Cusiter fit to rejoin Scotland fold for autumn internationals

X-rays revealed no serious damage to the ankle he injured during his club’s Heineken Cup defeat by Newport Gwent Dragons last Friday.

When Cusiter was forced out of the game at Rodney Parade after only a few minutes, Glasgow officials were concerned that he may have suffered a serious ligament injury that might have ruled him out of Scotland’s autumn internationals Tests against Fiji, Australia and Argentina.

 However, the damage was milder than first feared, and he could even be fit to play in Glasgow’s Magners League match against Connacht on Friday evening.

That scenario would certainly please Robinson as Cusiter is worryingly short of recent match practice after missing one game due to a family wedding and another two due to a serious bout of flu.

The former Borders and Perpignan player captained Robinson’s Scotland A side to victory in the IRB Nations Cup in Romania four months ago, at which point the coach indicated that he could well be in the running to take the same role in the full Autumn internationals side as well.

However, Robinson’s backline options have been narrowed in other areas.

While Max Evans made a welcome return to action after a five-month absence with a cameo appearance for Glasgow Hawks last Saturday, Rob Dewey is likely to be absent for a few months after fracturing his ankle against Biarritz the previous weekend.

Fly-half Ruaridh Jackson is another on the Glasgow long-term sick list. That could mean a recall for Dan Parks, also of Glasgow, who was left out of the 45-strong training squad Robinson invited to a pre-season training camp in St Andrews two months ago.

Parks’s recent form has been decidedly mixed, but there are few other contenders for the playmaker’s berth beyond Phil Godman and, just possibly, Chris Paterson.

Johnnie Beattie looks to be the most likely beneficiary of Simon Taylor’s decision to take a sabbatical from international rugby after virtually owning the No 8 shirt for the past few seasons.

With Edinburgh lock Jim Hamilton still sidelined by a knee problem, Al Kellock may also return to the international limelight after some good recent performances for Glasgow.

Meanwhile, Mike Phillips, the Wales and Lions scrum-half, is expected to be out of action for the next three months after suffering knee ligament damage during the Ospreys’ Heineken Cup victory over Clermont Auvergne last weekend.

He joins a lengthy injury list for the autumn internationals series, between Wales V New Zealand on Nov 7 at Twickenham Stadium London, United Kingdom. Autumn Internationals hospitality is available for all Wales rugby matches.

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