CORNELL du Preez, the Edinburgh Rugby forward, has been called into the Scotland squad for this weekend’s game against Argentina following a spate of injuries during Saturday’s 23-22 defeat by Australia at Murrayfield. Born in South Africa, the 25-year-old qualifies to play for Scotland through the residency rule, and would be winning his first cap against the Pumas if selected.
Glasgow Warriors’ Ryan Wilson could be available to play against the Pumas in five days’ time, despite lasting only five minutes of the game against Australia two days ago. Edinburgh’s John Hardie, who replaced Wilson, had to go off himself with 20 minutes left and is now a doubt, as is second-row Richie Gray.
With another Glasgow back-row forward, Josh Strauss, also doubtful after missing the Wallabies game through injury, Du Preez has a chance of making it into the matchday 23. However, even if Wilson, Hardie and Strauss are all ruled out, head coach Vern Cotter could still opt to bring squad members Rob Harley or Magnus Bradbury into the back row instead of Du Preez. Harley can play at lock as well as at No 6 so his versatility would come in useful in a depleted squad, while Bradbury has been outstanding for Edinburgh recently.
“Ryan Wilson suffered a laceration to his ankle in the fifth minute of the match which required medical attention at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary,” a statement from Scottish Rugby explained yesterday. “He re-joined the team after the match.
“Lock Richie Gray underwent a head injury assessment (HIA) in the 12th minute and returned to the field. He must now complete the third part of the HIA process tomorrow (48 hours post-match) to be considered available for this Saturday’s Test match against Argentina in Edinburgh.
“John Hardie suffered a concussion, as well as a knee and ankle sprain, in the 61st minute. He is now subject to the graduated return to play protocols for his head injury, as well as ongoing rehabilitation and medical management for his leg.
“As a consequence of the injuries sustained in the game and the ongoing rehabilitation of back-row Josh Strauss, Scotland have added uncapped Edinburgh Rugby back-row Cornell Du Preez to the squad.” Du Preez himself has had to recover from injury already this season, and played his way back to fitness by turning out for Heriot’s in the BT Premiership before returning to the Edinburgh ranks.
Meanwhile, Cotter is confident his team showed against the Wallabies that they are continuing to get better, despite the fact that they lost by a single point just as they did against the same opponents in last year’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final. “I think there has been improvement in a lot of things,” he said. “If we can keep our set plays producing ball and we can get over the advantage line and vary our attacks and keep that defensive aggression we saw today, I think there are positive signs.
"Against Argentina, set phase and scrum will be important. They're the highest offloading team in world rugby, just about, so our focus will change in how we defend."
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