Edinburgh pair Lee Jones and David Denton have today been ruled out of Scotland’s summer tour to Australia, Fiji and Samoa through injury. Gloucester’s Jim Hamilton has also become unavailable as he will be serving a ban for punching.
Jones, 23, who scored his first try for Scotland in the RBS 6 Nations Championship match against France in February, has a fractured right shoulder blade, while 22-year-old Denton, who made his debut off the bench in the EMC Test win against Ireland last August, has damage to his left ankle ligaments.
Scotland team doctor James Robson said: “Lee suffered the fracture in the Heineken Cup semi-final loss to Ulster last month. Injuries of this nature typically resolve over the course of six to eight weeks, so he will not be available for the tour.
“David sustained the ankle injury in the final game of the league season against Treviso last weekend and subsequent scanning of the joint revealed damage to the ligaments. [He] will not require surgery but will now embark on a prolonged period of rehabilitation which will rule him out of the summer tour. His estimated return would be between eight to ten weeks.”
Hamilton was given a yellow card for punching London Irish hooker David Paice. Following what seemed to be a sneaky push on Paice during loose play there was some fisticuffs between the two, and the pair continued their antagonism on their respective paths to the bin with Paice doing a fair bit of yapping. Jim being the no-nonsense sort of character he is took umbrage, and the ensuing mass brawl (that saw the Big Stroker, Ansbro and Shingler mixing it up with the rest of them) left Dave Pearson no choice but to make the departures permanent.
Following a disciplinary hearing, both men have been banned for 7 weeks which means Jim won’t make the plane.
Finally, Scotland winger Simon Danielli is set to retire from rugby, as basically his body seems to have had enough. Danielli’s club Ulster has confirmed this afternoon that he has been forced to hang up his boots due to a back injury which has plagued the winger throughout this past season.
Danielli made a try-scoring full international debut for Scotland against Italy in 2003, ahead of that year’s Rugby World Cup. He went on to win 32 caps for Scotland, playing in two World Cups and scoring eight tries and he also played ten times for the Scotland A team including in their passage to the 2006 Churchill Cup Final in Canada. His last Scotland A game was the 35-0 victory over England Saxons at Netherdale in February 2012.
Speaking on the announcement of this news, Danielli said: “Representing Scotland has been the pinnacle of my career and I have so many great memories and friendships from these days, from all the amazing match day atmospheres at Murrayfield and the intensity that international rugby brings, to the fantastic tours I have been lucky enough to be a part of.”
The Scotland tour party for next month’s three Test tour will be announced next Wednesday (16th May).
With Jones and Danielli out, Robinson may consider Tom Brown as another small pacy back, but Joe Ansbro will also be back in the mix. A big loss during the Six Nations, Joe could potentially appear on the wing, although I’d rather see him in the centre. The absence of Jones almost guarantees that a certain T. Visser will be in the party too…
In the second row, Tom Ryder and Grant Gilchrist are probably the stand-out candidates to fill in (assuming he goes for 4 second rows) but Fraser Mackenzie could be another option if he has recovered from the injury that kept him out of the Six Nations, as could Tim Swinson of Newcastle/Glasgow. Mackenzie might be short of form though. Perhaps another option is using Harley in the second row.
Indeed that might be a way to get him or others on board as even without Denton (or Kelly Brown) there is still a terrific battle ahead for however many back-rowers Robinson opts to take. Similarly, picking Barclay as a 6 or 8 where he has played recently might be a way to get Fusaro into the squad while those slightly further up the pecking order are unavailable. And we know how well Fusaro does under those sorts of circumstances.
How about Strokosch / Harley, Fusaro / Rennie, Barclay / Ryan Wilson? And you’ve still got Richie Vernon, Johnnie Beattie and Roddy Grant to play about with too. Tough choices, especially given the pressure to see things turned around at international level after Edinburgh and Glasgow have returned the feelgood factor that the Six Nations shattered.
We’ll find out who has made the grade next week.
UPDATE: As Al says below, the Waratahs midweek match is off due to their Aussie squad commitments. Scotland team manager Gavin Scott said: “We have had confirmation from the Waratahs that due to injuries and the requirements of the Wallabies squad they would be unable to fulfil the fixture.
“We have looked into alternatives but, unfortunately, nothing else fits into our tour schedule.”
The Scotland playing party will now be 28-strong.
The tour dates are as follows:
Tuesday 5 June v Australia in Newcastle, NSW, kick-off 7.30pm local (10.30am BST)
Saturday 16 June v Fiji in Lautoka, kick-off 2pm local time (3am BST)
Saturday 23 June v Samoa in Apia, kick-off 3.30pm local time (3.30am BST).
8 responses
With the omissions in mind, here’s the squad I’d like to see
Hooker – Ford, McArthur, Hall
Props – Welsh, Chunk, Cross, Low, Grant
Second row – Gray, Kellock, Gilchrist, Ryder
Backrow – Harley, Rennie, Barclay, Fusaro, McInally, Vernon
Scrum half – Blair, Cusiter
Flyhalf – Laidlaw (captain), Weir, Jackson
Centres – Scott, Dunbar, Ansbro, NDL
Wingers – Visser, M Evans, S Lamont,
Full backs – Hogg, Brown
Here’s my first XV
1.Welsh
2. Ford
3. Low
4. Ryder
5. Gray
6. Harley
7. Rennie
8. Vernon
9. Blair
10. Laidlaw
11. S Lamont (to be replaced by Visser after Big Tam qualifies)
12. Scott
13. Ansbro
14. M Evans
15. Hogg
Subs – MacArthur, Cross, Kellock, Fusaro, Weir, Dunbar, Brown
It’s a youthful set-up, but I see this as a good chance to blood some of the greener players and omit some of the older guys (like Morrison).
Not much to disagree with squad-wise there MJW. If fully fit Brown and Wilson may also be in contention for the back row spots, though it would be a hard choice on who to drop in their place… Nice to have a wee bit of choice in the midfield, Scott and Dunbar have come on very well this season. I would like to see Robinson try the 9 – Laidlaw, 10-Weir at some point with an eye to the future. If those two connect well they could command some great heads up rugby. Not to undermine Blair who links brilliantly with Laidlaw and who has had a very good season for Edinburgh. Shame about the injuries.
Agree with Matto. I think we need Laidlaw back at 9 to bring on genuine 10’s and to allow Laidlaw the opportunity to shine in his preferred position.Fusaro would be ideal on he fast hard grounds down under so I’d pick him as well. I only hope the doubters understand what this summer is all about and dont call for everyones head before the 1st kick off
Sad to see DD not able to tour and Jones was playing well. Would prefer AR took Jack Cuthbert instead of Lamont if he is available to tour. Cant agree on Roddy Grant in the squad. david Pocock he is not! Then again, who is??
By the time the tour starts most of the squad will be a bit ring rusty so i have no problem with Frazer mackenzie touring. I still expect to see Morrison at inside centre wth Alex dunbar and NDL challenging for the outside centre position. A midfield of Scott and Dunbar is too inexperienced for a tour down under. Ansbro played on the wing more than at centre when at Saints so he can fill in till Visser is eligible.
Loose head is an issue though as Jabobsen looked well past his sell by date in the 6 nations. Time for new blood in that position.
No doubt AR will surprise us all. Probably select Fin Calder………
Allan, let’s stop this talk of ‘inexperience’. Scott has played a key part in Edinburgh HC run, and has been far, far better than Morrison all season. We need to start rewarding form and developing young players. I don’t think anyone has suggested a Scott/Dunbar center pairing, although it looks good for the future. I’d put Scott as the starting 12 alongside either is club partner de Luca, or Ansbro, who has always looked electric in a Scottish jersey, and has actually been playing at centre for London Irish all season.
My point was that AR tends to go conservative with his selections and will probably pick Morrison. My preference would be a Dunbar and NDL pairing but i just cant see AR going that way. It sems to take an injury or a suspension to force AR to make selection changes. I would go blair, wier, ansbro, dunbar, de luca, visser, hogg as my back line. Callow but talented!
The team I am probably looking forward to is the one picked to play the Waratahs. That could be a real development side ie a proper fans XV, assuming the right players are in the tour party in the first place…
Game against the Waratahs has been cancelled. I have a sneaky feeling that Robinson might include at least one Aussie based (at the moment) player, probably Brendan McKibbin at the Waratahs or Lachlan Mitchell at the Rebels – both of whom the SRU have sounded out (apparently).