Scots can cope with the loss of Richie

JONNY GraY insists Scotland can cope without big brother richie after he was ruled out of the Six Nations opener against Wales. Toulouse star richie has withdrawn with a calf strain but, although ‘gutted’ to lose his sibling from the squad, Glasgow Warriors lock Jonny believes head coach Gregor Townsend has enough secondrow cover available for the game in Cardiff this Saturday, saying: ‘I’m going to miss rich. It would be great to have him here preparing for the Wales game. I’m absolutely gutted he isn’t around. ‘I didn’t see him at Christmas and it would have been fantastic if he’d been fit to join up with the squad. ‘It’s great to train and work with him and get ideas from him when we’re both with Scotland. Hopefully he can come back soon as I don’t think his injury is too serious. ‘It’s one of those things. Every squad has injuries and it’s just something you have to deal with, be it us, or Wales.’ Ben Toolis, who played alongside Jonny when the Scots ran New Zealand close in November, is favourite to take richie’s place in the second row. Grant Gilchrist is also in the mix, while rob Harley is another option. ‘There are some great players around and available for selection in the second row for the Wales game,’ said Jonny. ‘Ben Toolis and Grant Gilchrist are both great players with slightly different styles and strengths. ‘We also have Lewis Carmichael training with the squad and we have rob Harley who can play there. ‘The competitiveness in the squad is intense. We compete really hard but we have to give each other feedback to benefit the forwards and the team. That’s what it’s about. ‘We’ll go down to Wales knowing we played some positive rugby in the autumn but knowing we have to make improvements to win. ‘We’ve reviewed all our games and if we to build on what we did in matches like the win against australia, we can do well in Wales.’ Scotland assistant coach Mike Blair believes richie will be out for ‘weeks rather than months’ and expects him to play some part in the Six Nations. ‘He’s a quality player and a guy we are really keen to see back with us but he needs to get himself right,’ said Blair. ‘We can’t put an exact date on when he’ll be back but it will be weeks rather than months.’