Richie Gray is poised to return to the Scotland side named for the RBS 6 Nations match against Italy in Rome on Saturday.
The 24-year-old British Lion was omitted from the Calcutta Cup game 10 days ago and returned to his base in France, but he was back with the squad yesterday, along with deposed captain Kelly Brown and flanker Alasdair Strokosch.
Gray was involved in an intense round of lineout drills yesterday at Heriot-Watt University’s Riccarton campus, indicating head coach Scott Johnson has brought him back into the starting line-up just two weeks after criticising the former Glasgow player as having “a quality rather than a quantity emphasis in his game”.
Throwing in to all the drills in the session was Newcastle hooker Scott Lawson, a replacement for Ross Ford in the 20-0 defeat to England.
The former skipper Ford was standing apart from the main drills along with Brown and Strokosch, suggesting all three are bench candidates.
Also involved in the lineout session was another former Glasgow player, Johnnie Beattie, who could be set to replace David Denton at number eight as the Scots look to field a back-row based on speed rather than power.
The lineout remains Scotland’s biggest headache, with 10 lost on their own throw in the first two games.
If Gray is picked it’s likely Tim Swinson will make way, as Jim Hamilton and Gray’s 19-year-old brother Jonny are the only recognised lineout callers available to Johnson.
Edinburgh full-back Jack Cuthbert and scrum-half Grayson Hart were added to the training squad yesterday Hart as cover for Chris Cusiter who sat out the session due to tightness in his calf.
Cuthbert’s addition didn’t seem to be more than precautionary, with the starting backs against England all running freely in the training session. It’s likely they will be unchanged when Johnson announces the team at Murrayfield.
Meanwhile, Massimo Cuttita, the Scotland scrum coach, said the Scots could target his countrymen’s emotions in the key forward battle.
“We can get a lot better than how we did against England,” admitted the former skipper of the Azzuri.
“I am very demanding. I want my scrum to go forward every time, but according to our stats we had 87% quality ball from our scrums and we put a bit of pressure on England’s scrums.
“Italy put a lot of pressure in there, and they’ve tried the double-shove in the scrum against us the last few games.
“The Italian mentality is that they take you on in the first few scrums of the game, keep the ball in, go for double-shoves and try to crack you mentally.
“I’ve played for Italy and know their mentality, so if you hold them and do the same back to them, they start to ask themselves questions. Latin people are fiery people, but that fire can come back against you.
“People here are more calm, but maybe when you’re more calm you focus more on your job and get things right. Sometimes Italy are so emotional that if you put them under pressure they crack.”
He agreed that Italy have improved this 6 Nations, but counselled against being too impressed.
“I know they thought they were going to struggle in this Six Nations, and it’s not turned out like that,” he said.
“But you also have to understand who is playing against them and whether they have been underestimating them, because that can make them look better. There is that component, but you have to give them credit for what they’ve done.”
Cuttitta accepts that the performance against England was worthy of the widespread criticism it’s attracted and says the coaching team have taken it on the chin.
“You have to take the criticism, it’s what helps you grow as a coach,” he said.
“I take the criticism because that’s part of the job.”
Despite the difficulties of this season, Cuttitta still believes in his players.
“I don’t (see naivety in scrum). I’ve got to believe in the boys and I will support them whether they do well or do bad, and will be there for them.
“But how many times have we actually struggled in the scrum against Italy?
“Maybe last summer in South Africa, but what about last year in the 6 Nations when we played them?
“This is where we can win the game. If we can match their forwards, or better their forwards, I think that we win the game.”