Scottish Rugby

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Former Glasgow Warriors captain Fraser Brown says it is crucial Franco Smith remains at Scotstoun, not only for the club but Scottish rugby as a whole.

Smith's contract as Glasgow head coach runs until the summer of 2026, but he has been linked with a move, most notably with the vacant Wales job.

When asked by BBC Scotland in the wake of Saturday's URC semi-final defeat to Leinster if he would still be at Warriors next season, Smith offered no guarantees and said he would "go and reflect a little bit".

"Franco's done such a fantastic job since he came in just three years ago," former Scotland hooker Brown told BBC Scotland.

"Obviously winning the league last year, but reaching a European (Challenge Cup) final as well the year before in his first year.

"He's done an amazing job, so I think it'll be important for the club to keep him around, but also for Scottish rugby.

"I think it's important to have some sort of stability with Sean Everett, I think his contract runs to the end of next season with Edinburgh. Franco's contract runs to the end of next season with Glasgow.

"Gregor Townsend's contract runs to the end of 2026 with Scotland. So there are a lot of moving parts in the next 18 months within Scottish rugby.

"I think having Franco there next year, having some sort of stability, allowing them to plan long term, is really important for the union."

As usual on a Monday, we're giving you the chance to put your burning rugby questions to our reporters, Tom English and Andy Burke.

Whether it's looking back on Glasgow's defeat to Leinster, looking further ahead to the Lions tour, or anything else Scottish rugby related, our team are ready.

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

Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Emma Wassell says the gallows humour of the Scotland dressing room is keeping a smile on her face during what she describes as an "overwhelming" return to the international camp.

After major surgery to remove a tumour that was found in her chest last September, the 30-year-old lock is now targeting August's World Cup in England after being included in the initial 38-woman training squad.

As she readjusts to the demands of international rugby, the former Loughborough Lightning star admits she's enjoying some lively locker-room banter.

"They keep me very, very humble shall I say," Wassell said.

"I get a lot of grief" Any time the tumour's brought up everyone's like; 'oh, she had a tumour? Who knew?', we joke about it a lot.

"There's a lot of banter around and any time I don't get my way, I try to say; 'guys, I had a tumour', and they're like 'shut up!', so it's pretty light-hearted."

The fact she can now laugh about it all shows not just how far she's come physically, but also mentally. Not that the reintroduction to international-level training has been easy.

"Something I've found quite overwhelming - given I've trained for three or four months myself – is to now be put back in this environment where all the girls are pushing each other and there's a level of pressure around you.

"It's been a little bit overwhelming but in the best way possible. "

Her aim now is making the final World Cup squad for a tournament she thinks could be a game-changer for Scottish rugby.

"It's the closest I'll definitely get to a home World Cup and I just think it could be huge for women's rugby in general," she added.

"For Scotland, it will really push us on a bit more in terms of growing the game."

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Scots downed in Dublin… again

For a Scottish rugby player, heading for Dublin must be about as much fun as heading to the dentist – you know there's going to be pain.

No Scottish side has ever won at the Aviva Stadium and Irish rugby's haunted house spooked Glasgow into playing well below their capabilities.

Leinster were very good. There was a lot of pre-match chat about them being off the boil, but the sight of Scottish opposition on home soil was the perfect tonic.

It followed a similar pattern to many Irish v Scottish match-ups in recent times, and the hex the Irish have over their Celtic cousins shows little sign of being broken any time soon.

Warriors can be proud of title defence

Despite the disappointing finale, Glasgow can be proud of the defence they put up of their URC title in what has been a very testing season.

The injury list has been savage. Sione Tuipulotu, Huw Jones, Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings and Jack Dempsey have all missed big chunks of the season. They're not the only ones.

It's been a struggle and Warriors have had to dig far down into their reserves to find players to step into the breach.

The fact they made it to the last four, and dispatched a good Stormers side so impressively in the quarter-finals, is an achievement in itself.

Franco Smith – will he stay or will he go?

Franco Smith looked emotionally drained when he spoke to BBC Scotland in the bowels of the Aviva Stadium after Saturday's defeat.

Long seasons away from your family, living every moment of highs and lows of a team you have invested so much into emotionally, will do that to you.

The South African was in no mood to offer any guarantees he will still be at Scotstoun next season.

Smith is clearly unhappy at the direction of travel under performance director David Nucifora with regards to player recruitment, and you wonder if the head coach perhaps feels he has done all he can at Glasgow Warriors.

Watch this space...

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

It's a sad reality that many players achieve their ultimate goal of being selected for the Lions, only to see injury snatch that dream away before they get their hands on that famous red jersey. It happens every four years.

It's particularly cruel that's it's happened to Zander Fagerson, though. He was the only Scot out of eight selected for the 2021 tour to South Africa that did not see any action in the Test series.

On the day it was announced he had been selected for this summer's tour to Australia, Fagerson spoke to BBC Scotland of how he felt he had not done himself justice four years ago, hampered by niggling injury problems, and the drive he had to go Down Under to show the best of himself.

It's heartbreaking he will not now get the chance to do that.

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Glasgow fans, we asked for your views after your side were comfortably dumped out of the URC last four by Leinster.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Robert: Having played most of the season to get into a play-off place, the drop off in form, Stormers aside, is a worry. Quality players leaving and uncertainty about Franco Smith himself doesn't fill supporters with a lot of optimism. The younger players have been great but can't be expected to produce on a regular basis against top internationals. Surely the ambition at Warriors is to build on last year's success? Season ticket sales will reflect any lack of ambition on part of the SRU.

Gus: Poor display tackling was awful. Hastings and Horne didn't gel. Can't see many of them playing for the Lions. Let themselves down.

Graeme: When Leinster are on it they are very difficult for anyone to beat. Still a really good defence of the URC by the Warriors. Big decision for the SRU this summer is what to do about Franco, personally I would love to see him in charge of the national side.

Keith: A lot of very good Glasgow players missing. However, that is not an excuse. Leinster were better on the day. Still proud of Glasgow despite the result.

Hopey: Not a great day at the office, we lacked the puff up front to get parity and our main route forward, the kick to compete, was nullified by the Leinster back three. We kicked away the possession we had. Really disappointing and surprising we did not have another plan. Leinster won and Glasgow need to find another way to compete with them. I do not see a quick fix unless we address the lack of grunt up front. Parity is all we needed, then let the backs do their stuff. Just don't kick the ball away.

Andrew: This result for us was the consequence of a sequence of injuries that left the Warriors very exposed. I also felt once the rain came on we lost heart. This was a development much more to Leinster's liking than ours. Still, we could have made a better fist of it than we did, but on the plus side a number of our younger players have been baptised and that can't be bad.

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Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith admits Leinster brought "a huge performance" to end his side's title defence in the URC semi-finals.

"They are a quality outfit and, from the word go, I felt their urgency and they put pressure on us," he told BBC Scotland.

"On the day, we were not good enough, especially in the first half. We should have started better and then we wouldn't have had to chase the game and that led to more errors from our side."

Smith admits that Leinster's kicking game proved the difference.

"I don't think the strategy was wrong, they are good at the aerial battle," he added.

"But I am really proud. We had a lot of boys unavailable this week. I must look at the big picture. It was a tough task to come here and win."

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Former Glasgow Warriors back Colin Gregor on BBC Radio Scotland: "Glasgow couldn't get any foothold in the game.

"The downpour shifted the dynamics. Catch and pass takes longer with a wet ball and Leinster adapted better.

"The old failings of Glasgow is when they don't have the ball, they try to force something, but they didn't have the accuracy they needed."

Former Scotland captain John Barclay on Premier Sports: "Glasgow couldn't get their attacking shape all day and were absorbing pressure.

"They didn't have enough physicality and were well beaten."

Former Leinster fly-half Ian Madigan on Premier Sports: "It's not the prettiest part of the game, but Leinster's kicking was so good and Glasgow couldn't respond.

"There are kickers all over the Leinster team while the Warriors didn't seem to have a plan B."

Glasgow fans, were you in Dublin or following the match elsewhere? Either way, we want your views.

What did you make of your side's display as they were overwhelmed by Leinster in the URC last four?

Send us your thoughts

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith believes his side have put their recent heavy European defeat against Leinster behind them as they return to Dublin to face the favourites in the URC semi-finals on Saturday.

Warriors were whitewashed 52-0 in their Champions Cup quarter-final but Smith has consigned that to history and says his side are peaking at the right time, as planned, despite being underdogs.

"I think that's something of the past," he said. "Different competition. We've learned from it and we've moved on.

"We've planned from the first day of pre-season how we want to look and how you want to shape up in the final [games].

"We've handled the season well. We've managed to get some of our players back from injury and we allowed them back into the environment at the right time and hopefully we're in a good place, now that we're going to the semi."

Smith knows his reigning champions face a stiff test to reach back-to-back finals, citing the players' mindset as key.

"It's everything and I think every game is about the mindset," he said.

"The difficulty is to maintain that for 39 weeks in the year. The mindset and approach and attitude in a final game is obviously the main ingredient.

"We've got to be on top of our game. They've got a world-class team, they've proven it in the Test match arena, they've proven it in this competition. It's a class outfit.

"It's going to be a tough challenge. The only way we're going to get better and keep on growing and progressing is if we challenge ourselves to be the best version of ourselves."

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Glasgow Warriors must "stay in the fight" and use the pressure of the occasion to overcome Leinster in the URC semi-finals, according to the club's former scrum-half Colin Gregor.

Franco Smith's side travel to Dublin for Saturday's match seeking a first away win over Leinster in six years.

However, Gregor believes there is a mental fragility to Leinster that could benefit defending champions Glasgow.

"They seem to have a bit of a wobble at the latter stages," Gregor told BBC Scotland. "Three European Cup finals they lost, they lost at home this season in the semi-final of the European Cup, and at home last season in the URC semi-final.

"There's question marks around the mental resilience, their decision-making under pressure. Maybe they are missing the experience Johnny Sexton provided for a number of years. They had a bit of a wobble, but got through last week in the quarter-finals against Scarlets.

"For Glasgow, it's about staying in the fight and making it really difficult for Leinster. Keep the game as close as possible and see if that home crowd get on the backs of the Leinster players who are desperate for a victory. The longer they go without it, the more the pressure builds.

"Glasgow can take real heart from how they dispatched Stormers last week, but also last season when they went over to Munster in the semi-finals.

"Smith is a very astute coach. He'll have the team ready to go. He'll know what he's doing with picking Adam Hastings and having six forwards on the bench."

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Glasgow Warriors have made two changes from the side that beat Stormers in the URC quarter-finals for Saturday's semi-final against Leinster.

Fin Richardson replaces Murphy Walker as the starting tighthead prop, while Adam Hastings starts at fly-half with Tom Jordan shifting to 12 and Stafford McDowall dropping to the bench.

Scotland centre Huw Jones misses out again, as do forwards Matt Fagerson, Jack Dempsey and Zander Fagerson.

Ireland and Leinster full-back Hugo Keenan will miss the game having not been included in the matchday squad.

He is replaced by Jimmy O'Brien in the 15 shirt, while Tommy O'Brien starts on the right wing.

Dan Sheehan returns at hooker, with Ronan Kelleher dropping to the bench, while Scott Penny replaces the injured Josh van der Flier at open-side flanker.

Glasgow have lost their two previous trips to Dublin this term, having been thrashed 52-0 by Leinster in April in the Champions Cup and beaten 13-5 in the final match of the regular URC season.

Glasgow XV to face Leinster: McKay, Steyn, Tuipulotu, Jordan, Hastings, Horne; Bhatti, Hiddleston, Richardson, Samuel, Cummings, Ferrie, Darge, Venter.

Replacements: Matthews, Sutherland, Talakai, Williamson, Mann, Duncan, McDowall, Dobie.

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

Ronald asked: I understand the need for more Scottish players at Glasgow but surely they still have to be competitive? I think letting a good player like Henco Venter leave is a poor decision.

Andy answered: First off, I agree. Venter's performance against Stormers only served to underline that letting him go is a big mistake.

The SRU are not best pleased at Venter's portrayal in the media this week that he was told he was surplus to requirements because of a new cap on foreign imports.

They insist Venter was in line to be offered a new deal, but not before the top players, such as Sione Tuipulotu, had been tied down, and that Brive swooped in with a lucrative offer before Glasgow had a chance to.

Who knows the precise timeline of events, but to the overarching point, the focus on promoting Scottish talent over foreign imports is a step in the right direction.

Rather than a cap on number of imports, deals for foreign players will have to meet a higher bar to be signed off. Most Glasgow fans would argue Venter has more than met the criteria with his performances in a Warriors shirt.

Ian asked: Marks out of 10, how did Edinburgh do this season? The performances over the last few weeks with a top-eight finish surely knocked the score up a notch or two?

Andy answered: I'm giving Edinburgh a 7/10, Ian.

That was looking like a 3 or a 4 a few short weeks ago, but when assessing a whole campaign the main criteria has to be where the team ended up. A URC quarter-final and a European semi-final probably exceeds where most expected Edinburgh to be this season.

Of course it could, and at points of the season definitely should, have been better, but the team has shown enough these past couple of months to suggest they're on the right track.

I think Sean Everitt has earned the right to go again next season. I know some Edinburgh fans still remain to be convinced.

Stuart asked: If injuries happen to any of the Lions do you expect any Scotland players to be called in as their replacements?

Andy answered: Tom Jordan. The man is playing some outstanding rugby. He looks bang in form and covers a multitude of positions.

If any 10,12, 13 or 15 goes down in the coming weeks, I'd like to think Jordan will be right there in Andy Farrell's thoughts to hop on a plane Down Under.

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Josh McKay is taking confidence from the commanding win over Stormers as Glasgow look to unseat top seeds Leinster on Saturday and reach the URC final.

Franco Smith's side head to Dublin to face the title favourites after keeping their defence of the trophy alive by bouncing back from three straight defeats with a 36-18 victory over Stormers at Scotstoun last weekend.

"That performance on Friday night was arguably one of the best of the team this season," said winger McKay.

"There's plenty we can take from that game, both on the good side and also what we can work on as well.

"We didn't build heaps of phases. Our discipline was a little bit poor and we'd probably like to have a little bit more ball.

"But it was definitely positive. We were able to put a few moves together and do enough to get the job done. It was a massive game in front of our home crowd."

McKay knows Leinster have "been the benchmark" in the URC this season but insists Warriors are capable of defying the odds.

"Leinster away is a big game. We see a lot of teams go over there and struggle. I guess it's a credit to what they've built over many years," he added.

"They've got a hugely deep squad and they show every year that they can go deep into these competitions.

"We know what's ahead of us. We just need to front up with the right mindset. That's huge. If we can turn up and be where we want to be physically, we respect what they bring and we know what they bring, but we've got to focus on ourselves."

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Glasgow and their URC semi-final opponents Leinster are well acquainted at this stage.

So, too, are Franco Smith and Jacques Nienaber, who first met in the 1990s, long before they emerged as two of South Africa's most respected coaches.

"I was his physiotherapist way back in 1998," recalled Leinster senior coach Nienaber.

"We didn't go to school together but we were in rival schools so I know him and his family quite well. I actually coached with him with the Cheetahs in 2006 and 2007 before he went to Italy.

"He was their attack coach while I was dipping my toes in defence. Franco is an incredible human, a good person and you can see how he is leading Glasgow and the quality they have produced in the past couple of seasons under his guidance and leadership.

"He is a wily character, he understands the game and gets the team to gel so it'll be a nice challenge for us."

Read more: Fatigue not an issue for Leinster