Scotland Six Nations injury update on four ahead of Italy opener - and the terrible haircut

There were injury concerns around No 8 Jack Dempsey (foot), scrum-half/wing Jamie Dobie (knee) and hookers Dave Cherry (calf) and Ewan Ashman (neck) but all are now on the mend.

Asked specifically about Glasgow Warriors pair Dempsey and Dobie, Radford said: “Yeah, all good, they trained today. Dobie’s looked well, obviously both of them are in great form at the moment. They didn’t participate last week but the rest will have done them the world of good. They’d had a ten-game streak there at Glasgow, which is a fair amount of rugby. Hopefully they'll be fresh for this weekend.

“Nobody's pulled out today, so everybody that was initially named is ready to go.”

The only player to leave the squad is back-row forward Liam McConnell who had to withdraw last week with a rib injury sustained while playing for Edinburgh.

Front-rows had to be pulled off each other

Radford, who was appointed as Scotland’s defence coach last year after Steve Tandy left to become head coach of Wales, said training had been lively ahead of the game at Stadio Olimpico.

“They've been at it today, yes,” he said. “I've just had to pull the front-rows off each other in there. Again, that's what you want in international rugby. You want that competitive edge. You want to be pulling them back rather than trying to push them. I think if you're trying to push them here, then they're probably in the wrong place.”

Cherry was involved in the session and Radford said he had no concerns regarding the Vannes hooker’s fitness.

“No, he's good,” said the coach. “I had to pull him away as well. He's just done combat, so he's good to go.”

Radford said his only concern around Ashman was the hooker’s hairstyle. “He's had a terrible haircut this week. That's going to need some looking at. We've got a doctor's appointment for that. It shouldn't affect him too much this weekend.”

With heavy rain forecast for Rome, Radford expects much of Saturday’s match to be played in the air. It’s not a part of the game he particularly relishes but he knows how important it is, particularly with the law changes that favour the attacking side. He expects Italy to kick long and often.

A physical slog-fest

“As with most teams in the international game at the minute, the aerial battle, particularly with the rule changes, has become such an important piece of winning and losing games,” said Radford who is combining his Scotland role with club duties at Northampton Saints. “I think these men are no different, they've got some aerial threats and they're willing to play on the back end of getting the ball back scrappy.

“Our urgency when the ball's in the air and our urgency when the ball comes down is going to be really key for us this week.

"I think [the weather] probably plays into the aerial battle a little bit more. I watched [Italy’s] game against South Africa [in the autumn] and the conditions were terrible. You're very restricted to how you want to play. It heightens that.

“Who's prepared to come down with the ball when it goes in the air? Who's prepared to dive on the grenade when it hits the ground? How quick can you get your attack or defence set? When there are those opportunities, can you take them?

“It's going to be very strategic, I think, for that reason. I'd love to say it's going to be a free-flowing game. That it's going to be touchline to touchline, it's going to be pretty on the eye, but it's probably going to be a physical slog-fest.”

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