Scotland autumn international squad: Uncapped Blade Thomson, Sam Skinner and Sam Johnson included

Gregor Townsend includes three new names in his 40-man squad to face Wales, Fiji, South Africa and Argentina while their most-capped player Ross Ford earns a recall

Exeter Chief's Sam Skinner has earned a call-up to the Scotland team for the autumn international (REUTERS)

Gregor Townsend has included the uncapped trio of Sam Skinner, Sam Johnson and Blade Thomson in his Scotland squad for the autumn Tests.

Exeter second-rower Skinner is a former England youth international while Scarlets number eight Thomson has represented New Zealand’s Under-20s.

They join Glasgow centre Johnson in the 40-man group named ahead of next month’s clash with Wales in Cardiff and three Murrayfield Tests against Fiji, South Africa and Argentina.

Scotland’s most-capped player Ross Ford has won a recall as he looks to build on his 110 appearances for the national team.

But Stuart Hogg, Zander Fagerson, Richie Gray, Duncan Taylor and Tim Swinson miss out through injury.

Head coach Townsend said: “We now begin the last 12 months of our preparations for Rugby World Cup 2019 with four Test matches in four weeks, a similar challenge to the one we’ll face in Japan.

“We’ve named a 40-man group for this campaign, which highlights the quality of player that is now available to us and the competition for places.

“It also enables us to welcome more players into our training environment and hopefully give a few more players a taste of Test match rugby.

“It’s going to be an exciting year for the squad but our primary focus is fixed on performing well against Wales – familiar opponents who have already recorded a win against us this year.”

Scarlets lock Blade Thomson joins Skinner in qualifying for Scotland through family connections (Getty Images)

Thomson and Skinner are eligible for Scotland through family connections, Thomson through his Wishaw-born paternal grandfather Robert, while Skinner’s father Peter hails from Ayr.

Skinner, 23, has previously been involved in the Scottish Exiles programme as a teenager before being called up for England Under-20s.

He played a prominent role as Exeter won the Premiership title for the first time in 2017 and finished as runners-up in last year’s final.

Thomson, 27, arrived in west Wales from Super Rugby side Hurricanes, having represented New Zealand Under-20s and the Maori All Blacks, and has been a stand-out performer for Scarlets in his debut Guinness PRO14 season.

Australian-born Johnson is eligible for Scotland on residency grounds, having joined Glasgow in the summer of 2015.

Scotland squad for autumn internationals

Forwards

Alex Allan (Glasgow Warriors), Simon Berghan, Magnus Bradbury (both Edinburgh), Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Allan Dell (Edinburgh), David Denton (Leicester Tigers), Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), Ross Ford, Grant Gilchrist (both Edinburgh), Jonny Gray, Rob Harley (both Glasgow Warriors), Murray McCallum, Stuart McInally, Willem Nel (all Edinburgh), Gordon Reid (London Irish), Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh), Sam Skinner (Exeter Chiefs), Blade Thomson (Scarlets), Ben Toolis (Edinburgh), George Turner (Glasgow Warriors), Hamish Watson (Edinburgh), Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors).

Backs

Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors), Dougie Fife (Edinburgh), Chris Harris (Newcastle Falcons), Adam Hastings, George Horne, Pete Horne, Sam Johnson, Huw Jones, Lee Jones, (all Glasgow Warriors), Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh), Greig Laidlaw (Clermont Auvergne), Sean Maitland (Saracens), Byron McGuigan (Sale Sharks), Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors), Henry Pyrgos (Edinburgh), Finn Russell (Racing 92), Matt Scott (Edinburgh), Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors).

Not considered through injury: John Barclay, Mark Bennett, Lewis Carmichael (all Edinburgh), Cornell du Preez (Worcester Warriors), Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), Richie Gray (Toulouse), Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors), Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors), Duncan Taylor (Saracens).

PA