DOUBLE TROUBLE
Ankle surgery set to rule Fagerson out of autumn Tests and the Six Nations
SCOTLAND and Glasgow prop Zander Fagerson is set to miss the autumn Tests and Six Nations after being ruled out for up to six months after ankle surgery.
It is the second setback to have hit both club and country in the space of a week after Stuart Hogg was sidelined for three months.
Warriors head coach Dave Rennie revealed the bad news at the Heineken Cup launch in Dublin yesterday.
The loss for most of this season of their first-choice tight-head prop — who picked up the injury in the Pro14 victory over Cheetahs in South Africa a fortnight ago — is a massive blow for Scotland and Glasgow. And Rennie is now desperately trying to find a replacement for the 22-year-old.
‘We think Zander will be out for five to six months but obviously we hope he’s back a bit sooner,’ said the Kiwi. ‘It was a clean ankle break and the operation went well but we’re not going to push him. It’s a big season with a World Cup following.
‘It’s a blow for us as Zander has been superb. The scrum has gone well and the quality of his carrying and cleaning up and tackling has been great. There is a bit of mongrel about him and we’ll miss that.
‘We now have problems at tighthead as Siua Halanukonuka has a foot injury. D’Arcy Rae started for us last week and young Adam Nicol is available but we’re a little thin on the ground and might have to look at bringing someone else in.’ Capped 18 times, Fagerson (below) has also become a first-pick for Gregor Townsend ahead of the World Cup in Japan. Next in the pecking order is WP Nel, who has been dogged by injury over the past few years, and his Edinburgh team-mates Simon Berghan and Darryl Marfo. Rennie remained upbeat about Glasgow’s prospects in the Heineken Cup. ‘Everyone is in the race, aren’t they?’ he said. ‘Leinster have amazing depth, the French clubs spend a lot of money and there are some good horses in the race. ‘But we’ve worked really hard and we’re in good nick. We’re looking forward to measuring ourselves against Saracens first up, then Lyon and Cardiff Blues.’ Richard Cockerill was far more pessimistic over Edinburgh’s chances in Europe, perhaps no real surprise given they are in arguably the toughest group.
As he prepares to tackle a pool including Vern Cotter’s Montpellier, big-spending Toulon and Newcastle Falcons, the Englishman said: ‘We’re not going to win the trophy because there are a lot of better teams than us in it and that is the reality. The target is to win as many games as we can.
‘The budget of the three teams we’re playing far outspends us, so you have to be realistic.
‘The ambition is to look strong, look to win our home games, and give it our best shot away from home.’
Prop Pierre Schoeman will miss Edinburgh’s first two Heineken Cup games after being banned for four weeks following his red card against Leinster.
The South African admitted striking the head of Dan Leavy with his forearm during the game in Dublin last weekend.
He was shown a straight red by referee Dan Jones and will now miss the next two Pro14 home matches against Benetton and Cheetahs.
More significantly, he will miss the tough European matches away to Montpellier and at home to Toulon.