Hadden welcomes back ‘top drawer’ Ross

Scotland coach Frank Hadden revealed Gordon Ross sealed an international recall with his remarkable performance for Leeds Tykes against Bath in the Guinness Premiership last week. [more]

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Scotland coach Frank Hadden revealed Gordon Ross sealed an international recall with his remarkable performance for Leeds Tykes against Bath in the Guinness Premiership last week.

Hadden has named a 32-strong squad for training at Murrayfield next week, ahead of the forthcoming RBS 6 Nations where Scotland will face France at home in their first game on February 5.

The stand-off, who missed out on Scotland’s Tests in the autumn, scored 20 points in the 25-14 win over Bath which convinced Hadden to draft him back into his plans.

"I watched Gordon playing for Leeds against Bath last week and I’ve been keeping an eye on him generally,’ Hadden told www.scottishrugby.org.

"The quality of his performance against Bath was out of the top drawer.

"Gordon was left out of the squad in the autumn but he has responded to that by pushing his way back into contention through form.’

The inclusion of Ross, along with Glasgow Warriors’ Dan Parks, means there is no place for Phil Godman, the Edinburgh Gunners outside-half who finished Scotland’s last Test against New Zealand.

However, Hadden insists Godman remains in his long-term plans saying: "Phil could yet feature in the Six Nations."

The Scotland coach also brought back Glasgow Warriors captain Jon Petrie, who was captain in Hadden’s first two Tests as national coach against the Barbarians and Romania last season.

Petrie, who missed the autumn Tests through a shoulder injury, has regained full fitness and is back in the frame for a start against the French.

Hadden said: "It’s great to have him back. I’m satisfied with his form and I know he can contribute in other areas too."

While Hadden welcomed several of his top performers back into the fold, the Scotland coach remains hampered by a long list of players not available for selection through injury.

They include Simon Cross (Edinburgh Gunners), Rob Dewey (Edinburgh Gunners), Simon Danielli (Border Reivers), Iain Fullarton (Saracens), Scott Gray (Border Reivers), Donnie Macfadyen (Glasgow Warriors), Robbie Russell (London Irish), Gregor Townsend (Border Reivers) and Andrew Wilson (Glasgow Warriors).

Scotland squad for training at Murrayfield Monday, January 23 to Thursday, January 26:

Backs – M Blair (Edinburgh Gunners), C Cusiter (Border Reivers), M Di Rollo (Edinburgh Gunners), A Henderson (Glasgow Warriors), S Lamont (Northampton Saints), R Lamont (Glasgow Warriors), B MacDougall (Border Reivers), G Morrison (Glasgow Warriors), D Parks (Glasgow Warriors), C Paterson (Edinburgh Gunners), G Ross (Leeds Tykes), H Southwell (Edinburgh Gunners), N Walker (Border Reivers), S Webster (Edinburgh Gunners)

Forwards – K Brown (Border Reivers), B Douglas (Border Reivers), R Ford (Border Reivers), D Hall (Edinburgh Gunners), C Hamilton (Glasgow Warriors), A Hogg (Edinburgh Gunners), A Jacobsen (Edinburgh Gunners), A Kellock (Edinburgh Gunners), G Kerr (Leeds Tykes), S Lawson (Glasgow Warriors), S MacLeod (Border Reivers), A Miller (Border Reivers), S Murray (Edinburgh Gunners), E Murray (Glasgow Warriors), J Petrie (Glasgow Warriors), C Smith (Edinburgh Gunners), S Taylor (Edinburgh Gunners), J White (Sale Sharks, captain)

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