Alexander Masibaka, who plays for Soyaux-Angouleme in the French second tier of rugby, has been surprisingly selected for Scotland's Six Nations squad. He replaces Josh Bayliss, who is out with a groin injury.
Australia-born number eight Alexander Masibaka, who plays for Soyaux-Angouleme in the second tier of French rugby, has received a surprise call-up to Scotland 's Six Nations squad. The unheralded forward replaces Josh Bayliss, who is expected to miss the tournament after suffering a groin injury while playing for Bath on Sunday.
The 23-year-old, with a mother from Paisley and a father from Fiji, was born in Perth and briefly represented Western Force before signing with French club Montpellier in 2022. Montpellier loaned him to Pro D2 side Angouleme for the following campaign, where he has remained this season. Scotland's head coach, Gregor Townsend, has also brought in two locks - Cameron Henderson of Leicester and Ewan Johnson of Oyonnax - as well as uncapped Glasgow lock or back-row Euan Ferrie and Warriors full-back Ollie Smith. Masibaka, standing at 6ft 1in and weighing 18st, has scored 12 tries in 30 games for Angouleme, where he plays alongside former England winger Jonny May. Scotland's management has been monitoring him since 2021 and is eager to assess his strength and ball-carrying abilities. Townsend had Jack Dempsey and Jack Mann as his number eight options but was limited in his alternatives when seeking a replacement for Bayliss. Magnus Bradbury is currently serving a suspension, and the promising Ben Muncaster is injured, while the other eligible players in that position are relatively inexperienced. Bayliss' withdrawal marks the fourth player from the original squad named on January 15th to be ruled out for the entire tournament, following Sione Tuipulotu, Dylan Richardson, Scott Cummings, and now Bayliss. Prior to announcing the initial squad, Townsend was already without Kyle Steyn, Adam Hastings, Max Williamson, Andy Onyeama-Christie, and Muncaster. The majority of these nine players would have been certainties for the starting XV or likely to be in the matchday squad. There are also concerns surrounding Jonny Gray, who has only played three games since late October and none since mid-December. The lock was expected to make his comeback against Lyon on Saturday but Bordeaux deemed him unfit to play. While he might recover in time for the Italy match on Saturday, there are concerns about his sharpness for the intensity of the Six Nations, leading to the call-ups for Henderson and Johnson
RUGBY SCOTLAND SIX NATIONS AUSTRALIA ALEXANDER MASIBAKA JOSH BAYLISS INJURY SQUAD GREGOR TOWNSEND
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