MICHAEL DODS, Scotland's hero against France in the Five Nations Championship, yesterday paid the price for his inconsistency when he was left out of the party to tour New Zealand this summer.

The winger's omission is partly due to a knee injury he is carrying, although a more candid assessment was offered by Scottish team manager Jim Telfer who said. The real reason is that Dods is not good enough."

Dods appeared in all of Scotland's Five Nations matches this season and accounted for all 19 of his side's points against France, which included two tries. But Telfer, whose players will be on contracts worth around £15,000 per man for the trip, said. "Selection for international matches is not the same as for tours."

Dods evidently fell short of proving himself a reliable goal kicker. "We analysed his performance and found that in the Five Nations he had only a 47 per cent success rate, and that is not good enough," said Telfer. Scotland, though, have no obvious kicker to fill the vacancy and Telfer conceded that his tour party will have to depend on Rowen Shepherd, Gregor Townsend, Craig Chalmers and Stuart Lang.

The other notable absence from the 30 strong squad is that of scrum half Bryan Redpath, described by Telfer as "an integral member of the team". "He passes so quickly and well," said Telfer, who revealed that the Melrose star is suffering from a stress fracture in the lower part of his back and has been advised to rest.

Telfer, though, believes that the two scrum halves named Gary Armstrong and Andy Nicol could benefit from the law changes which Scotland will play under on the tour. The new rules stress that the back row must remain in the scrum until its completion. "Both scrum halves are good breakers and good defenders," said Telfer.