Scotland have injury concerns over five players ahead of next Sunday’s Test against South Africa at Murrayfield.
glasgowwarriors
Glasgow forwards Alastair Kellock and Ryan Grant, who went off in the first half of the win against Japan after taking a knee to the head, both suffered concussion.
“Both sustained concussion and will now follow the graduated return to play protocol,” explained Scotland team doctor, James Robson.
Their team-mates Tim Swinson (shoulder) and Duncan Weir (groin) will also require further assessment tomorrow.
Centre Matt Scott will be examined by a surgeon after the hand injury he sustained in the closing stages of the match at Murrayfield.
Dr Robson said: “Matt requires further assessment before we can ascertain the full extent of his injury.”
——————————————————————————————–
Rugby-Talk Speculation
Ryan Grant
With Euan Murray not available to play against the Springboks on Sunday the injury to Grant could be a big blow to Scotland and may see them start with a new pair of props should Grant not be declared fit to play. One would guess that Geoff Cross may be in line to replace Murray although there has been some concern expressed at his lack of game time at Edinburgh this season with WP Nel the favoured man. Another option could be Jon Welsh to start at tighthead. Alasdair Dickenson has played quite well when he has been given chances at international level recently so could well be the man slotting in at loosehead should Ryan Grant not make it. In some circles concern has been expressed at the decline in Grant’s form this season so perhaps Dickenson would have been a better option anyway. With Grant suffering concussion it would be a concern to see him playing this weekend, as one feels players should be given more time out after picking up such an injury.
Alastair Kellock
The Glasgow Warriors captain, and number 5 lock, brings a wealth of experience to the Scotland team although there are those who feel he doesn’t always perform as well as he could at international level. One suspects that if he wasn’t injured that he may not even have been selected for the test against the Springboks or at best been chosen on the bench. While getting concussed is not something you want to see happening to a player this gives him a chance to get extra rest and be ready for Glasgow Warriors RaboDirect PRO12 game the following weekend. With so many Glasgow players on international duty it would be a good thing if Kellock were released from the squad to play Australia and turn out for his club.
Tim Swinson
What can one say about the man with the Movember Moustache. Swinson had a wonderful game at Murrayfield against Japan in what was his first international outing there. Swinson was a pillar of strength and impressed so much that he was named man of the match. This actually provided the coaching staff with a nice headache as one suspects that the lock pairing for this Sunday’s game was always going to be Richie Gray and Jim Hamilton. It seems quite harsh to drop a man who has just put in such a good performance but I think coach Scott Johnson is a man who is not afraid to make the tough decisions and had Swinson been available would have had him on the bench.
With Swinson possibly out this leaves a bit of a void in the 2nd row and we may see 19 year old Jonny Gray being asked to sink or swim against the mighty Springboks and get his first cap off the bench. Another option will be for Johnson to see how the versatile new pick Kieran Low from London Irish does. He is a big loose forward who can also play lock and will be itching to earn his first Scotland cap. A safer option may be to go for Edinburgh’s Grant Gilchrist as bench lock, Gilchrist has played in three games for Scotland thus far.
Matt Scott
Of all the players that are injured one suspects that inside centre Matt Scott is the one that the coaching team are sweating about the most. Scott Johnson has made no secret that he regards Scott as a top class player who can go on to become a big name in international rugby. He is one of the bigger out and out centres to have played for Scotland in recent time and one can certainly see the difference his strength has made to the midfield. Should Scott not be able to play on Sunday we may see Sean Lamont being shifted in from wing to centre, were he played for a big part of the last season for Scotland. This would help shore up the midfield and Johnson will know from having worked with Lamont what he can bring to the team from this position. If Lamont starts at centre then it would open up a berth on the wing for exciting runner Max Evans.
It may be better though to start with Duncan Taylor who is also a strong player and has had an impressive season thus far for his club Saracens. Taylor only has four caps though for Scotland and each of these has been as a replacement so Johnson may feel this is a bit too much of a gamble in such an important position. From watching him play at Saracens my feeling is the sooner he gets regular time in the centre for Scotland the better as think he is another top class player.
Another option would be to play 20 year old Mark Bennett who has been doing well for Glasgow this year and also offers the option of being an extra goal kicker. However, he has yet to play for Scotland and has been playing outside centre for Glasgow so if he is in the squad it would probably be best to have him on the bench. One suspects he make get his first cap the following weekend against Australia.
Duncan Weir
The last of the injured players has not had as much game time domestically so far this season and will be really disappointed to be injured at this stage having taken a while to recover from injury and make it into the Glasgow team this season. Weir came on as a replacement late in the game against Japan on Saturday and within a short space of time found himself scoring a try. One senses though that Weir would possibly have been picked on the bench for this game as although he is a better kicker than fellow flyhalf Ruaridh Jackson that the coaches have liked what they have seen this season in Jackson. He has been playing a good running game and with scrumhalf Greig Laidlaw taking the goal kicks has been relieved of the extra pressure to do this as well. Henry Pyrgos who was reserve scrumhalf last week is also another player who can kick for goals. One suspects that it may have been the coaches plan to have experienced stalwart Chris Cusiter on the bench but with Weir perhaps missing out that they will reconsider and go with Pyrgos. It would be not good for Weir to be playing and especially kicking if he has not fully recovered from the groin injury as this will really hamper him.
Bath flyhalf Tom Heathcote who has played three times for Scotland, two in the starting line up, is the option as a direct replacement for Duncan Weir. He was released from the Scotland squad last weekend to play for Bath in their LV Cup game against Sale Sharks which Bath won by a seven point margin. Heathcote scored 12 points in that game via the boot with one penalty, one drop goal and the conversions of all three of Bath’s tries. Last season Heathcote was second choice flyhalf at Bath and one hoped that he would kick on and claim the Bath number 10 jersey as his own this season. However, he seems to have been playing second fiddle again, this time to new arrival young England Saxons flyhalf George Ford who has been having a very good season. One would like to see Heathcote get substantial game time against such formidable opponents as the Springboks to really assess his abilities as Scotland can do with greater competition for the flyhalf berth.