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Gregor Townsend left sweating as Glasgow pair await scan results
By Bryn Palmer
Glasgow and Scotland are awaiting the results of scans for back-row duo Jack Dempsey and Rory Darge, four weeks out from the start of the Autumn Nations Series.
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No.8 Dempsey was poised for his first competitive start since the Six Nations last Friday after recovering from a hamstring injury to be named in the Warriors’ side for their opening URC fixture against Sharks.
But the 31-year-old pulled up with a groin issue towards the end of the warm-up, forcing his late withdrawal from the starting XV.
Dempsey was sent for a scan on Monday, with Warriors waiting to see if their first-choice No.8 will be sidelined for any further period.
“He seems OK just now,” reported assistant coach Scott Forrest on Tuesday. “He’s back in the building.
“Part of it was we had to make a decision in quite a tight turnaround, when he went down near the end of the warm-up. It’s hard to know if it was just a bit of a scare he got. It’s not related to his previous injuries. It’s something completely different.
“When we had the people that we had available – and [lock] Max Williamson was 24th man – so when you’ve got a Scotland international there, it’s probably the safer option just to make a decision, make the change, rather than allow Jack to go and see if he can play. And then maybe you’re a few minutes into the game and having to make a substitution. So part of it was precaution, let’s just take the decision away from him.
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“But until we get the scan results, we’ll wait and see. It’s crazy. He’d been flying in training. You could see he was ready to get on the pitch. So hopefully it’s nothing serious and he’s good to go pretty soon.”
Darge, who captained Scotland on their summer tour of New Zealand and Fiji, is another potential concern for Gregor Townsend as he assesses his options for the first of four autumn Tests on 1 November against the USA, with New Zealand, Argentina and Tonga to follow at Murrayfield.
The openside flanker had his knee heavily strapped up during lengthy treatment in the 57th minute of Friday’s 35-19 victory over the Sharks, but played on for a further 10 minutes before being removed from the fray.
“Again, it’s probably more precautionary,” explained Forrest. “He’s going for a scan today just to see what’s going on there. He’s obviously got a history there.
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“He felt something. He played on for a while; where the game was at that point we still had subs to make. It was [a case of] ‘let’s just do the right thing here and bring him off’. But again, let’s see what the scan results come back with.”
On a brighter note for Glasgow, club captain Kyle Steyn may feature in their second URC match against Benetton in Treviso on Saturday with the wing recovered from a fractured hand, while centre talisman Sione Tuipulotu could also be re-integrated following his summer exertions with the British & Irish Lions in Australia.
“He’s essentially trained fully,” Forrest said of Steyn. “A couple of modifications last week, but he trained fully yesterday. He looks good to go. He’ll be back in that selection mix now, as is Sione as well. They’re going to be pretty close to playing.
“With these Scotland players, it’s how you manage them across this five weeks before the internationals come up.”
Another Scotland international, Alex Craig, has yet to feature since his summer arrival from Scarlets, but the lock is also back in full training after a hamstring issue.
“He trained fully yesterday and came through that well,” Forrest added. I think his legs and his lungs were probably feeling that a little bit. But that’s him back in training.
“It’s then a decision of when’s the right time for him to play. But he’ll definitely come back into the mix because having another international player, who’s very experienced at URC level as well, adds another layer of competition to training, which is excellent.”
Another new arrival, hooker Tavi Tuipulotu – younger brother of Sione – is still potentially some months away from being in contention after arriving from Australia with a knee injury.
Meanwhile Tongan back-rower Sione Vailanu, who spent 15 months on the sidelines with a serious knee injury before returning for seven games towards the end of last season, is back in rehabilitation mode with his knee issue.
“He’s working away with the S&C team and the physio team,” Forrest added. “He’s not in rugby just now. Hopefully, he’s back on the pitch pretty soon for us, to give us some more competition in that area.”
While Glasgow can still count on another Scotland No.8 in Matt Fagerson, with Jack Mann having departed for Gloucester, Vailanu sidelined and doubts over Dempsey and Darge, the versatile Macenzzie Duncan and Angus Fraser could feature in the back-row mix this weekend in Treviso.
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