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A fresh Javan Sebastian setback isn't the update Scotland wanted
By Bryn Palmer
Gregor Townsend’s tighthead resources in Scotland for the forthcoming Autumn Nations Series have been dealt a further blow with Edinburgh prop Javan Sebastian suffering a shoulder injury in his comeback match.
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The 30-year-old, who won his 10th cap when he started Scotland’s final summer tour Test against Uruguay, had just recovered from a quad issue sustained in pre-season which ruled him out of Edinburgh’s first four United Rugby Championship matches.
He returned to action for the club’s A team against Bath United on Saturday, only to suffer an injury to his AC joint with a minute of the match remaining. Sebastian may require surgery to fix the problem and now faces a potentially lengthy spell on the sidelines.
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“Javan unfortunately got injured in the 79th minute at Bath and it doesn’t look too good for him going forward,” reported Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt. “So he will be seeking a surgeon’s opinion on Friday just to see the way forward in repairing the AC injury.
“He was going well in the pre-season. It was the first full pre-season he has had and he showed great potential but unfortunately in an internal friendly, he got a whack on the quad which put him out of selection for Leinster and then going to South Africa. It [his latest injury] is a shame, but that is the nature of the game and let’s hope it’s not too serious.”
Scotland head coach Townsend had been trying to build depth behind first-choice Zander Fagerson in the number three shirt after the retirement of WP Nel at the end of last season. Fagerson’s Glasgow understudy Murphy Walker, who took his tally to five caps in the summer amid an injury-blighted few years, is also currently sidelined until early-to-mid December with a neck problem.
Meanwhile two other tightheads who also started a Test each on the summer tour have been struggling for game-time with their English clubs. Elliott Millar-Mills, who made his debut during the Guinness Six Nations earlier this year and has six caps to his name, only had his first outing of the season for Northampton last Saturday, playing the first 40 minutes against Leicester.
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Tigers prop Will Hurd, who won his first two caps on the summer tour, has been restricted to just 49 minutes so far this term against Newcastle, with Joe Heyes and Dan Cole the duo chosen for three out of four of Leicester’s games so far.
It means that Townsend will be praying nothing befalls the durable Fagerson as Glasgow head for two tough URC assignments in South Africa against Sharks and Stormers over the next two Saturdays before Scotland’s opening autumn Test against Fiji on November 2.
Another Scotland front-rower, hooker Ewan Ashman, is at least fit to return from a head knock for Edinburgh’s home date with Cardiff this Saturday. Everitt will rest Scotland flanker Jamie Ritchie this weekend, allowing Luke Crosbie to return to the starting line-up having made his first-team comeback from a neck issue off the bench in last Saturday’s morale-boosting 38-7 victory over Stormers.
He also faces a selection dilemma at openside where Hamish Watson is available again after being rested on Saturday. Ben Muncaster delivered a man-of-the-match display in his place.
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“It seems to be dovetailing quite nicely,” Everitt said. “Ben Muncaster had a great game and deservedly got man of the match. Jamie has been really good for us as well, but it’s great that we have got a guy like Luke back who came off the bench and got a couple of minutes, probably not as many as he would have liked.
“But it certainly was a stepping stone for him starting this weekend, as planned. We are blessed in the loose forward position. Hamish had a rest last week so he comes into the mix from a selection point of view. We are just not sure whether he will start or be on the bench.”
After the horrors of their 55-21 defeat by the Lions in Johannesburg, beating the Stormers ended a five-match losing run stretching back to last season and has bolstered Everitt’s belief that a top-four finish remains eminently achievable.
“Definitely,” he said when asked if that pre-season ambition was still realistic. “Going into round five of the competition, we are climbing up the ladder. We have got one win that has just taken us from second last to ninth, so things change really quickly.
“Obviously we are looking for a full house of points against Cardiff at home. We haven’t forgotten the (Lions) game, that is fresh in the players’ minds. They know they need to back up the performance of last week, to change everyone’s opinion of the team.”
