BROWN BOOST FOR THE FINALE

SCOTLAND have been handed a major boost after Fraser Brown was cleared by a disciplinary committee to play against Italy on Saturday. The hooker had been in danger of missing the Six Nations finale after being cited for a dangerous tackle on England’s Elliot Daly. However, a three-man panel meeting in London ruled the yellow card handed to Brown in the second minute of last Saturday’s defeat was punishment enough. Brown is expected to retain his place in the Scotland starting XV, with Ross Ford remaining on the bench. The committee’s written judgement stated: ‘Having reviewed footage of the incident, and all other evidence, as well as hearing submissions and testimony from the player and his representatives, the disciplinary committee considered the tackle to have been dangerous. ‘However, they found that the act of foul play would not have warranted a red card, so the citing complaint was not upheld and no sanction was imposed.’ Scotland captain John Barclay backed Brown, insisting he was not a ‘dirty player’, although he was disappointed at the tackle on Daly which had proved so costly. In the ten minutes Brown was in the sin bin, England built up a tenpoint lead that lay the foundations for their thumping 61-21 victory. ‘Fraser is not a dirty player and he would never go out to hurt an opponent,’ said Barclay. ‘These decisions on tackles are very easy to make when you’ve got however many frames a second to look at. Fraser had to make a split-second decision.’ Stand-off Duncan Weir, meanwhile, said the Scots need all the muscle they can get for Saturday’s match. ‘It is going to be a war zone come Saturday,’ he admitted. ‘It is going to be a tough battle up front and whoever can come away with setpiece dominance will have a great chance of winning.’