Bordeaux lock Jonny Gray and Edinburgh hooker Dave Cherry have been recalled to the Scotland squad for the Guinness Six Nations.
Uncapped duo Jack Mann and Fergus Burke have also earned call-ups for the first time, with Glasgow captain Kyle Steyn the most notable absentee from Gregor Townsend's 37-man pool after sustaining an injury in recent days.
Gray is the most eye-catching inclusion as he won the last of his 77 caps almost two years ago, in the Six Nations match at home to Italy in March 2023.
The 30-year-old second-rower, who missed the 2023 World Cup with a knee injury, appeared to have burned his bridges under Townsend when the head coach expressed "disappointment" in October that he had declined a call-up for the autumn series after returning to action with Bordeaux at the start of this season.
Another player handed a surprise recall for the upcoming championship is 34-year-old Cherry, who has not been included in a single squad since making an early exit from the 2023 World Cup after suffering a concussion when falling on stairs on a day off at the team hotel in Nice the day after coming on as a substitute in the Scots’ pool-stage opener against South Africa.
Sione Tuipulotu, who was handed the captaincy for the autumn series, continues as skipper, with Russell and Rory Darge named as vice-captains.
Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack have been included in a 42-man France squad for the tournament, with Leinster prop Rabah Slimani and - for the second year running - Joshua Brennan, son of former Ireland international Trevor Brennan, also making the provisional party.
Toulouse scrum-half Dupont, who has returned as captain, has switched focus back to the 15-a-side game after leading France to the gold medal in the rugby sevens at the Paris Olympics.
Fly-half Ntamack missed the entire Autumn Series due to a calf injury sustained while playing for Toulouse last October.
France, who finished runners-up to Ireland in last year's tournament, face Wales at Stade de France in their opening match on 31 January.
Coach Fabien Galthie has also included Leinster's 35-year-old prop Slimani and back Noah Nene, who plays for second-tier US Dax Rugby Landes, in his provisional squad, which will be reduced to 28 players next week.
France won all three of their Autumn Series matches against Japan, New Zealand and Argentina.
Scotland squad for the 2025 Six Nations:
Forwards (22):
E Ashman (Edinburgh), J Bayliss (Bath), J Bhatti (Glasgow), G Brown (Glasgow), D Cherry (Edinburgh), L Crosbie (Edinburgh), S Cummings (Glasgow), R Darge (Glasgow), J Dempsey (Glasgow), M Fagerson (Glasgow), Z Fagerson (Glasgow), G Gilchrist (Edinburgh), J Gray (Bordeaux), P Harrison (Edinburgh), W Hurd (Leicester), J Mann (Glasgow), D Rae (Edinburgh), D Richardson (Sale), J Ritchie (Edinburgh), P Schoeman (Edinburgh), R Sutherland (Glasgow), M Sykes (Edinburgh).
Backs (15): F Burke (Saracens), M Currie (Edinburgh), J Dobie (Glasgow), D Graham (Edinburgh), G Horne (Glasgow), R Hutchinson (Northampton), H Jones (Glasgow), T Jordan (Glasgow), B Kinghorn (Toulouse), S McDowall (Glasgow), F Russell (Bath), K Rowe (Glasgow), S Tuipulotu (Glasgow), D van der Merwe (Edinburgh), B White (Toulon).
France squad for the 2025 Six Nations:
Forwards (24): Esteban Abadie, Dorian Aldegheri, Grégory Alldritt, Uini Atonio, Hugo Auradou, Cyril Baille, Giorgi Beria, Paul Boudehent, Joshua Brennan, Georges-Henri Colombe, François Cros, Thibaud Flament, Marko Gazzotti, Jean-Baptiste Gros, Mathias Halagahu, Oscar Jegou, Anthony Jelonch, Maxime Lamothe, Julien Marchand, Peato Mauvaka, Emmanuel Meafou, Dany Priso, Rabah Slimani, Romain Taofifenua.
Backs (18): Théo Attissogbe, Pierre-Louis Barassi, Léo Barré, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Nicolas Depoortere, Gaël Dréan, Antoine Dupont, Antoine Frisch, Émilien Gailleton, Matthieu Jalibert, Nolann Le Garrec, Maxime Lucu, Yoram Moefana, Noah Nene, Romain Ntamack, Damian Penaud, Thomas Ramos, Gabin Villière.
