Scottish Rugby

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The Scotland contingent at Trailfinders before the new Professional Women's Rugby season continues to grow, with Lisa Thomson the latest addition.

The centre, who is also part of the GB sevens squad for the upcoming Olympics in Paris, follows Sarah Denholm, Chloe Rollie and Caity Mattinson in sealing a move to Trailfinders this summer.

"I’m really looking forward to returning to the Premiership with Trailfinders," Thomson said

"There’s a strong group of players that have been playing an exciting brand of rugby. I can't wait to get stuck in and hopefully contribute to the growth of the team."

International team-mate Denholm made the switch from Edinburgh earlier this week after captaining the side to a second-place finish in the inaugural Celtic Challenge.

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Scotland women will face Italy, Japan and Australia in the autumn as they bid to retain their WXV 2 title.

The six-team competition takes place in Cape Town, South Africa, and features matches being played in a cross-pool format.

Scotland begin against Italy on 28 September then face Japan - who they defeated in last season's inaugural edition - on 5 October.

The final outing is against Australia, who at number five in the world are ranked one place higher than the Scots, on 12 October.

Scotland qualified for the WXV 2, the second tier of the competition, after finishing fourth in this year's Women’s Six Nations.

Scotland will prepare for their title defence by hosting Wales on 6 September and Fiji on 14 September. Both matches will be played the Hive Stadium in Edinburgh.

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Will Hurd's mother, Sharon, whose family are from Stirling, flew out at short notice to watch her son win his first Scotland cap in Canada two weeks ago.

Hurd had been selected for the Six Nations squad earlier this year but a foot injury sustained on duty with Leicester Tigers robbed him of an opportunity to contribute to the championship effort.

Six months on, the 25-year-old made his bow off the bench in Scotland's 73-12 Ottawa victory and was able to share the joy with his family.

Both his parents and his sister made the trip across the Atlantic, as did Hurd's girlfriend and her mother.

"It was immense," the prop, born and raised in the English Midlands, said of the post-match scenes. "I get emotional thinking about it now.

"My mum is the Scottish connection. She couldn’t express her emotions. She’s always pushed me for the Scotland stuff and I’ve loved it. It’s been a dream of mine.

"When that became reality, seeing her after the game, I got extremely emotional. Seeing her eyes and how proud she was made it all worth it. That post-match eye-to-eye with her was indescribable.

"She wasn’t expecting to make it to the game. She came out Thursday, saw the game Saturday and flew out the next day. She messaged me before the game saying ‘I wouldn’t miss this for the world’.

"She was ecstatic. She doesn’t really understand rugby so I could play terribly and she’d still be ever so proud. Seeing her weeping with tears after the game was immense in every way possible."

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The injured Glen Young is one of five players to fly home midway through Scotland’s summer tour of the Americas.

The Edinburgh lock made his first international start in the opening victory over Canada in Ottawa and has pulled out with a pectoral injury.

Northampton forwards Robbie Smith and Elliot Millar Mills have also left the group along with Edinburgh backs Ross Thompson and Ross McCann.

Millar Mills started against Canada and came off the bench in the weekend win over United States, while Smith featured as a replacement in both matches.

Thompson started against Canada and played 22 minutes in Washington, while McCann featured off the bench in the opening game.

Scotland have announced new Glasgow prop Fin Richardson, Warriors scrum-half Ben Afshar and Edinburgh lock Rob Carmichael have joined the squad as "development players" and will train with their compatriots for the rest of the tour.

Gregor Townsend’s side face Chile in Santiago on Saturday before rounding off their tour against Uruguay seven days later.

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Scotland's Under-20 women finished the Six Nations Summer Series in Parma with a heavy defeat to Ireland.

A try from Sophie Barrett, alongside a conversion and two penalties from Kate Flannery, gave Ireland a 13-0 lead before Lucia Scott sprinted through the Irish line to score for Scotland.

Lucy MacRae converetd from wide on the right and Scotland were only six points behind at half-time.

Beth Buttimer's second-half hat-trick allowed Ireland to pull away, before Hannah Wilson's try a few minutes from time.

Defeat rounds off a Summer Series in which Scotland lost all three games, to Italy, France and Ireland.

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Glen Young's part in Scotland's tour of the Americas has come to a premature end after the second-row picked up an injury during a gym session, according to a report in The Times, external.

The Edinburgh lock, 29, picked up his fourth cap for his country when he started against Canada, but was unavailable for the match against the USA.

That was because of a pectoral injury suffered on Thursday, which means he will now miss the final two matches against Chile and Uruguay.

Young also missed the final weeks of Edinburgh's URC season with an ankle injury, not playing a game after 1 March after picking up a knock in Scotland's Six Nations camp.

Second-rows Scott Cummings and Alex Craig started the win against the US in Washington DC, while Max Williamson and Ewan Johnson both featured against Canada.

Scotland fans, we asked for your views after that massive win over the USA.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Scott: Great result but would like to have seen Scotland playing higher ranked opponents to test the players.

Ewan: We need Canada to be stronger.

Jason: I was at the match. Last night's pitch conditions from the rain and the hot humid weather made it tough. Let's keep things in perspective, Scotland beat up the US, but it was nothing more than a friendly...

Stuart: In the humid and slippery conditions, the team performed well! USA tried hard to close us down with some limited success. Rowe was the man on fire, Hastings was excellent and Craig was brilliant in his carries. Very much a development tour, but plenty of new exciting talent on display so far!

Brian: It's ridiculous playing rugby in 20C then 27C after a tough season. These conditions considered, great result! Next, Chile and Uruguay, where the winter conditions will motivate the Scots into playing fast running rugby... just to keep themselves warm!

David: Very physical game, thought Scotland did a job without playing particularly well. Nice to see Hastings and Craig back in a Scotland shirt. Kyle Rowe showed up well. Not sure why Scotland did not use their backs more, given the team picked. USA are very physical in defence (blitz) without offering too much in an attacking sense. Did Scotland work them out?

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Jamie Ritchie says earning his 50th Scotland cap is the "stuff dreams are made of".

The Scots defeated the USA 42-7 on Friday night in the second match of their summer tour.

"I'm super proud," Ritchie told Scotland media, external.

"It's not just about today it's about the 49 before it.

"As a kid all I ever wanted to do was play for Scotland and to be able to say I've done it 50 times, it's the stuff dreams are made of.

"We talked about sticking to things that were working, it was a little bit scrappy with the nature of the weather but I'm proud of how we kept our foot down.

"They put us under pressure at times but we dealt with it well."

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Kyle Rowe. It's hard to believe that this was only Rowe's fifth cap for Scotland, such is the ease with which he has taken to the international stage.

In a dire second-half, he was the only player of all 30 on the pitch to produce a bit of spark and flair, and in doing so set up the penultimate Scotland try.

There is a dearth of depth in the back-three for Scotland but Rowe looks more than capable of stepping up when required and perhaps even pushing for a spot in the 23-man squad come Six Nations time.

What did you make of that then, Scotland fans? Was it worth staying up for?

Who impressed you? And what can Gregor Townsend and his players learn from that game?

Let us know your thoughts here, external.

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Scotland men's U20s side reached the final of the World Rugby U20 trophy with a comfortable win over Japan in Edinburgh.

The young Scots ran in six tries in their 46-10 victory and now have an opportunity to win promotion to next year's World Rugby U20 Championship.

Geordie Gwynn scored two tries in the first half, before Finlay Doyle, Andrew McLean, Freddy Douglas and Jack Hocking all crossed after the break.

Tasuku Masuyama and Shusui Kamei scored two tries for Japan to make the scoreline slightly more respectable.

The competition final takes place on Wednesday evening, with Scotland's opponent not yet decided.

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

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Gregor Townsend says that Scotland’s defeat to USA during their 2018 summer tour was mentioned straight after their victory over Canada in Ottawa on Saturday night.

The ghosts of Houston, where they lost 30-29, were perhaps part of the reason why Townsend has chosen a far more experienced starting line-up than he did against Canada a week ago.

There are some survivors from the shock in Houston, but not many. The half-backs are the same. Adam Hastings only had one cap back then, and George Horne made his debut. So too did Matt Fagerson, who also starts on Friday night.

In the wake of the Houston debacle, Lewis Carmichael, the starting lock, and Luke Hamilton, the starting openside, never won another cap. Dougie Fife, Tim Swinson and Murray McCallum were all on the bench that day. Fife and Swinson won one more cap each.

"It’s a more experienced team than the team that played Canada last week," Townsend said.

"It was 10 new caps at the weekend and they put a really good marker down in what we are expecting around the detail of our game. It’s up to these players now to take it to another level."

Townsend spoke about handling the pressure of being favourites in all of their games on tour. "One challenge is keeping our focus, our togetherness and our accuracy when we are favourites for games.

"One of the learnings of the Six Nations when we were favourites for a game was how disciplined we are in our focus and the Italy game (a crushing defeat) was one where we didn’t do that well."

A repeat of Houston is unthinkable. More likely, it’ll be another big score and another comprehensive victory against a team that lost to Romania last weekend before they move on to South America and games against Chile and Uruguay.

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

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You will remember Scotland’s breathtaking victory in Paris in 2021, the late drama, the wonderful team try finished off by Duhan van der Merve that shocked and sickened the French.

But can you remember Scotland’s replacement lock that night, the big guy who played the closing minutes of one of Scotland’s most memorable victories this century?

You’d be forgiven if you can’t, because he hasn’t played a minute of Test rugby since.

It’s Alex Craig, of course. Now of the Scarlets. He has two caps to his name, both off the bench and both wins, but come Friday in Washington he’s going to have three because he starts against the USA.

"Alex picked up a little niggle so wasn’t considered last week against Canada," said head coach Gregor Townsend. "He’s fully fit now. He’s somebody who has had to wait a little while for his opportunity.

"When we beat France in Paris in 2021 he played and was excellent that season, then he had a couple of injuries and moved to Scarlets. He’s been very consistent, has got better and better and won their player of the season last season, a huge achievement for somebody who is not a local player.

"What he bring is aggression and work rate and he goes forwards, he loves the contact side of the game. He’s a really good complement with Scott (Cummings) and how they control the lineout."

Craig is 27, hard-bitten but still young enough and good enough - the Scarlets rave about his ball-carrying - to add to that caps total if the USA game goes his way.

With Richie Gray and Grant Gilchrist at 34 and 33 years old, Scotland need all the quality locks they can lay their hands on.

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

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Scotland’s tour of North America must feel especially poignant for Jamie Ritchie who won his first cap against Canada in Edmonton six years and will win his 50th against the USA in Washington on Friday.

Gregor Townsend sang the praises of his flanker, former captain and now vice-captain. "It’s a great achievement for him and his family," said Townsend, shortly after naming his team to play the USA in Scotland’s second game of their summer tour.

"He’s had a few injuries in his career, some serious ones, and has put his body on the line for Scotland ever since he came through on this tour to North America six years ago.

"Talking about Jamie and his performances in the Six Nations and how he conducted himself in training, and off the field, when he wasn’t selected in a couple of match day squads, he was outstanding, A real credit to who he is as a person and a leader.

"He’s playing probably the best rugby of his career. He finished the season in excellent form and has continued it in training and will go into the game with real confidence. He’s in great condition and has many more (caps) to come."

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Scotland's Under-20 women were beaten 69-10 by France in their second outing of the Six Nations Summer Series in Parma.

The Scots suffered early injury setbacks, with Chloe Brown and Ellie Willamson both forced off, but grabbed the lead with a Gemma Bell try converted by Lucy MacRae.

France roared back and crossed four times for a 26-7 half-time lead.

A MacRae penalty reduced the arrears but Les Bleus added a further seven tries, with five of them coming after Scotland had been reduced to 14 players by an injury to Eilidh Fleming.

Claire Cruikshank's side, who lost their opening game to Italy, wrap up the tournament against Ireland on Sunday.

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Sione Tuipulotu is relishing Scotland's sun-drenched summer tour of the Americas after a manic month in his personal and professional life.

The Glasgow Warriors centre became a dad to son TJ, won the URC with his club, then got engaged to partner Lara.

"It’s been massive. To be honest it’s flown by. I’m missing my fiancée and TJ back home massively," Tuipulotu told Scottish Rugby.

"It’s amazing [becoming a dad]. You listen to all the other boys’ stories about their first born and don’t really know how it feels until you’re in the hotspot yourself.

"I’m glad I’ve got my first one out the way and I’m just ready for the missus to give me the all-clear on number two!"

The 27-year-old popped the question to Lara before jetting out with Gregor Townsend's squad for the four-match summer tour.

“[I was] Very nervous," he added. "It was directly after the celebrations for the grand final. I was anxious, so I thought I’d get all done before we came away on tour.

"Job done so I’m going back to a happy home."

Having not featured in the opening tour win over Canada, Tuipulotu is expected to return to the squad for Friday's game with the USA in Washington DC.

"I’ve never played them and only watched them on the laptops here," he said. "Americans are patriotic and passionate about their country so I’m expecting a passionate outfit and we’ll match that.

"The heat is a real factor out here but I’m loving it, it’s a nice little change from the rugby we’ve been playing back in Glasgow, so it’s nice to be back in the heat.

"It’s always a factor, but it’s a challenge the team is ready for."