Gregor Townsend has included the uncapped trio of Sam Skinner, Sam Johnson and Blade Thomson in his Scotland squad for the autumn Tests and the coach has told the players their audition for the 2019 World Cup starts next month.

“I believe everyone in this squad can play in the World Cup,” he said. “There are a few outside the squad as well. But the World Cup had to be in our minds. We’re entering a period where there is less than 12 months to our first game.

“We have some big challenges during that year and this selection does have Japan in mind. If you play well in this period and then the Six Nations then there is a very good chance you’ll be going to Japan.”

The Exeter second-rower Skinner is a former England youth international while Scarlets’ No 8 Thomson has represented New Zealand’s Under-20s. They join the Glasgow centre Johnson in the 40-man group named ahead of next month’s meeting with Wales in Cardiff and three Murrayfield Tests against Fiji, South Africa and Argentina.

Ross Ford, Scotland’s most-capped player, has won a recall as he looks to build on his 110 appearances for the national team. Stuart Hogg, Zander Fagerson, Richie Gray, Duncan Taylor and Tim Swinson miss out through injury.

Wales name uncapped Jonah Holmes and Luke Morgan in autumn squad Read more

Skinner, 23, has previously been involved in the Scottish Exiles programme as a teenager before being called up for England Under-20s. He played a prominent role as Exeter won the Premiership title for the first time in 2017.

Thomson, 27, arrived in west Wales from Super Rugby side Hurricanes, having represented New Zealand Under-20s and the Maori All Blacks, and has been a standout performer for Scarlets in his debut Pro14 season.

The Australian-born Johnson is eligible for Scotland on residency grounds, having joined Glasgow in the summer of 2015.

“They are excellent players and that is first and foremost why we brought them in,” Townsend said. “We believe the rugby they’re playing now and that we believe they can bring to international level will help us be a better team. Blade is probably the most established from the three, given he’s a bit older and has played Super Rugby for the last three seasons.

“We’ve known about him and his Scottish qualification for a few years. I was even interested in signing him for Glasgow before he missed a couple of years through injury. So it’s great to see him fit and playing number eight for the Hurricanes and playing very well for the Scarlets.

“Sam Johnson is a player I know well having signed him for Glasgow three-and-a-half-years ago. Each season he’s got better and better and won the players’ player of the season award last year, so that shows you how well he’s performed.

“Sam Skinner, who I’m sure everyone knew about and you’ve not been frantically googling him, is a big bonus for us as he’s en excellent player with a big future ahead of him. I spoke to him prior to the summer tour. We’d known about his Scottish qualification for a number of years as he was involved in the Exiles programme as a youngster. But it was a message from someone who was speaking to his dad to say that nothing would make his dad more proud than Sam playing for Scotland (that alerted us). So we’ve been tracking him really closely. We’d have liked to have taken him on tour but Sam didn’t think it was the right time.

“He wanted to start the season and earn his place and he’s done that. He’s an excellent player. Line-out leader for one of the best packs in Europe, his decision-making is excellent and really good running lines so we’re delighted he’s committed to Scotland.”

Thomson and Skinner are eligible for Scotland through family connections – Thomson through his Wishaw-born paternal grandfather Robert, while Skinner’s father Peter hails from Ayr.