THE selection of a scrum-half and a captain is normally a vital decision for any head coach to make. Get either of those pivotal positions wrong and your team is likely to struggle.

This week, however, Vern Cotter may not need to lose too much sleep over either. Scotland have been a dealt a severe blow by the loss of Greig Laidlaw for the rest of the Six Nations Championship, but in the case of both the No 9 jersey and the captaincy, the squad still has real strength in depth.

The head coach must choose between Ali Price and Henry Pyrgos to take over as scrum-half from Laidlaw, and yesterday assistant coach Matt Taylor said he expected both to play significant roles in Saturday’s home game against Wales. When it comes to choosing a captain, Cotter and his assistants may have an equally close call to make between John Barclay, who took over from Laidlaw when the latter was injured during the first half against France, and Jonny Gray, who succeeded Barclay when he was forced off after the break.

“Ali is a tremendously exciting player with ball in hand,” Taylor said yesterday when asked to compare Price and Pyrgos. “He’s got that turn of speed off the mark that really catches teams off guard.

“I look at the example of him igniting the Georgia game [in November] with that try late on. That’s a really good example of what he can do.

“Having been involved with Henry for a number of years at Glasgow and Scotland, I know that he’s a very good organiser who brings the rest of the group forward – and he’s a leader, as well. He’s very confident in how he plays, what he does, his structures and things like that.

“So I would say they both have their certain strengths. We’re lucky to have both of them.

“It depends on how we want to start the game and how we want to finish the game.

‘There’s an excitement about the fact that we’ve got both to choose from, because they are both really good players.”

Pyrgos is joint-captain at Glasgow along with Gray, but Taylor said that would not on its own tip the balance in his favour against Price. “Look, he’s an exceptional leader.

“But I think those two players will be picked on what we want to get out of the game, first and foremost, rather than Henry getting picked just because he’s one of the senior leaders at Glasgow and with Scotland. It will be about what we want to get out of that position in the game.

“They’ve both worked with Finn [Russell] often enough at Glasgow – and they’re both on the same wavelength as Finn. They both have parts to play at Glasgow, and again, I think that’s a strength. To have guys who work with our stand-off week in, week out, as well as playing club games with him - that has to be a bonus.”

Pyrgos is not long back from injury, and, while match fit, has yet to hit top form. Price, by contrast, has been outstanding at times this season, notably in some of Glasgow’s Champions Cup pool games. But his naivety was exposed within minutes of his taking over from Laidlaw against France when he gave away a penalty with a needless push - an action which could just sway Cotter’s thinking in favour of his rival.

When it comes to the captaincy, meanwhile, Pyrgos has taken charge of Scotland before, so the most economical solution could be to start with him as scrum-half and skipper. Ross Ford has also led the side, and there are others who are now seasoned internationals and could do the job well. But, while the leadership group in the squad as a whole is growing in experience, the pecking order in Paris suggests that the choice of captain will come down to Barclay or Gray.

“John probably speaks more than Jonny, although Jonny does speak more than you might expect,” Taylor said after being asked how the two forwards differed in the way they led a team. “Jonny is more of a doing captain.

“Barclay is a doing captain but he probably talks more. That’s the main difference.

“You probably already know that from Jonny’s media interviews. It’s hard to extract anything from him!

“I think you can have all kinds of captains. Over the years, looking at rugby or other sports, there have been different types. As long as the team is functioning well with that person as captain, it doesn’t really matter what the style is - if your style of leadership suits the team and works, that’s what counts.

“Everyone can get better. Everyone can improve in how they communicate, make decisions and work within the group. Both of those guys are always working hard to get better.”