Hamstring injury rules Gray out of Cotter's farewell

Richie Gray will miss Scotland's final Six Nations contest against Italy after failing to recover from a hamstring strain.

The second-rower was initially named in head coach Vern Cotter's side for Saturday's contest at Murrayfield.

However, Gray has now been ruled out of the clash with the Azzurri, so Edinburgh lock Grant Gilchrist takes his place.

The match against Conor O'Shea's men, who are guaranteed to finish with the wooden spoon, will be the last overseen by Cotter before he makes way for Gregor Townsend.

BREAKING | Edinburgh Rugby lock Grant Gilchrist to start v Italy after Richie Gray fails to recover fully from a hamstring strain #AsOne pic.twitter.com/rFv70VteSh

— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) March 17, 2017

Scotland's title hopes came to a grinding halt with a 61-21 thrashing at the hands of England last weekend, but they can still finish as high as second with a win over Italy.