Rugby-Scotland name 17 uncapped players in summer tour squad

(Reuters) - Interim Scotland head coach Mike Blair will rely heavily on youth for his team's upcoming fixtures in June and July, with eight senior players unavailable having been picked for the British & Irish Lions tour in South Africa.

Blair named 17 uncapped players, including Luke Crosbie, Charlie Shiel, Rory Darge and Jamie Dobie, in his 37-strong squad on Tuesday, for games against England A, Romania and Georgia.

Scotland face England A on June 27 in Leicester, with a smaller squad then travelling to Romania and Georgia for their test matches on July 10 and 17, respectively.

"We have selected a mix of genuine test match experience and a number of players who have impressed in the recent past," Blair said in a statement.

Edinburgh's Jamie Ritchie - one of six players in the squad with more than 20 caps - will captain the side.

Scotland Squad:

Forwards - Ewan Ashman, Nick Auterac, Josh Bayliss, Simon Berghan, Jamie Bhatti, Magnus Bradbury, David Cherry, Alex Craig, Luke Crosbie, Scott Cummings, Rory Darge, Matt Fagerson, Cameron Henderson, Robin Hislop, Jamie Hodgson, Oli Kebble, Kiran McDonald, Jamie Ritchie, Javan Sebastian, Sam Skinner, Grant Stewart, George Turner

Backs - Jack Blain, Jamie Dobie, Cole Forbes, Adam Hastings, George Horne, Damien Hoyland, Blair Kinghorn, James Lang, Rufus McLean, Matt Scott, Charlie Shiel, Scott Steele, Kyle Steyn, Ross Thompson, Sione Tuipulot

(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Hyderabad; Editing by Christian Radnedge)