Scotland lose Ritchie and Millar Mills to knee injuries before Nations Championship opener against All Blacks

Scotland will face New Zealand on Saturday without Jamie Ritchie and Elliot Millar Mills after the flanker and prop were ruled out of the Nations Championship squad with knee injuries sustained over the weekend. Edinburgh trio Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, Freddy Douglas and D’arcy Rae have been called in as replacements.

Ritchie’s withdrawal is a significant blow for head coach Gregor Townsend. The 30-year-old lasted just eight minutes of Glasgow Warriors’ 29-20 URC win over Lions before going off, with Warriors head coach Franco Smith suggesting the forward would be sidelined for around four weeks. It is the latest setback in a difficult year for the former Edinburgh and Scotland captain, who missed the remainder of the Guinness Six Nations after injuring his knee in Scotland’s Calcutta Cup win over England in February, and then sat out the summer fixtures after picking up an ankle injury in his final appearance for Perpignan in May.

Millar Mills fared no better, suffering a leg injury just four minutes into Newcastle’s defeat by Saracens on Saturday.

Uncapped tighthead Blyth-Lafferty, 20, provides cover in the front row after starting four games for Edinburgh this season. He also started all five matches at this summer’s Junior World Championship, scoring three tries. Fellow tighthead Rae, who started Scotland’s Six Nations win over France and has recently returned from a calf injury, adds further depth. Douglas comes in at openside to cover for Ritchie.

Townsend will also have Warriors full-back Josh McKay available to train with the squad this week as he continues his rehabilitation from a hamstring injury, while Sale scrum-half Gus Warr is also set to join training.

Scotland open their autumn campaign against New Zealand on Saturday before hosting Australia and Japan.