Scottish Rugby

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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"Undervalued" Venter leads from the front

We have tried in these pages on occasion to shine a light on the outstanding contribution to the Glasgow Warriors cause of Henco Venter.

With the array of glittering attacking talent Glasgow possess, the big South African's crucial grunt work can often go unnoticed, but after another powerful display against Connacht, Franco Smith was keen to highlight just how important Venter is.

"He's very undervalued," Smith told BBC Scotland after the game.

"He's a quality person first and a quality player. I can't remember a game he didn't play well. He's been immense for us."

In a side featuring a number of inexperienced players, Venter led from the front and ensured Glasgow got over the line in a game that had the potential to get away from them.

Mann making his case for Scotland

Jack Mann could hardly contain his smile when we spoke to him on the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast last week about his first few days in the Scotland set-up.

His performances for Glasgow since returning from two years of injury hell forced Gregor Townsend to sit up and take notice.

The door was opened for Mann by an injury to Edinburgh's Ben Muncaster, and the way the Scotland casualty list is growing, you would not bet against Mann seeing some action in the Six Nations.

He was excellent once again against Connacht, giving his team crucial go-forward in a dogfight played out in dreadful weather conditions.

If his country needs him in the next few weeks, Mann looks ready.

Weir the wise old head guiding Warriors rookies

Duncan Weir has been involved in plenty of big moments throughout his career, but an ugly mid-season URC win against Connacht at a rain swept Scotstoun seemed to bring him as much satisfaction as just about any of them.

Leading his side as captain for the first time - having joined Warriors for his first spell at the club all the way back in 2010 – was perhaps part of it, but Weir seemed most pleased with how a team featuring several young, untested players came through a tricky challenge.

"This is the Glasgow I know", Weir told BBC Scotland after the game, highlighting that no matter who is filling a particular jersey, whether it's Zander Fagerson or Fin Richardson, the demands of the job remain the same.

Characters like Weir are invaluable around the club, especially in these periods when so much experience is unavailable due to the Six Nations.

At 33 years old and with most of his rugby behind him, you sense Weir is relishing every minute of guiding through the next crop of Warriors talent.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Duncan Weir says Glasgow Warriors' strength in depth will be key if they are to repeat last season's United Rugby Championship title success.

A shadow Glasgow team, missing a host of internationals before the Six Nations, ground out victory over Connacht in appalling weather conditions at Scotstoun to consolidate second place in the table.

Weir, 33, captained Warriors for the first time and kicked seven points to help his side overcome their stuffy visitors 22-19.

"We showed our versatility in the squad last season," he told BBC Scotland.

"I think that kept us fresh at the right bit of the season. So, again, that result just gives Franco [Smith] confidence to make more changes.

"Maybe when the Six Nations boys come back and they're feeling a bit battered and bruised from that, then we can still make those changes and still come away with results.

"That's the Glasgow that I know. Back in the day, 15 years ago, 10 years ago, that's what we would have done.

"We would make changes at this period in the season and we would grow, we would come alive and the crop of the next generation came through and really took their chance and gave confidence for the coaches to select them. This was another great example."

Glasgow fans, what did you make of your side's narrow URC win against Connacht at Scotstoun?

Who was the standout performer for you?

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Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith tells BBC Scotland: "A bunch of young players got their first run tonight and they stepped up to the plate when it was needed most. I'm so glad to see how they are progressing.

"To handle the pressure that comes with winning at home and the conditions is heartwarming.

"[Henco Venter] is very undervalued. He's been immense for us. He was the example of a senior pro tonight, to get the other guys to keep believing.

"The challenge tonight was not different to going to beat Munster in Limerick. To still get the job done is testament to the effort of the boys.

"We have to keep working hard every week at improving. We are still a long way from the product we need to roll out to progress."

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

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When Gregor Townsend named his Six Nations squad in the middle of January he said he was hopeful Jonny Gray would make his return from injury in Bordeaux's next game, against Sharks in the Champions Cup on 19 January.

Gray didn't feature. The word during the week, from Scotland's Six Nations training camp, was that Gray was going to play against Lyon on Saturday in the Top 14.

Gray didn't feature in that one either. Before the match, French outlet L'Equipe reported that assistant coach Christophe Laussucq said Gray had returned injured from the Scotland camp and was unavailable., external

Bordeaux started with Guido Petti (Gray's regular partner in the club's biggest games) and Alexander Ricard. They brought 20-year-old Jacques Nguimbous off the bench. They lost 22-20. It was their first defeat at home this season.

The Scottish management aren't giving anything away at the moment, but if Laussucq is not playing games then it's a troubling development given Scott Cummings and Max Williamson are both already out of the Six Nations.

Gray has not played since the middle of December. Townsend would have been keen to get at least one game into him before the Six Nations starts against Italy on Saturday. Getting parachuted into such a contest having not played for six weeks was always going to be a big ask, but now, via Laussucq, there's this injury chat.

We await clarification from Murrayfield as to what is actually going on here. Townsend named five locks in his wider Six Nations squad - Cummings, Gray, Grant Gilchrist, Marshall Sykes and Gregor Brown, who's a hybrid of lock and blindside flanker.

If he has to dig deeper into the well he has Edinburgh's Sam Skinner, Scarlets' Alex Craig, Leicester's Cam Henderson and Glasgow's Alex Samuel. Solid back-ups, but Skinner apart, they lacks Six Nations nous.

Edinburgh back-row Luke Crosbie is another injury worry for Townsend. He played no part in Edinburgh's defeat by Scarlets on Saturday. With talismanic captain Sione Tuipulotu also out, the head coach does not have his troubles to seek with less than a week to go before the big show starts in Edinburgh.

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Edinburgh (12) 27

Tries: Campbell, Walker 2, Ronald, Bell Cons: Scott

Gwalia Lightning (14) 29

Tries: Terry, Wakely, Hopkins, Pyrs Cons: Hughes 3 Pens: Hughes

Gwalia Lightning secured a narrow Celtic Challenge victory against Edinburgh in a high-scoring match at Hive Stadium.

In a back-and-forth first half, Shona Campbell gave the hosts the lead with a magnificent individual try, evading several defenders to go over in the corner.

Gwalia hit back with two tries of their own - Lily Terry benefitting from a neat offload from Alaw Pyrs for the first before Molly Wakely crashed over from close range.

Edinburgh winger Hannah Walker raced down the left wing to score her sixth try of the competition before half-time, but the Welsh side held a two-point lead at the break.

The topsy-turvy nature of the game continued after the interval.

Aila Ronald and Cieron Bell crossed as Edinburgh secured a try-scoring bonus point, while Gwennan Hopkins barged over and Carys Hughes kicked a penalty for the visitors.

Walker then held off two would-be tacklers to score her second and Edinburgh's fifth try, but there was to be one final twist.

Pyrs showed impressive strength to reach the line for Gwalia's fourth try, levelling the scores, and Hughes' third successful conversion of the game gave them a late two-point lead.

Edinburgh had one final chance with the clock in the red, but Scott was held up by the scrambling Gwalia defence in the game's final act.

Edinburgh fans, what did you make of Saturday's URC defeat by Scarlets? Did any of the fringe players impress you? Let us know your thoughts on the result and the performance.

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Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt tells Premier Sports: "Very important two bonus points if you look at the jam in the log.

"Disappointed for the guys to not get the result. They were probably overzealous at times and gave away unnecessary penalties. I can't lack the effort and we'll take the two points.

"We lost the game in the third quarter - gave away four penalties and conceded two tries. We knew Scarlets would be strong after the half - they pegged us into our half."

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Ben White says it is personal a goal to reach "the pinnacle" of rugby by being selected for the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, but says he cannot afford to drop his performance level or he will lose his place in the Scotland team.

White has established himself as Scotland's first-choice scrum-half in recent times but faces competition for the number nine shirt from the Glasgow Warriors pair of George Horne and Jamie Dobie.

And the Toulon number nine says only by delivering his best stuff for Scotland in the Six Nations will he stake his claim to be selected by Andy Farrell for the Lions.

"I think for every player, that is the goal, isn't it? That's the pinnacle of our sport," White told the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast.

"But for me, I understand that if I don't play well here and every day and train well and give myself the best opportunity to perform for Scotland, then any hope of that is way out the window.

"I know that, especially with the scrum-halves we have in the squad here, if I'm not training well, playing well, then you'll lose your place in this team.

"So for me, it's just about staying in the moment, enjoying my rugby and trying to put in performances every week and then what comes is what comes."

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Jack Mann says his call-up to the Scotland squad is all the sweeter after coming through the "dark times" of missing two years of rugby through injury.

Glasgow back-row Mann made his Warriors debut against Bath in the Challenge Cup in December 2022, but a string of injuries meant the 25-year-old did not appear again until facing Scarlets in November last year.

Mann has impressed during the injury absence of Jack Dempsey and been rewarded with his first call-up to the national team for the Six Nations.

"Being out for so long, you start to have those thoughts about, will I be able to get back to the standard that I was at? And then have to try and exceed that standard as well," Mann told the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast.

"Never mind, obviously, having thoughts about if I actually want to keep playing rugby and stuff like that.

"There were definitely some dark times during that, but I'm very lucky that I've got a great support network around me, with my family and friends at Glasgow, so they managed to help me through that time.

"I'm obviously buzzing to have been named in the squad, but that's not the final step. You get named in the squad to contribute what you bring to the game, to that squad, and that's what I'll be looking at. That's what I want to do over the next six weeks.

"If I can get a game or two or three or however many games out of that, amazing."

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Scotland full-back Ollie Smith will make his first Glasgow appearance in over a year when the Warriors host Connacht in the URC on Sunday.

Smith ruptured knee ligaments in December 2023 and made his comeback for an Emerging Scotland side against Italy last month.

He is named at outside centre next to 21-year-old Duncan Munn, who makes his first Glasgow start amid 11 changes from the Champions Cup defeat at Harlequins, with Warriors missing more than 20 players because of injury and the upcoming Six Nations.

Duncan Weir captains the side for the first time, with rare starts for Patrick Schickerling and Fin Richardson in the front row.

Youngsters Euan Ferrie and Alex Samuel make up the second row, with Ally Miller, Henco Venter and recent Scotland call-up Jack Mann in the back-row.

Ben Afshar partners Weir in the half-backs, while Facundo Cordero makes a third start of the season on the wing.

Head coach Franco Smith said: "We have a great squad and Sunday presents an opportunity for some players that have earned their chance to perform at home.

"We're also pleased to welcome Ollie back into our line-up after over 13 months – he has worked diligently with our medical and physio teams."

Glasgow Warriors: McKay, Cancelliere, Smith, Munn, Cordero; Weir (c), Afshar; Schickerling, Matthews, Richardson, Ferrie, Samuel, Miller, Venter, Mann.

Replacements: Stewart, McBeth, Talakai, Duncan, Roberts, Fraser; Kennedy, Johnston.

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Former Scotland Under-20 captain Liam McConnell will make his first Edinburgh start when Sean Everitt's side travel to Scarlets on Saturday in URC action.

The 20-year-old blindside flanker made his debut off the bench in December's Challenge Cup loss to Gloucester and comes in as one of six changes to the starting XV from the win over Black Lion.

The start of the Six Nations next weekend means Edinburgh must do without eight Scotland players, plus the injured Luke Crosbie.

Harry Paterson returns from injury to replace Darcy Graham on the wing, while Hamish Watson and Ali Price start at openside and scrum-half respectively.

Boan Venter is the only front-row alteration and Glen Young comes into the second-row next to captain Sam Skinner.

Ben Healy marshals unchanged centres James Lang and Matt Currie, while Lewis Wells makes just a second appearance on the wing.

Head coach Everitt said: "This is a really important match with such a tightly contested log. Scarlets have been really strong at home.

"However we're starting to build a bit of momentum with three wins on the bounce and we go into the match with plenty of confidence."

Edinburgh: Goosen, Paterson, M Currie, Lang, Wells; Healy, Price; Venter, Harrison, Hill, Young, Skinner (c), McConnell, Watson, Dodd.

Replacements: Morris, Hislop, Sebastian, Carmichael, T Currie, Vellacott, Thompson, Tuipulotu.

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The Celtic Challenge fixture on Saturday between Glasgow Warriors and Clovers has been postponed because of "escalating weather warnings relating to Storm Eowyn".

The league added that the fixture will be rescheduled in due course.

BBC Scotland's chief sportswriter Tom English has been answering some of your Scottish rugby questions.

Glenn asked: Will the likely loss of Scott Cummings be underestimated and overshadowed by Sione Tuipulotu's injury?

Tom answered: Cummings is a huge loss. He has power in abundance and now he's out of the equation. It's another cruel blow.

Jonny Gray will presumably start in his place, but he's been out injured for a while, so I'm a bit worried about his match sharpness.

Remember that Max Williamson is also out injured. Williamson was absolutely fantastic when he came on against the Boks in the autumn. He went up against their biggest guys and looked comfortable. He's such a fine prospect.

But two of the top four locks are injured and there's that concern about a third (Gray). It's worrying, put it that way. Very worrying.

John asked: At such a crucial point in the rugby calendar, how much of a blow are injuries to both Scotland and Glasgow's hopes of success?

Tom answered: Gregor Townsend and Franco Smith are putting a brave face on it, but this is a nightmare for the pair of them. A bubonic plague has descended on Glasgow players - Tuipulotu, Cummings, Williamson, Steyn, Hastings. Have I missed some? Probably.

All the focus has been on the damage done to Scotland's Six Nations season but these are troubling times for Glasgow as well.

They wouldn't have had much, if any, access to these players during the Six Nations anyway, but we don't know for sure when most of them will be back.

Steyn should be back for the England game and will be available for Glasgow in Europe and for the run-in in the URC. You'd hope Hastings will be available by then as well.

But Tuipulotu, Cummings and Williamson? The prognosis is pretty vague and the uncertainty about their return is head wrecking.

Franco is sanguine about it, in public at any rate. He's built a good squad there and he has other proven options he can go with.

But, in private, I'd imagine he'll be sweating a little. If Glasgow are to stay alive in Europe and in the URC he needs all his heavy hitters fit and firing. These games are only going to get harder and harder from early April onwards,

BBC Scotland's chief sportswriter Tom English has been answering some of your Scottish rugby questions.

Steve asked: I was full of hope for Scotland's Six Nations campaign. I wasn't ready for my optimism to leave quite so fully because of the loss of one player. Am I right to be quite this deflated and how many games can we now expect to win?

Tom answered: Everyone is deflated by Sione Tuipulotu's injury. How could it be any other way when you've just lost a world-class player and a magnetic personality? It's a proper kick in the guts.

If it's going to be a new combination of Stafford McDowall and Huw Jones then that's still really good.

They know each other's game really well and McDowall shouldn't be underestimated. He's a terrific player, but he's not Sione, who's two players in one, to be honest. A battering ram and a beautifully subtle ball player.

I think Scotland will beat Italy, I'd already predicted they'd beat Ireland and England, but I'm losing my nerve a little on that now. They'll beat Wales and will lose to France in Paris because France should be awesome.

So I've gone from possibly four wins to two while still retaining a modicum of belief they can get another one somewhere along the way. It's incredible how the picture has changed in the space of a few days.

Jake asked: Do go 'like for like' with McDowall at 12 or try something a little different and having a ball-playing 12 like Rory Hutchinson? I would always go for size in the Six Nations but Rory has been carving up in the Premiership.

Tom answered: You're right, Hutchinson has been outstanding in the Premiership. A midfield of Hutchinson-Jones would be potentially thrilling, as would Tom Jordan-Jones. I suspect it's going to be McDowall-Jones, though.

In Test rugby you need his extra physicality in there. Look at the other contenders at 12. Ireland have Bundee Aki or Robbie Henshaw. England have Ollie Lawrence. France have Yoram Moefana. They're all very powerful guys. McDowall is 6ft 4in and 16st. And he can play. I think he gets the nod.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Jamie Ritchie says Scotland must treat every match in the Six Nations as a cup final if they are to finally mount a serious title challenge.

The Scots have not won the trophy since the last season of the old Five Nations back in 1999.

And despite huge strides taken under first Vern Cotter and then Gregor Townsend over the past decade, Scotland have yet to sustain a meaningful title bid into the final weekend of the championship.

"I think we have the ability, definitely," Ritchie told the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast.

"The challenge for us is making sure we go out and perform every single week. So it's the old cliche of taking it one game at a time, but it literally is that.

"It's something we spoke about in the autumn. We have to attack every single week like it's a cup final, because we know how hard the Six Nations is to get it right.

"If you get one performance wrong, then it's out of your control. So for us first up, Italy, we've got to get that right and then you move on."

Hear from Scotland players as the Six Nations looms, including scrum-half Ben White who discusses how he and his girlfriend, tennis player Jodie Burrage, help each other in their careers.

It's all on the BBC Scotland Rugby Podcast - listen to the latest episode.