Six Scotland players disciplined by Scottish Rugby ahead of Ireland test

On the eve of their final Six Nations match, Scottish Rugby has confirmed that six international stars were disciplined following last week’s win over Italy.

The players were spoken to by Scotland management ahead of Saturday’s test against Ireland – a side described as one of the form teams in the world.

News of a disciplinary issue emerged in a report on Friday lunchtime that claimed six players – captain Stuart Hogg, Finn Russell, Ali Price, Darcy Graham, Sam Johnson and Sione Tuipulotu had left the team hotel to go to an Edinburgh bar. The SRU said in a statement that six individuals had been spoken to about “a post-match matter”.

The statement read: “The Scotland management team have this week dealt with a post-match matter involving six players following the game against Italy last weekend.

“The players involved have been spoken to individually and those conversations and outcomes will remain private.

“Preparations for the match against Ireland this week have been good and the whole squad is fully focused on achieving a positive result on Saturday.”

The controversy has arisen as an underwhelming Six Nations campaign comes to a close with a daunting fixture.

Head coach Gregor Townsend has been hoping for a win against the odds in Dublin to put a gloss on the campaign but found his pre-match preparations dominated by questions over his team selection – with Finn Russell left out of the starting 15 and replaced by Blair Kinghorn – and now with the news of off-field disciplinary issues.