Scotland captain Tuipulotu ruled out of Six Nations

Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu has been ruled out of the Six Nations because of the pectoral muscle injury he picked up while training with Glasgow Warriors.

The 27-year-old, one of the game’s most highly rated centres, will have surgery to repair the issue.

The injury also casts doubt on Tuipulotu’s chances of touring Australia with the British and Irish Lions this summer, although he is expected to return before the end of the domestic season.

Flanker Rory Darge, 24, and fly-half Finn Russell, 32, will co-captain Scotland in his absence.

Capped 30 times since his debut in 2021, Tuipulotu has scored three Scotland tries and forms a dynamic midfield partnership with Huw Jones.

Lock Scott Cummings, 28, is also likely to miss the Six Nations with the arm fracture that forced him off during Glasgow’s game against Harlequins.

The withdrawals of Cummings and Tuipulotu take Gregor Townsend’s squad down to 36, but no additional players will be called up at this point.

Analysis – Tom English, BBC Scotland’s chief sport writer

The grim confirmation of Sione Tuipulotu’s Six Nations-ending injury was expected but it still landed with a thud nonetheless.

Tuipulotu is one of the form inside centres in the game; a captain, a physical brute, an artist, an inspiration to his team. He’s a pretty rare amalgam of world-class bludgeon and world-class rapier.

His absence – and that of the outstanding lock Scott Cummings – has seen Scottish optimism, racing along merrily last week, reduced to a slow crawl. Glasgow have also suffered a double blow in the loss of two critical operators.

Tuipulotu’s partnership with Huw Jones is a cosmic blend. Now an alternative is needed. Jones and his excellent Warriors’ team-mate, Tom Jordan, don’t pack enough physical punch for Test rugby as a duo. Franco Smith never plays them together at 12-13 for Glasgow.

The same could be said for Rory Hutchinson, the dangerous Northampton centre. A Hutchinson-Jones combo lacks enough muscle for the unforgiving fields of Six Nations rugby.

Most likely, it’s going to be another Warriors pair, Stafford McDowall and Jones in the midfield in the championship.

McDowall is a tough operator and Glasgow’s captain but nobody inside the Scotland camp is pretending Tuipulotu’s absence is anything other than a nightmare.

As for Tuipulotu’s fitness for the Lions – pretty much every pundit in all four nations has picked him at 12 in the Test series – let’s just hope that his operation is successful and that his recovery is swift.

Losing Cummings is also hellish news given his power game and his form. Grant Gilchrist and Jonny Gray will surely now start against Italy in the opening day of the championship, but their back-up, Glasgow’s Max Williamson, is also out for the tournament, so there are problems in multiple places.

Glasgow head coach Smith, like Gregor Townsend, must be a disappointed man today.

Scotland began their Six Nations season with two home games back-to-back, with Italy and then Ireland coming to Murrayfield in the first nine days of February.

John: This will be an absolute disaster for Scotland. First and foremost, I hope that he recovers quickly. He is an exemplary leader and player.

Ben: The injury to Tuipulotu plus Glasgow’s result against Harlequins has definitely put a dampener on optimism for the Six Nations. If we want to be in with a serious chance at the tournament, we need all of our big players available and playing consistently at eight or nine out of 10’s. Zander Fagerson, Finn Russell & Tuipulotu we need the most.

Henry: Tuipulotu’s injury was obvious last week and he should have been withdrawn immediately. Now he and George Horne are doubtful Scotland starts. No Warriors excuses. We did it the hard way last year and can repeat that this time.

Bill: Of course the loss of a world class player is a blow to a squad which is aiming to bring on a number of newer talents supported by several established stars, but we must stop focusing on negatives and reorganise around our other game changers including, in particular, Huw Jones and Blair Kinghorn.

Forwards: Ewan Ashman (Edinburgh), Josh Bayliss (Bath), Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow), Gregor Brown (Glasgow), Dave Cherry (Edinburgh), Luke Crosbie (Edinburgh), Rory Darge (Glasgow), Jack Dempsey (Glasgow), Matt Fagerson (Glasgow), Zander Fagerson (Glasgow), Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh), Jonny Gray (Bordeaux), Patrick Harrison (Edinburgh), Will Hurd (Leicester), Jack Mann (Glasgow), D’Arcy Rae (Edinburgh), Dylan Richardson (Sharks), Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh), Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh), Rory Sutherland (Glasgow), Marshall Sykes (Edinburgh)