Scotland Six Nations squad: Tighthead and full-back are areas of concern, Arron Reed, Jacob Beetham and Rhys Litterick all linked

Head coach Townsend prepares to reveal his selection on Tuesday

Under Gregor Townsend’s watch Scotland have finished third twice, fourth three times and fifth once in the Six Nations and on Tuesday he will name the squad for his seventh tilt at the championship as head coach.

Injuries have deprived him of Ollie Smith and Cameron Henderson and there are also concerns around Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey, Kyle Steyn, Javan Sebastian, Jamie Dobie and Murphy Walker, whose various ailments will likely curb their involvement in the early rounds at least. It’s part of the reason why Townsend has been scurrying around the country looking to unearth fresh Scottish-qualified talent to bolster his stock for a campaign which begins against Wales in Cardiff on February 3.

Sale was perhaps the most notable port of call on his recent tour of English clubs. The Sharks roster includes three dual-qualified players in Tom Roebuck, Gus Warr and Arron Reed and the buzz is that the latter will be included when Townsend unveils his selection at lunchtime.

Scotland's head coach Gregor Townsend will name his squad for the 2024 Guinness Six Nations on Tuesday. (Photo by SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images)

The pacey Chester-born wing is a former England under-20 international but has Scottish heritage and looks to have plumped for dark blue. Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe remain Townsend’s first-choice wingers but with Steyn having been sidelined by an ankle injury since October the Scotland coach is looking for back-up. Steyn’s Glasgow team-mate Kyle Rowe is also a contender to be included.

Smith’s serious knee injury leaves Blair Kinghorn as the only recognised full-back and Townsend has been credited with an interest in the versatile Cardiff player Jacob Beetham, a former Wales under-20 international. Another (left-field) option would be Cole Forbes, the former Glasgow man who has been impressing in New Zealand with Bay of Plenty, and there is also potential to shuffle others into the 15 jersey. Graham started at full-back for Scotland against Tonga in 2021, Huw Jones has played there for Glasgow and Harlequins and Rowe could also fill in.

Jones’ recent outings for Glasgow have been on the wing, but the Edinburgh-born threequarter was part of Scotland's first choice centre pairing with clubmate Sione Tuipulotu during the World Cup and last year’s Six Nations. Cameron Redpath and Stafford McDowall are both vying strongly for the No 12 jersey, with the Bath man in particularly good form of late. Centre is an area of strength for Scotland and Northampton’s Rory Hutchinson is another who has impressed recently.

Finn Russell looks nailed on for stand-off and his performance in Bath’s win over Racing on Sunday showed his game is not all about sublime skills, sumptuous as they are. The more interesting debate is who provides back-up. Ben Healy is in the box-seat but Adam Hastings did his chances no harm by kicking Gloucester to victory over Edinburgh at the weekend in front of the watching Townsend. Northampton fly-half Fin Smith, courted by the Scotland coach on more than one occasion, is likely to be named in the England squad on Wednesday. Ali Price, Ben White and George Horne will be the scrum-halves but who starts against Wales remains up for debate. Horne and White will go head-to-head on Friday in the Champions Cup and that could have a major bearing.

Dave Cherry is vying to be included in one of the hooker positions.

Up front, the big concern is at tighthead where Zander Fagerson and WP Nel are short of cover. Townsend will be hoping both come through unscathed from their respective European ties on Friday and also that Javan Sebastian and Walker make speedy recoveries from knee injuries. Another Cardiff player, Rhys Litterick, has been linked with Scotland. On the other side of the scrum, Pierre Schoeman, Jamie Bhatti and Rory Sutherland are the likely looseheads.

Townsend picked four hookers in his Six Nations squad last year and George Turner and Ewan Ashman are the leading contenders this time around. Johnny Matthews’ form for Glasgow makes him a strong candidate to join them but it remains to be seen if Dave Cherry will be included. The Edinburgh’s man World Cup ended abruptly when he suffered a concussion falling down stairs.

Henderson’s absence with a long-term knee injury robs the second row of an outstanding young talent but Scotland have the experienced trio of Richie Gray, Grant Gilchrist and Scott Cummings to rely on, with the latter in particularly good form for Glasgow at the weekend. Sam Skinner returned from injury for Edinburgh on Saturday but it was his first appearance of the season. By contrast, his team-mate Glen Young has been ever present and probably deserves a call. Kiran McDonald of Newcastle is another lock to have been mentioned in despatches but Jonny Gray has not played for Exeter since injuring his knee against La Rochelle on April 30 last year.

Townsend’s first-choice back row from the World Cup were all ruled by injury at the weekend but two of the three could return for the Wales game. Darge, the Glasgow flanker, is the odd one out although his knee injury is not as bad as initially feared and he should be available mid-tournament. Jamie Ritchie, the Scotland skipper, missed Edinburgh’s loss to Gloucester with a jaw problem but it is not thought to be serious. Jack Dempsey, the Glasgow No 8, underwent surgery on his skull but is back in training and may play for the Warriors on Friday. Matt Fagerson did makes his comeback from a facial injury on Saturday and looked the part despite Glasgow’s narrow loss at Exeter.

Full-back Ollie Smith is out due to a long-term injury.

Townsend named a 40-man pool for last year’s Six Nations which included four uncapped players in Henderson, McDowall, Healy and Ruaridh McConnochie. A similarly sized squad can be expected this time as Scotland embark on a campaign which sees them host France and England after the trip to Cardiff, then round things off with away games against Italy and Ireland. Three wins from five has been the high water mark for Townsend in the championship and the coach has achieved it on four occasions. Any improvement would be a significant achievement.