'We're optimistic': De Villiers provides update on key duo
NEWS: Scotland are increasingly confident senior players Finn Russell and Zander Fagerson will be fit to face Argentina, with the duo “training fully” ahead of Sunday’s international against the Pumas at Murrayfield.
Flyhalf Russell was substituted in the 74th minute of last weekend’s agonising loss to New Zealand after suffering both knee and ankle problems, with prop forward Fagerson sidelined since April with calf and knee injuries.
“Zander has been training fully, which is fantastic news,” Scotland scrum coach Pieter de Villiers said Wednesday.
“Thursday is obviously our biggest training day. We’ll see how he holds up and then make a decision from there.
“We’re positive that he will make an appearance for us in this tournament at some stage, whether it be this match or the next match [against Tonga].”
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Turning to key playmaker Russell, former France international De Villiers said: “Finn has been training fully as well, so we’re optimistic for him to be available.
“We’ll obviously see how the niggles progress. There are still a few days left, but he has trained fully today [Wednesday], so that’s great news.”
Last weekend’s 17-25 loss left Scotland still searching for their first win over the All Blacks in 120 years of Tests with New Zealand.
But De Villiers has backed the Dark Blues to put that bitter disappointment behind them as they take on Argentina, with the Pumas fresh from a 52-28 rout of Wales in Cardiff.
“The boys are really fired up and ready to go,” he said. “They know how well they’ve competed against the number two team in the world. That also brings confidence in that we’ve been physically up there.
“Now it is important to keep growing. We’re a team that is consistently performing well against top teams, but we also want to see those victories coming now. That’s where we want to continue to grow.”
De Villiers added: “Argentina have beaten the All Blacks recently, they’ve beaten the Springboks, they’ve beaten Australia, they’ve beaten many of the top teams.
“So it’s very important for us to make sure that we quickly learn from last week and get ready for a very tough game this weekend against a world-class side.”
