Have your say on Saturday's Scottish rugby actionpublished at 20:06 22 March
20:06 22 March
It was a busy day for Scottish sides on Saturday, as Edinburgh fell to a disappointing defeat at Benetton before Scotland began their Women's Six Nations campaign with a hard-fought win against Wales.
Who impressed for you in either game and what was your reaction to the respective results?
Scotland 24-21 Wales: What Malcolm saidpublished at 20:06 22 March
20:06 22 March
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Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm tells BBC Sport: "We knew they would bring a huge amount of energy which they did.
"We said at half-time we needed to up it and our game management at the end there was crucial.
"Our breakdown today was not what it needs to be. Wales are probably one of the best sides [in that area], but we need to be a bit quicker. Breakdown is the biggest thing because we showed today how dangerous we can be when we get it right."
Glasgow 28-25 Munster: What Smith saidpublished at 21:47 21 March
21:47 21 March
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Glasgow head coach Franco Smith tells Premier Sports:
"Fortunately we got it done, even if we made it hard for ourselves again.
"We were our own enemies for most of it, but I'm happy to win even if it wasn't our best performance.
"We've had more than 20 boys away with the national team, only had two sessions leading up to this game. We need to add these boys to gel again. Next week the rest of the boys will come back and we'll face the same challenges.
"We missed touch three times from penalties, lost the gain-line most of the time tonight, couldn't get our attack shape, but credit to Munster - they are a well-coached team. We'll take that compliment in winning anyway tonight."
Watson replaces injured Crosbie for Edinburgh's Benetton trippublished at 14:07 21 March
14:07 21 March
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Image caption,
Hamish Watson comes into the Edinburgh side for the trip to Treviso
Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt makes one change to the side that won away to Munster last month for Saturday's URC trip to Benetton.
Hamish Watson replaces fellow Scotland flanker Luke Crosbie, who misses out with an injured pectoral muscle.
Youngsters Freddie Douglas, Cammy Scott and Jack Brown are named on the bench, with the latter in line for a club debut.
Ben Vellacott captains the side having signed a new two-year contract earlier this week.
"The Munster performance has set the standard for how we need to play away from home, and we'll need to play like that against Benetton on Saturday," Everitt said.
"It's great to have some of our younger guys in the replacements. Cammy Scott ran the game well against Saracens, while Freddy and Jack have both impressed for Scotland Under-20s – they've earned their spots in the squad and I'm excited to see the impact they can bring."
Edinburgh: Goosen, Currie, Lang, M Tuipulotu, McCann, Thompson, Vellacott; Venter, Ashman, Hill, Sykes, Skinner, Muncaster, Watson, Bradbury.
Is White a Lions starter & how do Scots gain grunt up front?published at 09:58 21 March
09:58 21 March
BBC Scotland's chief sportswriter Tom English has been answering some of your Scottish rugby questions.
Jim asked: Imagine you were in charge of this Scotland team. What would you do to address the lack of grunt up front? Who should fill George Turner's shoes long term? Who should feature in the second row? And, as talented as they are as individuals, is the balance of the current back row wrong?
Tom answered: If, and hopefully when, everybody is fit then Scotland's grunt factor will increase. Scott Cummings and Max Williamson will make a big difference, Gregor Brown isn't a massive man but he's got lots of dog in him and was terrific in Paris. I was hoping to see a bit of Cam Henderson in the Six Nations.
The second row will be fine once the injured players return. Down the line I see Cummings and Brown/Williamson as the first-choice partnership. Very happy with that.
The back row misses a beast and there's not a lot anybody can do about that in the short term. That said: Jamie Ritchie/G Brown/Luke Crosbie at six, Rory Darge/Andy Onyeama-Christie/Freddy Douglas at seven and Matt Fagerson/Jack Dempsey/Ben Muncaster at eight is very decent.
If all were fit and firing I'd go Ritchie six, M Fagerson eight and Christie seven.
The main problems are in the front row. Pierre Schoeman/Rory Sutherland is fine. The hookers are far from fine. Dave Cherry was, for me, the surprise packet of Scotland's Six Nations season. I thought he was excellent and the jersey is his now.
Ewan Ashman has gone backwards and the rest of the hookers are unproven. Scotland miss Turner in a major way.
The back-up to Zander Fagerson is not international class. That's a huge concern. Ollie Blyth-Lafferty looks a very good prospect, but he's still a kid. There's no quick fix that I can see.
Lyall asked: Curious to hear your thoughts on many pundits' Lions squads having Tomos Williams instead of Ben White? White is quietly the full package in all aspects and extremely consistent, while Williams is unspectacular in a Wales team of chronic losers. Should be no contest, no?
Tom answered: I've picked my own Lions squad (version 347) and I have White and Williams in it along with Jamison Gibson-Park.
Alex Mitchell was the other one in consideration. Just because Williams has been struggling in a terrible Wales team doesn't mean he's a bad player. He's been excellent for Gloucester.
Lions history is full of great players who were in poor national teams but whose excellence blossomed when put in a heavyweight team.
Look no further than 1997 - one of the great Lions tours of them all - Tom Smith, Keith Wood and Paul Wallace - the storied front-row - were playing for poor Scotland and Ireland teams at the time.
Jones & Kinghorn picked in Six Nations team of the championshippublished at 19:16 20 March
19:16 20 March
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Scotland stars Huw Jones and Blair Kinghorn have been named in the Men's Six Nations team of the championship, as voted for by more than 15,000 fans.
Jones is selected at outside-centre having scored four tries, made 52 carries and hit 65 attacking rucks throughout the tournament.
Kinghorn is at 15 in the side after a stellar competition - he made 580m in Scotland's five games, a new tournament record.
Scotland finished fourth in the table, with wins against Italy and Wales alongside defeats by Ireland, England and France.
Kinghorn has also been nominated for player of the championship and is competing for that title with France winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey, England back Tommy Freeman and Italy centre Tommaso Menoncello.
Vellacott has 'unfinished business' as he extends Edinburgh staypublished at 15:28 20 March
15:28 20 March
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Edinburgh co-captain Ben Vellacott has signed a new two-year deal, keeping him in the Scottish capital until summer 2027.
The 29-year-old scrum-half signed from Wasps in 2023 and has made 71 appearances for the club, including 10 this season.
"Edinburgh is home for me and my family now and I'm absolutely delighted to be extending my stay," the Scotland cap said.
"With my experience, I feel like I'm in a position now to help bring on the younger scrum-halves at the club and really contribute to the team's growth.
"We have unfinished business here and I'm desperate to help lead this club to silverware. It's set to be a really exciting end to the season and I can't wait to play my part."
Head coach Sean Everitt said "consummate professional" Vellacott's "experience and leadership" will be invaluable in continuing to develop the squad.
Easson on Cunningham debut, 'momentum' & Wales clashpublished at 15:10 20 March
15:10 20 March
Tyrone Smith BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter
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Head coach Bryan Easson has been speaking to the media before Scotlnd's opening match of the Women's Six Nations at home to Wales this weekend.
Here are the best bits from his news conference:
On handing a debut to Bristol Bears second row Hollie Cunningham, Easson says: "It is great to see somebody new coming in who drives standards."
Easson is excited by the six-two split on Scotland's bench and says it reflects the depth now available to him.
With Scotland and Wales being in the same pool for the World Cup later this year, he was asked if this weekend represents a chance to lay down a marker, but Easson insists his focus is purely on this match.
Easson expects a "bounce" from a Wales side playing their first Test under new head coach Sean Lynn, but warned of the "big difference between club and international rugby".
He expects another tight game against Wales and stressed the importance of "small margins".
Easson is keen to build "momentum" for the rest of the tournament with victory in front of a home crowd.
Steyn & Vailanu back from injury for Munster clashpublished at 14:19 20 March
14:19 20 March
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Image caption,
Glasgow captain Kyle Steyn's last outing for the club was in January against Racing 92
Sione Vailanu and Kyle Steyn will return from injury when Glasgow Warriors host Munster in the URC on Friday.
Tonga flanker Vailanu has been sidelined since December 2023 with a knee injury, while Scotland wing Steyn has been out since January after picking up an issue against Racing in the Champions Cup.
George Horne and Stafford McDowall join Steyn in the backline having returned from Scotland duty, with Gregor Brown and Matt Fagerson among the replacements.
Warriors are second in the league table, 13 points behind Leinster with six matches left in the regular season.
"We're looking forward to be back in action this weekend, as we kick off a run of three home matches," head coach Franco Smith said.
"We know that the rivalry with Munster is known to everyone, but we're concentrating on reintegrating everyone back into our environment after the Six Nations to help grow our continuity for the rest of the season.
"We're also pleased to welcome Sione and Kyle back to the line-up after their respective injuries; both men have worked hard in their rehabilitation and are raring to go tomorrow night."
Replacements: Stewart, McBeth, Talakai, Du Preez, Brown, M Fagerson, Afshar, Weir.
SRU should be 'exploring their options'published at 09:54 20 March
09:54 20 March
BBC Scotland's chief sportswriter Tom English has been answering some of your Scottish rugby questions.
Following the end of another disheartening Six Nations, many of your questions surrounded the same issue...
Martin asked: Given the feeling of familiarity surrounding this year's disappointing tournament, and after stagnating in 2024, did Gregor Townsend's Scotland tenure peak after the 2023 Six Nations? If so, with this group of players ageing, how much longer can Scottish Rugby afford to stick with him?
Tom answered: We've had an awful lot of questions on a very similar theme. Understandably so. My take is that Townsend has been coach for a long time and for the last couple of years, the team has definitely been bobbing up and down without going anywhere.
It's complicated, though. This team is not good enough to finish first. France and Ireland have been better in recent times. Scotland are good enough to have finished third - the best of the rest. That hasn't happened for too long.
There are nuances to this season - the awful run of injuries. But then that brings us back to eight years - it's a hell of an innings and sometimes it just makes sense to bring in a new voice to see if they can get Scotland to a higher level.
The question is - who? Franco Smith? Possibly, if he wants it or if Wales don't get there first. Anybody else? I'm struggling to come up with high-class people who might take it.
If a Shaun Edwards or a Jacques Nienaber was available then I'd be minded to make a change. I think the SRU should be exploring their options now, at the very least.
Andy asked: Is it time we adopt the Irish/Leinster model and put most of the SRU funding behind a single pro club?
Tom answered: In a word, no. Scotland only have two professional clubs and that idea would run a serious danger of reducing it to one. It's absolutely critical that Glasgow and Edinburgh prosper.
Mark asked: Finn Russell is without a doubt the standout 10 for the Lions Tour and would be the perfect mentor for the future development of Fin Smith and Sam Prendergast. That said, if Jonny Sexton is chosen as backs coach, do you think this could affect backline approach, mood and mentality?
Tom answered: I might be wrong but I cannot see how Johnny Sexton can be the Lions attack coach given he's never been an attack coach before. That would be madness. A kicking coach, yes. But not an attack coach.
Reports from Ireland are saying that he's going on Ireland's summer tour, so him going with the Lions might be a non-story. If he's chosen, then I'll say a bit more about Finn Russell and so on.
Kinghorn's impressive Six Nations in numberspublished at 16:26 19 March
16:26 19 March
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While Scotland could only muster a fourth-place finish at the Six Nations, Blair Kinghorn's already considerable stock continues to rise.
The full-back is one of four nominees for the Player of the Championship award after a standout campaign for Gregor Townsend's side.
Kinghorn gained 580 metres, the most of any player in Six Nations history, surpassing the previous record of 543, set by England's Mike Brown in 2014.
The 28-year-old Scot was also top of the 2025 rankings for carries (86), line breaks (nine) and offloads (13), while he was second of all players for defenders beaten (25).
Kinghorn, whose two tries came in the win over Wales, was a threat to every defence he faced and looks set for a debut British and Irish Lions call-up for the summer tour of Australia.
Listen: Townsend's future & Six Nations debriefpublished at 13:17 19 March
13:17 19 March
Media caption,
'I am convinced that's a red card'
Andy Burke and Tom English review the men's Six Nations, ask what next for Scotland, and look ahead to the women's competition.