Stuart McInally’s career is over after missing out on Scotland’s Rugby World Cup squad

Scotland hooker Stuart McInally’s rugby career is over after the veteran was one of four players axed from the side’s 33-man World Cup squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

McInally confirmed at the end of last season that he would retire after the global showpiece in France but, after being part of the training squad this summer, he has not made head coach Gregor Townsend’s final selection.

Three other players axed from squad

Apart from the Edinburgh hooker, scrum-half Jamie Dobie, tighthead prop Murphy Walker and back-row Josh Bayliss are the other three players who have been released from the squad.

Townsend‘s decision to omit the latter trio was not a big surprise as they have only accumulated 10 caps between them so far. McInally made his 49th and final Test appearance in last Saturday’s 30-27 defeat against France in Saint-Etienne.

Meanwhile, first-choice scrum-half Ben White is in the squad, which means that he has been cleared to play after he saw a specialist this week about his ankle injury.

Edinburgh back-row Jamie Ritchie will captain the Scotland squad which consists of 19 forwards and 14 backs for their campaign in Pool B that will see them take on South Africa, Tonga, Romania and Ireland.

Ritchie is one of 15 players in the squad who have previously appeared at a Rugby World Cup, with locks Richie Gray and Grant Gilchrist, tighthead prop WP Nel, as well as fly-half Finn Russell all set to feature at the global showpiece for the third time.

Glasgow Warriors back-row Jack Dempsey was part of Australia’s squad at the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

The other players who featured at a Rugby World Cup – all in 2019 – include Zander Fagerson, (tighthead prop), George Turner (hooker), Scott Cummings (lock) and Hamish Watson (flanker), Darcy Graham (wing), Chris Harris (centre), Blair Kinghorn (full-back), George Horne and Ali Price (scrum-halves).

There are seven players in the squad with more than 50 Scotland appearances, with Gray being the most-capped player after featuring in 75 Tests, while veteran front-row Nel the oldest player in the group at 37 years of age.

At the other end of the experience spectrum, full-back Ollie Smith is the squad’s youngest member at the age of 23, with fly-half Ben Healy the least-capped with just two Test appearances.

The other players who will be making their Rugby World Cup debuts are forwards Ewan Ashman, Dave Cherry (hookers), Jamie Bhatti, Pierre Schoeman, Rory Sutherland (loosehead props), Javan Sebastian (tighthead prop), Sam Skinner (lock) and the back-row trio Luke Crosbie, Rory Darge and Matt Fagerson.

Wings Duhan van der Merwe and Kyle Steyn, and centres Huw Jones, Cameron Redpath and Sione Tuipulotu complete the selection.

The 33-strong group contains 14 players each from Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors, with Harris based at Gloucester, while Redpath and Russell are at Bath with White having recently joined Toulon and Rory Sutherland is unattached since recently leaving Ulster.

Scotland’s Rugby World Cup squad

Forwards: Ewan Ashman, Jamie Bhatti, Dave Cherry, Luke Crosbie, Scott Cummings, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey, Matt Fagerson, Zander Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist, Richie Gray, WP Nel, Jamie Ritchie (c), Pierre Schoeman, Javan Sebastian, Sam Skinner, Rory Sutherland, George Turner, Hamish Watson

Backs: Darcy Graham, Chris Harris, Ben Healy, George Horne, Huw Jones, Blair Kinghorn, Ali Price, Cameron Redpath, Finn Russell, Ollie Smith, Kyle Steyn, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe, Ben White

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