Vern Cotter names five-England based players for Scotland's November Tests
Vern Cotter has named five England-based players in his Scotland squad for the November Tests
©PA
Scotland head coach Vern Cotter has included five England-based players in the squad for the autumn internationals.
Captain Greig Laidlaw, Moray Low, Duncan Taylor, Sean Maitland and Tim Visser are currently plying their trade with the Aviva Premiership clubs and are also part of the Scotland squad for November Tests.
However, their participation has come under serious threat as Premiership Rugby Limited - the organisation that represents the Aviva Premiership sides is considering a move to prevent these players from taking part in their international duties following a conflict over an outstanding £400,000 injury compensation bill.
Apart from Scotland, players from Italy, Samoa and Tonga also face the same threat, if their respective boards fail to clear the outstanding dues.
This will be a big blow for Cotter, who will be desperate to sign off from the coaching role on a high, in the case of the five players missing out.
Cotter, who himself had faced similar issues when he was head coach of Clermont Auvergne, expressed hope that the issue will be resolved at the earliest.
"The fact of the matter is you can't deny people the opportunity to play Test match footy.
"It may be frustrating when you have players coming back to your club injured but international rugby matches are important fixtures and it is pretty tough to deprive players of the opportunity to play for their country.
"But there are smart people involved and I'm sure it will all get sorted out."
The former number eight also confirmed that Edinburgh tighthead WP Nel will not be part of the squad after the 30-year-old sustained a neck injury. He has been replaced in the squad by Allan Dell.
"WP has had a niggling neck injury for a period of time, which was a surprise to us as we didn't think he had a neck," joked Cotter.
"Unfortunately he won't make next month's games but hopefully he will recover well for the Six Nations."
Cotter also expressed his disappointment on the Scottish Rugby Union's (SRU) decision to not renew his contract after next summer.
Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend will take over from Cotter in June next year - a move to ensure the 43-year-old does not switch to either England or France.
Cotter will move to handle the responsibility of the Top 14 club Montpellier and he believes the SRU had taken the right decision to bring Townsend on board. However, he also admitted that he was confident of leading the team through 2019 World Cup in Japan.
"I understand (the decision). As a competitor you're always disappointed if you want to go places and have objectives in mind. That's natural but it's done, we just move on now.
"The decision was made to put Gregor in place and I think it's a good decision. The executives made that decision and I respect it.
"The deal is the deal now, so we just get on with the job and get on with these last eight games.
"There will be some emotions but if you look at the big picture it's not about me. It's about Scottish rugby.
"Later on I might sit back and reflect on things but right now I'm completely focused on the games in front of me. I enjoy seeing players develop and getting better. I enjoy seeing them perform well on the paddock.
"So seeing them improve in the last eight games before we break up is what I'm looking to achieve. Gregor's done really well for Glasgow. The performances and his management are top shelf.
"He will do a great job and in a couple of years' time when I'm watching the team I'm sure they will be doing well."
