Overview
- Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend announced a 36‑player touring squad on Tuesday, June 9, for Nations Championship tests against Argentina (Córdoba, 4 July), South Africa (Pretoria, 11 July) and Fiji (Murrayfield, 18 July).
- The squad leans heavily on Glasgow Warriors talent with roughly half the selection coming from the club and includes two uncapped hookers, Gregor Hiddleston and Seb Stephen, alongside established hooker Ewan Ashman.
- Jack Dempsey was retained despite his upcoming move to Japan and Townsend said he expects Dempsey to be available for the summer and autumn campaigns because the Japanese season starts around December.
- England named a 26‑player June training group that excludes captain Maro Itoje while coaches hold ongoing talks about resting him for part or all of the July schedule, and several uncapped players were called up for the non‑cap match v France XV on 19 June.
- The July leg of the new Nations Championship features three tests in three weeks with long travel between hemispheres, which has driven both unions to manage workloads, rest some senior players and use the tour as World Cup preparation.