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Scotland have called up uncapped Edinburgh loose forward Cornell du Preez ahead of Saturday’s match against Argentina at Murrayfield. The 25-year-old joins as cover for the injured John Hardie, who suffered a head knock as well as damage to both his knee and ankle in the battle with Australia this past weekend. Born in Port Elizabeth, du Preez represented South Africa at the 2011 u20 World Championship before moving to Edinburgh in 2013. He now qualifies for Scotland having satisfied the three-year residency rule just one month ago.
Should du Preez be selected for the match, he would be the third South African to play for Scotland in recent months via the residency rule. WP Nel and Josh Strauss were selected to Scotland’s 2015 World Cup team after completing their three-year requirements just ahead of the tournament. Edinburgh clubmate Allan Dell, also a former South Africa u20 representative, made his test debut for Scotland during Saturday’s match against Australia. Dell qualifies via his Scottish grandmother.
Also suffering from damage after the one-point defeat to the Wallabies is second row Richie Gray, who was off the pitch briefly for a head injury assessment, and back row Ryan Wilson, who was forced to retire early from the match with a deep ankle laceration. Both are expected to recover in time for the match against Argentina.
