The Scotland rugby coach, New Zealander Vern Cotter, has included uncapped Edinburgh prop and compatriot Simon Berghan, in his 37-man squad for the Six Nations.
New Zealand prop Simon Berghan has been named in Scotland's Six Nations squad. Photo: Supplied
Berghan's Edinburgh team-mate and fellow forward South African Cornell Du Preez has also been named.
26-year-old Berghan, who was born in New Zealand and spent most of his career there, qualifies through his Scottish grandfather.
Flanker Du Preez, who played for the South African under-20s team, became eligible to represent Scotland last year after completing three years of residency and has scored 14 tries in 71 appearances for Edinburgh.
Cotter also recalled Gloucester centre Matt Scott, who was dropped for the Autumn internationals but has scored 12 tries in 18 games for his club this season.
Berghan is among seven props in the squad, along with Jon Welsh and Willem Nel, who is awaiting the results of a scan on a neck injury he picked up during Edinburgh's European Challenge Cup win over Harlequins on Jan. 14.
Scotland, who finished fourth last season, kick off their campaign against Ireland at Murrayfield on Feb. 4
"It's a well-balanced and exciting group that have played a lot of rugby together, know each other well and are ambitious to do well in a Scotland jersey," Cotter said in a statement.
"I think if we get our mind-set right we can be competitive and push for wins in every game in this campaign."
Scotland:
Forwards: Alex Allan (Glasgow Warriors), Simon Berghan (Edinburgh Rugby), Allan Dell (Edinburgh Rugby), Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), Willem Nel (Edinburgh Rugby), Gordon Reid (Glasgow Warriors), Jon Welsh (Newcastle Falcons), Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby), Stuart McInally (Edinburgh Rugby), Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors), Richie Gray (Toulouse), Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby), Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors), Ben Toolis (Edinburgh Rugby), John Barclay (Scarlets), Cornell Du Preez, John Hardie (Edinburgh Rugby), Rob Harley (Glasgow Warriors), Josh Strauss (Glasgow Warriors), Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby), Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors)
Backs: Greig Laidlaw (captain) (Gloucester), Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors), Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors), Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors), Duncan Weir (Edinburgh Rugby), Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors), Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors), Huw Jones (Stormers), Matt Scott (Gloucester), Duncan Taylor (Saracens), Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors), Damien Hoyland (Edinburgh Rugby), Sean Maitland (Saracens), Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors), Tim Visser (Harlequins) (Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru)
-Reuters/RNZ
