Ben White hands Scotland huge Six Nations injury boost as update given on injury duo

Scrum-half had been a concern after picking up injury while playing for Toulon at weekend

Ben White has been declared fit for Scotland’s Guinness Six Nations opener against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.

The scrum-half suffered an injury scare in Toulon’s Top 14 clash with La Rochelle last weekend when he had to come off early with a shoulder injury. But John Dalziel, the Scotland assistant coach, has delivered an upbeat assessment on White after initially fearing it could have been more serious. He said the player had trained well at Scotland’s pre-tournament camp in Spain. “We were a bit worried watching it on the TV but like any rugby injury it was a bit of a stinger at the time and he’s been flying around like a mad thing today,” said Dalziel. “No concerns about Ben, he’s good to go.”

Scotland have already lost Darcy Graham, WP Nel and Grant Gilchrist for the Wales game, the first two through injury and the latter to suspension. There is also concern around new co-captain Rory Darge and it remains unclear whether the Glasgow flanker will recover from a knee injury in time to face Wales. Dalziel said he would have a clearer picture on Wednesday but it might be that Darge is not available until Scotland’s second match, against France at Murrayfield on February 10.

Ben White during a Scotland rugby training session last week at Oriam.

“He’s completely on track, we’ve put no timescales on him,” said the coach. “We just want to make sure he’s available for either game one or game two. He’s progressed brilliantly, he’s run well today so there will be a decision on that. Tomorrow will be a key day on whether it’s next week or this weekend.”