This means they will miss the rest of the tournament, including a quarter-final game against Australia on Sunday. Fraser Brown and Kevin Bryce provide cover at hooker but Scotland’s resources in the second row are thin after the loss of Grant Cilchrist following the second pool match against United States.
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First choice hooker Ford and lock Gray, who forms an effective partnership with older brother Richie, have been cited for a lifting tackle during Scotland’s thrilling 36-33 win over Samoa on Saturday.
They seem certain to do so, but last night a spokesperson for the national team said that the judgement would be considered carefully before a decision whether to appeal was made.
Both players denied committing an act of foul play.
It was then upped to five weeks because of what was deemed to be aggravation “due to the need to deter this kind of unsafe play”, according to a Rugby World Cup statement, but then reduced to three because of mitigating factors such as the players’ previous records.
World Rugby said on its website: “Having conducted a detailed review of all the available evidence, including all broadcast angles and additional evidence, including from the players and submissions from their representative, the independent Judicial Officer Christopher Quinlan QC (England) was satisfied that each player committed an act of foul play contrary to law 10.4(j) and so upheld the citing”.
Meanwhile, Scotland prop Gordon Reid hopes Scotland can script themselves a victory of Hollywood proportions when they take on World Cup A-listers Australia.
But Reid is refusing to write off his team and has taken heart from the underdog tales which have inspired so many movie classics.
“But we’ve got a bit of belief about us now”. I don’t care. It’s awesome. It’s always the underdog who wins – just look at the Mighty Ducks.
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“With the preparation that goes into our week we feel we will be able to implement certain things that will get us across the whitewash”.
