Graham out but Scotland boosted by Kinghorn, Russell’s return for Springboks test

EDINBURGH : Scotland winger Darcy Graham has been ruled out of Sunday’s test against South Africa after sustaining a concussion at the weekend but Finn Russell and Blair Kinghorn are set to return after the pair were unavailable for the win over Fiji.

Graham, 27, scored four tries in Saturday’s 57-17 win over the Fijians at Murrayfield, where he briefly equalled the record for the most tries for Scotland only to see Duhan van der Merwe reclaim the mark later in the game.

Coach Gregor Townsend confirmed that Graham must sit out the clash against the world champions after picking up the head injury in his first international since last year’s World Cup.

He failed a head injury assessment after the game and subsequent examinations ruled him out, Townsend told reporters.

“It’s a 12-day period, so he’ll do nothing for the next three days, then he starts the graduated return to play, and if everything goes well and he’s feeling good, he’ll be available for Portugal (on Nov. 16),” said the coach.

Scotland were unable to call upon any of their players based outside the country, except for South Africa-based hooker Dylan Richardson, for the test against Fiji as it fell outside the international window.

However, Bath flyhalf Russell, France-based fullback Kinghorn and scrumhalf Ben White are available to face South Africa and are likely to be included when Townsend names his side on Friday.

(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Peter Rutherford)