Hopes fading of comeback for Hawick’s Darcy Graham before end of rugby’s 2024 Six Nations

Darcy Graham playing for Scotland versus Romania at 2023's Rugby World Cup in France in September (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

The 26-year-old missed the Scots’ opening 27-26 win in Wales on Saturday, February 3, and their 20-16 loss at home to France at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium a week later with a quad injury sustained during Edinburgh’s 21-20 European Professional Club Rugby Challenge Cup defeat at home to Gloucester on Saturday, January 13.

Having recovered from that injury, the Edinburgh winger was set to pick up his 40th cap against England at home this Saturday only to be ruled out by a groin strain picked up while training with his club during a week off for the Six Nations.

National head coach Gregor Townsend was initially hopeful of having his fellow Borderer available for selection for the tournament’s last two rounds – away to Italy in Rome on Saturday, March 9, with kick-off at 2.15pm, and against Ireland in Dublin on Saturday, March 16, at 4.45pm – but he now considers that an unlikely prospect and is resigned to seeing his country’s current top try-scorer – with 24, second only to fellow ex-Green Stuart Hogg’s 27 in Scotland’s all-time rankings – sit out a second Six Nations on the bounce after missing the entirety of 2023’s with a knee ligament injury.

Graham has only played four games for head coach Sean Everitt’s Edinburgh side this season after returning from last autumn’s Rugby World Cup in France with a hip injury, subsequently undergoing surgery for that prior knee issue, then getting injured again in January after making a comeback the month before.

“Last week, chatting with Sean Everitt and Darcy, we thought he would play 60 minutes with Edinburgh against Zebre – that was the agreement – but then Darcy decided he was just going to focus on training so that he was ready to train with Scotland this week in the knowledge that he might not be selected because he had been out for a bit longer,” said ex-Gala star Townsend ahead of Saturday’s Calcutta Cup match.

“He trained on that Monday – he was flying – and on Wednesday he was flying again, but then his groin on the other side got injured.

“He is still speaking to a specialist, but I don’t believe he’ll be back for the end of the championship.

“Hopefully he won’t be out for long with Edinburgh but it’s a blow.

“He did everything to get back available for the England game after his quad injury, but it is a new injury, which means it’s unlikely he will play for us this Six Nations. It’s one of those things.

“He’s had a scan and the scan gave a picture, but the specialist will determine whether it needs surgery or not.

“It has been a frustrating time for Darcy since the world cup.

“You think of the form he was in going into the last Six Nations, when he was one of the best wingers in the world, so to miss that Six Nations, then to come back for the world cup only for an injury from the world cup to keep him out of a lot of Edinburgh games, but, as we say to every player, there’s a lot of rugby left.

“While the Six Nations is a huge tournament, there are a lot of games for Edinburgh left to play and there’s the summer tour, so let’s hope he gets involved in both of those.”

Graham’s regular No 14 jersey went to Glasgow Warriors’ Kyle Steyn against Wales and will do so again versus England but was worn by fellow Warrior Kyle Rowe versus France.