It would not do to read too much into a Scotland team selection from which such important figures as Finn Russell, Duhan van der Merwe, Hamish Watson and Jamie Ritchie have been omitted. Nor would it be wise to overemphasise the importance of the outcome of today’s home game against Italy, given there are three other matches to go for Gregor Townsend’s side before the Rugby World Cup.
Even so, with a tough home-and-away challenge to come against France before the warm-ups conclude with a match against Georgia back at Murrayfield, a solid, winning performance this afternoon would reassure the coach that, after six weeks or so of training, his squad are firmly on the right track as the countdown to the tournament continues. And, given the absence of so many key players, it would also provide evidence that the depth and quality of the squad continues to grow.
It will not be easy against opponents who came perilously close to snatching a last-gasp victory at Murrayfield in the last round of this year’s Six Nations Championship, and if Scotland do prevail a lot of the credit is likely to go the way of Rory Darge. Not only does the Glasgow openside have a significant individual role to play as a replacement in the back row for Watson, he also needs to prove his leadership qualities after being named as captain for the game by Townsend.
Ritchie remains in place as World Cup captain, and, while former skipper Stuart Hogg has now retired, there were plenty of more experienced players than Darge who could have been handed the task for this game. The selection of the 23-year-old was therefore a considerable surprise - not least to the man himself, as he admitted yesterday.
“It’s a bit of a weird feeling,” Darge said. “I’m honoured, obviously, but I didn’t see it coming - I’ve only got seven caps. But I’m delighted that Gregor has picked me as a captain and sees me as a leader.
“Gregor told me on Friday morning last week. It didn’t frazzle my head, but I was just glad that I had time to digest it and tell my folks, take time to think about what is expected of me throughout the week.”
The latest in a number of players from North Berwick to enter the professional ranks, Darge believes that a lot of his success is down to the late Keith Hogg (no relation to Stuart), who coached him as a youngster. Hogg, who died last month aged 66 after a long illness and had also been chair of Scotland Rugby League from 2009 to 2021, played a key role for many years in North Berwick Rugby Club.
“Keith was a really good community man,” Darge continued. “He just made it enjoyable for myself and everyone my age who came to rugby. I loved it and he was a big part of why.
“A lot of mini coaches sometimes [place emphasis] on winning and performance. He just had it on enjoyment, which I think at that level is absolutely the right thing to do. He was a big part of the community.”
Darge and the other players who take the field today know that, with the current training squad of 41 due to be cut to 33 before they head out to France for the World Cup, this could be their last chance to persuade Townsend to include them. “It’s going to be pretty brutal,” the captain added. “Because you look at the whole squad and you’re thinking ‘Everyone deserves to go and they’ve all worked hard’.”
As the opening fixture in the 15-match Summer Nations Series which take place over the next five weekends, the game will be the first to showcase a number of innovations which Six Nations Rugby hope will both support match officials and speed up play. The new ‘Bunker’ process, for example, has been designed to cut down on the amount of time wasted reviewing incidents of potential foul play.
Although referees remain in charge and Television Match Officials are still in place, foul-play incidents in which a red card is not immediately obvious will be referred to a ‘Foul Play Review Officer’ in the Bunker. The player in question will leave the field for ten minutes and the FPRO will have up to eight minutes to review the evidence, after which the referee will either red-card the player or allow him back after a ten-minute sin-binning.
As happened during the Six Nations, a Shot Clock will also be in place, allowing kickers 90 seconds for a conversion and 60 for a penalty. Hawk-Eye will be used as the independent video replay operator, and Ref Cam returns to give broadcasters new angles on the play.
Scotland (v Italy at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, today 3.15pm): O Smith; D Graham, C Harris, S McDowall, K Steyn; B Healy, A Price; R Sutherland, G Turner, M Walker, S Skinner, S Cummings, L Crosbie, R Darge, M Fagerson. Substitutes: S McInally, J Bhatti, J Sebastian, C Henderson, J Bayliss, J Dobie, B Kinghorn, C Redpath.
Italy: L Pani; P Bruno, T Menoncello, L Morisi, M Ioane; T Allan, M Page-Relo; F Zani, E Faiva, P Ceccarelli, D Sisi, A Zambonin, F Ruzza, M Zuliani, T Halafihi. Substitutes: M Manfredi, D Fischetti, F Alongi, E Iachizzi, L Cannone, A Garbisi, G Da Re, F Mori.
