Weir’s year written off after broken jaw surgery
“We’re in it together for the long haul”
SCOTLAND and Edinburgh stand-off Duncan Weir is unlikely to play again this year after fracturing his jaw in Saturday’s Guinness Pro12 defeat to Munster.
The 25-year-old had to undergo surgery following a nasty clash of heads with back-row forward CJ Stander during the second half of the match at Thomond Park and is expected to be out for three months.
It is not only a huge blow for head coach Alan Solomons, but also for Weir at international level, as he and Ruaridh Jackson of Harlequins were pencilled in as back-up to first-choice fly-half Finn Russell for Scotland’s November Test series against Australia, Argentina and Georgia.
Weir’s move from Glasgow Warriors to Edinburgh over the summer was a deliberate attempt to see him step out of Russell’s shadow, but now he will be left a frustrated figure on the sidelines.
His absence will be even more keenly felt at club level where he is far and away Solomons’ first choice No 10 and had started every one of the capital outfit’s four Pro12 matches so far.
Welshman Jason Tovey, who has just returned from a wrist injury, will start at stand-off in his absence against league champions Connacht in Galway on Friday evening.
The only other fit player on the books who can play at No10 is 19-year-old Blair Kinghorn, who can also slot into the full-back role, and he is likely to be on the bench at The Sportsground.
Also missing for Edinburgh against Connacht will be tight-head prop Kevin Bryce, who is having a scan on the elbow he injured within the first five minutes against Munster.
Scotland international WP Nel, who was rested last weekend, will come into the starting team in his place.
Solomons will now be keen to make an emergency signing as cover at tight-head because his only other option in what is a key, specialist position is Nick Beavon, who is in his first season of professional rugby.
Edinburgh winger Damien Hoyland tried to make positive noises yesterday despite the club’s diminishing options, but he believes that, even without Weir, his team can still secure a win in Galway against a Connacht side who have yet to win a match this season.
And although Edinburgh have won just one of their first four games, the Scotland internationalist made it clear that the squad remain firmly behind under-pressure head coach Solomons.
‘The players and all the coaching staff are behind him 100-per-cent and that will never change,’ said 22-year-old Hoyland (right).
‘We are a tight unit at Edinburgh, and the coaches and the players are all in it together for the long haul.
‘As for the game against Connacht, I feel that we’ve got the right game plan to go out and do a job on them. I am quite surprised that they have yet to win a game. ‘The brand of rugby that they were playing last year when they won the Pro12 title was amazing.’ Hoyland added: ‘I think it’s maybe the case now that teams have sussed them out a bit more in terms of what they are trying to do. ‘They try to move the ball a lot, but if teams like ourselves put them under a lot of pressure and stay together as a unit, it will make it hard for them and we can come away with a win on Friday.’ Meanwhile, Edinburgh will discover at a disciplinary hearing today if lock Fraser McKenzie will be banned after being cited for a shoulder charge at a ruck that left Munster flanker Jack O’Donoghue with concussion on Saturday. Edinburgh are already without another second-row, Anton Bresler, as he recovers from groin surgery.