1
Darcy Graham taken to hospital after freak friendly-fire collision with Finn Russell
By Ian Cameron
It has been confirmed that Scotland winger Darcy Graham was taken to hospital following an ugly head-on-head collision with teammate Finn Russell.
ADVERTISEMENT
Russell departed for a Head Injury Assessment (HIA) while Graham, coming off worst in the collision, left the field lying prone on a buggy and was later confirmed to have been taken to hospital for further examination.
His hospitalisation was a precautionary measure and Scottish Rugby has confirmed that he has since been released, saying in a statement: “Darcy Graham was taken to hospital as a precaution following an injury during the game. He has subsequently been released and has been diagnosed with a concussion.”
Video Player is loading.
The Edinburgh winger will now be “managed in line” with concussion protocols.
“Hopefully there is no issue with his neck. It is just more a case of seeing where the concussion has come from. We are just hoping there are no broken bones in his face or skull area,” said head coach Gregor Townsend after the game. “We don’t know yet how he will be with regards the England game, but let’s hope he gets the all-clear and it is no more than a 12-day stand-down period.”
Townsend also revealed that Russell passed his HIA but that Scotland decided not to send him back on after the fly-half was struggling to remember calls.
“It was more the communications that (assistant coach) Pete Horne had with him,” Townsend explained. “There were a couple of things he wasn’t remembering about the plays, so we decided he is not right.
ADVERTISEMENT
“He is fine but was obviously frustrated that it was a freak injury, colliding with one of his own players. It was a huge blow for both those players to be out. We went 6-2 on the bench and as luck would have it, we lose two backs early on.
“But the two players who came on, Stafford (McDowall) and Jamie (Dobie) played well and I felt Tom (Jordan) played really well when he went to 10 too.”
It was a significant blow for the Scots, who already had to contend with the sin-binning of record try-scorer Duhan van der Merwe.
Darcy Graham was taken to hospital as a precaution following an injury during the game.
He has subsequently been released and has been diagnosed with a concussion. He will be managed in line with the concussion protocols.#AsOne pic.twitter.com/RBOCtcCiFZ
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) February 9, 2025
ADVERTISEMENT
Ireland took command early, surging into a 17-0 lead courtesy of tries from Calvin Nash and captain Caelan Doris, punctuated by clinical conversions and a penalty from fly-half Sam Prendergast.
Scotland’s backline woes deepened when Graham and Russell both exited in quick succession, forcing head coach Gregor Townsend to use up his re-ogranise his back division with over 50 minutes still to play, with Tom Jordan slotting in at ten.
Despite this the hosts rallied either side of half-time. Van der Merwe, upon his return from the sin bin, scored a sublime try just before the interval and Blair Kinghorn’s kicks clawed the deficit back to 17-11.
Ireland soon restored their grip on proceedings. Tries from James Lowe and substitute Jack Conan secured a bonus point in a 32-18 triumph – their eleventh consecutive win over Scotland in the Six Nations.
Emotional scenes marked the build-up, as former Team GB Olympic champion cyclist Sir Chris Hoy, who has terminal cancer, was warmly received by the Murrayfield crowd while delivering the match ball.
additional reporting Bryn Palmer
News, stats, live rugby and more! Download the new RugbyPass app on the App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android) now!
Horrible collision. Hope both are recovered in time for the next match. Scotland don't get any breaks in this fixture.