Scottish Rugby

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Seb Stephen says going to New Zealand as an 18-year-old was the making of him, as he pushes to be included for Scotland against the All Blacks.

Stephen, 21, made his Scotland debut in July's Nations Championship win over Fiji at Murrayfield and was included in head coach Gregor Townsend's squad for this month's tournament matches.

New Zealand visit Murrayfield on Saturday before Australia and Japan take on Townsend's side over the following two weekends.

"Probably the best decision after school was not sticking around in Scotland and doing something completely differing and having that life experience was awesome for me," Stephen told BBC Scotland.

"I had my 18th birthday when I landed out there. I was based in Auckland. I was playing my rugby down in Hamilton. Great experience.

"I was looking to do something completely outwith the norm. That just seemed to be the thing that ticked the box."

Stephen featured for University of Waikato during his 10 months in New Zealand, having been involved in the Scotland under-18s.

Last year, he joined Glasgow Warriors and his form brought him to the attention of Townsend.

"I hadn't been offered any contract and I was just a bit kind of stuck in the Scottish system," he explained. "I didn't really find that I was developing.

"The opportunity to go out and just experience rugby on a completely different level, in terms of the freestyle way of playing, the relaxed nature of the game they have out there and the culture is amazing.

"When I got out there, I felt completely on my own. You kind of get used to it and you kind of find your feet."

We want your questions after another packed week in Scottish rugby.

Edinburgh's unbeaten start to this season's URC was ended by Benetton in Italy, while a bonus-point victory for Glasgow Warriors against the Lions sent Franco Smith's side top of the table.

There have also been a couple of changes to Gregor Townsend's Scotland set-up, with Glasgow flanker Jamie Ritchie and Newcastle Red Bulls prop Elliot Millar Mills dropping out of the Nations Championship squad after picking up injuries.

Uncapped Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, fellow Edinburgh prop D'arcy Rae and back-row team-mate Freddy Douglas have been called up as replacements.

Send us your questions for Tom English and Andy Burke via this link. 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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Ritchie injury a blow for Glasgow & Scotland

It was really sad to see Jamie Ritchie hobbling off the field with less than 10 minutes on the clock on his home Glasgow Warriors debut.

Having just got himself fit again after Achilles and ankle problems delayed his start to the season, it now looks like a knee injury will rule him out of part, or even the entirety, of the Nations Championship for Scotland.

The full extent of the injury will become clear, and the only hope is it's not as severe as first feared, but Ritchie looked in a lot of discomfort as he left the field.

He will be frustrated he has not been allowed to make the kind of start he would have wanted to at Scotstoun.

Flying Fergus makes his mark

Young Fergus Watson had a night to remember as he made the most of a rare first-team opportunity.

It was only a fourth Warriors appearance for the 19-year-old winger, but he wasted no time in making his mark with a brilliant finish for the opening try.

He had an epic run from his own half that saw him leave several defenders for dust and almost deliver one of the tries of the season. There was shades of Duhan van der Merwe as he slalomed and smashed his way through the Lions.

Watson has a big future. He has fierce back-three competition at Glasgow, but if he keeps working and improving, he looks like he could offer a point of difference from the other wingers.

Singleton's special moment

What a special moment for Jack Singleton to mark his Glasgow debut, and his return to top-level rugby, with a try.

The former England hooker had not played in a year after suffering a heart attack while training with Gloucester, and his future in the sport was in doubt.

It's testament to his resilience that he found a way back, and touching down in front of the Warrior Nation will have meant a lot to him.

Singleton is on a short-term deal at Scotstoun and will hope for more action when the likes of Gregor Hiddleston and Seb Stephen are away on Scotland duty.

We asked for your views after Glasgow Warriors snatched a bonus-point victory against the Lions and Edinburgh's unbeaten start came to an end as they lost to Benetton in Italy.

Glasgow Warriors 29-20 Lions

Gerry: Really enjoyable closely fought game and the result was in doubt until the last few minutes. With so many of the regulars in the Scotland camp Glasgow competed really well against a strong South African team. In spite of the big name absences the Warriors looked pretty cohesive. Franco [Smith] is doing some job.

Alan: I'll happily take another bonus point win, however, the dip in form during most of the second half was both concerning and alarming. On the positive side it was good to see the hunger showed by Fergus Watson and great to see George Horne back to his usual form. I just don't think my nerves will take many more of these last minute victories.

Chris: Fergus Watson is going to develop into a Duhanesque player by the looks of it. He is such a dangerous runner already. Looks like he has a very high ceiling and will only gain more physicality over next few years. Very exciting prospect.

David: Glasgow played the Lions off the park in the first half and then went to sleep for most of the second but experience kicked in and the managed to grasp a win from the jaws of defeat. In a much changed side the young replacements did not let the side down.

Bob: Another game you feel should have been put to bed earlier. Delighted to see some big performances from the less experienced players. Gutted for Jamie Ritchie, hope his injury is not too serious. Hopefully going forward they can make it an 80-minute performance.

Benetton 31-12 Edinburgh

Campbell: Sadly back to the old Edinburgh. Disjointed. Lacking ambition and ferocity at the breakdown. Poor decisions, half-hearted tackles and half-hearted leadership. Hope they can get their mojo back for next week.

George: There was always going to be a backwards step after Edinburgh's start. It just wasn't their day and some lingering mental fragility compounded the score with too much forced play allowing for things like the intercept. It's a journey and I think this group and culture can learn and improve from this.

Chris: Benneton are a very sticky side and make most teams work extremely hard for any win. Dust off and go again.

Stair: Edinburgh fans have known for many seasons that we have great players. Unfortunately we have also had poor coaches. We thought that problem was behind us. Edinburgh looked totally baffled when they went behind in Italy. Very disappointing afternoon.

Doug: Poor display around from Edinburgh. No shape in attack and far too passive in defence. We didn't seem to have a plan B, hopefully this isn't going to derail the good work done so far this season.

Edinburgh's unbeaten start to this season's URC came to an end as they lost 31-12 to Benetton in Italy.

Read the full match report here

Have your say on the game via this link

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Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith told Premier Sports: "I expected it to be a fight from the start. They've rolled out a classy outfit.

"I always knew with the third week on tour, when there's a bit of a break afterwards, the boys were going to gather a little bit of the pride that they've got there.

"They've had an emotional trip. I'm sure the Lions boys decided to give it one more go on this trip. I was absolutely not surprised with the effort from them.

"I think we gave away that sequence of penalties. Jari [Oguntibeju] went offside and then straight after the maul penalty, they kicked it in the corner.

"Unfortunately, we try to get the ball back - if we don't have it, you want to get your hands on it as quickly as possible. That was the important thing. We should have stopped the maul that led to the try in the end there.

"We don't give away maul tries. The Lions have done a great job there. We just got the ball back and made the most of that next opportunity [for Ollie Smith's try]."

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Fergus Watson is relishing his opportunity in the Glasgow Warriors first team as he was named as the player of the match in the victory over the Lions.

The 19-year-old winger scored the first try as the Warriors claimed a bonus-point win to move top of the United Rugby Championship table.

"It was unbelievable," Watson told Premier Sports. "Scoring down there in front of the Warrior Nation was class.

"[Franco Smith] said to me in the changing room just before the game, 'don't worry about doing the wrong thing, just be decisive'. I took that on board and just went out there and did my thing.

"When the big dogs are away [with the Scotland squad], I'm grateful for the opportunity, but they'll be back and pushing each other on."

A late rally snatched a bonus-point victory for Glasgow Warriors against the Lions and sent Franco Smith's side top of the United Rugby Championship table.

Read the full match report

Have your say on the game

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

Dave asked: Really surprised at Magnus Bradbury's Scotland squad omission. From what I had seen in the Edinburgh games his performances were of a high standard. What do you think Townsend isn't seeing in his performances?

Andy answered: I was shocked at Bradbury's omission. I just did not see that coming at all, and certainly not the selection of Ollie Leatherbarrow ahead of him.

Bradbury has been very good this season. Indeed I wrote in these pages a couple of weeks ago that Bradbury might have a great opportunity to force himself to the front of the queue for the Scotland eight jersey when Jack Dempsey is unavailable during the Six Nations.

However, it seems he is just not what Gregor Townsend is after. The suggestion is Bradbury's display in the Challenge Cup defeat to Toulon - admittedly his worst of the season - came at a bad time for his chances of making the squad, but it seems harsh to judge him on that solitary display amid an excellent start to the season.

I think Bradbury is really unlucky, and he may well be wondering what his future at Test level looks like.

Mac asked: So does this Scotland squad have what it takes to finally beat the All Blacks next month? We can beat the men in white but haven't beat the men in black. What would victory mean for Scottish rugby?

Andy answered: I think this squad does have the personnel and ability to beat the All Blacks, but do they have the belief? That is the big unknown.

They have run New Zealand close on the past three occasions and had them where they wanted them last year when Scotland roared back from 17-0 down to level things up at 17-17.

That was perhaps a moment when a little bit of doubt crept in as they stood on the brink of an historic victory, and some Damien McKenzie magic did for the Scots in the end.

The All Blacks have been looking more like the All Blacks in recent times, with Dave Rennie - assisted of course by former Scotland captain Mike Blair - starting to get them trending in the right direction. They were scintillating in dismantling Australia home and away recently, and some of the old aura has returned.

As to what a win would mean for Scotland - it would be seismic.

Ending a 121-year-old barren run against the All Blacks is the kind of statement win this team has been searching for, and would surely give them confidence of finally ending a much shorter (just the 10 years) but probably more maddening winless sequence against Ireland when they meet in the Six Nations.

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Sean Everitt says Edinburgh will benefit from the lack of their players selected for Scotland's Nations Championship fixtures, but the "opportunity" will come if they keep performing to the level they have been this season.

The capital side have started the campaign in blistering form, in stark contrast to previous seasons, leading the URC table prior to travelling to face Benetton on Saturday.

With just five Edinburgh players selected for national duty compared to 19 representing Glasgow Warriors, head coach Everitt believes it is a short-term bonus.

"It is to our advantage that we can have consistency in our selection and consistency in our training and preparation week," he said.

"That's really important for us. At the same time, we feel for those players but they're young and they don't have that much experience in the URC.

"So, it's understandable why they haven't yet been selected. For them, it's about putting in good performances week in and week out and keep knocking on the door and eventually, that opportunity will come.

"The message to them is that they've got opportunities and they've got to keep knocking on the door."

Everitt is keen for his squad not to get too carried away despite leading second-placed Glasgow by a point after four games, with an opportunity to extend their winning form against second-bottom Benetton.

"It's great that we're winning at the moment," he said. "We're only going into round five of the URC and there's a long way to go.

"The team has won and these youngsters like winning now and have experienced winning and know that they're capable of topping teams.

"It gives you confidence to continue growing what you are doing. Sometimes when you're not getting the result, you're looking for a different way to play. This season has been different for us."

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith insists the internal investigation that led to the departure of assistant coach Roddy Grant this week "wasn't a difficult situation at all" and has not caused "disruption" within the club.

The club confirmed Grant would not be replaced for the remainder of this season.

"Look, we run a tight ship here and everybody knows exactly what my values is, where we stand and how we do things here," Smith said before Glasgow's URC match at home to the Lions on Friday night.

"The culture of the club has been trialled and tested over the last five years and it comes out flying.

"This incident didn't influence anything that we did or do or want to become or want to do in the type of messaging that we get across to the players.

"So no, I think we weren't disrupted. I think we wanted to give another person an opportunity to be involved in this environment and grow their coaching career.

"It's not what we can get, it's what we can give and that was always the approach.

"The process was followed and we're just going to stick to the task and carry on. I'm disappointed with everything that happened, but that's that."

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Edinburgh make three changes to their pack for Saturday's United Rugby Championship match away to Benetton (15:00 GMT).

Alec Hepburn replaces Pierre Schoeman at loosehead, Harri Morris takes over from Ewan Ashman at hooker and Freddy Douglas comes in at openside flanker for Tom Currie, who makes the bench.

There are no changes to the backs.

Sean Everitt's side lead the URC standings after four wins out of four.

Edinburgh: Piers O'Conor, Geordie Gwynn, Matt Currie, Mosese Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe, James Grayson, Hector Patterson; Alec Hepburn, Harri Morris, Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, Glen Young, Grant Gilchrist, Liam McConnell, Freddy Douglas, Magnus Bradbury.

Replacements: Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, Jamie Stewart, Paul Hill, Callum Hunter-Hill, Tom Currie, Conor McAlpine, Ross Thompson, Harry Paterson.

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Franco Smith has made 12 personnel and two positional changes to his XV for Friday's United Rugby Championship match with Lions at Scotstoun Stadium (19:45 GMT),

Ollie Smith moves from wing to full-back and Stafford McDowall moves from outside to inside centre. Jamie Ritchie continues at blindside flanker.

Bayley Kuenzle and Fergus Watson take up the wide roles, Johnny Ventisei joins McDowall at centre while George Horne and Dan Lancaster make up a new half-back partnership.

In the pack, Jack Shearer, Jack Singleton and Fin Richardson make up a new front row, Alex Craig and Jare Ogutibeju start at lock and Macenzzie Duncan and Euan Ferrie join Ritchie in the back row.

Seb Stephen and Max Williamson drop to the bench while Scott Cummings, Jamie Dobie, Rory Darge, Euan Ferrie, Zander Fagerson, Kyle Rowe, Seb Stephen, Kyle Steyn, Rory Sutherland, Sione Tuipulotu and Matthew Urwin all miss out.

Smith's side have 18 points after three wins and a draw from their opening four URC fixtures.

Glasgow Warriors: Ollie Smith, Bayley Kuenzle, Johnny Ventisei, Stafford McDowall, Fergus Watson, Dan Lancaster, George Horne; Jake Shearer, Jack Singleton, Fin Richardson, Alex Craig, Jare Ogutibeju, Jamie Ritchie, Macenzzie Duncan, Euan Ferrie.

Replacements: Gregor Hiddleston, Patrick Schickerling, Sam Talakai, Max Williamson, Ally Miller, Seb Stephen, Callum Reidy, Cameron van Wyk.

With Scotland's Nations Championship campaign fast approaching, Tom English and Andy Burke go inside the national team camp to speak to Finn Russell, Jack Dempsey, Blair Kinghorn and Seb Stephen.

It's a behind-the-scenes look at the personalities, stories and ambitions driving Scotland before a huge autumn campaign.

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Dave Butcher has been named Scotland women head coach on a permanent basis after a spell as interim boss.

Butcher stepped in following Sione Fukofuka's unexpected departure in August and oversaw the recent WXV series, during which the Scots lost five out of five.

Scotland women do not have any scheduled fixtures until April, when they open their Six Nations campaign at home to Ireland.

And Butcher said: "It is fantastic to be named the head coach of Scotland women. It is an amazing thing and group to be a part of.

"I'm really excited to be able to dive into the role beyond the recent campaign, focusing on the alignment of the programme and how we push forward performance from the national talent pathway, the national academy and the Celtic Challenge into the national team.

"We can't be a standalone team without connection beneath us, so our immediate priority will be to review WXV and connect with the players, but going forward we want to be really intentional about how we go after our talent and how we develop that is going to be hugely important, with our rugby identity as a nation being key to all of that."

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Glasgow Warriors have announced that coach Roddy Grant has left the club "following the conclusion of an internal process".

The former Edinburgh captain joined Glasgow in June last year.

The 39-year-old will not be replaced for the remainder of the season, with the Warriors confirming they will retain their current coaching set-up.

A club statement read: "Glasgow Warriors can confirm that Roddy Grant has left the club following the conclusion of an internal process.

"For reasons of confidentiality, the club will not be providing any further comment."

We asked for your views on Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend's squad selection for the Nations Championship matches at home to New Zealand, Australia and Japan.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Tom: No Freddy Douglas and Magnus Bradbury is a disgrace. Ollie Leatherbarrow can't get a start for a bang average Newcastle team yet is included over Scotland's most promising forward. Ollie Blyth-Lafferty and Hector Patterson also unlucky not to make. Is Townsend showing bias towards Red Bulls like Leatherbarrow and Elliot Millar Mills?

Andy: In Gregor we trust. He is vastly experienced and I will support whatever team he picks. Great that Jack Dempsey is available, the man is a beast. I would've liked to have seen Douglas in the squad but he'll have more opportunities to come, I'm sure.

Dave: I'm excited about the opportunity for Scotland to test themselves against some of the best players in the world. Scotland's squad has some world-class players and talented youngsters and that blend of youth and experience could produce results. I am surprised to see Duhan Van Der Merwe make the squad given his injuries, limited game-time and dip in form. I hope he can seize his chance when it comes and get back to scoring tries and reasserting himself as a top player.

Doug: The Autumn Tests are usually a great chance to blood or develop young talent before the Six Nations, surprised not to see Blyth-Lafferty and Patterson called up. Douglas and Bradbury unlucky as well. The likes of Duhan and Jonny Gray are lucky to be in this squad currently.

Scott: The depth is starting to show across the board. Great for Leatherbarrow, unlucky for Douglas. Bradbury is a surprise omission as he has been at his best lately, perhaps he needs to show it for longer. Tough squad to get into now.

Geoff: The squad is very strong but I am surprised and disappointed that Bradbury and Douglas are omitted as they have both been exceptional for Edinburgh. Patterson and Blyth-Lafferty are unfortunate but their time will come. Edinburgh only have five representatives which seems harsh given their form so far this season. In any event, these are three exciting fixtures and an opportunity to put down a real marker.

Steve: Why 19 Glasgow players and only five Edinburgh, with two of those five having scarcely played? I hope this makes Edinburgh angry, as well it should.

Sandy Smith
Fan writer

Of all the stats in the URC the only one Edinburgh top is the lineout. Oh, and the table itself of course.

It is the first time in Edinburgh history we have recorded 19 points after the opening four games. Our average points return over the past five years at this stage is nine.

You'll be thinking Liam McConnell is our man in the lineout and you'd be right. He is the joint top lineout thief in the URC but what you might not have realised is it's Glen Young he shares that position with.

If the previous game was a bit of a progress gauge for Hector Patterson as he pitted his skills against the Scotland number nine incumbent Ben White, this week he showed why there was a clamour to see the Hawick scrummie included in the Scotland squad.

Two tries, two assists, his part in the disallowed Geordie Gwynn try, some typical scrum-half attitude and for this observer the goalline tackle on Lions number eight Francke Horne that had he not managed would have given Lions a half-time lead all led to a thoroughly deserved man of the match award.

Gwynn arrived almost under the radar but has quietly turned out to be a great acquisition. He has serious pace, is excellent under the high ball and only Piers O'Conor has beaten more defenders and made more metres. I predict Gwynn won't be far off being Edinburgh's top try scorer by season's end.

I pretty much wrote Wes Goosen off after his first season and kind of did the same with Mosese Tuipulotu. My assessment turned out wrong in both cases but I didn't learn from those mistakes and put O'Conor in the utility substitute category, yet he has been a huge asset at 15 for Edinburgh this season.

It seems becoming first-choice tighthead for Edinburgh, surpassing the excellent scrummager Paul Hill and more than holding his own against Springbok Boan Venter, still wasn't enough to earn Ollie Blyth-Lafferty a place in the Scotland squad.

That's disappointing, as were some other decisions, even if they made sense as Scotland build towards a World Cup. But the difference is this time last year no one was surprised Edinburgh weren't well represented in the national squad.

Sandy Smith can be found at the Burgh Watch, external

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend joins Tom English and Andy Burke to discuss his squad selection, competition for places and preparations for matches against New Zealand, Australia and Japan.