Scottish Rugby

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Scotland will field an A side for the first time in two years when they welcome Chile to the Hive Stadium in Edinburgh in November.

The last time a Scotland A team played was also against Chile back in 2022 when the Scots ran out 45-5 winners in Santiago.

Scottish Rugby say A matches have been identified as "a key way to develop players by competing at a high level" prior to stepping up to the national squad.

The men's senior side faced Chile in July, defeating them 52-11.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend said: "International A matches are a really effective way of developing our players to prepare them for Test match rugby.

"Chile will provide a tough opponent for us in November. We have built up a strong relationship with them since our first match, in Santiago two years ago, and we experienced a real challenge and a noisy atmosphere this summer.

"It will be a great to host them at Hive Stadium and see a young Scottish squad take the game to them."

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Head coach Franco Smith says he wants to keep "unnecessary pressure outside of our environment" as Glasgow Warriors look to replicate last season's URC title win.

Warriors kick off their title defence away to Ulster on Saturday night.

The stunning fashion in which Glasgow claimed the club's second league triumph has raised expectations they can challenge at the top again this season and make a mark in Europe in the Champions Cup.

"That is the expectation I'm trying to keep out of our environment," Smith told the BBC Scotland Rugby Podcast.

"If we're going to start pinpointing games and competitions, we're going to miss the trick. We've got six URC games now, then there's four Test matches, then there's three URC games, of which two are the derbies, and two European Cup games until Christmas.

“That's 15 very, very tough games to be involved in all of them. So now it's about what can we do with a second group of players that is now making the step up into this environment.

"If we're going to start getting ahead of ourselves, injuries will happen and it will then suddenly put us off track.

"I can promise that everybody here wants to win every game, every competition we play in, and that is what we strive to. But we'll have to take it one game at a time, see what we have available, manage the players best we can.

"Hopefully by doing that, we will just keep that expectation at bay and the unnecessary pressure outside of our environment."

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With the new URC season getting under way on Friday, BBC Sport Scotland's Andy Burke has been answering your questions.

Graeme asked: How many Scots make the Lions tour?

Andy answered: I would fall off my chair if Zander Fagerson, Finn Russell, Sione Tuipulotu and Duhan van der Merwe are not on the plane to Australia next summer.

Plenty of others have a real strong case if they produce their best stuff between now and then. Pierre Schoeman, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey, Matt Fagerson, Ben White, Huw Jones, Darcy Graham, Kyle Steyn and Blair Kinghorn are all capable, at least in my opinion, of making that step up.

So much can happen and will happen between now and next summer that it’s impossible to predict who will make it. Injuries, loss of form, players hitting a hot streak at just the right time – all these things influence a Lions selection.

There were eight Scots on the last tour. They should be aiming for the same again, but the competition for places will be savage.

Dolphincleaner asked: The summer tour was encouraging in terms of younger players stepping up, and we know squad depth helps over the season. Franco Smith made it work for the champions after all. Which young Scots do you see making a bigger impact over the URC season this year?

Andy answered: Euan Ferrie started to come through for Glasgow last season and I think we’ll see more of him. He’s very highly regarded at Scotstoun.

The departure of George Turner should open the door for Angus Fraser to get more time in the hooker position, while Ben Ashfar should get more opportunities at scrum-half given George Horne's importance to the national team seems to be rising.

It will be interesting to see what impact Ross Thompson makes after moving along the M8 from Glasgow to Edinburgh. The capital side were too reliant on Ben Healy last season. Thompson offers something a little bit different.

Harry Paterson burst on to the scene before injury quickly whipped him right back off it last season. Competition is fierce in that Edinburgh back three but Paterson is an exciting talent that needs to be nurtured.

I would like to see more of Ben Muncaster. Every time I see him I'm impressed. He is still only 22 but I feel he needs to kick on this season and become a real threat to those more established names in the Edinburgh back-row.

With the new URC season getting under way on Friday, BBC Sport Scotland's Andy Burke has been answering your questions.

Laura asked: Sports4cast have Glasgow as a 9% chance of retaining the URC this year. How do you rate their chances?

Andy answered: On the face of it, 9% looks a bit thin for the defending champions, but that’s probably more to do with the plethora of teams who look capable of going all the way this season.

Leinster have added a big dollop of stardust in the shape of RG Snyman and Jordie Barrett to their already glittering array of talent. The pressure on them to deliver silverware this season is immense, and you would think they will do so sooner rather than later.

The Bulls will be wondering how they let the title slip from their grasp – or rather, how Glasgow ripped it from their grasp – in that unforgettable final in Pretoria in June. They will come again.

The Stormers look formidable and then you have a Munster side who have shown what they can do when they get on a roll.

It's going to be a ferocious battle for those play-off places and for the big prize itself among a host of quality teams, but Glasgow have as good a chance as any of them.

Scott asked: What signings are you monitoring most closely that Edinburgh and Glasgow have made?

Andy answered: There's more on this to come on this page this week, but it will be fascinating to see what impact Mosese Tuipulotu has on the Edinburgh backline.

The back three of Darcy Graham, Duhan van der Merwe and Emilano Boffelli – provided they are all fit - is as good as anything out there, but there have been times when the midfield has struggled to lay the platform to get them into the game.

Comparisons with his brother Sione are inevitable, but from what little we've seen and heard about Mosese so far, he is in a similar mould and could be the perfect catalyst to get Edinburgh's potent back division firing.

For Glasgow it would obviously be great to see Adam Hastings first and foremost getting a spell of uninterrupted rugby under his belt after a hellish few years with injury.

If he can find his best form he will be a huge influence this season with the running threat, intelligent kicking and general authority he brings to the 10 shirt, though don't be shocked if we see him slot in at full-back now and again.

Rory Sutherland is another who could make a big impact if he can find the sort of form that made him a Test Lion just a few years ago.

Sandy Smith
Fan writer

Frankie Goes To Hollywood gave us Two Tribes Go To War. On Friday Edinburgh and Gloucester served us up ‘four teams go to Hive’. And it turned out to be a pretty decent hors d’oeuvres before the main course that awaits us later this week.

In what was effectively two 40-minute matches with both sides fielding different XVs in each half, Edinburgh ostensibly lost the first ‘game’ 26-19, won the second 14-0 and the overall event 33-26.

There were a lot of positives to take from the game. Not least the return of Darcy Graham to the field and the scoresheet. The extra dimension and impetus his presence gave the team was blatant.

The centre pairing of Matt Scott and Mosese Tuipulotu worked well. There were some big hits from both of them and Tuipulotu's part in Graham's try was also encouraging, especially as he is an unknown quantity to, well, all of us.

The lineout functioned well in both halves but scrummaging wise we did seem to have a few issues in the first half.

The defensive wall that the guys manned in the last quarter would have made the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch extremely proud and from my perspective (right behind the line) Tom Dodd, perhaps surprisingly, took on the role of Jon Snow in the resistance that ensured Gloucester remained scoreless in the half.

Sean Everitt was at great pains pre-match to express that this wasn't first and second XV selections, but with a few exceptions it looks very much like that and I'd expect a minimum of 12 of that first-half XV to start against Leinster.

Perhaps the most interesting selection will be for the 10 spot. Does Everitt go for the tried and trusted Ben Healy or the newly arrived and perhaps riskier choice of Ross Thompson? Both have merits but who is the right man to take on the Leinster machine?

Sandy Smith can be found at The Burgh Watch, external

Grant Young
Fan writer

Defending champions Glasgow head into the new campaign with a target on their back.

A lot has happened over the three-month off season, much of it spent savouring the joy of that glorious title triumph.

Scotland had a questionable summer tour where too many frontline Warriors were included. That probably had a knock-on effect of Glasgow's uninspiring pre-season, with their two outings resulting in defeat and many first or even second-choice players slowly returning from what felt like an eternally long 23-24 campaign.

So what's new this season for Glasgow? Summer recruitment has arguably made them stronger. In come Scotland and Lions prop Rory Sutherland, the pro who has bounced around since the tour of South Africa, and the return to Glasgow of Adam Hastings.

Glasgow have lacked a 10 since they allowed Argentine Domingo Miotti to depart a year ago, which resulted in nearly-Scotland-qualified Tom Jordan slotting in. With Hastings' arrival will we see Jordan move to midfield?

The Warriors face a tough away trip at Ulster on Saturday to open the season. Let’s see what Coach Franco Smith has in store for the Scotstoun faithful this season.

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Scotland's women are now ranked fifth in the world after their convincing 59-15 win over Fiji on Saturday.

They move above Australia into their highest ever position in the World Rugby rankings, sitting behind only England, New Zealand, Canada and France.

Before the win over Fiji, centre Lisa Thomson - who made her debut in 2016 - said: "I think to even say we're pushing top five is just a world away from when I came into the squad.

"It's just huge for us to keep pushing performance-wise and getting results at the same time. I think we're starting to get results.

"We need to put everything together and keep building and keep learning. We need to be able to close out big games, which we've been starting to do, and we just need to keep pushing it to get into that top five."

Bryan Easson's side begin the defence of their WXV2 title against Italy on 28 September.

Before the start of the new URC season, have you got any pressing questions about Scottish rugby? Be it Glasgow, Edinburgh, the national teams or something broader, we want to hear them.

Send your questions in here, external, and Andy Burke and Tom English will answer the best of them on the BBC Radio Scotland Rugby Podcast.

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Lana Skeldon says the Hive crowd "really pushed us over the line" as Scotland beat Fiji 59-15.

Skeldon scored a try as she helped her team to victory but was keen to heap praise her team-mates for their hard work.

"The crowd were fantastic, they always are, that's why we love playing here so much," she added.

"The noise that they made today was outstanding and it’s just something that we absolutely love.

"It's the effort of the people in front of me that gets me over the line. Scoring tries is just part of the fun.

"We stuck to what we set out to do, which was to score tries and express ourselves."

Scotland now head into the defence of their WXV 2 crown and 30-year-old Skeldon says the team have "set high standards".

"We just want to get out there now and get stuck into the games and perform the way we want to perform," she added.

"We're really tight as a group, so to go to another tournament, we've set high standards for ourselves and we'll go out there and try to do the job."

Meanwhile, Lucia Scott says she is "buzzing" after scoring her first try in her second appearance for the Scots.

"I was pretty buzzing I can't lie," Scott said. "Evie [Gallagher] definitely didn't need to give me that, that was very selfless of her, but I'm absolutely buzzing with it."

Scotland ran in nine tries to defeat Fiji 59-15 in their final warm-up for WXV2.

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Edinburgh beat Gloucester 33-26 in their final warm-up match for the new season.

The visitors scored all their points in the first half and led by seven at the break.

Max Llewellyn, Tomos Williams, Zach Mercer and Afo Fasogbon all crossed, Gareth Anscombe knocked over two conversions and George Barton got another.

Darcy Graham, Magnus Bradbury and Ben Vellacott went over for Edinburgh in the first half and Tom Dodd and Dave Cherry did likewise after the interval. Ross Thompson twice converted, as did Ben Healy.

Edinburgh open their United Rugby Championship campaign at home to Leinster next Friday.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Head coach Bryan Easson says it's crucial Scotland maintain their position in the top eight of the world rankings before the draw next month for the 2025 World Cup in England.

The Scots are currently sixth in the global standings, with last Friday's six-try win over Wales edging them closer to fifth-placed Australia.

Ahead of this Friday's meeting with Fiji, which is live on the BBC Sport app, website and iPlayer, Easson wants his team to maintain the momentum created by nine wins in their last 12 Tests.

"I think we keep doing what we're doing at the moment," he said.

"It's not about saying, 'Right, we're going to go after this team or after that team'. Top eight in the world is really important for us pre-Rugby World Cup draw because obviously pushing for the top two pots, that's a real focus for us.

"The way to do that is just to keep winning. Performance sports are about winning, international rugby is about winning.

"And it's about pushing the players on the training field and obviously putting a little bit of pressure on each other to get that starting position.

"When you've got that pressure and pushing each other, that does push us even better into these performances."

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Former Edinburgh and Scotland lock Ben Toolis has announced his retirement from professional rugby at age 32.

Australia-born Toolis made his Scotland debut in 2015 and went on to earn a total of 30 caps, including an appearance at the 2019 World Cup.

He spent nine years at Edinburgh from 2013, making 127 apperances, and played out the final two years of his career in Japan with Kintetsu Liners.

"After a lot of deliberation, I've decided it's time to hang up my boots and close this chapter of my rugby journey," said Toolis on Instagram, external.

"As a young kid, I always dreamed of playing at the highest level and I was fortunate enough to do just that.

"Rugby has brought me so many wonderful experiences, friendships and opportunities that I will cherish forever.

"Playing over 100 games for Edinburgh, representing Scotland and competing in a World Cup are memories I hold close to my heart.

"To my team-mates, coaches and everyone who has supported me along the way, thank you for making this journey so special.

"As I look ahead to new adventures, I'll always carry rugby in my heart. I am grateful for every moment on the pitch, every challenge faced, and every celebration shared."

Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt says he is not "envious" of Glasgow's URC triumph and insists there's no reason his side can't challenge for the title this season.

The capital club failed to make the play-offs last term, finishing 10th. As Everitt bids to improve on that showing, he is using Glasgow's win as "motivation".

"Glasgow did incredibly well last year, they played a good brand of rugby, scored a heap of tries, they were certainly top four in the competition, it's about them continuing the task," said Everitt.

"Every team within this competition has an opportunity, that's the nature of it, there's no easy games. All teams have improved their squads, everyone will be in with a shot.

"I wouldn't use the word envious, I think it's great that a Scottish team won the URC, it brings a lot of belief to the Edinburgh players. We've got to use that as motivation.

"We know we let it slip, we were sitting in the top four until the end of January and then dropped out of it.

"The biggest disappointment was going to South Africa and coming away with no points, that hurt us.

"Sometimes it's not only about scoring ties, it's about not letting the opposition get bonus points. A really good example is we gave Ospreys a bonus point at home, they finished on 50, we finished on 49 and that was the tight margins of the competition."

Everitt is under no illusions his side need to "be better" this time around and thinks he has a stronger squad now.

"We have to be better all round and I know that we will, and if we are then we will be challenging at the top," he added.

"There's been improvements in our squad, we've brought in some Premiership winners in Max Scott and Paul Hill from Northampton. They know what it takes to win and they drive the standards at training.

"If you compare where we were last year with 14 senior players at training up to the warm-up week of Dragons, it's totally different.

"We're putting out two strong squads tomorrow against Gloucester, we're in a much better position."

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

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When he fetches up at Murrayfield. Alex Williamson will be presented with a list of ‘must-dos’ as high as the west stand. Here are seven priorities for the new Scottish Rugby CEO…

The money problem

The SRU recorded losses of £10.5m in the most recently published accounts despite having three home games in the Six Nations as well as hosting Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé and Harry Styles concerts.

Huge work needs done on maximising SRU revenues, particularly around the Six Nations. There’s been talk of building a large covered venue on the estate with bars and food outlets to get fans to matches earlier and keep them there longer. Williamson will need lots of new thinking on improving the financial picture.

Working with David Nucifora

Williamson and the de facto performance director is the partnership that must revolutionise the player pathway system. It’s a gargantuan issue. The flow of young players is chronic in Scotland. The current system needs torn apart. Nucifora did a magnificent job in this area for a decade in Ireland, so there’s hope.

Reaching out to the club game

The grassroots need some TLC. At club level there is widespread concern about the future of the game - challenging finances, falling player numbers, fewer teams, a threat to the social fabric of community rugby clubs. Williamson needs be go on a tour of clubland and listen to people’s concerns.

Tapping into Scots abroad

This is something SRU chairman, John McGuigan, has spoken about. Are there high net-worth Scots around the world who might be minded to financially support new projects on the development of young players, particularly in traditionally non-rugby playing parts of the country? Can the SRU move into new terrain to find new players? They must.

Executing the 10-year strategy

There’s huge work going on right now around a 10-year plan for rugby at all levels. It’s a forensic analysis of where the game is at and it will have a string of recommendations. Williamson needs to drive that strategy for all he’s worth.

Win trophies

Glasgow’s URC victory was manna from heaven. Edinburgh need to step up now. Quickly. They’ve been underperforming for years. It can’t go on. Williamson needs to demand more from them. It’s harder for Scotland in the brutal waters of Test rugby, but being properly competitive in the Six Nations is a must. They need to become a serious contender - and consistently.

Build on progress in the women’s game

They’ve never been in a better place. Now is the time to build on strong foundations. So much of this goes back to finance. Williamson needs to get the cash flowing.

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Rachel McLachlan says Scotland must cope with a "a different style of rugby" than they're used to as they look for a winning send-off against Fiji on Saturday before their WXV 2 title defence.

Having beaten Wales last weekend, Bryan Easson's side play their final warm-up match at the Hive by meeting Fiji for the first time. The game (16:45 BST) will be streamed live on the BBC Sport website, app and BBC iPlayer.

At 14 in the world rankings, Fiji are eight places below Scotland.

"It's going to be a different competition, it's going to be tough," said flanker McLachlan.

"We've never played them and it's going to be really interesting to have a different opponent, we're looking forward to that and relishing the challenge.

"We know the game they want to play, offloading, different rugby to what we're used to, but we're managing that and training accordingly."

Starting on 27 September and running until 13 October, Scotland will take on Italy, Japan and Australia at the WXV 2.

"We're hoping for another good goal this weekend and build into WXV," McLachlan added.

"We're hoping to have a pretty full Hive and looking forward to the crowd cheering us on.

"It's a loud stadium to play in when the fans are there supporting and we're just looking forward to another go before we go to South Africa."