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Rory Darge: 'There's more focus coming into this campaign'
Scotland fans know that it’s the hope that kills you. Year after year of seeing statement victories interlaced with demoralising defeats has seen to that.
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But ahead of the 2025 Guinness Six Nations, that feeling had begun to creep back into Scottish homes and hearts again, like a weak ray of winter light promising spring.
There it was again, that question. Despite everything that’s gone before – could this be our year?
This time, however, the gut punch crashed home sooner than anticipated.
Before a ball had been spiralled, grubbered or fumbled, Scottish fans were already tearing their hair out in agony at the news that Sione Tuipulotu’s tournament was over.
The captain’s pectoral injury came less than two weeks before Italy visit Murrayfield on the opening weekend, with confirmation fittingly arriving on ‘Blue Monday.’
A day of despair indeed. Glasgow Warriors coach Franco Smith called the news “a loss for everyone”, while former Scotland player Andy Nicol described it as “devastating”.
Rory Darge, thrust back into the photo shoots, interviews and catwalks (seriously) demanded of the Six Nations captains at Tuesday’s tournament launch in Rome, described himself as “gutted.”
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“He’s my mate and his form was honestly at times hard to believe,” Darge told a group of reporters. “Every week he would just come and perform and push the bar even further.”
There appeared to be no silver lining to this dark January cloud as rain pummelled the ancient streets of the Eternal City outside the window.
The Glasgow centre’s stellar recent form was a big part of why those more optimistic souls north of the border had begun to harbour fragile confidence.
Tuipulotu was sensational in 2024, establishing himself as one of the world’s elite operators at No. 12 for club and country as he led Glasgow to a stunning URC title and earned the honour of the Scotland captaincy.
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A huge presence on and off the pitch, his partnership with Huw Jones – dubbed ‘Huwipulotu’ – was tipped by many as a potential starting British and Irish Lions midfield, and his loss left Gregor Townsend having to tear up his team sheet.
“Speaking to Sione over the weekend, he’s obviously devastated with missing out at the chance to be part of a team that he’s led in our most recent games,” Townsend said at the Six Nations launch in Rome.
“I think the timing [is the worst part] because everyone understands there’s going to be injuries. Everyone gets injured in their careers. Sione got injured in last year’s Six Nations, in the England game.
“There’s the aspect of the player and the person missing out when things were going really well, and the fact he had been our captain. But you have to move on. And the team moves on all the time.”
He’s got a point, but Townsend undoubtedly won’t have expected to have to move on so far and so soon when he was sipping a dram at the Hogmanay bells three weeks earlier. Because, sadly, his selection issues don’t end there.
Scott Cummings, the 42-cap lock who started every game for his country at the 2024 Six Nations, has broken his arm. Dylan Richardson hurt his shoulder, leaving hooker depth looking wafer-thin. Neither will feature for the rest of the tournament.
But let’s clear the gloom for a minute here.
Many of the reasons Scots fans had to be cheerful this time last week remain as valid now as ever.
In crisis comes opportunity, after all, and what Scotland now have is a chance to show that their combination of squad depth, experience and leadership truly makes this the strongest squad of the Townsend era.
If anything, Tuipulotu’s injury highlighted how far Scottish options have come ahead of Townsend’s eighth Six Nations campaign.
“We definitely have more depth than we’ve ever had,” the coach underlined. “It’s for moments like this.”
Townsend’s options to replace Tuipulotu are Glasgow Warriors pair Stafford McDowall and Tom Jordan, and Northampton’s Rory Hutchinson.
Cameron Redpath, Finn Russell’s partner-in-crime at Bath, is out for now, with Townsend saying he will “hopefully be back available after the second game.”
Darge summed up the variety of inside centre options neatly.
“Stafford stepped in last weekend against Harlequins (in the Champions Cup) and was probably one of our best players,” he said.
“Every time he plays for Glasgow or Scotland, he plays well. He’s a big ball-carrying threat and he’s had leadership experience before.
“Rory Hutchinson’s an integral part of a Premiership-winning Saints team and part of a team that’s flying right now in Europe. They’re playing some really nice rugby.
“And I heard Gregor speaking about Tom Jordan coming in early at full back and doing a job. I know he’s played 12 before and the experiences that he’s had at Test rugby, he’s taken it in his stride and made it look fairly straightforward, which it certainly isn’t.”
That’s before we even touch on Redpath, a Calcutta Cup winner on his Scotland debut in 2021 and proven Test-level operator.
While Tuipulotu’s absence will be sorely felt, the fact that Scotland have four backup options of such variety, quality and experience is testament to their development as a squad.
It’s true that the hooker and lock positions look light, but the Scottish back division bulges with options like an overstuffed sporran.
There is no lack of leadership either, given the array of current and former captains in the Murrayfield dressing room.
Darge and Finn Russell are co-captaining for a second straight Six Nations, while former Scotland skippers Jamie Ritchie and Grant Gilchrist are in the squad and Glasgow Warriors captain Kyle Steyn will soon return from injury.
What’s more, Tuipulotu’s absence does nothing to change the fact that this Scottish side possesses an encouraging ratio of age to caps.
In the backs, Russell (82 caps), George Horne (34), Jones (53), Duhan van der Merwe (44), Darcy Graham (42) and Blair Kinghorn (55) are part of the furniture and have an age range of 27-32.
Up front, Johnny Gray (77), Grant Gilchrist (75), Zander Fagerson (70), Matt Fagerson (50) and Pierre Schoeman (37) possess vast Test experience. Apart from Gilchrist, the most senior member of the squad at 34, their ages range from 26-30.
The core of Scotland’s squad is at its peak, young enough to have pace and punch but old enough to have been there and done it. That should help them to not be rocked by the loss of one player – no matter how influential.
“It feels like there’s more focus coming into this campaign,” Darge said.
“The conversations that we had as a group were really encouraging because everyone was saying the same thing… that means that we’re all aligned from day one.”
Another thing that has changed since last year’s Six Nations is that a large contingent of the squad has experienced lifting silverware, many for the first time.
Glasgow’s URC triumph last summer was outstanding not only for its rarity – it was just the second in their history and the first in almost a decade – but because of the way it was achieved.
Warriors travelled to South Africa as huge underdogs and came from 13 points behind to beat the Bulls with a performance of ferocious physicality in front of a huge, hostile Pretoria crowd. This wasn’t Scottish rugby as we know it.
Sixteen Glasgow players were named in Scotland’s squad this year, while Blair Kinghorn is another to have hit new career heights over the last 12 months at Toulouse, knocking France star Thomas Ramos out of the No. 15 shirt as he won an Investec Champions Cup and Top 14 double in his debut season.
As a unit, this Scotland side looks more complete than ever. And they are ready to respond to Tuipulotu’s loss, according to Darge.
“There are things that happen that are uncontrollable and big players getting injured is one of those things,” said the Glasgow flanker.
“For me it’s similar to a referee decision that goes against you and is incorrect; sometimes it happens.
“Rugby is a dynamic game so what is your response to that? Do you roll over and accept it and think, ‘well that was the wrong call, they’re going to score from this’ or do you control what you can control and stand up to the adversity that you’re going through?”
Darge has posed the question, and he and his team-mates will provide the answer. It is time to deliver.
Make no mistake, Tuipulotu’s loss is a body blow. But this squad is better equipped than ever before to deal with it – and perhaps to keep that twinkle of hope in Scottish eyes come the opening weekend.
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