Scotland are the latest team to suffer a prop setback

It seems no Six Nations country is immune to the current prop crisis, with Scotland’s James Whitcombe the latest to be sidelined with an undisclosed injury.

The Yorkshireman, who qualifies for Scotland through his Falkirk-born grandmother, has been forced to withdraw from the Scotland A squad after picking up a knock.

With the uncapped Whitcombe ruled out and Ollie Blyth Lafferty drafted into the Scotland U20s to face Italy U20 this weekend, senior Six Nations squad member D’arcy Rae has joined the Scotland A squad ahead of Friday’s match against Italy XV at Stadio Centro D’Italia, Manlio Scopigno.

Glasgow Warriors duo, loose forward Euan Ferrie and hooker Seb Stephen, have also been drafted into the A team squad.

The build-up to this year’s Six Nations has been plagued by injuries to props, with Ireland especially hard hit. Injuries to Andrew Porter, Paddy McCarthy and Jack Boyle have left Ireland heavily depleted at loose-head.

Uini Atonio’s sudden retirement because of a heart problem has left France without their most experienced tight-head, while one of Wales’ most-improved players in the Autumn, tight-head Keiron Assiratti, has been ruled out of the championship with a calf problem.

Meanwhile, England are without Will Stuart (Achilles), Asher Opoku-Fordjour (shoulder) and Fin Baxter (foot) for the entirety of the campaign.