No need to rush Rory Darge and Scott Cummings back for Scotland, says Franco Smith

Rory Darge and Scott Cummings continued their comebacks from long-term injuries in Glasgow Warriors’ win over Zebre on Friday night but head coach Franco Smith feels it is still too soon for them to play for Scotland in the Six Nations.
Rory Darge, right, played 67 minutes for Glasgow Warriors against Zebre on Friday.  (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)Rory Darge, right, played 67 minutes for Glasgow Warriors against Zebre on Friday.  (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)
Rory Darge, right, played 67 minutes for Glasgow Warriors against Zebre on Friday. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

Darge played 67 minutes of the 50-8 victory over the Italian side while Cummings played the whole match. It was Darge’s second start after his lay-off and his first at Scotstoun since he suffered a serious ankle injury against Cardiff in early September. For Cummings, it was his third game back following a foot injury sustained while training with Scotland ahead of the 2022 Autumn Nations Series.

Smith is pleased with the progress made by both and, while he will respect Gregor Townsend’s decision, he doesn’t believe there is a need for the national coach to consider them for selection for Scotland who will play Ireland at Murrayfield next Sunday and Italy six days later. “Rory needs a little bit of time still with the role that he’s played and the specific injury that he’s had, I think he needs confidence, and Friday was much better than the week before [when he played against Lions],” said Smith. “I think Scotty is in good form. He’s crossed the bridge playing 80 minutes this weekend and that was important.”

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Asked if they were ready for Scotland, Smith said: “I personally think that if I was in that position, I would wait a little bit. There’s nothing wrong with the players that Gregor is using at the moment. So, I would involve them in the training week, for sure. But to pick them into the team, that will obviously be his decision but I think it would be smart to get them another couple of games at club level, and get them ready for whatever is needed going towards the World Cup.”

Cummings trained with Scotland ahead of the Six Nations match against Wales last month and Townsend may be tempted to call him up in the likely event of Grant Gilchrist being unavailable. Gilchrist was sent off for a high tackle in the defeat by France in Paris last weekend but Scotland are still waiting to hear if the lock is to be suspended. Jonny Gray and Sam Skinner provided second-row cover against France, with Richie Gray the other starting lock.

Glasgow, meanwhile, will now have some rest time before they begin preparing for their next United Rugby Championship match, against Munster in Limerick on March 25. The win over Zebre strengthened their top four credentials with three rounds of fixtures remaining in the regular season. After Munster, they have home games against Scarlets (April 14) and Connacht (April 22). A top-four finish would guarantee them a home tie in the play-off quarter-finals.

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