Scotland stars will hope to survive unscathed as Six Nations looms large

January is a month international players hope to survive uninjured. One can be pretty sure not all of them will. For Glasgow and Edinburgh it is an odd month for different reasons. Glasgow have Champions Cup matches against Leinster and Exeter, but they are dead matches, with only pride to play for. Edinburgh have home and away games against Stade Francais, and would have to lose both heavily not to top the pool.

Neither of the inter-city matches was a great advertisement for Scottish rugby, principally because both teams found their handling letting them down far too often. In both matches there were too many penalties. Spectators tend to blame the referee for this – and certainly Hamish Watson will be pleased that Mike Adamson won’t be refereeing him in the Six Nations. Really of course it is up to the players not to transgress. In extenuation, however, this must be difficult because the margins at the breakdown are so fine and also because many referees allow so much illegality to go unpunished. Isn’t there a law that requires a player to enter a ruck from behind the hindmost foot? Well, yes, indeed there is, but it is one you can usually disregard with impunity.

I doubt if Gregor Townsend learned anything about his players from these matches, but then I suspect he already knows the squad and the starting XV he would like to have in Cardiff in a month’s time, though it would be tempting jealous gods to write the names down now. There is encouraging news about Stuart Hogg’s hip – but then a month ago the same was said about Andy Murray’s one. Still on the medical front, it would be nice, and indeed reassuring, to see Alex Dunbar get through a full 80 minutes. Still, I doubt if Gregor will be asking Dave Rennie or Richard Cockerill to rest particular players. Injuries happen as often in training as in matches.

We already know that our first opponents, Wales, will be missing a few stars: George North, Toby Faletau, Dan Lydiate. All the same such absentees matter less than they used to, because the combination of match-day squads and numerous internationals means that replacements are rarely raw recruits. It is not like the amateur days when a player would be summoned straight from the club game and might hardly have time even to practise with his new international team-mates. Playersareeasedintotheinter-

“I doubt if Gregor will be asking Dave Rennie or Richard Cockerill to rest particular players. Injuries happen as often in training as in matches”