Scotland dealt Darcy Graham South Africa blow - but another injury doubt gives boost

Darcy Graham has been ruled out of Scotland’s match against South Africa with a head injury but Kyle Rowe has a chance of facing the world champions at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Graham, 27, was outstanding in the opening match of the Autumn Nations series against Fiji, scoring four tries in the 57-17 victory at the weekend, but the Edinburgh winger was injured in the act of scoring his fourth try and came off shortly afterwards.

He failed an initial head injury assessment (HIA) and two further tests so will not be available this Sunday. Depending on his recovery, he could return for the final two matches of the autumn series, against Portugal and Australia on November 16 and 24.

Darcy Graham had to come off after scoring four tries against Fiji. | SNS Group

“Darcy unfortunately failed his HIA2 and his HIA3, so he’ll be ruled out for this weekend,” confirmed Gregor Townsend, the Scotland coach.

“These [injuries] obviously take their natural time to recover. It’s a 12-day [recovery] period, so he’ll do nothing for the next three days. And then he starts the graduated return to play, and if everything goes well, he’ll be available for Portugal.”

Graham’s unavailability is a blow given his form and the fact that he has had such a torrid time with injury over the past two years. Saturday’s game against Fiji was his first for Scotland since the 2023 Rugby World Cup and he was excellent throughout, scoring two tries in each half to take his international tally to 28 in 40 Tests. His fourth try briefly drew him level with Duhan van der Merwe as Scotland’s all-time top try scorer before van der Merwe scored one of his own to move on to 29.

Rowe was also injured in the win over Fiji and was not expected to be available for the South Africa game but Townsend said that scan results had shown the hamstring issue was not as bad as first feared. The Glasgow Warriors player, who was at full-back, scored Scotland’s opening try on Saturday but had to come off just before half-time.

Scotland's Kyle Rowe scores a first half try against Fiji. | SNS Group / SRU

“The good news is that Kyle Rowe is much better than expected,” said Townsend. “So he has a chance for this week, we’re not ruling him out. And obviously that means we’re not ruling him out for the series, which is positive.

“I think we all felt after the game that, with the hamstring injury, it could be him missing the next few games, but no, he’s recovering well and the scan provided positive news.”

If Rowe is passed fit to play, he could replace Graham on the wing against South Africa, with Blair Kinghorn expected to come into the side at full-back. Kinghorn, the Toulouse back, missed the Fiji game because it took place outside the designated international window and Townsend was unable to select French- and English-based players.

Tom Jordan replaced Rowe at full-back against Fiji, coming off the bench to make his Scotland debut, but the Glasgow Warriors player is primarily a stand-off or centre. There is a degree of versatility amongst the Scotland backs which gives Townsend flexibility in terms of selection. Kinghorn can also play on the wing, a position he has filled for Toulouse recently. Other back-three options in the squad include Edinburgh’s Harry Paterson, Sale’s Arron Reed and Glasgow’s Jamie Dobie, who can play scrum-half or wing.