{"id":408419,"date":"2026-02-05T01:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T01:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/408419\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T01:30:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T01:30:10","slug":"gray-to-captain-a-side-against-italy-xv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/408419\/","title":{"rendered":"Gray to captain A side against Italy XV"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\n                                    &#13;<\/p>\n<p>                        <img width=\"1600\" height=\"700\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1600px580px-21.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>                    &#13;<br \/>\n                &#13;<br \/>\n                &#13;<\/p>\n<p>Gray has been named by head coach Nigel Carolan to lead Scotland A and has previous experience of the role having led the side back in 2014 against England Saxons in a 16-16 draw at Scotstoun. He will start in the second row alongside Alex Craig.<\/p>\n<p>Rory Sutherland and D\u2019arcy Rae are involved at loosehead and tighthead prop respectively, joined in the front row by Gregor Hiddleston at hooker.<\/p>\n<p>Vice-Captain Andy Onyeama-Christie starts at blindside flanker, Freddy Douglas begins on the openside and Alexander Masibaka is named at number 8 to complete the pack.<\/p>\n<p>Scrum-half Gus Warr will be partnered by Vice-Captain Fergus Burke in the half-backs, and in the centres, Cam Redpath takes the inside while Ollie Smith will start at outside.<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere, Kyle Rowe will start on the right wing, while Arron Reed is on the left wing, with the starting XV completed by Harry Paterson at full-back.<\/p>\n<p>In the replacements, recent Scotland debutant Harri Morris is selected at hooker with Alec Hepburn, Will Hurd and Magnus Bradbury the others set to come on in the front and second row. Back rows Josh Bayliss and Euan Ferrie bolster the forward replacements.<\/p>\n<p>With a 6-2 split, replacement backs Ben Afshar (scrum-half) and fly-half Dan Lancaster make up the remaining selection.<\/p>\n<p>Cameron Henderson has been ruled out of the game with an upper arm injury.<\/p>\n<p>The match marks the first time Scotland A have been action since their win against Chile last year.<\/p>\n<p>Scotland A team to face Italy XV Stadio Centro D\u2019italia in Rieti on Friday 6 February, kick-off 5:30pm GMT\/6.30pm local \u2013 live on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/q6-mn96X3EI\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">YouTube<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>15. Harry Paterson \u2013 Edinburgh Rugby<br \/>14. Kyle Rowe \u2013 Glasgow Warriors<br \/>13. Ollie Smith \u2013 Glasgow Warriors<br \/>12. Cameron Redpath \u2013 Bath Rugby<br \/>11. Arron Reed \u2013 Sale Sharks<\/p>\n<p>10. Fergus Burke \u2013 Saracens \u2013 Vice-Captain<br \/>9. Gus Warr \u2013 Sale Sharks<\/p>\n<p>1. Rory Sutherland \u2013 Glasgow Warriors<br \/>2. Gregor Hiddleston \u2013 Glasgow Warriors<br \/>3. D\u2019arcy Rae \u2013 Edinburgh Rugby<br \/>4. Jonny Gray- Union Bordeaux B\u00e8gles \u2013 Captain<br \/>5. Alex Craig \u2013 Glasgow Warriors<br \/>6. Andy Onyeama-Christie \u2013 Saracens \u2013 Vice-Captain<br \/>7. Freddy Douglas \u2013 Edinburgh Rugby<br \/>8. Alexander Masibaka \u2013 Montpellier<\/p>\n<p>Replacements<\/p>\n<p>16. Harri Morris \u2013 Edinburgh Rugby<br \/>17. Alec Hepburn \u2013 Scarlets<br \/>18. Will Hurd \u2013 Leicester Tigers<br \/>19. Magnus Bradbury \u2013 Edinburgh Rugby<br \/>20. Euan Ferrie \u2013 Glasgow Warriors<br \/>21. Josh Bayliss \u2013 Bath Rugby<br \/>22. Ben Afshar \u2013 Glasgow Warriors<br \/>23. Dan Lancaster \u2013 Glasgow Warriors<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"&#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; Gray has been named by head coach Nigel Carolan to lead Scotland&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408420,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-408419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408419\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}