Scotland Coach Townsend Weighs Options for Graham’s Replacement

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend is considering his options for the upcoming Springboks clash on Sunday, following the unavailability of Darcy Graham. Townsend provided an update, indicating that Kyle Rowe might be fit for the match. Additionally, Blair Kinghorn, who was not available for the victory against Fiji due to the game falling outside the international test window, has returned and is now eligible for selection. Townsend commented on the potential selections, stating, “Blair has been a starting full-back for a wee while now, he’s been in great form for Toulouse. But he’s also played on the wing for us and for Toulouse this year. Kyle [Rowe] is still an option. We’ll see how he progresses over the next couple of days. We’ve got Harry Paterson and Arron Reed in our squad. Harry has played very well for us in the summer and also in the Six Nations. Arron’s in cracking form, had two games for Sale which were outstanding. We’ve also got Jamie Dobie, who has played on the wing for us in the summer tour and for Glasgow.” Rowe had exited the field before half-time during the 57-17 win against Fiji. However, his hamstring injury is reportedly less severe than initially anticipated, potentially allowing him to retain his position in the starting XV. Regarding Rowe’s status, Townsend stated, “He’s not ruled out. It will now be a case of seeing how he responds to training and how much we feel we can push him because we’ll need some contribution in training this week to go into the game. The fact that it’s a day later, an eight-day turnaround, I’m optimistic. But it’ll be over the next couple of days we’ll know that for sure.”