RORY’S AUTUMN AGONY!
Injured Sutherland to miss Tests
SCOTLAND have been dealt a major blow after British and Irish Lion Rory Sutherland was ruled out of the autumn Test matches against Australia, South Africa and Japan.
The loose-head prop (below) was due to start against the Wallabies and Springboks but has not joined up with Gregor Townsend’s squad after receiving a hefty knock to his side on club duty with Worcester Warriors.
‘The medics are still looking at a couple of things and we don’t know the exact timelines but it looks like it might be a struggle for the autumn for Rory,’ said Scotland defence coach Steve Tandy.
‘To lose someone like him, who has been in the environment of the Lions tour and with Scotland, is a blow for us.
‘In saying that, Pierre Schoeman came in and played well against Tonga on his debut and Jamie Bhatti came off the bench and did well in the same game. Robin Hislop has been playing lots of minutes for Wasps, and Nick Auterac has been called up over the weekend. We have Oli Kebble as well, so there’s plenty of depth.
‘While it’s disappointing to lose Suzz, an injury to him is an opportunity for someone else.’
Tandy played his cards close to his chest over who would be handed the No 1 jersey for Sunday’s clash with Australia but reserved special praise for Schoeman’s performance against Tonga before he was replaced along with the rest of the front row 51 minutes into the 60-14 victory at BT Murrayfield.
‘Pierre has fitted into the environment, he’s started really well and is only going to grow in it,’ said Tandy. ‘He’s enjoying it and is really focused. He has produced good stats, but there’s a big test coming at the weekend against Australia if he’s involved. ‘The loose-head props are performing really well for their clubs and it’s good to get them in camp. We’ll tidy up selection later but if they come in and are part of the environment, they’re available for selection.’ Promising openside flanker Rory Darge picked up an ankle injury in Glasgow Warriors’ defeat to Leinster which ruled him out of the Tonga game, and further tests suggest he will not be fit enough to win his first cap in the remaining fixtures. Winger Damien Hoyland and Edinburgh forward Magnus Bradbury, a late call-up to the squad last week, have been deemed surplus to requirements and both have dropped out after not featuring last Saturday. Three uncapped props — Northampton’s Nick Auterac, Javan Sebastian of Scarlets and Robin Hislop of Wasps — have been added to the squad. So has second row Scott Cummings, who won’t be fit enough for the Wallabies while he recovers from surgery on a broken hand but is expected to come into consideration for the game against world champions South Africa.
Scotland will field a much stronger side against the Aussies, including their exiles who return to the fold after last weekend’s match fell outside the international window.
Scotland captain Stuart Hogg of Exeter Chiefs, fly-half Finn Russell of Racing 92 and centre Chris Harris of Gloucester — all British and Irish Lions — returned to Scotland training yesterday and will start against Australia.
‘The Exeter boys and the Lions boys have been playing high-profile games and now they’ve come back in,’ added Tandy. ‘A lot of the other boys stood up at the weekend, the new cappers, everyone performed which was exciting, and it’s getting harder to pick the teams now. We’re building some strength in depth and it was great to see the boys be ruthless against Tonga.’
Tandy has an inside track on how the Australians will want to play based on his year as defence coach of the New South Wales Waratahs during the 2019 Super Rugby season.
‘Hopefully that will give me an insight,’ he said. ‘I had an awesome time at the Waratahs and the Australian mindset is really attack minded but, when you look at them now, they’re really solid defensively as well. They just love playing rugby.’