Edinburgh slump is also bad news for Scotland

THE Six Nations is just over a month away and Edinburgh’s slump in form must be a worry to Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend. The back-to-back derby fixtures between Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors over the festive period often serve as a form guide ahead of squad selection for the Championship. Usually, there is fierce debate as the fans — and Townsend — compare and contrast the Scotland international players that go head to head over the two games. Who is on form, who is not? Is the Glasgow line-out working better than the Edinburgh one? Is the Edinburgh front row doing well at the scrum compared to Glasgow? This year, unfortunately, it wouldn’t take anyone long to work out that if he was picking a Scotland Six Nations squad tomorrow, it would be jam-packed with Glasgow players rather than their Edinburgh rivals. Scotland need strength in depth. Therefore, Townsend needs a strong Glasgow and Edinburgh. It will be a worry that is far from the case at the moment. So many Edinburgh players are out of form or, in the case of Darcy Graham and Hamish Watson, out injured and in a race against time to be fit for the Six Nations. Although there would be a question mark over his role for Scotland, Blair Kinghorn remains a key player in the Scotland set-up but he was posted missing in the defeat to Glasgow at BT Murrayfield and eclipsed by opposite number Tom Jordan who doesn’t even have an international cap to his name. In previous years, Edinburgh co-captain Grant Gilchrist would definitely be in the mix to start Scotland’s first Six Nations game away to England at Twickenham. He was overshadowed in both of the derby matches by Richie Gray, who must be in with a great chance of adding to his 69 caps at the home of English rugby. The only Scotland international in the Glasgow side who could lose his Six Nations place is Ali Price, with one of the main contenders to take over from him being his Warriors team-mate George Horne. Price is a solid enough player but Horne, after an injury-hit couple of years, is starting to find his form. He scored 13 second-half points when he came on for Price that helped his team to victory. It will be between Horne, Price and Ben White of London Irish to start for the Scots. In the centre, Sione Tuipulotu seems to have made the No 13 jersey his own, and you certainly couldn’t imagine Mark Bennett taking his place at the moment. With Graham injured, the door is open for Glasgow captain Kyle Steyn to challenge for a starting place against England on the wing. Being named skipper has enhanced his game and he was superb in the back-to-back victories. There’s still plenty of rugby to be played over January, of course. But Townsend would no doubt be a happier man if Mike Blair could get his Edinburgh team back into some winning form soon.