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.