Scottish Rugby

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Glasgow Warriors back Ollie Smith is desperate to taste URC glory after missing out on the 2024 title victory through injury.

The 25-year-old suffered ACL damage in December 2023 and missed the entirety of 2024, which included Glasgow's URC triumph, but returned to action this season and has re-established himself as a key member of Franco Smith's side.

Now, with Warriors top of the URC, Smith wants another shot at the title.

"I missed out on a long period of rugby a couple of seasons ago," he said as Glasgow prepare for a double-header in South Africa against Lions and Stormers.

"For me, just to be playing regular rugby is what I've been missing so much.

"This season has been great for me to string some games together. I feel really confident. It's good to get so many games under the belt. I'm enjoying my rugby. We're playing a good style of rugby which suits the backs.

"You just kind of grow in confidence and grow and grow and grow, which is what I needed really off the back of not playing for a year.

"I want to win things with this club.

"It's something that I've been wanting to do since I was a kid, coming out of school as well. That's the motivation for me now, to be part of something special at this club.

"I believe the squad we have is really special and we can do something special again. We've set ourselves up for this. We're now in such a good position and we deserve to take something away from that."

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Edinburgh have continued their revamp of Sean Everitt's backroom staff by appointing "outstanding" attack coach Tim Sampson on a two-year deal.

Sampson, who joins in the summer from Super Rugby Pacific side Fijian Drua, follows fellow Australian Brad Davis, who will arrive as defence coach.

Former fly-half Sampson brings a wealth of experience having led Western Force for five years and also coached at Melbourne Rebels.

"I am extremely grateful for the opportunity given by Sean and the club to be joining them for the next two years," said Sampson.

And Edinburgh head coach Everitt said: "Tim is an outstanding coach and a fantastic addition to our staff.

"What really excites me is the combination of Tim and Brad Davis coming in together. Between them, they bring enormous experience and a senior presence that will add a huge amount of quality to our environment."

On the latest episode of the BBC Scotland Rugby Podcast, Andrew Petrie and Tom English discuss Scotland's opening win in the Women's Six Nations against Wales at the Principality and preview a monumental game against England at Murrayfield.

Veteran Scotland hooker Lana Skeldon and scrum-half Leia Brebner-Holden join the pod to talk rugby and also their tattoos and the reasoning behind them.

Plus, there's audience questions and a lookback on Glasgow's missed opportunity against Toulon.

Listen and subscribe on BBC Sounds

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Brad Davis will join Edinburgh as their new defence coach on a two-year contract in the summer.

The Australian moves to the Scottish capital from Super Rugby outfit Queensland Reds in his homeland.

Davis, who started his coaching career with rugby league side Castleford, spent eight years as a defence and skills coach with Bath and also had coaching stints at Wasps, Ospreys, London Irish and Australia.

"I'm really excited to be taking on this new challenge with Edinburgh," he said.

"Edinburgh is a club with a strong identity, passionate support and huge potential, and I'm looking forward to bringing my experience of working in high-performing environments to help drive the team forward.

"The opportunity to work with this group of players and staff, and to help build a resilient, consistent and aggressive defence is something that really motivates me. I can't wait to get started."

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Kerr Yule has become the latest Glasgow Warriors academy graduate to sign his first professional contract with the club.

The 20-year-old centre, who has started four URC games this season, has penned a two-year deal with his boyhood team.

"I've been coming to Glasgow Warriors matches for longer than I can remember – I think I first came to a game when I was maybe five or six years old. To sign my first pro deal with the Warriors means everything to me," said Yule.

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Influential centre Emma Orr will miss the rest of the Women's Six Nations after picking up an injury in Scotland's opening victory over Wales last weekend.

The Bristol Bears back, 23, went down clutching her knee after attempting a tackle on Wales scrum-half Keira Bevan and was subsequently replaced by Evie Wills.

Scotland have announced she will miss the rest of the tournament and will be replaced in the squad by Montpellier's Holly McIntyre.

The Scots won the game in Cardiff 24-19 and are back in action on Saturday as they host England.

Do you have any burning questions for our rugby experts after Glasgow Warriors were knocked out of the Champions Cup with a bruising home quarter-final defeat to Toulon?

Or maybe you want to know more about Scotland's winning start to the Women's Six Nations following their victory over Wales in Cardiff?

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

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Glasgow coach Roddy Grant believes that travelling to South Africa together can be the best way for the team to put their Champions League disappointment behind them.

A painful home defeat to Toulon on Saturday ended hopes of success in one competition, but the United Rugby Championship leaders are now turning their attention to triumph in another.

The team is heading to Johannesburg on Tuesday ahead of a clash with the Lions on Saturday and a top-of-the-table showdown with the Stormers the following weekend.

Grant says spending a good deal of time together after the Six Nations and some big matches can be the right boost at the right time.

"It's really exciting," he said. "It's a different country, so that's refreshing. We're all together for two weeks now.

"I know the Scotland guys have been back for a little bit (after the Six Nations), but some of the guys came back injured and haven't been around, so it's a really good chance for the collective to get over a disappointment together.

"We've got to get over it very quickly ahead of the weekend but it's a great chance of being together at this stage of the season where you really want to get tight and really focus on the end point of the season, so that's a real benefit.

"When you're playing a long season, anything new is refreshing. So it's a different country, it's a slightly different way of playing, big physical challenge, exciting rugby that the Lions and the Stormers are playing.

"There's a lot to be excited about that's different to the norm."

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Scotland's Holland Bogan said she enjoyed an "unreal" experience after helping her team beat Wales in their Women's Six Nations opener.

The 21-year-old came off the bench to make her debut as the Scots fought to a 24-19 victory at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

Chloe Rollie, Shona Campbell and Lucia Scott all scored tries, while Helen Nelson's assured kicking helped Scotland gain the upper hand in the second half.

But the visitors did have to withstand late pressure and survive Demi Swann's 85th-minute yellow card before a mistake from the Welsh line-out saw the Scots clinch victory.

Glasgow forward Bogan said in a Scottish Rugby video: "It was unreal. Playing in this stadium is always amazing. Playing with this team is really special. We talk about it all the time.

"I am just so grateful. I have been waiting for it for a while, but this was the perfect time.

It was really physical, Wales are always really physical. Fair play to Wales for sticking it out for 85 minutes or however long it was, but even fairer play on the girls for sticking it out defensively as well."

Rugby fans, we asked you for your opinions on Glasgow's disappointing defeat to Toulon in the Champions Cup quarter-finals. Here's a taste of what you had to say...

David: Toulon did enough in the first half to cause a few worries and they were realised at the end. Disappointed for the team but maybe last week took its toll. Glasgow missed their heavy hitters in the pack. George Horne would've made a significant difference (though Ben Afshar played well last week, he doesn't pose the same threat around the ruck as Horne does, or the speed). The Nacho Brex try was a sucker punch but what appalling defence! Has Sione Tuipulotu lost a bit of mojo? All in all, Toulon deserved the win.

Brian: We just didn't play our game to the standards we have all season. We missed the tempo of Horne; the ball delivery was slow for the majority of the game and that takes away our DNA. Very disappointing result because I thought this was going to be our year, but it's been a great campaign with many positives. All in for the URC now but two difficult away games in South Africa coming up which will shape our play off route.

Alan: What a shame that we kept our poorest performance of the season for our most important game of the season! The Warriors were no where near their usual standards. At least we still have the URC to go for. We need George Horne to be fit ASAP.

Gullyman: It's not often there are negative comments following a Glasgow performance and rightly so as they have been very good so far this season. Yesterday was just one of those days when mistakes were made too often and the opposition raised their game as a result. There will be lessons learned and the squad will deliver on URC.

Stuart: The fundamental truth is this was just a step too far. Glasgow don't have the squad depth to provide nearly the full Scotland team to the Six Nations and then deal with the resulting injuries whilst still competing deep into two competitions.

Franco Smith should be applauded, I guarantee every other team at this stage of the Champions Cup has significantly more resources than Glasgow.

Hats off to Toulon, they shut down Glasgow's attacking game. You can debate the legalities of how they did that but at the end of the day Toulon spent the majority of the second half putting Glasgow under pressure and they couldn't find the answers.

Scotland began a new era under Sione Fukofuka with a narrow victory over Wales in the opening round of the Women's Six Nations.

Read the full match report here

Have your say on the game via this link

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Helen Nelson: "It was a little bit tight at the end, we got our defensive play in finally.

"It's always tight against Wales but I'm just proud that we put in that full 85-minute performance and managed to get the win.

"It's been a fast pre-season, we've had 12 days together so we're just focusing on us, we've got a lot of experienced players but also those young players that came in today. Just trying to get to know each other off the pitch, get those connections and then show that on the field."

Meryl Smith: "We're so happy to get the win, Wales made it so hard and we didn't make it easily for ourselves also.

"To be back in blue means the world, and I've defiantly missed it and be back in the squad with the win today was the cherry on top.

"We're looking to get more expansive rugby, play a bit wider and the Welsh defensive was really strong and hitting that back with the adaptability.

"I think we didn't front up as much as we should have first half, we need to improve on that for next week in front of the home crowd.

"We need to play like we did in the second half, but it was a blow loosing Emma Orr but we adapted well."

Glasgow Warriors were sensationally dumped out of the Champions Cup quarter-finals by a ruthless Toulon at Scotstoun.

Read the full match report here

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Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith: "First of all I'm really proud of the campaign.

"I don't think people know how tough it is. I think we were inaccurate in the first half. Enough to be proud of and enough to learn from but obviously tonight we're going to be very disappointed.

"Toulon defended well. Defence wins finals, we know that and they did it well. I thought we defended really well in large parts. There were one or two soft tries which is annoying and will be a regret.

"The expectation was massive and that sometimes creeps under the skin of the players. We must get used to playing these big games and you would think with the amount of test match rugby we've played that would help. I think the expectation played a role in the inaccuracy but we're going to look back and take enough positives to progress again.

"There were some good opportunities missed because we'd rather keep the ball than pass it. I think it's important to us to take the learnings from this and see how we can improve.

"The important thing is to be accurate. There were five or six opportunities we could have taken and if we were a little bit more accurate it would have changed the outcome. Every opportunity is important. We just need to be a little bit more clinical and precise."

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Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm says she is excited about the team's future under Sione Fukofuka as they prepare to face Wales in their Guinness Women's Six Nations opener.

Fukofuka was previously assistant coach of his native Australia and head coach of the United States. The new head coach has brought new players into the squad immediately, with Glasgow back-row forward Emily Coubrough starting at the Principality Stadium, while uncapped Demi Swann, Holland Bogan and Rianna Darroch will be on the bench in Cardiff.

Malcolm believes there's been a reset that has everyone ready to take another step forward.

"I'm feeling hugely excited, she said on the Scottish Rugby YouTube channel. "It's obviously always the most exciting time of the year for us, the Women's Six Nations, and to have what is a pretty new-look squad under a new management team truly feels like the start of a new era.

"With the new faces coming in, they've come in in brilliant shape and look really promising in all aspects of the game, so I'm super excited for them to get their opportunity.

"As a captain, there's a responsibility on my shoulders to get us all on the same page, both on and off the pitch, as quickly as we can, but I'm really fortunate that I've got a very strong group of leaders and a support system around me that have helped me in that.

"I've just been super impressed by the way everyone's just kind of got with the Scotland way.

"We've had a huge amount of fun, even though it's been pretty full-on, and I think that's the way that we play our best, when we've got a smile on our face and we're enjoying our time in camp.

"It's cool to see that even with this new group, it still feels like the same old Scotland."

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Saracens flanker Andy Onyeama-Christie has been ruled out of action for the rest of the season with a fractured arm.

His club have said he will play no further part in the current campaign, which concludes in June.

The injury also puts the 10-time capped Scotland international in doubt for the inaugural Nations Championships this summer. The national team face Argentina in Cordoba, then Fiji at Murrayfield in the new compeition in July.

For Onyeama-Christie, 27, it is the latest in a series of injuries in recent seasons, having twice previously broken his arm and also fracturing and dislocating his ankle.

He has played in 19 games for the London club this campaign and agreed new terms to extend his stay in February.

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Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith has made two changes for Saturday's Champions Cup quarter-final clash against RC Toulon.

An unchanged front-row sees Patrick Schickerling continue at loose-head alongside Gregor Hiddleston and Zander Fagerson up front.

Jare Oguntibeju partners Alex Samuel in the second row, the former coming into the starting XV for the showdown with the French heavyweights.

The back-row sees Jack Dempsey line up at number eight, with Rory Darge and Matt Fagerson completing the loose forward trio.

Behind the scrum, Ben Afshar starts at scrum-half in place of the injured George Horne, as he partners Dan Lancaster in the half-backs.

Stafford McDowall continues at outside centre after picking up player of the match in the win over Bulls last week, he lines up alongside Sione Tuipulotu as the midfield combination.

Kyle Steyn once again leads his team from the wing and the back-three is rounded out by Ollie Smith and Josh McKay.

Max Williamson rotates to the bench after starting last time out, with Angus Fraser and Euan Ferrie completing a six-two split of forwards and backs.

The back-line is covered by Adam Hastings and Jack Oliver, who could make his first appearance in the Champions Cup should he come off the bench.

"Toulon are well accustomed to knockout matches of this scale, with a proud heritage of success in this competition," Smith said.

"They have a squad that blends a physical forward pack with a back line that can cause problems for any team, and we know that we must be at our best to meet their challenge."

Glasgow Warriors XV to face Toulon: Schickerling, Hiddleston, Fagerson, Oguntibeju, Samuel, Fagerson, Darge, Dempsey, Afshar, Lancaster, Smith, Tuipulotu, McDowall, Steyn, McKay.

Replacements: Stephen, Bhatti, Talakai, Williamson, Ferrie, Fraser, Oliver, Hastings.