Scotland’s Greig Laidlaw joins growing autumn internationals injury list

Greig Laidlaw is the latest high-profile player from the home nations to be ruled out of the autumn internationals through injury after Clermont confirmed the Scotland captain has sustained a broken fibula and will be out for up to three months.

He sustained the injury on Sunday in Clermont’s Champions Cup win against the Ospreys and further examination has revealed he will be out until well into 2018. The news came 24 hours after George North (knee) and Ben Te’o (ankle) became the latest victims in rugby union’s rising rate of attrition and it means the autumn internationals may begin next month without as many as 10 players named in the British & Irish Lions squad during the summer.

Laidlaw does not require surgery but his injury is a blow for Scotland, who host Samoa, New Zealand and Australia this autumn, particularly with their stand‑in captain, John Barclay, experiencing ongoing concussion problems. Laidlaw has not played for Scotland since the Six Nations defeat by France in February, when he sustained torn ankle ligaments. He then missed the Asia-Pacific tour over the summer – Gregor Townsend’s first matches in charge – having been called up by the Lions to replace Ben Youngs. Henry Pyrgos and Ali Price are now the two main contenders for the Scotland No9 jersey.

Townsend is, however, set to be boosted by Stuart Hogg’s first appearance of the season for Glasgow against Leinster on Saturday, but the Scotland head coach, along with Eddie Jones, Warren Gatland and Joe Schmidt, will be an anxious observer during another full list of European fixtures this weekend.

Laidlaw meanwhile, is expected to be fit for the start of Scotland’s Six Nations campaign but in his absence on Saturday Clermont host a Northampton side smarting from their second recent mauling against the two-times defending European champions, Saracens. The 53-17 humbling on Sunday was a biggest home defeat for Northampton and they now face last season’s runners-up, who have lost only once at home in Europe since 2008.

North’s absence is a further blow for Northampton but they can at least point to how they responded from their 55-24 defeat against Saracens at Twickenham in September, overcoming their east Midlands rivals Leicester seven days later. “It shouldn’t take a hiding like that to kick us into gear, but unfortunately it has,” the Northampton back-row Teimana Harrison said. “So we’re looking for a response.

“If we want to have any hope of proceeding on in this tournament, we’ve got to get a win this weekend. We’ll go out this week, we’ve got to be full-on, confrontational, step up for that gainline battle, and it all comes down to physicality really.”

Against Saracens, Harrison squared up to Owen Farrell after the New Zealand-born back-row took issue with the fly‑half’s robust dump tackle on Ben Foden. “During the game I thought it was a bad tackle,” Harrison said. “I thought he’d tipped Fodes on his head. But looking back it was a textbook tackle, perfect. I said that to him after the game, and shook his hand. When you’re getting beat by that much, it just boiled over a bit.”

Harrison won the last of his five England caps last autumn but with injuries to Billy Vunipola and Jack Clifford he is hoping a strong showing against Clermont boosts his chances of a recall.

“I want to get back into the England squad and the team and if I’m playing well here then it’s all down to Eddie if he wants me,” he said. “I need that consistency in my carrying and defensive game. He’s said he was happy with my defence in the first couple of games, then my attack in one game. And so now it’s about mixing it all together.”

Ireland have confirmed a three-Test tour to Australia next summer. Joe Schmidt’s side, who have won the past two matches between the sides, both in Dublin, will face the Wallabies in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

The Bath and South Africa lock Francois Louw will be available for the Springboks in their first tour match against Ireland on 11 November after he was handed a three-week ban for making contact with the eye area of Treviso’s Marco Fuser. At a hearing on Wednesday the disciplinary panel found Louw guilty but settled on a low-end entry point sanction of four weeks, reduced to three for mitigation. Fuser was also cited for allegedly biting Louw in the same incident but that complaint was dismissed.