Five uncapped players will hope to make their senior Scotland debuts during the 2022 Six Nations after head coach Gregor Townsend confirmed a wave of fresh talent in his latest squad.
Rory Darge and Ben Vellacott will get chances to win their first caps for the senior side, while the Premiership trio of Andy Christie ( Saracens ), Ben White and Kyle Rowe (both London Irish ) have also made the cut.
Bath centre Cameron Redpath may be a somewhat surprising inclusion considering he only returned from injury on January 15, but Townsend will hope he's fit for the February 5 opener at home to England.
Ewan Ashman, Jamie Hodgson, Josh Bayliss, Javan Sebastian, Pierre Schoeman, Rufus McLean and Sione Tuipulotu each keep their places after debuting during the recent autumn internationals.
Three-time British and Irish Lions tourist and Exeter Chiefs star Stuart Hogg has retained the captaincy and will be desperate to build on the team's fourth-placed finish last year.
The full-back is one of eight players included who travelled to South Africa on last year's Lions tour, along with Finn Russell, Ali Price, Zander Fagerson, Chris Harris, Rory Sutherland, Duhan van der Merwe and Hamish Watson.
Scotland won three of five Six Nations fixtures in 2021 and ended their 38-year wait for a win at Twickenham after edging southern neighbours England 11-6 on their own turf.
Townsend's side could have finished an all-time best of second with only one more victory, creating a sense of expectation this year that could become a burden if the team fails to impress early on.
Among those looking to make their first impact for the national team is former Scotland under-20 captain Darge, the 21-year-old back-row prospect earning rave reviews in his first season with Glasgow Warriors.
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Darge was in and around Townsend's plans for much of 2021 but was prevented from getting his breakthrough, which it now seems will materialise on the Six Nations stage.
The head coach highlighted the array of quality options at his disposal, as well as praising the potential of those faces new to the squad: “When you look through the squad this is the most competitive I’ve seen it in so many areas and that’s testament to the strength and depth we have.
“We are able to call-up several new players into the squad such as Andy Christie, Kyle Rowe and Ben White. We have been aware of all of the uncapped players for a while now and recently they have all experienced a breakthrough in terms of their performances at club level.
“A key part of the squad selection was rewarding form and that definitely applies to Ben Vellacott and Rory Darge who have been excellent for their clubs this season.
There's room in the squad for Northampton Saints centre Rory Hutchinson, who won the most recent of his five caps to date in February 2020.
Hogg's Exeter team-mate, Jonny Gray, is also back among the selection after missing the autumn schedule, and the same goes for the Edinburgh pair of WP Nel and Magnus Bradbury.
Scotland kick this year's tournament off with a Calcutta Cup clash against England on February 5, while their only other home fixture is a Round 3 meeting with France on February 26.
That leaves the team with away games in Wales (Feb. 12), Italy (March 12) and Ireland (March 19), with more than a decade having passed since Scotland last won in Dublin (a 23-20 victory in March 2010).
Scotland squad for 2022 Six Nations
Forwards (22): Ewan Ashman, Josh Bayliss, Jamie Bhatti, Magnus Bradbury, Andy Christie, Scott Cummings, Rory Darge, Matt Fagerson, Zander Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist, Jonny Gray, Nick Haining, Jamie Hodgson, Stuart McInally, WP Nel, Jamie Ritchie, Pierre Schoeman, Javan Sebastian, Sam Skinner, Rory Sutherland, George Turner, Hamish Watson
Backs (17): Mark Bennett, Darcy Graham, Chris Harris, Stuart Hogg, Rory Hutchinson, Sam Johnson, Blair Kinghorn, Rufus McLean, Ali Price, Cameron Redpath, Kyle Rowe, Finn Russell, Kyle Steyn, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe, Ben Vellacott, Ben White
