John Cooney: Scotland could pick former Ireland scrum-half - Gregor Townsend
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Gregor Townsend (right) says it is "great to know" John Cooney wants to be involved with Scotland
Scotland coach Gregor Townsend says John Cooney reached out to him about switching allegiances from Ireland and he could add the Dublin-born scrum-half to his Six Nations squad.
New World Rugby rules mean Cooney, who won the last of his 11 Ireland caps in February 2020, can play for Scotland towards the end of next month.
Cooney, 32, told the BBC in November he was considering switching countries.
"I spoke to John when the rule change came about," said Townsend.
"He actually reached out to me just to let me know it would be something that he'd consider. A lot of his family live in Scotland."
World Rugby's new eligibility rules allow players to change allegiances after a three-year cooling-off period, so Ulster's Cooney can switch from 23 February - by which time Scotland will have played two Six Nations games.
"In terms of timelines, he's not available until later on in the championship so obviously it wasn't something we considered for the beginning," added Townsend.
"We'll look when he's available and whether we feel it's right to bring him in, in terms of his performances compared to the nines we have and what it will require of him getting up to speed with how we play.
'He's the best scrum-half in Ireland' - could Cooney play for Scotland?
"It will be challenging for someone coming into a championship but it's great to know that he was keen to be involved with us and adds to our depth at scrum-half."
Scotland's 40-man Six Nations squad also includes London-born wing Ruaridh McConnochie, who played for England at the 2019 World Cup, and former Australia back row Jack Dempsey, who switched to Scotland last year after qualifying through his grandfather.
Scotland, who finished fourth in the 2022 tournament, open this year's Six Nations against England at Twickenham on 4 February.
Ireland travel to Murrayfield to face Townsend's side on 12 March, the penultimate weekend of the championship.
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