JEDBURGH'S Greig Laidlaw will lead Scotland yet again into the RBS 6 Nations.

The 46-times capped scrum half was today named as squad captain by head coach Vern Cotter.

Kelso's Ross Ford and Stuart Hogg from Hawick retain their places in the squad from last year's World Cup.

Rory Sutherland from Hawick has earned his first call up.

And there is a welcome return for former Selkirk centre Alex Dunbar, following a lengthy injury.

Speaking at today's announcement, Cotter said: “We’ve selected a mixture of experience with some exciting young players coming through, some of whom have experienced the Rugby World Cup and are eager to move forward, take the RBS 6 Nations head on and show that we can develop our game and be competitive.

“I think there should be confidence.

"The guys have worked hard and improved. There are positive signs that we can compete, and this Championship will give us another opportunity to measure ourselves against very good opposition in a tough competition.

“The guys believe that we can compete, dominate and secure victories in these games.”

Some 23 players capped during Rugby World Cup 2015 have earned reselection while Cotter has rewarded the form of back-row forwards John Barclay (Scarlets), Adam Ashe and Chris Fusaro (both Glasgow Warriors), and versatile Wasps back Ruaridh Jackson, with selection.

Lock Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby) and scrum-half Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors) have been invited to train with the squad when it convenes for a pre-Championship camp in St Andrews this Sunday, before returning to their clubs to continue their recovery from groin and wrist injuries respectively.

Scotland’s RBS 6 Nations campaign gets underway with the sold-out fixture against England at BT Murrayfield on Saturday, February 6 (kick-off 4.50pm) – live on BBC.

SCOTLAND SQUAD FOR THE 2016 RBS 6 NATIONS Hooker Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby) – 94 caps Pat MacArthur (Glasgow Warriors) – 6 caps Stuart McInally (Edinburgh Rugby) – 2 caps Front-row Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby) – 52 caps Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) – uncapped Moray Low (Exeter Chiefs) – 29 caps Willem Nel (Edinburgh Rugby) – 8 caps Gordon Reid (Glasgow Warriors) – 15 caps Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh Rugby) – uncapped Lock Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors) – 19 caps Richie Gray (Castres) – 51 caps Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors) – 17 caps Ben Toolis (Edinburgh Rugby) – 1 cap Back-row Adam Ashe (Glasgow Warriors) – 6 caps John Barclay (Scarlets) – 45 caps Blair Cowan (London Irish) – 15 caps David Denton (Bath) – 32 caps Chris Fusaro (Glasgow Warriors) – 4 caps John Hardie (Edinburgh Rugby) – 5 caps Josh Strauss (Glasgow Warriors) – 5 caps Scrum-half Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh Rugby) – 8 caps Greig Laidlaw CAPTAIN (Gloucester) – 46 caps Stand-off Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors) – 15 caps Duncan Weir (Glasgow Warriors) – 21 caps Centre Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors) – 13 caps Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors) – 14 caps Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors) – 15 caps Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby) – 33 caps Duncan Taylor (Saracens) – 12 caps Wing Sean Lamont (Glasgow Warriors) – 101 caps Sean Maitland (London Irish) – 20 caps Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) – 22 caps Tim Visser (Harlequins) – 23 caps Full-back Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors) – 38 caps Ruaridh Jackson (Wasps) – 27 caps