SCOTLAND:Scotland scrumhalf Mike Blair will miss the start of the Six Nations campaign after tests confirmed he has suffered ligament damage to his shoulder.

The Edinburgh player, who was injured during Friday's Magners Celtic League victory over Llanelli Scarlets, will be out for six to eight weeks, which will see him miss Scotland's first two games, against England and Wales, at least. His participation in the remainder of the tournament is now in doubt.

Scotland coach Frank Hadden faces a major problem at scrumhalf with Blair's rival for the position, Chris Cusiter, also on the injury list with a dislocated shoulder.

SOUTH AFRICA:South Africa flanker Schalk Burger makes his comeback from a severe neck injury when he plays for the Stormers in a Super 14 warm-up on Saturday.

Burger, the 2004 world player of the year, needed a neck operation after being injured in the second test against Scotland in June.

JAPAN:The former Italy coach and New Zealand wing John Kirwan was yesterday confirmed as Japan's coach, signing a two-year contract. He succeeds the Frenchman Jean-Pierre Elissalde, the father of the Toulouse and France scrum-half Jean-Baptiste, who was sacked last September when he was found to be doubling up as the manager of Bayonne without the permission of the Japanese Rugby Union.