Withdrawals force McGeechan's hand

Ian McGeechan's plans for Scotland's first match of the autumn Test series against Tonga on Saturday have been thrown into disarray with the probable withdrawal of two likely starters.

The Edinburgh prop Craig Smith broke a bone in his foot in the Heineken Cup against Bath at the weekend and has been forced to pull out of a match he looked likely to start. He will now miss as much as five weeks. The first-choice stand-off Gregor Townsend, who has a shoulder injury, is also unlikely to play. The captain Budge Pountney, the scrum-half Bryan Redpath, plus Simon Taylor and the flanker Martin Leslie are all unavailable. If Townsend fails to shake off the problem, it will almost certainly mean a debut for Edinburgh's Gordon Ross.

New Zealand have been dealt an early blow to their autumn tour after the half-back Justin Marshall was forced to withdraw. The Canterbury player has suffered a heel muscle injury in training and will be replaced by Mark Robinson of North Harbour.

Italy should be boosted by the availability of the experienced Diego Dominguez and Luca Martin for Saturday's Test match against Fiji. The pair, who have almost 100 caps between them, had been suffering from injuries but came through yesterday's training session unscathed. The flanker Mark Giacheri could miss out, though, after picking up an injury to his right knee during the session. The Benetton lock Andrea Gritti has been called up as a precaution.