Barclay set for his return to action
John Barclay has joined up with the Scotland squad at their Oriam base in Edinburgh and it is hoped he will be fit to lead his country out again when the November Tests kick off against Samoa a week on Saturday.
The 31-year-old has been out with a concussion issue and didn’t play again for his Welsh club Scarlets at the weekend but remains on course to continue in the skipper’s role, with Greig Laidlaw missing due to a broken ankle
Scotland defence coach Matt Taylor reported that the squad were in fairly good shape following the weekend games, though Newcastle new boy Chris Harris took a bit of a knock against Leicester, which was not overly concerning.
“Nothing from the weekend, which was good,” said Taylor. “A couple of weeks ago we took a few injuries which was unfortunate, but that’s rugby, isn’t it?
“We came together last night [Sunday] and had a walk-through. We had another today and we are going to do the main running session this afternoon. From what I know, everyone is okay. John is here… He is an excellent leader, brings a lot of experience, gives guys a lot of confidence.”
Centre Huw Jones arrived from South Africa but will not feature for his new club Glasgow against Leinster on Friday after a busy few weeks helping Western Province to Currie Cup glory. His regular Scotland midfield partner, Alex Dunbar, could get a run out, though.
“Alex is on track. I don’t know whether he will play for Glasgow this weekend, but he is there or thereabouts and will probably be in contention for the first game [against Samoa],” reported Taylor.