McInally to lead Scotland squad at Rugby World Cup

Stuart McInally will captain Scotland at the Rugby World Cup but there is no place for Huw Jones in the 31-man squad.

Edinburgh hooker McInally was confirmed in the role on Tuesday by coach Gregor Townsend, who has selected 12 players from Glasgow Warriors for the tournament in Japan.

However, Warriors centre Jones failed to make the cut for one of the midfield spots, with Northampton’s Rory Hutchinson also missing out.

Peter Horne and Chris Harris have instead been chosen alongside expected first-choice pairing Sam Johnson and Duncan Taylor, while Adam Hastings will provide cover for fellow fly-half Finn Russell.

John Barclay – the most-capped player in the squad with 74 international appearances – will be involved in a third World Cup campaign, having also featured at the 2007 and 2011 editions.

“We’re delighted with the squad and believe we’ve picked a group capable of playing our best rugby and doing this consistently throughout the tournament,” said Townsend, who announced his final list of players at an outdoor ceremony held at a rainy Linlithgow Palace.

“The players have worked hard to be in the best physical shape of their careers and we know that when they play to their potential they are capable of beating any team in the world.”

On selecting McInally for the captaincy, Townsend revealed: “Stuart has done a really good job in the opportunities he’s had to captain Scotland.

“We have a number of leaders in our squad and it was great to see them work well together out in Georgia last week.”

Here’s your Scotland squad for the Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan! #AsOne

Leave your message of support for the squad below pic.twitter.com/mTU9mVDMXL

— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) September 3, 2019

Scotland open their Pool A campaign against Six Nations rivals Ireland in Yokohama on September 22. Host nation Japan, Russia and Samoa are also in the same group.

Scotland Rugby World Cup squad in full:

Forwards: John Barclay, Simon Berghan, Fraser Brown, Scott Cummings, Allan Dell, Zander Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist, Jonny Gray, Stuart McInally (captain), Willem Nel, Gordon Reid, Jamie Ritchie, Blade Thomson, Ben Toolis, George Turner, Hamish Watson, Ryan Wilson.

Backs: Darcy Graham, Chris Harris, Adam Hastings, Stuart Hogg, George Horne, Pete Horne, Sam Johnson, Blair Kinghorn, Greig Laidlaw, Sean Maitland, Ali Price, Finn Russell, Tommy Seymour, Duncan Taylor.

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