Scotland explain decision to give debut to GB Sevens star with three footballing brothers

If Ross McCann thought that failing to qualify for the Olympics was going to put a dampener on his summer, then a call up to the Scotland squad provided the perfect pick-me-up.

McCann was part of the GB Sevens team that missed out on qualification for the Paris Games after losing 14-5 to South Africa in the repechage final in Monaco last month. But he was able to put that disappointment behind him after being drafted into Gregor Townsend's squad as a last-minute addition to the summer tour.

In the XV-a-side game, McCann features primarily on the wing, although performed admirably at outside-centre in the Scotland U20 side that finished fifth in the 2017 World Rugby U20 Championship. The 26-year-old Edinburgh man takes the place that had been earmarked for Darcy Graham with his club team-mate still not deemed fully ready for international rugby after enduring an injury-ravaged season.

Ross McCann is set to earn his first Scotland cap against Canada on Saturday. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

"GB Sevens not qualifying made it the right time [for Ross]," explained Townsend. "We hadn't replaced Darcy in the squad. We thought he would potentially make the tour and I was chatting to Darcy last week and he's probably ready to go now but we just felt that after being out for a period, coming back straight into playing Test match rugby was a risk we didn't want to take with him.

"We had an eye on GB Sevens and we were hoping they would qualify but we'd been really impressed with Ross early on in the season with Edinburgh, he played down at the Dragons and trained with us in the Six Nations and we've seen him play for the sevens. The transfer between sevens and 15s is maybe the easiest at wing compared to other positions. We want our wingers on ball, taking opposition on 1-on-1 - that is something Ross does really well."

McCann is no stranger to the Scotland set-up – he has been included in Six Nations squads in the past including earlier this year when he replaced the injured Graham – but has yet to earn his first cap. Townsend confirmed that will change this Saturday after naming McCann on the bench for the opening match of the tour against Canada in Ottawa.

"It has been a mixed week for Ross with not qualifying for the Olympics and now winning his first cap but he's trained well since he's been with us and he'll definitely get on at the weekend," he revealed.

McCann – who made his Edinburgh debut last October and has signed a two-year deal to join on a permanent basis this summer – is the 11th uncapped player to be added to what is an expirimental Scotland squad.

Growing up in the capital city in a sporting family – brothers Ali and Lewis play football for Preston North End and Dunfermline Athletic while youngest sibling Scott is part of the youth set-up at St Johnstone – McCann came through the ranks at Royal High School and club sides Stewart’s Melville and Melrose.

Ali, 24, is a Northern Ireland international and was a key part of the St Johnstone side which won an historic Scottish Cup and League Cup double in 2020-21. He joined Preston the following season. Lewis, 22, has represented Northern Ireland up to under-21 level.