Scottish Rugby

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

Graeme asked: Only two games in, I know, but could this be the season Edinburgh come of age?

Andy answered: We certainly shouldn't be getting carried away with Edinburgh just two games into the season, but at the same time, we should enjoy what we're seeing from them right now.

The Edinburgh fans have waited long enough for a little light at the end of the tunnel.

The victories over Ulster and Stormers have shown different sides to this Edinburgh team. Flair and attacking ambition to come through in Belfast, doggedness and clutch moments to get the job done against the South Africans.

New attack coach Tim Sampson has certainly got a tune out of what was a pretty moribund backline, and the addition of James Grayson at fly-half has been instrumental in that.

Have Edinburgh truly turned a corner? Zebre away - a fixture that has haunted them in recent times - will tell us a lot.

If they can come away from Italy on Saturday with maximum points then it will certainly feel like Edinburgh are finally on the right track.

Keith asked: Was Glasgow's inability to beat Ulster simply down to early-season errors or evidence we are going to miss the ball-carrying prowess of Jack Dempsey this season more than we care to admit?

Andy answered: I wouldn't be too concerned about Glasgow.

We saw some vintage Warriors with their five tries, and some uncharacteristic stuff in their concession of five tries, but I'd be minded to chalk it up to early-season rust.

Dempsey will be a big miss this season, no question, but he has had his injury problems in recent times and Glasgow have had to cope without him for long stretches.

Jamie Ritchie will bring nous and class to the back-row when he finally returns to fitness in the next month or so, and Matt Fagerson is more than capable of slotting in at number eight. It will be good to see Macenzzie Duncan getting some more game-time this season too.

Connacht will be a good test for Warriors on Friday night and I suspect we might see them back to something closer to their best at Scotstoun.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith says George Horne's error against Ulster played no part in his decision to bench the scrum-half for Friday's URC match against Connacht.

In a lapse of judgement Horne bounced the ball off an opponent's head after Glasgow had been awarded a penalty late in the first half.

The decision was reversed and Ulster took advantage by scoring a try as the sides played out a 33-33 draw at Scotstoun.

Horne also struck the post with a late penalty in the dying minutes, but Smith leapt to the defence of a player that has been instrumental in Warriors' success in the past few years.

"The last tackle last week against Ulster was made by George in the 80th minute on the cross cover in the backfield," said Smith.

"He cares so much. Everybody feels like he feels sometimes during the season with the frustration boiling over. So he's human after all.

"He's played so many games for us, and he plays so well. It's [the selection] absolutely nothing to do with that [Ulster incident]. I didn't even have to tell George that action before half-time was not good enough. He knew straight away, and he was apologetic for it, and I understand that.

"I've seen Scottie Scheffler, who's a great golfer and a Christian in so many ways, sometimes get upset with his caddie. So it does happen.

"I know that frustration boiled over, unfortunately, but it's got nothing to do with what's happened, what we see in our future developing."

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Ewan Ashman and Moses Tuipulotu come into the Edinburgh line-up for Saturday's United Rugby Championship match away to Zebre.

Scotland hooker Ashman is the only change in the pack, replacing Kienan Higgins, with Tuipulotu taking over from Harri Morris at inside centre. Morris makes the bench.

It is the last match for both sides before they begin their European Rugby Challenge Cup campaigns, with the Scottish capital side hosting Toulon next Friday and Zebre at home to Ulster the following day.

Edinburgh are bidding for a third URC win out of three after victories over Ulster (away) and Stormers (home).

Edinburgh: Piers O'Conor, Malelili Satala, Matt Currie, Moses Tuipulotu, Geordie Gwynn, James Grayson, Hector Patterson; Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, Callum Hunder-Hill, Glen Young, Liam McConnell, Freddy Douglas, Magnus Bradbury.

Replacements: Harri Morris, Jamie Stewart, Paul Hill, Marshall Sykes, Tom Currie, Conor McAlpine, Cammy Scott, Rory McHaffie.

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Scotland internationals Scott Cummings, Rory Darge, Nathan McBeth and Ollie Smith return to the Glasgow Warriors line-up for Saturday's URC match at home to Connacht.

Warriors captain Stafford McDowall misses out after suffering a concussion in last weekend's 33-33 draw with Ulster, with Sione Tuipulotu leading the side in his absence and Smith taking the 13 jersey.

George Horne drops to the bench with Jamie Dobie moving in from the wing to scrum-half.

Macennzie Duncan comes into the back row at number eight, with Matt Fagerson shifting to the blindside flank.

Glasgow team to face Connacht: Josh McKay, Kyle Rowe, Ollie Smith, Sione Tuipulotu (c), Fergus Watson, Dan Lancaster, Jamie Dobie; Nathan McBeth, Gregor Hiddleston, Fin Richardson, Max Williamson, Scott Cummings, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Macenzzie Duncan.

Replacements: Seb Stephen, Patrick Schickerling, Sam Talakai, Gregor Brown, Jare Oguntibeju, Ally Miller, George Horne, Bayley Kuenzle.

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Glasgow Warriors hooker Gregor Hiddleston is "optimistic" he can establish himself in the Scotland front row as he has at club level.

Hiddleston, 24, made his Scotland debut earlier this year against Argentina and has three caps.

His international breakthrough came off the back of a stellar season with the Warriors as he helped Franco Smith's side reach the semi-finals of the URC and the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup.

"You've got to be optimistic," Hiddleston said, when asked whether he can nail down the number two jersey for Scotland.

"If I didn't think I could do it, I'd be better going back than playing for Dumfries.

"So, I think it's important that I just keep going on the trajectory and try to put my best foot forward every time I'm on the training pitch and in games.

"It's obviously a tough one to answer, but I think you've got to be optimistic in the sense that you want to keep pushing further."

Despite his relatively young age Hiddleston is the senior hooker at Glasgow, with 21-year-old Seb Stephen providing competition.

"It's strange, because when you first come to the club, there's Fraser Brown, George Turner, Johnny [Matthews], Grant Stewart, a lot of older boys with a lot of experience, and then they parted ways over the last couple of seasons," Hiddleston said.

"It's different, but the group of hookers we've got now are all a bit younger, but it's a really good group.

"We all work really well together, and we can still call on experience from other members in the squad, like Zander [Fagerson] and Scotty Cummins."

Will Edinburgh continue their current form and make it three from three when they come up against Zebre in the URC? Is there anything to be worried about at Glasgow? Tom and Andy have you covered.

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Max Williamson has urged Glasgow Warriors to cut out the sloppy starts as they seek early-season URC momentum.

Franco Smith's side - who host Connacht on Friday - have trailed at the interval in both games so far, fighting back to win their opener at Munster before salvaging a draw at home to Ulster last weekend despite having Rory Darge and Sam Talakai sin-binned in the final 10 minutes.

"To be honest, for us it felt like a loss," said lock Williamson.

"We were all pretty gutted at the end. There was some really good fight in that second half, especially when we went down to 13, but we have to look at how we were in that first half.

"When we were with 15, we weren't on it. We deserved to be behind at half-time and that's something we can't really afford to do, same as the previous week when we were able to overcome it.

"But we need to start from minute one to 80, that complete, full performance. We've seen parts of the game where we've been on it and then off it, whereas we need to see it for the whole time.

"There's no excuses now about it being the start of the season and being a bit rusty."

The 24-year-old has extra motivation to impress for Glasgow as Scotland's Nations Championship matches against New Zealand, Australia and Japan are looming next month.

Williamson, who featured in the summer tour Tests against Fiji and South Africa, said: "It's extremely exciting, New Zealand coming again, especially with how close it was last autumn against them.

"But for me, the way I always like to do it is focusing on my performances here and performing well for Glasgow, because that's what puts me in the best place when I get to that.

"I need to be progressing every game I play, getting better."

Sandy Smith
Fan writer

Seventeen penalties conceded. It's a huge number and live in the stadium it felt like the referee was cross in more than just name.

On review though it's hard to argue with the majority of his decisions.

What is even harder is the Edinburgh defence which pretty much neutralised Stormers as an attacking force. Entries into the Edinburgh 22 were minimal and most of them came directly as a result of that aforementioned indiscipline.

I mention the penalty count as a testament to the fortitude of this young Edinburgh team because the total surpasses that of any league game we played last year and yet we ground out a victory that would normally be unthinkable in the face of such adversity.

As the Stormers lined up their first shot at goal a fellow supporter asked: "Do you think he knows about the Hive wind?"

We got our answer a few seconds later as the shot went well wide. The first half ended with Edinburgh only three points ahead and having to play into that wind in the second half it could have been a worry but the hosts quite literally weathered the storm.

Our lineout, which was impressive both in attack and defence, provided a foothold in the game and that seems like a good place to point out that the two hookers we had in the 23 were both outstanding. Remember we are down three hookers at the moment who probably sit higher in terms of selection if fit.

Harri Morris put in some huge tackles and despite being subbed for Jerry Blyth-Lafferty on 51 minutes still made the top 10 tacklers in the whole match.

Blyth-Lafferty had a strong 29 minutes, was instrumental in Edinburgh's first try and was on the list for the player of the match award which unfortunately has become a test of size of fanbase as opposed to one of contribution.

It probably should have gone to Liam McConnell, who shone the brightest of all the back-row players on display, including Siya Kolisi, but I'll happily take the win and let the losing team have a consolation prize.

It's been a decade since we won our opening three games so we get another chance to update the history books this weekend against Zebre.

A tougher task than you might believe but belief is something this team seems to be building.

Sandy Smith can be found at the Burgh Watch, external

We want your questions for our rugby experts Andy Burke and Tom English after a drama-packed weekend for Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh in the URC.

Glasgow and Ulster played out a thrilling 33-33 draw, while Edinburgh made it two wins from two with a gritty success against Stormers.

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

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Edinburgh grind it out

Last week's opening URC victory over Ulster was built largely on scintillating attacking rugby. This victory over the Stormers was all about heart and pure desire to win.

Let's be honest, for almost an hour the match was a pretty poor spectacle. The stiff breeze seemed to throw both sides off with their handling, and the referee seemed to relish blowing his whistle at every opportunity.

It livened up in the final quarter, when Paul Hill got Edinburgh in front before Hacjivah Dayimani's try looked to have wrestled the momentum back for the Stormers.

The Edinburgh scrum was under massive pressure at that stage and it would have been easy for them to crumble. Maybe last season they would have done.

It's to their immense credit they found a way to win, and what a moment for 19-year-old Rory McHaffie to cross for the match-winning score on his home debut.

McConnell dominates in the air

One of the Stormers' biggest problems in getting their attacking game going was their dysfunctional line-out.

Some of that was down to poor throwing or miscommunication with the jumpers, but the main problem was the towering presence of Liam McConnell.

The young flanker stole three against the throw in the first half alone, two of which robbed the South Africans of promising attacking positions in the Edinburgh 22.

His most important intervention came in the final play.

It was a brave call to compete on the Stormers throw on the Edinburgh five-metre line rather than setting up to defend the rolling maul, but it was absolutely the right call as McConnell got up to disrupt again and ensure the home side could get the ball off the field to secure the win.

The line-out is such a key platform and having a weapon like McConnell that can put doubt in the opposition set-piece will be invaluable for Edinburgh - and, in time, Scotland - going forward.

Everitt off to a flyer

To say the reaction to Scottish Rugby's decision to give Sean Everitt a contract extension as Edinburgh head coach was mixed would be generous in the extreme.

A 12th-placed finish in the URC last season was an abysmal showing, and the feeling was this season was Everitt's last crack at getting a tune out of this team.

It's early days, but two wins from two - and his side having to show very different qualities to register both those victories - has given Edinburgh fans belief that their team has finally turned a corner.

The coach, and his new backroom team, must take a lot of the credit.

Their next assignment is away to Zebre, the lowly Italian side that has given Edinburgh all manner of problems in recent times.

The start to the season has been hugely encouraging, but they need to keep their foot on the pedal and return from Italy with a win, preferably with a bonus point.

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"It was a classic start of the season game," was Franco Smith's assessment of Glasgow's topsy-turvy draw with Ulster at Scotstoun

"Both teams made errors and both teams showcased their rugby skills," he told Premier Sports.

"Both sides of the ball, there's a lot for us to work on.

"Maybe next week [home to Connacht] we can challenge the boys to dig deeper, the way they did in the second part of the game.

"It's easier to fix than most people would expect. We've got good people in the changing room. It's just hard work and good communications."

Glasgow drop to fifth in the URC table after two matches, but Smith was not too downbeat about the outcome.

"We got two points and somewhere down the line this season that will count for a lot," he added.

Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu was more frustrated after his first appearance of the season.

"Drawing here, feels like losing for us," he told Premier Sports.

"Credit to Ulster, it felt like they had the will and want over us and that's not normal for us."

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Liam McConnell says cool heads in the tough moments was the key to Edinburgh grinding out a hard-earned win over the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship.

The tide appeared to have turned in Stormers favour when Hacjivah Dayimani scored to put the visitors 13-10 up with 14 minutes remaining, but Edinburgh hit back with a try from 19-year-old winger Rory McHaffie to make it two wins from two to start the league campaign.

"We just sort of found a way to get the win I guess," McConnell told BBC Scotland.

"We were under the pump for a bit and then we managed to change the momentum. We did keep our cool. You do need to realise the situation you're in.

"It wasn't going in our favour so you do need to admit that and realise that and do something to change it.

"It's nothing frantic, it's just clear messages and then sort of act on them."

McConnell was a thorn in the Stormers' lineout all evening, stealing three against the throw in the first half and crucially disrupting a lineout close to the Edinburgh line in the final play.

The decision to compete in the air rather than try to repel the South Africans' rolling maul was a gamble that paid off.

"We were doing it all night and then that last one there, me and Glenn (Young), we kind of had a quick word, should we go up, should we stay down, because if you go up and you don't win it then you could be in big trouble against them," said McConnell. "But we just said we've been going well all night so let's just back it, and we did."

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt told BBC Scotland: "It was a very hard-earned win.

"I'm just proud of the effort that they put in and the path that they showed at home. It shows that they care.

"A different opposition (from Ulster last weekend) against one of the best packs in the URC.

"Obviously, with the injuries that we had, we knew we had to contain their set-piece. I thought our boys were brave tonight and they stood up physically and, like I said, they showed they cared for the jersey.

"It's a great start for us. It's the total opposite to what we had last year.

"For these youngsters, I think we had 11 players 22 and under, getting one over those really good players that played for South Africa in the last month, I think it's great for us and it's going to build a lot of belief and sometimes that belief is more important than the league points."

Edinburgh have a 100% record in the URC after a gutsy home win over Stormers, with a late try from teenager Rory McHaffie spoiling Siya Kolisi's return.

Read the match report

Have you say on the action

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Glasgow head coach Franco Smith wants Sione Tuipulotu to play without the burden of expectation as the Scotland captain begins one of the biggest seasons of his career.

Tuipulotu will make his first appearance of the season when the Warriors host Ulster in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday.

With a World Cup in his native Australia coming in a year's time, the 29-year-old will be aiming to underline his credentials as one of the best centres in the business.

After the demands of last season, when Tuipulotu played on the Lions tour of Australia, captained Scotland in the Nations Championship and Six Nations and helped Glasgow go deep in both the URC and Champions Cup, Smith says he is refreshed and ready to go.

"He's had a proper break of six weeks. I think he's had a decent recovery like everybody else," explained Smith.

"I also think there's a lot of expectation around everything this year. And I want him to manage that through concentrating on the way he plays, what he wants to improve on and how are we going to make him the best version of himself. He's on a journey still.

"He knows that. So no extra pressure on him. I hope he doesn't feel this expectation.

"I hope nobody feels expectation in this environment because I think we've got to earn that right again.

"We start over. We finished on a disappointing note last season. We need to rebuild and refocus. Not rebuild the team, but rebuild the season from the first day here at Scotstoun."

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

Ewan asked: Should Scotland-eligible Josh McKay be called up for the autumn Tests?

Andy answered: McKay has been one of Glasgow's most consistent performers since joining in 2021. His running game, positional play and general rugby IQ are all huge attributes in what makes Warriors tick.

I think McKay has every chance of being called up for the Nations Championship matches in November. A year out from a World Cup, there is no better time to test him out in the international arena.

That's not to say he will walk into the team. Blair Kinghorn has long been established as Scotland's first-choice full-back, but you also have the classy Kyle Rowe - who in another era would be on 50-plus caps by now - and Tom Jordan who has also been deployed at 15.

There's no such thing as too much depth and McKay would be a good addition to Scotland's full-back options.

Tom asked: How is it possible that Edinburgh start a season with roughly a a quarter to a third of their players injured?

Andy answered: We have been looking for deeper issues as to why Edinburgh seem to almost permanently carry such a mammoth injury list. Sean Everitt says it is mostly down to plain bad luck.

He says many of the injuries picked up have been "freakish", such as Darcy Graham's ruptured bicep that will keep the Scotland wing sidelined until the end of the year.

Everitt did say the 4G pitch at Hive Stadium can put extra strain on the players, particularly the back five of the pack who are jumping and landing at lineout time, but 4G pitches are more prevalent in the game now and players simply have to deal with it.

As well as the turnover of coaches over the summer, there has been an overhaul of the strength and conditioning set-up and the hope is the injury rate can come down this season.

Tom asked: With Shaun Edwards being employed by English Rugby, does this show that the gulf in the women's game is getting wider not shorter? Is there anything that can be done?

Andy answered: That's exactly what Edwards' appointment demonstrates - the gap between the best and the rest is only growing.

The capture of Edwards, one of the best defence coaches the game has seen, would have been seen as a major coup for any side in the world - men's or women's.

The fact the Red Roses have the means to get that calibre of coach, while Scotland are currently left without a permanent head coach, speaks volumes as to where both nations are in the global order.

The WXV Series has laid bare just where Scotland are right now, which is a long way off the top teams in the world.

What can be done about it? More investment, plain and simple.

Scottish Rugby has started restructuring the women's game, trying to entice more internationals to remain in Scotland to play their club rugby, but this will be a long process and progress may well be slower than we would all like.

The day Scotland are able to properly compete regularly with the likes of England, Canada and New Zealand is still many years away, I would suggest.

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Franco Smith believes there is "more to come" from Glasgow Warriors as Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu and fellow international Fin Richardson come into the line-up for Saturday's first home United Rugby Championship fixture of the season against Ulster.

Tuipulotu's introduction at inside centre means a move to outside centre for Glasgow captain Stafford McDowall as Ollie Smith drops out.

Richardson replaces Murphy Walker at tighthead prop while another Scotland cap, back-row Rory Darge, could make his season's first appearance from the bench. Scrum-half Callum Reidy could make his Warriors debut as a replacement.

Ulster lost at home to Edinburgh on Friday before Warriors won away to Munster the following day.

"Our hard work last week paid off with the right result but we know that there is still more to come from this group of players," said head coach Smith.

"Ulster will be a tough opponent as we see year upon year - they play well both at home and away and have international quality throughout their squad, so we know we will have a tough challenge in front of us on Saturday.

"We're looking forward to running out at Scotstoun for the first time this season - a lot of work has gone in behind the scenes to get the pitch and the stadium ready for this weekend and we want to go out and produce a performance that reflects that effort."

Glasgow team to face Ulster: Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Rowe, Stafford McDowall (capt), Sione Tuipulotu, Jamie Dobie, Dan Lancaster, George Horne; Patrick Schickerling, Gregor Hiddleston, Fin Richardson, Gregor Brown, Max Williamson, Ally Miller, Angus Fraser, Matt Fagerson.

Replacements: Seb Stephen, Nathan McBeth, Sam Talakai, Scott Cummings, Rory Darge, Macenzzie Duncan, Callum Reidy, Bayley Kuenzle.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Sean Everitt has challenged his Edinburgh players to maintain the momentum built from an excellent opening victory away to Ulster in the URC when they face the Stormers at Hive Stadium on Friday night.

A stunning performance in the first 55 minutes helped Edinburgh run in four tries as they raced into a 34-5 lead, and while they were left holding on as Ulster came roaring back, the capital side left Belfast with the maximum five points.

After a disappointing 12th-place finish in the URC last season, Everitt now wants his side to get points on the league table early this time around.

"It's extremely important," said the head coach. "We didn't start well last year and we were on the back foot immediately.

"We've got the five points now and building momentum is key. Hopefully the youngsters that played last week can take a lot of experience out of that game away from home.

"It's exciting for them to play in front of our fans at Hive Stadium on a Friday night. So yes, it's really important to continue with the momentum, especially with an away game [against Zebre] coming up and then a European game [at home to Toulon] thereafter."

Pierre Schoeman returns to the side having been rested for the Ulster match, with Ollie Blyth-Lafferty also coming into the front row.

The rest of the pack remains unchanged, as does the backline that attacked so impressively in Belfast.

Edinburgh team to face Stormers: Piers O'Conor, Malelili Satala, Matt Currie (co-capt), Kienan Higgins, Geordie Gwynn, James Grayson, Hector Patterson; Pierre Schoeman, Harri Morris, Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, Callum Hunter-Hill, Glen Young, Liam McConnell, Freddy Douglas, Magnus Bradbury (co-capt).

Replacements: Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, Alec Hepburn, Paul Hill, Euan McVie, Tom Currie, Conor McAlpine, Cammy Scott, Rory McHaffie.