Talk about a dose of the Monday blues. When news came through that Sione Tuipulotu had been ruled out of the Six Nations, Scotland supporters would have felt sick to the stomach.
The loss of their captain, who also happens to be one of the best players on the planet right now, served as a gut punch of epic proportions.
One which hit harder than any tackle we’ll see over these next couple of months once the championship gets under way.
Irrepressible and irreplaceable. Tuipulotu’s absence feels like a pin has popped the balloon of optimism that had built around Scotland heading into the championship.
Described as a ‘freakish’ injury by Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith, Tuipulotu will now have surgery on the torn pectoral muscle he suffered in training last week.
Expected to miss a couple of months at the very least, his championship is now over before it had even begun.
Scotland have been rocked by the news Sione Tuipulotu will miss the entire SIx Nations
Tuipulotu was in fantastic form during the Autumn Test series, including the win over Australia
The Glasgow Warriors centre led the Scots with aplomb, shining in his role as captain
It is an absolute hammer blow to Gregor Townsend’s side, one which undoubtedly diminishes their chances of success.
With Glasgow and Scotland team-mate Scott Cummings also likely to be sidelined due to a fractured arm, it never rains but it pours, right?
Scotland had been well fancied heading into the Six Nations. Not so much as dark horses, but a team who might finally – finally – be ready to fulfil their potential.
The fixtures are relatively kind, with three home games against Italy, Ireland and Wales, and two away trips to Twickenham and Paris.
Especially with Italy and Ireland up first at Murrayfield in successive weeks to begin the championship, the expectation was on Scotland to make a fast start and blow the tournament wide open.
Of course, they may yet still do that. But the loss of Tuipulotu weakens their hand. The loss of Cummings at lock will also be keenly felt, such has been his form over the past year or so.
What does all this mean for Townsend and Scotland? Well, first and foremost, it deprives them of two of their best players.
Over the past 18 months, Tuipulotu has elevated his game to a new level. On current form, he’s one of the hottest players in world rugby he would walk into most teams’ starting XV.
He was a shoo-in to become a British and Irish Lion in the summer on the tour of Australia, which would have been a nice return Down Under for the former Melbourne native.
Indeed, the question wasn’t really whether or not Tuipulotu would be in the team. That much was a given. The question was whether he might actually have chance of captaining the Lions.
The hope is that he could return before the end of the season and still be able to play his way into Andy Farrell’s plans.
But the whole thing looks uncertain now. Tuipulotu would essentially be relying on a pick from Farrell, with a nod to his stellar body of work over these past couple of years.
The problem is that he’s now at the mercy of others. If the likes of Bundee Aki, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence all enjoy a good championship, they could play their way in ahead of him.
The same applies to Scotland team-mate Huw Jones, who must now carry the mantle as the team’s chief threat in midfield.
Having taken over as Scotland captain back in the autumn, Tuipulotu excelled in the role both on and off the pitch.
Rory Darge and Finn Russell will now co-captain Scotland in Tuipulotu’s absence
The captaincy can sometimes weigh heavy on the shoulders of players and become a burden, but not Tuipulotu.
It looked like it actually spurred him on to even greater heights. An immensely popular figure who oozes charisma, Scotland simply don’t have a like-for-like replacement at centre.
But there are knock-on effects to Tuipulotu’s absence. Things which can’t yet be quantified but will only become evident once the championship gets under way.
Over the past couple of years, Jones has played some outstanding rugby and has recaptured his very best form.
The fact he has been playing alongside Tuipulotu for club and country every week will undoubtedly have aided his renaissance.
Nicknamed ‘Huwipulotu’, the pair have struck a lethal partnership in Scotland’s midfield. Suddenly, one part of the double act has been ripped away.
Who might take his place? Well, that much remains to be seen. The press release from Scottish Rugby on Monday stated that there are no plans to add any new players to the squad.
That very same press release also led with the headline ‘Rory Darge and Finn Russell named co-captains’.
And to think that media and PR people are always the first to complain when they feel headlines aren’t representative of the story…
Anyway, back to on-field matters, it looks like Townsend will attempt to find a replacement for Tuipulotu from the players who were called up initially.
Rory Hutchinson has been in excellent form for Northampton and probably deserves a run in the team, but there’s always been a feeling that he’s been fighting a losing battle with Townsend.
Hutchinson has been on the scene for years, winning his first cap back in 2019, but has only collected another seven caps since then.
Edinburgh’s Matt Currie is another option but he is totally untested at the top level. All of which probably paves the way for Stafford McDowall to grab the jersey.
When Tuipulotu missed the final two games in last year’s Six Nations due to a knee injury, it was McDowall and Cameron Redpath who came into the team.
But with Redpath not involved at the moment due to injury, McDowall looks to have a clear run to partner Glasgow team-mate Jones in Scotland’s midfield for the opening game against Italy on February 1.
McDowall came into the team to play Ireland in Dublin last year and did well. He’s been a fine player for Glasgow these past couple of seasons.
But he doesn’t offer the same attacking thrust and the same point of difference as Tuipulotu. In truth, nobody really does.
Of all the players Scotland wouldn’t have wanted to lose heading into the tournament, Tuipulotu’s name would have been right up there with Finn Russell and Zander Fagerson.
The fact that Kyle Steyn is also currently out of action due to injury is another blow as he would be a fine replacement at centre, albeit Scotland hope he could be fit to face England in round three.
In terms of what happens in the second row, Grant Gilchrist and Jonny Gray will almost certainly start against the Azzurri.
But Gray’s injury record is patchy at best and he hasn’t played for Scotland in two years. Beyond them, the depth looks rather thin.
Yet, as the old saying goes, the show must go on. Even without one of their star names in Tuipulotu, Scotland will still be expected to make a decent fist of things.
In a brutally unforgiving championship, they can’t afford to wallow in self-pity. There will be more bumps and bruises, and possibly more injuries, along the way.
How they react to the loss of their captain will be key. Not just their captain, but, on form, their best player.
Someone who has enriched the landscape of Scottish rugby from the moment he arrived. This year’s championship will be a poorer place without him.
