SCOTLAND head coach Gregor Townsend backed his makeshift front row yesterday to overcome a selection crisis ahead of the Six Nations.

Townsend has included uncapped props Murray McCallum and D’arcy Rae in his 40-man squad along with Newcastle pair Scott Lawson and Jon Welsh, who are back after several years out of the reckoning.

Fraser Brown misses out after a series of concussions and Edinburgh prop Simon Berghan is suspended for Scotland’s opener against Wales on February 3 after being given a six-week ban for stamping on the Glasgow hooker’s head.