IT was pretty much votes of confidence all round as Gregor Townsend unveiled his first NatWest Six Nations Championship squad.

Vote of confidence in the players who gave him a promising November; check. Vote of confidence in players who have delivered for Scotland but are short of game time; check. Vote of confidence in the old stages recalled for a last hurrah; check. Vote of confidence in the young and untested; check.

The reality is that in naming a 40-man squad including the likes of Greig Laidlaw and Stuart Hogg, who have yet to play since their injuries, but also including four uncapped players, including exciting Edinburgh full-back Balir Kinghorn, Townsend has covered as many bases as he could.

As has been the running theme of the season so far, there are plenty of unlikely faces in the front row selection. Some, like D'Arcy Rae and Murray McCallum are two uncapped youngsters who may have to be thrown in early.

Others come from the ranks of the almost-forgotten – Jon Welsh has not been seen in Scotland colours since the incorrect penalty against him handed Australia their Rugby World Cup quarter final win; Scott Lawson, his Newcastle Falcons team-mate has not been seen since since the first half of Vern Cotter's first tour in 2014.

With games to be played this weekend and, as a result, injuries on the cards, Townsend is some way short of picking his team for the opening game against Wales in Cardiff, but did admit he has the core sketched out in his mind.

Stuart Hogg seems certain to fill one of those places, whether he plays this weekend – Glasgow Warriors' final match before the Six Nations break – or not.

"We don’t see any issues with him getting back to full fitness. His first game after being out since the Lions was against Leinster and he was outstanding. The following week he played very well against Samoa," Townsend pointed out.

“We’ll have two weeks build-up to that Wales game that will include some very tough sessions. So for guys like Stuart, Greig Laidlaw, Ryan Wilson, Tommy Seymour, who we believe will be back this week, it will be a chance for them to prove they are fit.”

The plan for Laidlaw is for him to be signed off this week by his specialist as having made a full recovery from his broken leg, train with Scotland early next week and then return to Clermont Auvergne and play some part in their game in 11 days before returning to camp with Scotland.

He won't be captain – John Barclay has already been handed that job, partly because of the lingering doubts over Laidlaw, partly because of how well Barclay has been doing it – but if fit will be given his chance to displace Ali Price from the starting XV. If either fails to make it, uncapped Nathan Fowles has also been brought in to fight with Henry Pyrgos for the bench spot.

"He [Laidlaw] was in great form leading into November," Townsend pointed out. "We understood it would be difficult going into a new environment in France with a different language but i was pleased with how he was playing. He would have had an opportunity with us in November. He would have been our captain.

"We obviously don’t know where he is yet until he comes back and plays. Our expectations are it will be tough for him to begin with, just to get that match fitness. He’s been training well this week and let’s hope he gets back to his pre-injury form quickly.”

Much the same logic applies to Seymour and Wilson, who are currently injured but closing in on a return to action.

Others returning to the squad with a vote of confidence despite little or no action include Duncan Taylor, the centre, who picked up a head knock on his return from a knee injury but should play this weekend; plus Mark Bennett and Richie Gray, who are both starting to put a short run of games together.

With such a large squad, there are not many notable omissions from outside the small army of injured players, the most obvious being Tim Visser, Matt Scott and John Hardie.

Hardie has not played since he was suspended on a drug allegation in October and though he is now clear to play looks unlikely to be involved in the Edinburgh team this weekend, though Townsend rejected the idea that he was effectively still being punished when others equally short of game time had been picked.

"With some of those players, they have been able to train fully, were involved in November or have been key players for us in the past," Townsend explained.

"We’ll watch him closely, we know physically he’s back to full fitness. It will be up to Edinburgh, and they don’t have a game for two weeks after this weekend. If John gets back to the form he was in early in the season, of course he’d be an option for us. He’s been a great player for Scotland.”

Scotland:

Backs: M Bennett (Edinburgh), A Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors), N Grigg (Glasgow Warriors), C Harris (Newcastle Falcons), S Hogg (Glasgow Warriors), P Horne (Glasgow Warriors), R Jackson (Glasgow Warriors), H Jones (Glasgow Warriors), L Jones (Glasgow Warriors), B Kinghorn (Edinburgh), G Laidlaw (ASM Clermont Auvergne), S Maitland (Saracens), B McGuigan (Sale Sharks), A Price (Glasgow Warriors), H Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors), F Russell (Glasgow Warriors), T Seymour (Glasgow Warriors), D Taylor (Saracens), N Fowles (Edinburgh).

Forwards: J Barclay (C)(Scarlets), S Berghan (Edinburgh), J Bhatti (Glasgow Warriors), M Bradbury (Edinburgh), D Denton (Worcester Warriors), C Du Preez (Edinburgh), G Gilchrist (Edinburgh), J Gray (Glasgow Warriors), R Gray (Toulouse), L Hamilton (Leicester Tigers), R Harley (Glasgow Warriors), S Lawson (Newcastle Falcons), M McCallum (Edinburgh), S McInally (Edinburgh), G Reid (London Irish), D Rae (Glasgow Warriors), B Toolis (Edinburgh), G Turner (Glasgow Warriors), H Watson (Edinburgh), J Welsh (Newcastle Falcons), R Wilson (Glasgow Warriors).