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Darcy Graham has been ruled out of Scotland’s showdown with South Africa on Sunday after failing to pass head injury protocols.
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The prolific wing left the field in the closing stages of Saturday’s 57-17 win over Fiji as a result of a head knock sustained while scoring his fourth try of the match.
Head coach Gregor Townsend revealed on Tuesday afternoon that Graham will play no part against the Boks this weekend. There was better news for Scotland, however, as a hamstring injury sustained by versatile back Kyle Rowe – the most obvious contender to replace Graham on the wing after starting at full-back against Fiji – is not as bad as first feared.
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“Yes, it’s mixed news, so the good news is that Kyle Rowe is much better than expected,” Townsend said. “We literally got his scan results back in the last hour, so he has a chance for this week, so we’re not ruling him out for this week, and obviously that means we’re not ruling him out for the tournament, which is positive.
“We all felt after the game that with a hamstring injury, it could be him missing the next few games, but no, he’s recovering well, and the scan provided positive news.
“Darcy, unfortunately, failed his (Head Injury Assessment) HIA2 and his HIA3, so he’ll be ruled out for this weekend.
“These obviously take their natural time to recover, it’s a 12-day period, so he’ll do nothing for the next three days and then he starts the graduated return to play. If everything goes well, he’ll be available for Portugal (the following Saturday).”
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Toulon scrum-half Ben White, Toulouse full-back Blair Kinghorn and Bath stand-off Finn Russell are all back in the mix for Sunday after being unavailable for the Fiji game as it took place outside the international window.
Townsend has various options to plug the gaps in his back three left by Graham and potentially Rowe, with Tom Jordan, Jamie Dobie, Kinghorn, Huw Jones and Harry Paterson all versatile enough to play different roles in the back division if required.
“Blair’s been our starting full-back for a wee while now, he’s been in great form for Toulouse, but he’s also played on the wing for us, and he’s played on the wing for Toulouse this year,” said Townsend.
“Kyle is still an option, we’ll see how he progresses over the next couple of days. Harry Paterson has played very well for us in the summer and also in the Six Nations, Arron Reed was in cracking form, I saw two games for Sale which were outstanding.
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“And we’ve also got Jamie Dobie, who’s played on the wing for us on the summer tour and for Glasgow.”
Townsend refused to be drawn on the case of Stuart Hogg, the 32-year-old former Scotland captain who pleaded guilty on Monday to a charge of abusing his estranged wife over the course of five years.
“I’m not going to comment on any specific cases, especially one that’s still ongoing, but on behalf of Scottish Rugby, we condemn any abuse, whether that’s domestic, online, social, and that’s something we feel strongly about,” said Townsend.
