Cam Redpath ruled out of Scotland v France with neck injury, plus Matt Fagerson update

Cam Redpath’s wretched run with injuries has continued and the centre has been ruled out of Scotland’s home match against France on Saturday with a neck problem.

He will be joined on the sidelines by second-row forwards Jonny Gray and Scott Cummings, leaving head coach Gregor Townsend to bemoan the “attritional nature” of the Six Nations.

Townsend had already lost the services of Jamie Ritchie and Rory Sutherland and there remains a lingering doubt about the fitness of Matt Fagerson. The No 8 suffered a bang to the foot in the defeat by Wales in Cardiff and is being seen by a specialist.

“Matt is with us at the moment and he will be assessed and we will see how he goes during the course of the week,” said AB Zondagh, the Scotland assistant coach. “He is being assessed by a specialist at Spire Hospital and is back in camp with us so hopefully in the next day or two we will have more information on that.”

Redpath’s absence comes as a real blow. The Bath centre made his return to international rugby as a replacement against Wales, a full year after his Scotland debut in the memorable win over England at Twickenham. In between he suffered serious neck and knee injuries and it is hoped that the latest setback does not keep him out for too long.

“He has an injury to his neck,” said Zondagh. “The severity of that we don’t know but he has been ruled out this week and hopefully we will have more information on that in the next couple of days.”

The accumulation of injuries has left Scotland looking a little threadbare, particularly in the pack, and replacements have been summoned. Townsend has called up props Oli Kebble and Simon Berghan, locks Marshall Sykes and Kiran McDonald, centre James Lang and the uncapped Glasgow Warriors full-back Ollie Smith.

Cameron Redpath will miss Scotland's Six Nations match against France due to injury. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

The coach also has Josh Bayliss available for the first time in the championship. The Bath flanker missed the matches against England and Wales due to concussion but made his club return on Saturday, coming off the bench and scoring a superb try in a narrow home defeat by Leicester Tigers.

Gray is out due to an ankle injury and fellow lock Cummings has a knee problem. It leaves Townsend with Grant Gilchrist and Sam Skinner as his frontline second rows, with Sykes and McDonald providing cover.

In the front row, Glasgow Warriors loosehead Kebble joins up as a replacement for Sutherland who injured his ribs in the 20-17 loss to Wales. Tighthead Berghan also returns to the squad, replacing Javan Sebastian who has returned to his club.

The inclusion of Smith is reward for the Glasgow full-back’s fine recent form, including a player of the match performance in the win over Benetton on Saturday night.

Matt Fagerson, centre, suffered a foot injury in the Guinness Six Nations defeat by Wales. Picture: David Davies/PA

Townsend said: “While it is disappointing to lose players to injury ahead of the France match, this is a great opportunity for the new players to impress and force their way into our match-day squad.

“The attritional nature of the Guinness Six Nations means there are often changes made to the squad throughout the championship and it is a challenge we are much better equipped to deal with given our current squad depth.”

To celebrate the start of the Six Nations we're offering 30% off ALL new annual digital subscriptions to The Scotsman. Read Scotland's best rugby coverage, expert analysis and gain unlimited access to award-winning Scottish journalism. Subscribe today using code SIXNTS30