Coach hopes Edinburgh Rugby's return to form is reflected in Scotland squad
Michael Todd, Edinburgh Rugby’s defence coach, is hoping the club’s recent uptick in form is reflected in Gregor Townsend’s Scotland squad for the autumn internationals.
Townsend is due to name his squad on Wednesday afternoon for the four-match series which will see Fiji, South Africa, Portugal and Australia visit Murrayfield next month. There is also an A international against Chile at Hive Stadium.
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Hide AdEdinburgh have recorded back-to-back bonus points wins over the Stormers and Cardiff and are looking to make it three in a row when they face the Ospreys in Bridgend on Saturday. The victories have been much needed after they kicked off the season with three successive defeats, the low point being the game against the Lions in South Africa, in which they trailed 48-0 at half-time before losing 55-21.
The capital club copped plenty of flak for their performance in Johannesburg but, credit where it’s due, they have responded in the right manner with a couple of big performances. Their big beasts such as Jamie Ritchie, Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, Grant Gilchrist, Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe are all likely to be in Townsend’s squad but Todd is also hoping that some of the younger players are included.
“You want everyone to do as well as they can, especially some of the young guys coming through and, obviously, with the A game there are opportunities for them,” said Todd. “So I hope for the best for them and that we get as many as we can in the squad.”
Ross Thompson, the stand-off, has impressed for Edinburgh recently as have hooker Paddy Harrison and uncapped back-rower Ben Muncaster. Ali Price is not exactly a youngster but the scrum-half has also been in fine form, particularly in Saturday’s win over Cardiff, and could be in line for a recall.
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Hide AdMatt Currie is also likely to get the nod and it will be interesting to see if his centre partner Mosese Tuipulotu receives his first call-up, perhaps with the A game against Chile being a starting point. There could also be a return to the international fold for D’arcy Rae given the shortage of tighthead prop options for the first game against Fiji. Scotland will have to select home-based players only for the opener because it falls outside the Test window.
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