Lock Grant Gilchrist has received a one-match supsension
Grant Gilchrist will miss Scotland’s opening Six Nations clash in Wales after the Edinburgh second row was suspended for one week for the red card he received against Scarlets.
Co-captain Gilchrist was shown a second yellow card for a high tackle by referee Sara Cox in the 72nd minute of Edinburgh’s 31-19 Challenge Cup victory at Parc y Scarlets last Friday . The independent judicial officer, Gareth Graham, found that both Gilchrist’s dangerous tackles warranted yellow cards.
Related: Scotland Six Nations squad with new co-captains
He decided an appropriate entry point was a one-week ban but Gilchrist was unable to have that reduced despite accepting the charge as mitigation was unavailable as suspensions must be a round number of weeks.
Grant Gilchrist to miss Wales game
He will miss Gregor Townsend’s side’s opening Guinness Six Nations clash at Principality Stadium on Saturday 3 February. The match in Cardiff rounds off the opening round of the 2024 championship with Scotland looking to improve on last year’s third-place finish and hoping to bounce back from a disappointing World Cup pool-stage exit.
Gilchrist is free to resume playing from Monday 5 February so will be available for Scotland’s second-round match at home to France at the newly renamed Scottish Gas Murrayfield. The game kicks off at 2.15pm on Saturday 10 February.
The 33-year-old lock will be hoping to make a positive impact on his return to the side, if selected by head coach Townsend, after being sent off inside ten minutes in the corresponding fixture last year.
Scotland have new co-captains in flanker Rory Darge and talismanic fly-half Finn Russell. Gilchrist’s fellow Edinburgh co-captain Jamie Ritchie led the side at the World Cup and is still involved in the squad.
Townsend’s other options in the engine room include Glasgow’s Scott Cummings and Richie Gray while Gilchrist’s domestic colleague Sam Skinner has also been named in the Scotland Six Nations squad.
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