Scottish Rugby

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.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Fergus Burke says he wants to use his Scotland call-up to learn from Finn Russell, whom he considers to be one of the world's top fly-halves.

The Saracens playmaker was called into Gregor Townsend's squad for the first time for the upcoming Six Nations.

New Zealand-born Burke also qualifies for England but opted for Scotland and says the opportunity to work alongside Russell was a factor in his decision.

"Finn's probably one of the best 10s, if not the best 10 in the world at the moment," Burke told the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast.

"To be in the same environment as him is invaluable for my development and being able to pick his brain.

"He obviously plays a little bit different to anyone that I've been in an environment with before, so it's going to be invaluable learning the way he does it and different pictures he's looking for, so it's cool."

Burke says conversations with established Scotland internationals at Saracens helped convince him his Test ambitions are best served with Townsend's side.

"Having conversations with the likes of Andy Christie and Sean Maitland at Saracens around the culture, everyone's just encouraged to be themselves," the 25-year-old added.

"There's no egos and you're backed. Combined with the style of footie, the shapes that we've run on attack, the way we attack, I just feel like it was suited to my style and I'm excited about it."

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Glasgow Warriors' URC match with Connacht has been moved from this Friday night to Sunday afternoon because of a severe weather warning.

Storm Eowyn is expected to bring winds of up to 90mph and an amber warning - which runs from 06:00 to 21:00 on Friday - has been issued, covering the south and most of central Scotland.

The round 10 match at Scotstoun Stadium will now take place on Sunday at 15:30 GMT.

A separate yellow warning is in place from 00:00 to 15:00 on Saturday, covering all of Scotland. Glasgow women's Celtic Challenge match against Clovers at Scotstoun remains scheduled for Saturday at 13:00.

A URC statement said: "Safety of spectators, team and venue staff, players, match officials and broadcast personnel are the number one priority and it is clear that the expected weather conditions would severely compromise this."

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Second-row Alex Samuel has signed a new two-year contract with Glasgow Warriors.

The 22-year-old made his debut for the club in late 2022 and has racked 26 appearances, including 12 this season.

Samuel earned his first Scotland cap in the Autumn Nations Series win over Portugal in November.

"I was a supporter of the club long before I had the privilege to pull on the playing shirt," he said.

"And I'm buzzing to be able to spend at least another couple of years here.

"I just want to keep putting my hand up for more game time and more opportunities to play.

"I'd love another chance to win something as part of this club – I was part of the squad last season but didn't play in any of the play-off games, so that's a big target for me."

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Dylan Richardson has become the latest Scotland player ruled out of the Six Nations because of injury.

A shoulder problem has forced the hooker, who has six caps, to pull out of the squad, while wing Arron Reed has been called up.

Richardson's withdrawal comes a day after captain Sione Tuipulotu was ruled out of the tournament with a pectoral muscle injury suffered in training, while lock Scott Cummings is a major doubt with a broken arm.

Gregor Townsend's men get their campaign under way at home to Italy on 1 February.

Grant Young
Fan writer

It was a weekend to forget for the Warriors with a Champions Cup defeat followed by some crushing injury news.

Glasgow were outplayed at The Stoop by motivated Harlequins who secured their target of a place in the knockout rounds.

Franco Smith's side forced a lot of offloads in contact, however it just felt messy and full of mistakes. The absence of Kyle Steyn, George Horne and Sione Tuipulotu was keenly felt.

The other big disappointment was the injuries, particularly with Scotland's Six Nations campaign getting under way a week on Saturday.

Not only was Steyn, a key player last year in the tournament, missing from the start but Scott Cummings was forced off in the opening 10 minutes with an arm injury that is set to keep him out of the Six Nations.

The worst news of all was the substantial injury Sione Tuipulotu suffered during training, ruling the centre out for a number of months. This could be a disaster for club and country as Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu was probably the in-form 12 in the northern hemisphere and looked set for a Lions call-up.

From a Warriors point of view, the coaching team have often spoken about the rotation of players. We had seen a reduction in the amount of injuries in recent weeks but with Cummings out it leaves the second row further depleted.

In midfield, whenever Sione plays it feels like he walks off the pitch as man of the match. Do Glasgow have someone ready to step up? Huw Jones and Stafford McDowall are the obvious choice, but do we see Tom Jordan slot into his more natural position if and when Adam Hastings returns?

The difficulty is there are URC games slid into the mix during the Six Nations, so will we see players released back to the clubs? The coaches will definitely have their fingers crossed.

These in-between periods can be tough and Glasgow host a Connacht side who will definitely be smelling blood on Friday night. The selection for Glasgow will be one to watch.

Sandy Smith
Fan writer

An eventful early afternoon at the Hive on Sunday saw Edinburgh top Pool 3 in the Challenge Cup and secure a home tie against Lions of a different stripe on the first weekend in April.

The officiating team had a busy afternoon in particular. Two yellow cards for both teams and a red for Magnus Bradbury's transgression. Live in the stadium I thought the red card decision was a trifle harsh and that Healy's later sin-binning may have been worse. On review I still have some doubt but it is what it is.

At half-time I was a little concerned. We were down to 14 players and despite a 24-3 lead this is Edinburgh Rugby and anything is possible. Two early second-half tries from Matt Currie and Patrick Harrison eased those fears.

In any case Edinburgh got the job done despite only playing around 24 minutes of the match with a full complement. The biggest issue now will be picking a back row for our trip to Scarlets with an anticipated ban for Bradbury, Freddy Douglas' injury and the small matter of the requirements of the Scotland squad to contend with.

Luke Crosbie was the official man of the match. No complaints there as he definitely led by example but Wes Goosen was once again flawless. A scroll through the match stats show him prominent in every category except tackles. I think the problem here is that it's easy to overlook his contribution because he's been ever-present this season and is at least an 8/10 every week.

It was a good debut for Lewis Wells, deputising for Duhan van der Merwe. He was confident and competent in defence and attack and unfortunate not to get a try. I suspect we'll see more of him in the coming weeks.

With the pool stage complete, supporters of every team still in the competition are looking at a potential route to glory. I'm no different but am conscious that our next step on that hopeful journey is against a Lions side that inflicted a humiliating defeat on us not so long ago.

I feel we can take our revenge for that loss and progress in this competition. That said, we have five league games to deal with first so that optimism is a long way from being set in stone.

Sandy Smith can be found at The Burgh Watch, external

With the Six Nations looming, there's plenty to talk about in the world of Scottish rugby.

Sione Tuipulotu and Scott Cummings have both been ruled out of the tournament through injury, while there were mixed fortunes in Europe for Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Send your questions in for our rugby writers Tom English and Andy Burke via this link, external, and they will be answered on this page later in the week.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Hints of Healy getting back to form

It's a sign of Ben Healy's diminished status in the Scottish game that his omission from Gregor Townsend's Six Nations squad came as a surprise to precisely no one.

Not so long ago, when he was convinced to abandon his ambitions of representing Ireland to throw his lot in with Scotland, Healy was viewed as Finn Russell's chief understudy.

Some patchy form at the tail end of last season and the beginning of this campaign, along with the emergence of Tom Jordan and now Fergus Burke in the Scotland set-up, means Healy's road back towards earning more Test caps is a long one.

First things first. He must establish himself as Edinburgh's leading 10 ahead of Ross Thompson.

He showed some encouraging stuff against Black Lion. Yes the opposition was limited, but they were helped to look that way by some lovely distribution and excellent kicking from Healy.

Now he needs to build on that and show similar control against the better sides Edinburgh will face between now and the end of the season.

Tackle technique hurts Edinburgh

The one black mark on Healy's report card was a high shot in the second half which saw him sent to the sin bin. On first viewing, he looked fortunate that it wasn't red.

Magnus Bradbury had already been sent off for a similar high tackle, his shoulder making contact with the head of Bachuki Tchumbadze.

Sean Everitt bemoaned Bradbury's red – "it really put us in a sticky position" – and conceded that Healy was "probably a bit fortunate" not to see red also. His yellow was damaging enough given it reduced Edinburgh to 13 men and allowed Black Lion the space to score two late tries.

The Edinburgh boys can expect some work on their tackle technique in training this week.

Watson still a hero of the Hive

Hamish Watson has found himself essentially a bit-part player in recent times. His presence in an Edinburgh matchday squad is no longer guaranteed and his minutes on the pitch tend to come off the bench.

That was the case once again as he came on in the second half against the Georgian side. The ovation he received from the crowd at Hive Stadium told you he is still one of the fans' favourites in the capital.

Clearly the flanker is not the force of nature he once was. The barnstorming runs of bouncing off three/four/five defenders are rarely seen these days.

However, the experience of a man who was once a Six Nations player of the year and a Test Lion should not be discounted. Edinburgh would do well to make use of him before he departs at the end of the season, which seems likely.

George O'Neill
BBC Sport Scotland

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Lineout fails to fire

So often under Franco Smith, Glasgow have relied on their lineout and their mauling power to deliver tries.

It has been one of their great strengths in recent times, but at The Stoop they were hampered by lineout struggles.

Glasgow kept possession from just 63% of their own lineouts, with errant throwing and unforced errors present throughout the contest. It halted momentum on multiple occasions on what was a frustrating evening in south west London.

Cummings injury provides further headaches for Scotland

Much of the talk after the game has focused on Sione Tuipulotu's pectoral injury that has ruled the centre out of the Six Nations.

It has overshadowed Scott Cummings' arm injury sustained at Quins, which also rules him out of the tournament, another blow to Scotland's chances.

Cummings is an outstanding lock, and with young Max Williamson also out injured, Scotland's options in the second row suddenly look limited.

Glasgow forcing it too much?

Glasgow made 546m with ball in hand in the game, more than Harlequins' 423m, and they also made more clean breaks (15 to 8).

However, Glasgow didn't take their chances off the back of that. Too often they made the initial break and then threw away possession with a needless offload or overly ambitious pass, when recycling the ball and building again might have served them better.

Such has been their attacking prowess under Smith that it feels somewhat ridiculous to criticise, but against Quins they lacked their usual clarity with ball in hand.

If they are to go far in this competition, they need to rediscover that clinical touch.

Former scrum-half Andy Nicol says Sione Tuipulotu being ruled out of the Six Nations with a pectoral injury is "devastating" for Scotland.

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

The grim confirmation of Sione Tuipulotu's Six Nations-ending injury was expected but it still landed with a thud nonetheless.

Tuipulotu is one of the form inside centres in the game; a captain, a physical brute, an artist, an inspiration to his team. He's a pretty rare amalgam of world class bludgeon and world class rapier.

His absence - and that of the outstanding lock Scott Cummings - has seen Scottish optimism, racing along merrily last week, reduced to a slow crawl. Glasgow have also suffered a double blow in the loss of two critical operators.

Tuipulotu's partnership with Huw Jones is a cosmic blend. Now an alternative is needed. Jones and his excellent Warriors' team-mate, Tom Jordan, don't pack enough physical punch for Test rugby as a duo. Franco Smith never plays them together at 12-13 for Glasgow.

The same could be said for Rory Hutchinson, the dangerous Northampton centre. A Hutchinson-Jones combo lacks enough muscle for the unforgiving fields of Six Nations rugby.

Most likely, it's going to be another Warriors pair, Stafford McDowall and Jones in the midfield in the championship. McDowall is a tough operator and a Glasgow captain but nobody inside the Scotland camp is pretending that Tuipulotu's absence is anything other than a nightmare.

As for Tuipulotu's fitness for the Lions - pretty much every pundit in all four nations has picked him at 12 in the Test series - let's just hope that his operation is successful and that his recovery is swift.

Losing Cummings is also hellish news given his power game and his form. Grant Gilchrist and Jonny Gray will surely now start against Italy in the opening day of the championship, but their back-up, Glasgow's Max Williamson, is also out for the tournament, so there are problems in multiple places. Glasgow head coach Smith, like Gregor Townsend, must be a disappointed man today.

Scotland began their Six Nations season with two home games back-to-back, with Italy and then Ireland coming to Murrayfield in the first nine days of February.

The odds on Townsend's team causing a sensation this season will have drifted with Monday's news.