Scotland's big South African boost ahead of Six Nations finale
SQUAD UPDATE: Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has made a number of changes to his squad ahead of the Six Nations final-round clash against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.
Euan Ferrie, Alec Hepburn, Arron Reed and Alex Samuel have joined the squad ahead of the final weekend.
Meanwhile, South African-born wing Duhan van der Merwe is one of six players returning to their clubs for further assessment on injuries.
The others are Gregor Brown (calf), Scott Cummings (hamstring), Adam Hastings (shoulder), Nathan McBeth (ankle), and Elliot Millar Mills (groin).
The other SA-born wing, Kyle Steyn, is still in the squad despite leaving the field with an injury during the 50-40 win over France at Murrayfield.
He scored two memorable tries in a man-of-the-match performance before suffering a deep cut to his leg.
“Kyle Steyn just told me he’ll be fine,” Townsend told reporters after the game.
“He was amazing today [Saturday] again. And the best thing he did, it involved his injury. That hustle back to try to stop a French try.
“Whether there were one or two forward passes in there, we don’t know. But just that effort for your teammate. Obviously, we were well ahead on the scoreboard, but that was great to see.
“He’s got a deep cut. So, let’s hope it heals.”
Young gun Seb Stephen has also returned to Glasgow Warriors.
Scotland, who are now level on points with leaders France, will travel to Dublin with a chance of being crowned champions for the first time in the Six Nations era.
Scotland Squad:
Forwards: Ewan Ashman, Josh Bayliss, Magnus Bradbury, Dave Cherry, Alex Craig, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey, Freddy Douglas, Matt Fagerson, Zander Fagerson, Euan Ferrie, Grant Gilchrist, Jonny Gray, Alec Hepburn, Gregor Hiddleston, D’arcy Rae, Alex Samuel, Pierre Schoeman, Rory Sutherland, George Turner, Murphy Walker, Max Williamson.
Backs: Fergus Burke, Darcy Graham, George Horne, Rory Hutchinson, Huw Jones, Tom Jordan, Blair Kinghorn, Stafford McDowall, Arron Reed, Finn Russell, Kyle Rowe, Ollie Smith, Kyle Steyn, Sione Tuipulotu (captain), Ben White, Gus Warr.
