stafford McDowall (Glasgow Warriors) uncapped
Rufus McLean (Glasgow Warriors) 3 caps
Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) 54 caps
Cameron Redpath (Bath Rugby) 2 caps
Ollie Smith (Glasgow Warriors) 1 cap
Kyle Steyn (Glasgow Warriors) 5 caps
Ross Thompson (Glasgow Warriors) 3 caps
Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors) 7 caps
Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby) 19 caps
Ben White (London Irish) 6 caps