No Scotland place for Hines

Nathan Hines has been omitted from the Scotland squad for next month's tour of Argentina.

The Leinster lock was left out of the 27-man party for the matches in Tucuman and Mar Del Plata.

Injured trio Chris Paterson, Thom Evans and Rory Lamont will also miss out. Another notable absentee was centre Ben Cairns, with Edinburgh team-mate Jim Thompson preferred.

Thompson was the one uncapped player in the squad as head coach Andy Robinson stuck with the 22 who won March's final RBS 6 Nations match in Ireland, with five added to that number.

Robinson said: "We are really looking forward to playing against Argentina.

"We have a lot of respect for the way the game is played there and we want to improve upon our success in our most recent game in the Six Nations.

"As well as our two Test matches in Argentina, we will prepare for those contests with our game at Murrayfield against a Japan Select.

"In addition, there are matches against Georgia, Namibia and Argentina Jaguars for Scotland A in the IRB Nations Cup.

"So, from my perspective, we are playing six Test matches this summer and that will be reflected when we announce the Scotland A squad next week."

Robinson revealed he would consider adding a further player to his squad. The first Test takes place on Saturday, June 12, with the second a week later.