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Scotland lock Gray to miss rest of Six Nations

By Ciarán Kennedy
Scotland's Jonny Gray (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Scotland have suffered another major blow to their Six Nations hopes with the news that lock Jonny Gray will miss the rest of the campaign with injury.

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Gray has started both of Scotland’s opening two Six Nations fixtures, and played the full 80 minutes of Saturday’s defeat to England at Murrayfield.

Yet the Glasgow Warriors lock will play no further part in Scotland’s campaign due to a hand injury.

Scotland have suffered back-to-back defeats in the opening rounds of the Six Nations, losing to Ireland and England, while the ongoing saga surrounding Finn Russell’s absence continues to dog the team.

Gray, 25, has been 56 times for Scotland since making his debut in 2013, and the Glasgow lock is set to move to Exeter Chiefs next season.

He suffered the injury during the Calcutta Cup defeat by England on Saturday, and the Scottish Rugby Union have confirmed he would return to his club for “ongoing care and assessment”.

His absence will present another headache for Townsend, who has been open to some heavy criticism following the team’s underwhelming World Cup campaign last year.

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Scotland are back in action when they travel to take on Italy on February 22 before welcoming France to Murrayfield on March 8.

The final round of action sees Townsend’s team away to Wales on March 14.

Watch: Eddie Jones warns against Six Nations expansion.

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Trevor 2 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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