Scotland are confident Richie Gray will be cleared to play against Argentina despite a Wednesday disciplinary hearing for an alleged illegal clearout against New Zealand.
The veteran lock’s actions at hitting a ruck did not result in any on-field sanction but the match commissioner cited the 33-year-old and he’s scheduled to appear before the panel.
Scotland scrum coach Pieter de Villiers said that the elder Gray had been a revelation in his return to the national team.
‘Hopefully that plays in his favour’
Hamish Watson is out of the squad having sustained a concussion against the All Blacks. Rory Sutherland has also returned to his club to recover from a knee injury.
Callum Hunter-Hill has been called up ahead of this weekend. pic.twitter.com/0t6dVOxu2Z
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) November 14, 2022
“Richie’s experience and leadership have been massive,” he said. “He’s brought a lot to the table for us. It’s great to see him in this kind of form.
“There’s plenty of blows in the game of rugby. The Richie incident was deemed on the field to be not dangerous play, and hopefully, that also plays in his favour.
“The citing commissioner has chosen to cite him. We know have to follow the process and see what happens.”
They’d expect a decision about lunchtime on Wednesday, he added.
“Richie has always been a brilliant example of discipline, on and off the field,” continued de Villiers. “There was absolutely no malicious intent in this, so we’ve got confidence the process will go well.”
But with these processes never certain, Scotland have had to make contingencies and called up Saracens’ Calum Hunter-Hill.
“Calum’s had a brilliant season up till now playing for the team leading the Gallagher Premiership.
“Great lineout man, great caller of the lineouts, all his set pieces have been good as well. And he’s been with us before, so he’ll be ready to slot in if needed.”
Scots still growing
Scotland’s last three losses – on the Argentina tour, against Australia and on Saturday against New Zealand – have all come after they’ve led by more than a converted score. Finishing off teams is high on the agenda, agreed de Villiers.
“I don’t think there’s any mental block,” he said. “We’ve been working on a lot of things recently in terms of finishing things off, and I do think that those points are coming.
“The All Blacks are a brilliant team who work hard for all 80 minutes. Australia was a tight game and they went on to have a one-point difference against France as well. Things are very tight in the top ten.
“Yes, we still need to grow, we know that, but we are growing.”
De Villiers is a fan of Murphy Walker, and wants to see the young tight-head get more opportunities.
The 23-year-old from Longforgan won his first cap against Fiji off the bench, but it was only his ninth game at the top level.
“We think that Murphy is ready to go and get more game time whether it be at club or international level,” he said. “He’s obviously a player that we believe in a lot, and I’m sure that he’s going to get more and more game time from now onwards.
“I don’t choose Glasgow’s side every weekend, but I know that Franco (Smith) rates Murphy highly as well. I’m sure he’ll get his opportunities.”
Finn Russell remains with the squad for now with no sign of his partner giving birth back in Paris.