Scottish Rugby

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Ben White says the Scotland squad will benefit from having more players performing in the French Top 14.

The scrum-half will be joined at Toulon in the summer by Huw Jones.

Blair Kinghorn has picked up Top 14 and Champions Cup winners' medals since moving to Toulouse, while Jamie Ritchie has been a key figure this season for Perpignan.

A number of other Scots are playing regularly in France's top flight, and White says the intensity of the league is good preparation for Test rugby.

"I think one of the biggest things that I've found playing in the Top 14 is that every game is a massive occasion," White said.

"You're playing in front of sell-out crowds every week. When you play away from home, there's so much pressure on the home team to win. And vice versa, when we're playing at home, you have that level of pressure that almost feels the same as a test match, which is something that took me a bit of time to get used to.

"But I feel that when I come back into a Scotland environment, I've been playing every week in high-pressure games where we must win, and that transfers and makes you feel more comfortable in those environments, which are high-pressure, which they are when you're playing international rugby. So I feel it's prepared me really well.

"I think it's been a great move for me personally. It's obviously going to be really nice to have Huw joining me in Toulon.

"There's so many good players and it is a great competition. In my opinion, the more players we have from Scotland playing in the league and playing at the highest level across Europe, it's fantastic for us and it drives the quality of the squad and I think it's great."

Tom English and Andy Burke look forward to Scotland's Six Nations opener against Italy, answer audience questions and discuss the 2027 Rugby World Cup schedule.

It's all on the latest episode of the BBC Scotland Rugby Podcast - listen and subscribe on BBC Sounds.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Defence coach Lee Radford believes beating some of the Six Nations heavyweights can propel Scotland to a new level.

The Scots have never finished higher than third in the Six Nations, and have come fourth in their past two campaigns.

It's a meagre return for a group of players many consider to be the strongest in the nation's history.

Scotland kick off their 2026 Six Nations campaign in Rome against Italy on Saturday.

"Impressions are we've been there or thereabouts for a long time," said Radford, who confirmed Jamie Dobie and Jack Dempsey, who are both nursing injuries, trained on Tuesday.

"I think that next level is to knock some big ones off. Winning is a habit, it's habitual. Once you knock a couple off, I think that'll do well for the confidence.

"You're seeing that with Glasgow on the run they're on at the moment, but likewise we're on one at Northampton (where Radford is also defence coach) as well.

"You just feel it around the place and I think it's important we get a couple of those results to be able to kick on to that next level.

"In every competition you go in, you want to win it. I don't like to go into a competition thinking we're participating.

"That's been throughout anything I've ever done. We've got a good enough group to go somewhere in this comp. We've got our training right, we've got our approach right.

"We get some luck, that's always helpful - who knows?"

Sandy Smith
Fan writer

Edinburgh have played four games in the past two seasons that have been officiated by Andrea Piardi and have lost all of them.

That may not be unique to him as we haven't won very many games at all, but as if there weren't enough things to worry about as an Edinburgh supporter, his officiating certainly adds to my fears.

On paper, we should have had a chance against Leinster but by now we all know that the paper lies.

We made a good start and then the Piardi effect started to influence the game. A few decisions felt like they went against Edinburgh, least of all the chalked-off try on the 25 minute mark.

Onto the positives, and credit where it's due to Duhan van der Merwe. He worked hard, took his try well and made a nuisance of himself all afternoon. He topped the stats for metres ran and defenders beaten.

Congratulations also to Malelili Satala for his maiden Edinburgh try. He's had to wait a while for his chance and he took it with some aplomb.

Piardi was a contributory factor but not the main cause. Never mind the five points denied for that ridiculously disallowed try, we left nine points out there with missed kicks.

A decent win was within our grasp. Instead it's a seventh defeat in a row at Leinster's hands and we've dropped a further place in the table.

A wee break now for the Six Nations. Maybe watching Scotland will cheer me up!

Sandy Smith can be found at The Burgh Watch, external

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Scotland's match against England in the Women's Six Nations in April will be played in front of a record crowd.

Scottish Rugby announced last year the game would be played at Murrayfield instead of the Hive Stadium as part of the 'Murrayfield 100' celebrations and early ticket sales have already broken records.

With more than 19,000 tickets already sold, the crowd will eclipse the existing benchmark for a standalone women's sporting event in Scotland – set by the women's national football team against Jamaica seven years ago, when 18,555 fans were in attendance.

The sales also smash the previous rugby record of 7,774 when Scotland sold out the Hive for their match against England.

Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm said: "In 2024, we played England at home in front of a record crowd and that felt like a real step forward for women's rugby in Scotland.

"Then, at the Rugby World Cup, we experienced what was possible on an even bigger stage, playing in front of 27,000 fans at Ashton Gate.

"To now be bringing that sense of occasion to Scottish Gas Murrayfield, with 19,000 fans and counting, shows the momentum that's building around this team and women's sport more broadly. I cannot thank our fans enough for this huge show of support already.

"It's an incredibly proud moment for us as players, but it also comes with the responsibility to honour those who've backed us, to inspire the next generation, and to help ensure that moments like this become part of the future of Scottish rugby, not just standout occasions."

Do you have any burning questions on Scottish rugby for our experts, Tom English and Andy Burke, as Gregor Townsend prepares to name his side for Saturday's trip to Rome in the Six Nations?

Or perhaps you want to focus on the URC after Edinburgh lost and Glasgow Warriors won again?

Send in your questions via this link and a selection of answers will be published on this page later in the week.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Young guns step up

Glasgow were missing no fewer than 15 Scotland internationals against Munster, and yet their "fringe" players stepped up to deliver another big win.

The brilliance of Franco Smith has been his ability to effectively rotate his squad so that every player feels he gets a fair shake.

The likes of Seb Stephen (20), Jare Oguntibeju (23), Ben Afshar (22) and Kerr Yule (20) all played their part in the type of win that successful sides - when shorn of their top players - must produce to win titles.

Scotland stars respond to disappointment

It would have been understandable if those players released from Scotland's Six Nations squad lined up for Glasgow against Munster feeling a little flat.

Instead, the likes of Ollie Smith, Stafford McDowall and Alex Craig had the bit between their teeth and seemed out to prove a point.

Smith's finish for his try was outrageously good, McDowall took home the player of the match award and Craig got through a mountain of work in the boiler room.

Should their chance come for Scotland in the Six Nations, they look ready.

Lancaster looks at home

We noted in these pages Dan Lancaster's impressive performance against Clermont the other week. He is looking more and more at home in the Glasgow 10 jersey with every passing game.

In a match in which both sides scored four tries, Lancaster's superb goal-kicking ultimately proved the difference.

He picked up an intercept try and had several big moments when Glasgow were under the cosh – a break, a big hit that forced a Munster knock on.

He is a physical presence in defence and, whisper it, might even have a little of the Tom Jordan about him.

We asked for your views on Glasgow Warriors' 31-22 win against Munster and Edinburgh's 28-20 defeat against Leinster in the URC.

Here's what some of you said:

Glasgow

Chris: Dan Lancaster is a quality player. Had similar defensive errors to Adam Hastings a few years ago but look how much Hastings has improved defensively under Franco Smith. Still need another 10 but Lancaster can definitely look to secure his position as first choice.

Ethan: Ideal win for Glasgow and Franco, still top of the table despite injuries and Six Nations squads affecting availability, the young team did very well with a bonus point win and plenty to work on. Three of the Munster tries were gifts from Glasgow errors, though both sides could have had two more tries if it weren't for knock-ons/double movement. Lancaster looks more and more at home with each game. Excellent game before the Six Nations break.

Scotty: Another solid performance from the Warriors with 'Bomber' Lancaster really looking good as well as Stafford McDowall leading the team by example. Very satisfying to see the team play smart in the second half to see out an important win. Very impressed with the forwards and front row in taking the game to a more experienced Munster pack laying the foundations for the backs to carve up.

Kenny: Another good home win for Warriors. Lancaster had by far his best game since his arrival and I would have had him player of the match. Eased some of the fears around the forthcoming departure of Hastings.

Dave: Nice performance and result for a Glasgow team missing 15 starters. The commitment of the forwards to take the game to Munster was really pleasing and the backs on occasion opened up the Munster defence. A very Glasgow Warriors performance.

Keith: Considering the number of senior players missing and the youth of the side this win is significant. It was not perfect but to get the bonus point win was really good and says a lot about not only the strength in depth but how Smith manages the team too.

Edinburgh

JT: The collapses of the team in the last quarter of so many games point to a fundamental issue that for some reason isn't being fixed by the team and/or the management. Depressing.

Gordon: Edinburgh are just a poor rugby franchise. As a team they battled hard, but they just haven't got the nuance to win these close games. As a club they have the unenviable ability of turning good players into bog standard average at best.

Graeme S: Seriously, when will this side see out a match when they are ahead? This same mentality is what seeps into the national team. The sooner the SRU wake up and realise the huge mistake of giving Sean Everitt another two years, the better.

Andrew A: You know the script by now. Decent first half followed by horrific second. The conversion failure at the end summed Edinburgh up. Losing bonus point was there only for an unacceptable lack of concentration to deny them that. I'm a huge critic of Everitt but he was let down badly by kickers who should hang their heads in shame.

Andrew: While there were encouraging signs, without a 10 and goalkicker who's up to the job Edinburgh will bleed supporters and quality players, both of whom have had enough. In the absence of a Scottish-qualified 10 who's competent the SRU has to move to sign someone else. Prioritising Scottish-qualified players loses credibility if there are none up to the job. In the cruel world of professional sport Ben Healy, Cammy Scott and Ross Thompson have had their chance to take their chance. Time for fresh thinking!

Graeme: Edinburgh apparently want to develop into the team Glasgow are, can Franco not just manage both Edinburgh/Glasgow and Scotland? Edinburgh in decline, Duhan van der Merwe would benefit from the Franco touch as well and they are desperately missing a 10. Scotland needs two teams performing and developing our youngster talent as well as our current players.

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Brython Thunder edged out Edinburgh 14-7 at Hive Stadium in a battle of the Celtic Challenge's two worst-performing teams.

Stella Orrin and Seren Singleton scored tries for the Welsh outfit either side of half-time as they earned their first victory of this year's competition.

Edinburgh captain Hannah Walker scored a late consolation try for the hosts, but they could not draw level in the limited time remaining.

After a disappointing defeat, Edinburgh are also on one victory after six matches played.

Leinster proved too strong for Edinburgh in the URC as the Irish side came from behind to earn a bonus-point win.

Read the full match report here

Have your say on the match via this link

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Clovers secured a 38-31 bonus-point victory over Glasgow Warriors to register their fourth victory in a row in the Celtic Challenge.

Faith Oviawe's try gave Clovers an early lead before Aoibheann McGrath touched down and Caitriona Finn added the extra two.

The away side pushed further ahead through Katie Whelan with Emily Coubrough closing the gap with a superb try from a scrum.

Just before the break, Anna McGann robbed Glasgow of the ball, charged forward and crossed the white line to extend Clovers' lead.

Shortly after the restart, McGrath added her second try of the afternoon following great link-up play from Sky Phimister and Alana McInerney.

Glasgow registered another try on the breakaway when Hollan Bogan touched down to make it 12-31

Millie Warren added another try for the home side, who were awarded a penalty try shortly after Clovers' Oviawe was shown a yellow card.

However, Denis Fogarty's side responded with Siofra Hession touching down and converting.

The tries weren't done there, though, with Briar McNamara securing the losing bonus-point for Glasgow seconds before the full-time whistle.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Ollie Smith paid tribute to Glasgow Warriors' young stars after victory over Munster made it nine straight wins in all competitions.

Smith was on the scoresheet as Glasgow raced into a 28-5 half-time lead before holding off a spirited Munster fightback after the break to win 31-22.

The win kept Warriors top of the United Rugby Championshp table, and Smith said the victory was hard-earned in the absence of 15 Scotland internationals who were rested ahead of next week's Six Nations opener against Italy.

"I think that just shows you the depth we've got in the squad," Smith told BBC Scotland.

"I think the work that Duncan Weir does with the academy boys just shows. Matty Irwin was outstanding, Seb Stephen, he's a young boy in our group, but he performs every time he gets on the field. To have some guys making their debut and perform so well, I think it just shows that the work that we put in on the training field.

"Some guys have been here two or three years and never had a look in, and then they get it and I thought they were outstanding. So it just shows you that no matter who takes the field, we all know our role and we all know our job and we know how to get it done.

"I think there's a good thing going on here. I think when we play at home especially, we get the buzz going and we get a good vibe going and the boys are loving the way we're playing. It's a great place to be and I love it here."

Glasgow Warriors maintained their spot at the top of the United Rugby Championship table with a bonus-point victory over Munster at Scotstoun.

Read the report

Have your say

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Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith: "Obviously very proud of the boys.

"Happy we could get the win in a very important fixture. Munster is a very tough game always.

"For the guys who haven't played as often produce a product like tonight is brilliant.

"The way we stuck to task and kept defending well was important. We're proud of [our winning run] but we've won nothing yet.

"Very excited to finish the block that way."

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Wing Duhan van der Merwe has been released by Scotland for Edinburgh's URC trip to Leinster on Saturday.

Freddy Douglas and Magnus Bradbury are the two other players in Scotland's Six Nations squad available to Sean Everitt as the South African head coach makes six changes from the team beaten by Bulls last time out.

Malelili Satala takes Darcy Graham's spot, while Props Boan Venter and Paul Hill, hooker Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, and lock Callum Hunter-Hill all come in.

Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, D'arcy Rae and Grant Gilchrist are all retained by Scotland, along with Graham.

Liam McConnell misses out with a rib injury picked up against Bulls.

"Going away to Leinster is one of the toughest tests in the URC, but it's a challenge we're ready to embrace – we're going over there to have a real crack at it," Everitt said.

"Magnus resumes the captaincy and his experience in these big away fixtures is invaluable for the group.

"We know exactly what we are capable of when we put it all together. The key for us this week is consistency; we need a complete 80-minute performance to get the result we want."

Edinburgh XV to face Leinster: Paterson, Satala, Goosen, Lang, Van der Merwe, Thompson, Vellacott; Venter, J. Blyth-Lafferty, Hill, Hunter-Hill, Young, Muncaster, Douglas, Bradbury.

Replacements: Morris, Jones, O. Blyth-Lafferty, Dodd, Boyle, Shiel, Scott, O'Conor.

BBC Sport Scotland's Andy Burke has been answering some of your Scottish rugby questions.

Graeme asked: What does success look like for Scotland this year?

Andy answered: Clearly success would be winning the Six Nations for the first time, but there's little evidence to suggest Scotland are capable of finishing top of the pile.

They are probably fourth favourites for the title behind France, England and Ireland, so really the hope is they can perform beyond expectations.

The opener in Rome is fraught with danger and will set the tone for what sort of campaign we can expect.

Away wins over Italy and Wales and knocking over one of England or France at home would be a decent campaign, though not bring the Scotland title challenge the fans crave.

I suspect many Scotland fans would trade another Calcutta Cup win for a victory in Dublin on the final day to finally smash this Ireland hoodoo.

For me, Scotland's potential finishing position would translate as:

1. Glorious

2. Excellent

3. Decent

4. Standard, underwhelming

5. Poor

6. Disaster

My prediction? Another campaign of highs and lows culminating in a fourth-place finish.

David asked: With the rise of the importance of the bench and teams like England putting some of their strongest players on it (Tom Curry and Pollock for example), who would you have as those high-impact players for Scotland? Perhaps a rampaging Jamie Ritchie or could there be a role for a destructive Freddy Douglas?

Andy answered: Gregor Brown is number one on the list. The ferocity he brings to the action is exceptional and we have seen, most notably for Glasgow against Toulouse, how effective his presence can be in the final half hour.

As Brown told us himself on this week's BBC Scotland Rugby Podcast, the game has changed and the impact off the bench is every bit as decisive in games as what the starters are bringing.

I think Douglas could be a good bench option too, especially if Scotland need a disruptor at the breakdown to halt the sort of momentum swing we saw against Argentina in the autumn.