Scotland's Van der Merwe Returns to Training Ahead of Six Nations Opener

Scotland's record try scorer Duhan van der Merwe has returned to full training ahead of the team's Six Nations Championship opener against Italy at Murrayfield.

Scotland's rugby team has received a significant boost ahead of their Six Nations Championship opener against Italy, as record try scorer Duhan van der Merwe has returned to full training. Van der Merwe, who has scored 31 tries for Scotland, had been sidelined with an ankle sprain that caused him to miss two Edinburgh matches earlier this month.

According to assistant coach Steve Tandy, Van der Merwe was back in full training with the Scottish squad this week, marking a welcome return for the team. Additionally, locks Jonny Gray and Grant Gilchrist, who had also been injured, participated in training, providing further good news for the Scots. Gray had been out since mid-December with an ankle injury, while Gilchrist had been recovering from a hand injury.

A positive update from Steve Tandy earlier as he declares four players are fit to face Italyhttps://t.co/IG2SjW2q3V

— Scotland Rugby News (@ScotRugbyNews) January 28, 2025

The return of Gray and Gilchrist is particularly timely, as Scotland had been dealing with a shortage of options in the second row. Scot Cummings had been ruled out with a broken arm, prompting coach Gregor Townsend to add replacement forwards Euan Ferrie, Cameron Henderson, and Ewan Johnson to the squad on Monday.

However, Scotland will still be without several key players for their opener against Italy. Captain Sione Tuipulotu has undergone surgery for a chest muscle tear, while hooker Dylan Richardson is sidelined with a shoulder complaint. Eighth man Josh Bayliss also sustained a groin injury while playing for Bath against Sale Sharks last weekend and will be unavailable.