Six Nations Injured XV: ‘Seismic setback’ for Scotland while France hit hardest by SIX absentees
Gael Fickou, Charles Ollivon and Sione Tuipulotu are all out injured.
Following the Six Nations squad announcements and with the action closing in, our focus turns to the players set to miss part or in some cases all of the Championship.
There’s some serious talent sitting on the sidelines and while they may possibly still feature in the tournament, for the moment they will be watching from their TV screens.
Without further ado, here’s our Six Nations Injured XV.
Six Nations Injured XV
15 George Furbank (England):?Out with a fractured arm, the Saint is absent from England’s squad as Freddie Steward, Elliot Daly and possibly Marcus Smith are set to share the minutes at 15. Furbank was hoping to don the shirt for many years to come but was displaced late last year and now faces an unwanted stint of rehab.
14 Kyle Steyn (Scotland): Italy are without flyer?Louis Lynagh due to injury and while little has been given away about Steyn’s fitness, it seems he is set to miss at least the opening weekend after not being included in the Scotland training squad. It’s a real shame as Steyn was in excellent form for Glasgow Warriors last month.
13 Gael Fickou (France): Les Bleus have been hit hard by injury issues ahead of the Six Nations, not least at centre where the experienced Fickou sits out the early rounds of the tournament with a wrist injury. The 30-year-old is a stalwart of this France team and they will hope his absence isn’t their undoing in a tough title race.
12 Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland): A seismic setback to Scotland, Glasgow Warriors and possibly even the British & Irish Lions, such is the length of time he will be on the sidelines. Five months has been reported that Tuipulotu will miss due to a pec injury, with France’s Jonathan Danty another crucial absentee for Les Bleus.
11 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (England): A dislocated shoulder while playing for Exeter Chiefs against Sale Sharks in December means Feyi-Waboso could miss the entire Six Nations. A cruel blow for a player who has stacks of potential and would have been pushing for Lions’ selection on the back of a solid tournament.
10 Sam Costelow (Wales): While Adam Hastings is also currently absent with a facial injury, his position in Scotland’s matchday 23 has recently been taken by Tom Jordan while Fergus Burke is a new addition. Therefore the biggest loss is to Wales as starting fly-half Costelow underwent surgery on a shoulder problem.
9 Craig Casey (Ireland): After being retained by England it’s expected that Alex Mitchell will be fit for their opening fixture with Ireland in Dublin, but Jack van Poortvliet has been replaced due to injury. We go for the Ireland scrum-half, however, as his stint out of the action is a setback for both country and province.
Forwards
8 Alex Dombrandt (England): The Harlequins number eight was one of five England players to suffer an injury whilst on club duty last week in a setback to his hopes of action in Round One. Rising star Henry Pollock replaces him in Steve Borthwick’s squad and Dombrandt will hope that is only a temporary measure.
7 Anthony Jelonch (France): Moving back to France’s injury woes and Jelonch is another big miss ahead of their Six Nations title push. The tireless flanker is struggling with a calf problem and Fabien Galthie will be desperate for him to return to action after the first break in the competition ahead of Round Three.
6 Charles Ollivon (France): When the outstanding Ollivon fell to the ground before contact whilst on a run for Toulon against Racing 92 one immediately feared the worst. Unfortunately, the scans revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament and that’s sadly his campaign done in a major blow to Les Bleus and Toulon.
5 Scott Cummings (Scotland): The news of captain Tuipulotu’s long-term injury was compounded by lock Cummings being ruled out for the Six Nations due to a fractured arm, sustained on club duty for Glasgow. The underrated forward is a big loss to Scotland while England’s Alex Coles was also considered here.
4 Thibaud Flament (France): Les Bleus fans will be desperate for this to be a short-term injury as Flament is one of the best second-rows on the planet right now. He forms a formidable lock combination with Emmanuel Meafou for both Toulouse and France and his two-to-three week absence cannot be understated.
3 Tevita Tatafu (France): Staying with France and the promising 22-year-old Bayonne tighthead prop is being viewed as the successor to Uini Atonio. Unfortunately, he has been sidelined with an ankle injury since taking on the All Blacks in November but is possibly returning to action for Bayonne over the weekend.
2 Dewi Lake (Wales): Three players sprung to mind here as England veteran Jamie George and Scotland hooker Dylan Richardson were considered. However, Wales captain Lake is such a sizeable loss to their pack as he misses the Six Nations due to bicep surgery. He’ll hope for a late charge for Lions’ selection.
1 Reda Wardi (France): The sixth and final Les Bleus star included in our Injured XV is La Rochelle powerhouse Wardi. A fractured rib puts the prop on the treatment table in what has become a nightmare scenario up front for France. The 29-year-old completes a formidable-looking team sitting on the sidelines.
