The autumn season will see Scottish rugby turn a new leaf after Gregor Townsend named 12 uncapped players in his 42-man squad for the upcoming internationals series.
It won't be an entirely new-look cast, however, after the head coach also recalled all eight of his contingent who travelled for the British and Irish Lions ' summer series defeat to South Africa.
Scotland are set to host Tonga (Oct. 30), Australia (Nov. 7), South Africa (Nov. 13) and Japan (Nov. 20) at Murrayfield in Edinburgh over the next six weeks.
Exeter Chiefs full-back Stuart Hogg returns to captain the team following his involvement with the Lions, while fellow backs Ali Price, Finn Russell, Chris Harris and Duhan van de Merwe were also prominent on the tour.
Flanker Hamish Watson and prop Rory Sutherland are also back in the selection after getting Test time in South Africa, joined by tighthead Zander Fagerson, who failed to feature against the Springboks.
The bulk of Scotland's uncapped players are located among the pack as Ewan Ashman, Josh Bayliss, Rory Darge, Dylan Richardson, Luke Crosbie, Jamie Hodgson, Marshall Sykes and Pierre Schoeman target international debuts.
Meanwhile, each of the four untested backs hail from Glasgow Warriors: Rufus McLean, Jamie Dobie, Ross Thompson and Sione Tuipulotu.
“It’s exciting to bring together a blend of highly experienced and uncapped players for our first week of the Autumn Nations Series campaign," Townsend said after announcing his latest squad on Wednesday.
“There have been some notable performances from both our home-based players and those at clubs outside of Scotland, which has enabled us as coaches to select a group which are playing well and will be motivated across the four games.
“We also feel that this the right time to bring in some younger players given their early season form.
"They have created opportunities for themselves to represent their country and we believe that they will thrive in the Test match environment."
Do you think Scotland will finish higher than fourth in the 2022 Six Nations? Let us know in the comments section.
Scotland have embraced a number of southern-hemisphere converts in recent years, with South Africa-born winger Duhan van der Merwe a bright example of the gains to be made with players born overseas.
And South Africa could well supply some new additions this autumn as Sharks prospect Dylan Richardson—a back-rower who can also play hooker—has been included as he qualifies through his Scotland-born father.
Edinburgh prop Pierre Schoeman, 27, can also make his Test debut after qualifying via residency, while former Australia under-20 centre Sione Tuipulotu—who has a Scottish grandmother—prepares to make his bow.
Tuipulotu, 24, has scored two tries in four United Rugby Championship outings since joining Glasgow from Japanese club Yamaha Jubilo this past summer.
Scotland recently announced the autumn fixtures against Australia and reigning world champions South Africa have already sold out, with a full complement of more than 67,000 fans expected to attend each.
Townsend will hope to engineer some autumn momentum after his side beat England at Twickenham for the first time since 1983 earlier this year, going on to finish fourth in the Six Nations standings.
That paved the way for Warren Gatland to call up the largest contingent of Scottish players to a Lions squad in some 32 years, but the coming weeks will assess whether the team is in a place to build on that progress.
Scotland's 42-man autumn squad
Forwards
Ewan Ashman, Josh Bayliss, Jamie Bhatti, Fraser Brown, Luke Crosbie, Rory Darge, Matt Fagerson, Zander Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist, Nick Haining, Rob Harley, Jamie Hodgson, Oli Kebble, Murray McCallum, Stuart McInally, Dylan Richardson, Jamie Ritchie, Sam Skinner, Pierre Schoeman, Rory Sutherland, Marshall Sykes, George Turner, Hamish Watson
Backs
Mark Bennett, Darcy Graham, Jamie Dobie, Chris Harris, Adam Hastings, Stuart Hogg, George Horne, Damien Hoyland, Sam Johnson, Huw Jones, Blair Kinghorn, Duhan van de Merwe, Rufus McLean, Ali Price, Finn Russell, Matt Scott, Kyle Steyn, Ross Thompson, Sione Tuipulotu
