Hardie will have to wait
RICHARD Cockerill has warned John Hardie he will need to work to get back into his Edinburgh side after his three-month suspension comes to an end this weekend. The New Zealand-born back-row, who has 16 Scotland caps, was suspended by Scottish Rugby for ‘gross misconduct’ over alleged cocaine use.
As from Friday, he will be free to play again — and with Edinburgh already assured of a home quarter-final ahead of their European Rugby Challenge Cup pool clash with Stade Francais on Saturday, many thought he may return to the side.
However, although he is fully fit and has been back in training since January 1, Cockerill said the 29-year-old would have to fight for his place. And he may even have an outing for Hawick away to Watsonians in the BT Premiership on Saturday as part of the pro-draft arrangement.
‘I would think it unlikely that John will be involved this weekend because he hasn’t played for up to 14 weeks,’ said the Edinburgh head coach.
‘John has been training well and we’ll see what happens. He may play club rugby this weekend with Hawick and get some time under his belt, we haven’t decided on that one yet.
‘I could have brought him straight back [into the Edinburgh team]. He could do it, but I could bring Luke Crosbie straight back as well, and he hasn’t been suspended for three months.
‘You have to reward the guys who have been here doing their jobs.
‘I’ll pick what I think is the best back-row and John has to work his way back in.
‘John has no more right to play in the side than Luke or Lewis Carmichael, [Magnus] Bradbury, [Bill] Mata or anyone.
‘John is a good player and he will come back into the team when it’s right, but for this squad to have a sound work ethic guys have to work themselves back in.
‘For the moment, John will sit in and around fifth/sixth choice [back-row] because of the situation that has been well documented.
‘When we go to Paris, we’ll pick a good team. We’ll look after our squad, but it will be a good team. What I want is for Edinburgh as a team to improve and for the players to have an environment to get better and push for international honours.’
It is unlikely Hardie will be named by Gregor Townsend when he names his Scotland squad for the Six Nations today but the national team head coach does have plenty to ponder over his selection.
While his front-row problems have been well documented, injury issues have also dogged the likes of Glasgow Warriors duo Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell.
The Scotstoun club also suffered a heavy defeat at the weekend in the European Champions Cup, losing 55-19 to Leinster in Dublin.
Despite that setback, Scotland and Warriors No9 Ali Price insists spirits are high ahead of this year’s Championship, which begins on February 3 with a trip to take on Wales.
‘I wouldn’t say it’s completely irrelevant but it’s not the be all and end all,’ said the scrum-half in reference to his side’s fifth straight European defeat this season.
‘If you look at our first two games in the Champions Cup, we lost both of those before the November Tests.
‘The boys are playing at different clubs. I guess it’s good for confidence week to week.
‘When you get beaten well like that, you obviously don’t go into the changing room full of confidence, jumping and shouting around.
‘But in terms of moving into the Six Nations in the next few weeks, there are a lot of guys playing at teams who are doing well. We were well beaten by the better side (Leinster) but, like I said, it’s not the be all and end all.’