Darcy Graham and Blair Kinghorn both due to resume training this week; Scotland’s head coach Gregor Townsend will wait until after the team’s training session on Tuesday to decide on the 23 for opening Rugby World Cup game against South Africa in Marseille on Sunday
Scotland are preparing for their World Cup opening game against South Africa
Scotland’s head coach Gregor Townsend says he has a fully-fit squad ahead of their clash with South Africa in the Rugby World Cup as Edinburgh pair Darcy Graham and Blair Kinghorn are expected to return to training this week.
There was concern around free-scoring wing Graham after a thigh strain saw him miss the final warm-up match against Georgia last weekend while full-back Kinghorn was nursing a minor issue.
Scotland are preparing for their opening game against South Africa in Marseille on Sunday, and Townsend is delighted to have a full squad at his disposal to tackle the reigning champions.
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“It’s good that we’ve got on the plane together with no injuries, which is amazing when you think back a few weeks ago when we had a squad of 41 and were reducing it to 33,” head coach Townsend said.
“We thought the four games [against Italy, France home and away, and Georgia], all tough Test matches, would result in injuries to our group, which hasn’t been the case.
Scotland beat Georgia in their final World Cup warm-up match
“I’m really pleased that those players that played in those games have been able to make it to this stage. As we currently view things, they will all be good for Sunday.”
Scotland are in Pool B alongside South Africa and Ireland, the two highest ranked teams in the world, as well as Tonga and Romania.
Townsend has reserved the final decision about the XV until Scotland’s training session on Tuesday.
“The 23 is not decided. We’ll have a couple of meetings as coaches about what we feel is right. We’ve got individual decisions to make and then more a concept of whether it’s a 5/3 or a 6/2 bench we go for.”
Scotland exited the World Cup at the group stage four years ago and face a tough task in France, but Townsend is sure the players are equipped to meet his “very high” expectations.
Duhan van der Merwe (right) scored Scotland’s first try against Georgia
“My hopes are obviously very high and my expectations of this team are very high because I know they can reach them,” he said.
“We are focused on getting our best performance out against South Africa.
“We’ve been talking about that for weeks and months. It’s one reason why we went strong in three of our four (warm-up) games.
“A lot of the players that will be involved at the weekend have played together and trained together and built up a cohesion.
“A lot of what we’re doing in terms of our game plan was set for South Africa so it’s a great opportunity to see how they go.
“We know there’s some real tests ahead of us in the next few weeks but this team is ready to go.”
