WITH less than a week before he has to name his final 31-man Rugby World Cup squad, Vern Cotter, the Scotland head coach has started the pruning process by cutting seven from the 47-man training group, releasing them to play for their clubs this weekend.
Few of the names will be a major surprise, though Hamish Watson, the Edinburgh flanker, must feel that his all-action cameo against Italy last weekend deserved a reprieve that never came. He had a hand in a couple of the breaks that helped revive the Scottish cause and pinched a key turnover after replacing John Hardie, the New Zealander who only arrived mid way through the camp.
He is joined on the short trip round the corner at BT Murrayfield to the Edinburgh changing rooms by Dougie Fife and Ben Toolis, both late additions to the squad to cover injuries; Damien Hoyland, the wing who came off the bench for his debut cap at the weekend, and Allan Dell, the prop who was in the 25-man party for the first game but did not make the match-day 23. Three of the five Edinburgh players released did not feature at all in the warm-up games, while the other two played only about 40 minutes between them.
Glasgow Warriors are also getting players back, with Mike Cusack, the prop who could not prevent the scrum struggling against Italy, and Rory Hughes who preformed well in the same game but faces stiff competition from established wings.
"We knew players would come back," said Gregor Townsend, the Glasgow coach. "They will be better for the experience of playing and also training with the players preparing for the World Cup. The important thing is that the players are playing and have been released out of the Scotland squad to play a game. We are all going to wait until next week to find out what the final squad is, but it will be good to get Mike [Cusack] back to learn the line out codes, get on with Dan [McFarlane, the new forwards coach] and all that."
Townsend is also to get Josh Strauss, the No.8, back for at least two games, this weekend's prestige clash with Canada in Nova Scotia and the opening Guinness PRO12 match against the Scarlets. He does not reach the three-year residency until after Scotland's final warm-up game and had always been pencilled in for these matches simply to get match practice.
Edinburgh are getting a bigger boost from the pruning of the national squad. "Vern Cotter is a good coach and he makes his decisions, which I respect," said Alan Solomons, the Edinburgh head coach. "It is good for us. I am sorry for the players because I want them all to play for the national side, but only 31 can go to the World Cup, but it is positive for us and good to welcome them back into the camp.
"They will be at practice this week and get game time this weekend [when Edinburgh play the last of their pre-season games against Ulster at Goldenacre]. From a purely Edinburgh perspective it is a good thing. If you look at the players, a lot are young boys who will get opportunities in the future.
"This is rugby, everybody knew that the World Cup squad was 31 players and unfortunately some guys are going to have to be cut. Vern has said that and it is not just Vern but every coach involved in the Rugby World Cup who has to make those tough decisions. The boys will come back to a familiar environment and I am sure will be champing at the bit to play.
"All the players who were involved in the World Cup preparations will have benefited. Every one – just by being part of that wider squad."
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