Double Saffa blow for Scotland

01/21/2025 12:38 PM

Concerns have arisen around the availability of wing Duhan van der Merwe for Scotland’s 2025 Six Nations opener against Italy, with another SA-born star ruled out altogether.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has called up Arron Reed to his Six Nations squad as cover for Van der Merwe, who is recovering from an ankle injury and has yet to return to full training.

Meanwhile, Dylan Richardson has been ruled out of the tournament due to a shoulder injury in the Sharks' Investec Champions Cup defeat by Bordeaux Begles last week. 

"We've called Arron Reed into the squad and he'll be training today. It's to cover Duhan this week, who has a couple of niggles," Townsend was quoted at the Six Nations launch in Rome on Tuesday.

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"We don't see any problems for next week, but it might still need to be managed in training."

"Dylan got a scan, and he'll now go back to his club. He's unlikely to feature in the Six Nations," Townsend confirmed.

Despite Richardson's absence, Townsend won't be calling up another hooker. "We had four hookers in the squad. It's a blow for Dylan, but we won't add anyone there just yet."

The former Scotland playmaker admitted squad depth was a factor in Reed's call-up: "Because Sione [Tuipulotu] is missing and players are training in different positions, we thought we'd be OK. 

"But with Duhan not training, our sessions wouldn't function, so we brought in Arron officially."

Scotland kick off their Six Nations campaign against Italy in Edinburgh on 1 February.

Photo: Ross Parker/SNS Group via Getty Images

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