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Rory Darge named as Scotland captain for Skyscanner Pacific Tour

Rory Darge named as Scotland captain for Skyscanner Pacific Tour

Gregor Townsend has named his Scotland squad for the 2025 Skyscanner Pacific Tour.
Rory Darge has been selected as captain for the matches against Māori All Blacks, Fiji and Samoa.
Darge has co-captained Scotland along with Finn Russell in the last two Guinness Six Nations championships. He will lead a squad of 36 players with a number of familiar faces returning to the group.
Andy Onyeama-Christie has been selected after overcoming an ankle injury sustained in October 2024. He made his return for Saracens in March.
Hooker George Turner also comes back into the fold after missing the last year of international rugby following his move to Kobelco Kobe Steelers in Japan. He has since signed for Harlequins next year and will aim to add to his 45 caps amassed thus far.
There are three uncapped players named in the squad in the shape of stand-off Fergus Burke, back-row Alexander Masibaka and tighthead prop Fin Richardson. Burke and Masibaka were both included in the Guinness Six Nations squad, when they trained regularly with the team, and Richardson has national team experience having travelled out to Chile and Uruguay on last year's summer tour.
There are eight Glasgow Warriors backs named, following their exit in the United Rugby Championship play-offs over the weekend. Toulon's Ben White is chosen for his second summer tour and Arron Reed has been rewarded with a call-up after making his debut for Scotland last July.
Edinburgh Rugby's Darcy Graham, Harry Paterson and Matt Currie have been called up along with Bath's Cameron Redpath, who has sights set on the Premiership final this weekend alongside Leicester. From the two finalists, Bath's Josh Bayliss and Tigers' Cameron Henderson will also tour with the squad.
After missing out on the Guinness Six Nations, Max Williamson is back in the squad after impressing against South Africa in the autumn.
Alec Hepburn, Nathan McBeth and Rory Sutherland will compete for the loosehead position while Will Hurd and Elliot Millar Mills join Richardson as the tighthead options.
Hookers Patrick Harrison and Ewan Ashman have been familiar figures in the squad over the last year, Harrison being one of seven players in the squad who made their debuts on the Skyscanner Americas tour last year, and they join Turner as hooking options.
Marshall Sykes made his Guinness Six Nations debut in March against France and he continues in the squad where he's joined by fellow second rows Max Williamson, Gregor Brown, Henderson and the experienced Grant Gilchrist.
In the back row, Matt Fagerson has been selected as he continues his recovery from injury, along with Jamie Ritchie, Ben Muncaster, Darge, Bayliss, Onyeama-Christie and Masibaka.
The tour kicks off with a match against the Māori All Blacks on Saturday 5 July, and will be the first time the sides have met since 2000, when the hosts edged a narrow encounter 18-15 in New Plymouth. It will be just the third match between the Māori and Scotland with the other game coming at Murrayfield in Edinburgh in 1998.
The tourists will then take on Fiji, with the match marking Scotland's first game on Fijian soil since 2017. Scotland's last match against Fiji took place in November 2024 when the home side ran out 57-17 winners, with Darcy Graham scoring four tries.
The tour will finish on Friday 18 July when Scotland take on Samoa. The last time the two sides played against each other was six years ago, when Scotland won 34-0 during the 2019 Rugby World Cup. The match will take place in Auckland, New Zealand, at the historic Eden Park
Skyscanner Pacific Tour: Fixtures
Māori All Blacks v Scotland – Semenoff Stadium, Whangārei Saturday 5 July 2025, kick-off 3.35pm (local time, Saturday 5 July, kick-off 4.35am BST) – Live on Sky Sports.
Fiji v Scotland – HFC Bank Stadium, Suva Saturday 12 July 2025, kick-off 3pm (local time, Saturday 12 July 2025, kick-off 4am BST).
Samoa v Scotland – Eden Park, Auckland Friday 18 July 2025, kick-off 8.05pm (local time, Friday 18 July 2025, kick-off 9.05am BST)
Broadcast details for the Fiji and Samoa games are still to be confirmed.
Skyscanner Pacific Tour Squad
Backs (15)
Fergus Burke – Saracens (uncapped), Matt Currie – Edinburgh Rugby (4), Jamie Dobie – Glasgow Warriors (12), Darcy Graham – Edinburgh Rugby (46), Adam Hastings – Glasgow Warriors (32), George Horne – Glasgow Warriors (36), Tom Jordan – Glasgow Warriors (8), Cameron Redpath – Bath Rugby (140 Stafford McDowall – Glasgow Warriors (13), Harry Paterson – Edinburgh Rugby (3), Arron Reed – Sale Sharks (3), Kyle Rowe – Glasgow Warriors (12), Ollie Smith – Glasgow Warriors (9), Kyle Steyn – Glasgow Warriors (23), Ben White – Toulon (29)
Forwards (21)
Ewan Ashman – Edinburgh Rugby (27), Josh Bayliss – Bath Rugby (10), Gregor Brown – Glasgow Warriors (9), Matt Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors (55), Rory Darge – CAPTAIN – Glasgow Warriors (30), Grant Gilchrist – Edinburgh Rugby (80), Patrick Harrison – Edinburgh Rugby (3), Cameron Henderson – Leicester Tigers (1), Alec Hepburn – Scarlets (4), Will Hurd – Leicester Tigers (8), Alexander Masibaka –Soyaux Angoulême XV Charente (uncapped), Nathan McBeth – Glasgow Warriors (2), Elliot Millar Mills – Northampton Saints (7), Ben Muncaster – Edinburgh Rugby (2), Andy Onyeama-Christie – Saracens (8), Fin Richardson – Glasgow Warriors (uncapped), Jamie Ritchie – Edinburgh Rugby (59), Rory Sutherland – Glasgow Warriors (41), Marshall Sykes – Edinburgh Rugby (2), George Turner – Kobelco Kobe Steelers (45), Max Williamson – Glasgow Warriors (6)
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Derek McInnes tells Hearts naysayers his bubble is still 'absolutely bubbling' as negativity's banished
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Derek McInnes tells Hearts naysayers his bubble is still 'absolutely bubbling' as negativity's banished

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Derek McInnes: 'I won't have this negativity at Hearts. My bubble isn't burst'
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Derek McInnes: 'I won't have this negativity at Hearts. My bubble isn't burst'

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Zander Fagerson successor, judicious jackler, booming kicker - 8 young Scottish rugby stars to watch
Zander Fagerson successor, judicious jackler, booming kicker - 8 young Scottish rugby stars to watch

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Zander Fagerson successor, judicious jackler, booming kicker - 8 young Scottish rugby stars to watch

It's a big season for Scotland's key youngsters to come of age Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Glasgow and Edinburgh said goodbye to several of their most important senior players in the close season, with the Warriors losing the likes of Henco Venter and Tom Jordan and the capital club bidding farewell to Jamie Ritchie and Ali Price among others. Scotland's two professional men's sides are therefore, by necessity, set to blood a number of promising young players in the coming campaign. 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At 6ft 4in and around 136kg, he has a formidable physique, and at his current rate of progress seems sure to mature into a regular member of the full national team. In fact, without wishing to put too much pressure on the Scotland Under-20 cap, all being well he should become the long-term successor to Zander Fagerson as the full international side's first choice in the pivotal position. Jack Brown (Edinburgh) Replacing Emiliano Boffelli is a tall order - when fit, the now-departed Argentine is one of the best players in the world. But full-back Brown's big, booming boot is reminiscent of Boffelli's ability in that department, and, although the Scotland Under-20 international has stiff competition from the likes of Harry Paterson, he is robust enough, and sufficiently strong in the air, to be able to perform well for the capital club when called upon. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Freddy Douglas (Edinburgh) You do not have to be Nostradamus to confidently predict that the openside from the capital has a big future ahead of him. After all, he has captained Scotland Under-20s, made his full international debut last season against Portugal, and even before that game was hailed as 'world-class already' by national assistant coach John Dalziel. Having said all that, he has still only played a handful of games at senior level - something which will surely change over the coming months. His judicious jackaling, in particular, is a formidable weapon that should prove invaluable to Edinburgh. Scotland openside Freddy Douglas is tipped for a big season with Edinburgh Rugby. (Photo by Ewan Bootman / SNS Group) | SNS Group Macenzzie Duncan (Glasgow) Having joined the Warriors' academy in time for the start of last season, the back-row forward was selected for the Emerging Scotland squad that played Italy Under 23s in December, two months before he made his Warriors debut off the bench in the win against the Dragons. He then went on to make his first start in the last match of the regular URC season against Leinster, playing at blindside rather than what has been seen as his primary position, No 8. With Jack Mann as well as Venter having moved on from Scotstoun, Glasgow need the likes of Duncan to prove themselves worthy of regular places in the 23. Joe Roberts (Glasgow) A regular with the Scotland Under-20s side, the 19-year-old faces an unenviable task at Scotstoun this season: competing with no fewer than six other hookers who are also trying to earn a place in the Warriors' matchday squads. In addition to his national age-group team-mate and rival Seb Stephen, Aberdonian Roberts has to contend with Gregor Hiddleston, Johnny Matthews, Angus Fraser, Grant Stewart and new signing Tavi Tuipulotu. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Roberts was one of three hookers on the bench when a depleted Warriors side beat Connacht back in January, so he has already had some recognition. The logjam in the position is surely in no-one's longer-term interests, but for the time being at least it will be fascinating to watch the battle royale for regular places in the Glasgow matchday squad. Selkirk's Corey Tait with the Arnold Clark Men's Premiership Trophy. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group) | SNS Group / SRU Corey Tait (Selkirk) Although a place in either the Warriors or the Edinburgh academy is the orthodox route to a professional contract for young players in Scotland, the new pathway system devised by SRU performance director David Nucifora makes allowances for late developers or those who simply might have been overlooked - and Selkirk hooker Tait is one player who could yet benefit from that system. A member of the Glasgow academy before returning to the club game, the former Hawick player turned out for Boroughmuir Bears in Super6 before moving on to Selkirk. His position is just about the most competitive in the country at present (see Joe Roberts, above), but a good run of form in the Premiership could help the former under-20 international get back on the radar of the pro teams again. Matthew Urwin (Glasgow) After being the first-choice stand-off for Scotland Under-20s in the recent World Championship, the 20-year-old will surely press hard this coming season for a place in some of Franco Smith's matchday squads. Adam Hastings and new signings Dan Lancaster and Charlie Savala are all probably ahead of him in the pecking order for the Warriors No 10 jersey, but he needs - and deserves - to get his chance sooner rather than later. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Cameron van Wyk (Glasgow) After some stand-out performances in the Premiership with Ayr, the 19-year-old winger made his debut for Scotland Under-20s earlier this year against England, then scored his first try for the team with an acrobatic dive against France. Born in South Africa, he qualifies for Scotland as his mother is from Kilmarnock.

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