Alex Dunbar will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury sustained in the loss to Connacht two weekends ago. A scan has revealed that the centre, who has had little luck with injuries for the past few seasons, sustained a bone injury but will not require surgery and will now begin a period of rest and recovery with his club’s medical team.
Mostly likely he’ll be scouring the internet to find out who is selling the voodoo dolls with his likeness.
Not long back from injury himself, Matt Scott has been added to the Scotland squad for next month’s summer tour to Japan as a direct replacement.
With this news and with Mark Bennett on Sevens duty (unless Horne picks up an injury in the next two weeks) it looks likely that Scott will be paired with Taylor in Scotland’s midfield, while Pete Horne’s versatility might see him confined to the bench. This could be a bit of a shame as these games could be perfect for Horne – even if Vern isn’t experimenting with selections on tour, there’s no harm in experimenting with combinations is there?
For Gregor Townsend and Glasgow it’s a little easier in terms of selection, but would a midfield of Bennett and Horne withstand the hard running of Bundee Aki and Connacht’s other hefty characters? Glasgow are in search of a first ever away semi final win (for anyone) and will sorely miss their midfield general.
While we are on the subject of centres, congratulations to European Champions Cup winner Duncan Taylor of Saracens! Taylor had a pretty quiet day in a game that wasn’t the best advert for northern hemisphere rugby but thoroughly deserved his spot in the side after a brilliant season.
The Scotland squad will convene at BT Murrayfield Stadium on Monday 6 June for a short camp before their departure for Tokyo the following Saturday (11 June).
UPDATE (19/05): Sean Lamont has now also been called up to the tour as an injury replacement for Tim Visser. The 104-times capped internationalist is a direct replacement for the injured Harlequins wing, who was ruled out of the tour with a knee injury sustained in the European Rugby Challenge Cup Final.
5 responses
No one ever wants a player forced out of games by injury, especially not one of Dunbar’s quality, especially not with the luck he’s had… but, sure I am not alone in thinking that Dunbar and Taylor should not play together. That it should always be one from: Bennett, Scott or Horne, and one from Dunbar or Taylor. The way things have gone means there is no temptation.
Brilliant that Taylor won the European Cup, another Pro-12 for Glasgow and almost the whole team is used to winning proper competitions! *Edinburgh looks to the floor in shame.
Not sure what is wrong with either a Dunbar/Taylor or Scott/Bennett centre combo. Dunbar is far more than a crash ball merchant and his distribution and running lines are strong, whilst Scott is pretty stacked nowadays and is excellent at getting over the gain line in traffic. I’d be happy with either of these combos.
While Horne/Bennett may lack heft at test level they have been there and done it for Glasgow before.
European cup final, or whatever it’s called nowadays, was dreadful to watch. Even accounting for the deluge in the first half, neither side showed any ambition whatsoever. Ten man rugby and no entertainment. Sullied Carters legacy going out like that, unless he plays on next season. Natch Sky talked it up as an amazing tactical battle but I felt I was watching two versions of Geoff Cookes 1990s England team out there. Either of those teams would get minced by the Hurricanes or the Brumbies.
Never mind the Crusaders or the Highlanders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXeaZoo2gWk
I fear that we’ve all seen the best of Nakarawa – he’s going to be like a wasp at a picnic in that Racing Side – he’ll just p*ss everyone off – it’s absolutely tragic….I suppose he can console himself that he wont be the first fiji weegie to realise that his star shone brightest when playing in a team that embraced his rugby philosophy.