Scotland World Cup star a serious Six Nations doubt after ‘heartbreaking’ injury
Rory Darge for Scotland during Rugby World Cup clash with Ireland 2023.
Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith was “heartbroken” after seeing Rory Darge go off injured during their 1872 Cup clash on Saturday.
The flanker was forced off in the second half of their United Rugby Championship match with arch-rivals Edinburgh after suffering a knee injury.
Darge is therefore a significant doubt for the whole of the Six Nations, although more will be known about the severity of the issue next week.
Cleaned out from the side
“I’m heartbroken for the guy, it looks like a serious injury,” said Smith. “We hope it isn’t, for us and for Scotland, but we will know more during the week.
“It’s his knee, unfortunately. He tried to steal the ball on our try-line and they just cleaned him out from the side, similar to what happened with him at Scotstoun a year or so ago.
“There is still a lot of medical work to be done around it and we’ll get a better assessment then.”
It is a cruel blow for Darge, who spent a large portion of last season on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on an injured ankle.
As a result of that operation, the openside missed the 2023 Six Nations, but he returned for Glasgow’s end of season run-in and earned a place in Scotland’s Rugby World Cup squad.
The 23-year-old started three of their four matches at the global tournament, including the two key pool games against Ireland as he kept Hamish Watson out of the XV.
Fine form and a trophy
Darge took that form back to the Warriors and started both 1872 Cup games against Edinburgh as they lifted the trophy for the second successive campaign.
Glasgow earned a 22-10 victory in the first match at Scotstoun and, despite a 19-14 defeat in the reverse fixture at Murrayfield, they won the contest 36-29 on aggregate.
“I’ve just told the guys that winning a trophy is what people play for,” head coach Smith said. “We still managed to keep them away from winning the trophy by not allowing them to overturn the aggregate score.
“We still got the bonus point from the game, which they didn’t get at Scotstoun, so I’m really, really proud. We still won on merit, and that’s important.”
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