The key facts

  • Gregor Townsend named a 37-player squad for home matches against New Zealand, Australia and Japan
  • Scotland are second in the European table of the Nations Championship, their only defeat a 28-42 loss to South Africa in Pretoria
  • The coach's aim is to be playing in the World Cup knockout stages in Australia in 12 months' time

Townsend names squad and sets the goal

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend on Monday announced a 37-player squad and urged the team to finish the inaugural Nations Championship strongly, in order to build momentum ahead of next year's World Cup in Australia, AFP reports. The tournament resumes next month: Scotland sit second in the European table and will host New Zealand, Australia and Japan at Murrayfield.

Tournament format and team motivation

The Nations Championship was designed to give extra competitive meaning to the July and November international windows. The tournament concludes with a finals weekend at Twickenham, where teams from the northern and southern hemispheres meet according to their rankings and an overall winner is decided. 'We are in a competition where we are in a decent position right now, so we have the motivation not just to play matches in isolation but to finish as high as possible and face the leading team on that finals weekend,' Townsend said. He added: 'And then in 12 months' time the World Cup pool stage will be over... Our aim is to be playing knockout rugby in 12 months, and between now and then to keep producing our best rugby.'

Squad and start to the tournament

The only new face in the squad is Newcastle back-rower Ollie Leatherbarrow. Scotland will look to build on a strong start to the Nations Championship: in three matches the team has lost only once — 28-42 to the reigning world champions from South Africa in Pretoria in July. 'We want to finish as high as possible and win the northern hemisphere table, or at least finish second or third, so that we play a genuine southern hemisphere heavyweight,' the coach noted. In his words, the defeat in South Africa gave the team valuable experience, and the match against New Zealand in a couple of weeks will be another such lesson: 'We want to play these teams more often. That is the motivation.'

The World Cup objective

At the last two World Cups Scotland failed to get out of their pool, but they are expected to reach the round of 16 from Pool D, where, besides them, long-time rivals Ireland will play, along with Portugal and Uruguay. The squad includes, among others, captain Sione Tuipulotu, Finn Russell, Blair Kinghorn and Duhan van der Merwe, while among the forwards are the Fagerson brothers, Jonny Gray and Jamie Ritchie.

Why it matters

Scotland's performances in the November matches will directly determine their seeding for the tournament's finals weekend and, in the coach's plan, the team's readiness for the World Cup knockout stages. For fans, it means three home matches against top-level sides at Murrayfield, and for the national team itself, a chance to test themselves against southern hemisphere opponents with whom, according to Townsend, the side wants to play more regularly. It remains unknown how the squad will change during the November matches.