Edinburgh prop Geoff Cross has been called up to the Scotland squad to tour Argentina after Craig Smith pulled out of the squad. Smith is also reported to be “considering his future in rugby” after a less than successful season. I suppose after meeting Al and I in St Etienne it was all downhill from there, but I hope he considers sticking around – he has strong potential to become the new Chunk, and his love of beards will only boost his chances of becoming a cult figure. Meanwhile Argentina have named a squad that includes a clutch of Premiership and Magners League players – but perhaps luckily for Scotland several of the big names playing in France (ie Hernandez) are absent.
Marcus Di Rollo has been withdrawn from the A Squad by Toulose, despite the fact they refuse to play him on health grounds, which is a bit mean spirited. And Scott Barrow can no longer play for Scotland through residency as he, um, sold his house.
Alan Tait has announced he is to follow former Borders colleague Steve Bates to become Newcastle Assistant Coach. Should be a good signing for the Falcons, and it will be interesting to see if he extends his remit beyond simply defence coaching – let’s not forget he knows a thing or two about attacking play too, having played cross-code at the highest levels.
And finally, eligible Scotland front-rower Nick Lloyd of Saracens has been selected for England’s experimental XV to face the BaBas on Sunday, putting that issue to bed once and for all. Add him to the list with Ryan Lamb of “what-might-have-been”s. Hadden does have a policy of not chasing players eligible to play for Scotland, but with such a small player pool anyway is he letting too many slip through the nets?
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Updated news, Scott Murray is out of the Argentina tour due to club commitments (Montauban are still chasing a Heineken Cup spot), but Ali Kellock has declared fit back from injury! The revolving door of Scottish lock-dom keeps in swinging…