Hawick’s Rory Sutherland in frame for first game of rugby’s 2024 Six Nations

The former Hawick and Gala loosehead prop’s selection is the first for a Borderer this tournament, Hawick’s Darcy Graham having been ruled out by injury and Jedburgh’s Glen Young having been overlooked prior to his release from head coach Gregor Townsend’s squad ahead of this weekend’s trip to Dublin.

If he makes it onto the pitch come Saturday, it’ll be the 31-year-old’s 30th international appearance and his first since the Scots’ 36-14 Rugby World Cup loss to Ireland in France in October, that also being winger Graham’s last game for Scotland to date.

It will also prevent this year’s championship being the first since 1921 not to feature any representatives of the region.

Sutherland wasn’t named in the Scots’ original squad announced in January but was given a belated call-up ahead of their 31-29 defeat in Italy on Saturday gone.

13-times-capped Bath centre Cameron Redpath, one of former Melrose scrum-half Bryan Redpath’s sons, will join Sutherland, currently at French team Oyonnax but expected to sign for Glasgow Warriors this summer, on the bench, as will Ewan Ashman, Elliot Millar-Mills, Sam Skinner, Matt Fagerson, George Horne and Kyle Rowe.

Making up Scotland’s starting XV, co-captained by Finn Russell and 18-times-capped ex-Southern Knight Rory Darge, are Blair Kinghorn, Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Stafford McDowall, Duhan van der Merwe, Ben White, Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, Zander Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist, Scott Cummings, Andy Christie and Jack Dempsey.

Scotland go into their last game of rugby’s 2024 Six Nations tomorrow, away to table-topping Ireland, with kick-off at 4.45pm, sitting third in the championship table, with 11 points from four fixtures, five fewer than their hosts, and they’ll be hoping to go out on as much of a high as they can manage by bouncing back from Saturday’s defeat at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.

That loss ended a 13-match winning streak for Scotland against the Italians and it was also their hosts’ first home Six Nations win for 11 years.

The visitors’ tries were scored by Zander Fagerson on six minutes, Kyle Steyn on 12, Schoeman on 28 and Sam Skinner on 78, with Finn Russell, co-captain with Rory Darge, kicking three conversions and a 25th-minute penalty.

Touching down for head coach Gonzalo Quesada’s hosts were Ignacio Brex on 15 minutes, Louis Lynagh on 44 and Stephen Varney on 58, with Paolo Garbisi converting two of them and kicking penalties on 35 minutes and 73 and Martin Page-Relo adding another penalty on 39.

The Scots’ last loss to the Italians was in February 2015 and it saw a side captained by Jedburgh’s Greig Laidlaw and featuring Hawick’s Stuart Hogg and Kelso’s Ross Ford beaten 22-19 at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium.

Explaining Sutherland’s selection, ex-Gala and Border Reivers star Townsend, 50, said: “It’s great to have Rory back.

“He’s got back into playing more regularly for Oyonnax and playing well.

“We know he brings power, energy and experience off the bench.”