Scottish Rugby

We asked for your views after Glasgow and Edinburgh discovered their group-stage opponents in the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup respectively.

Here's what some of you said:

David: The competition is not called the 'Champions Cup' for nothing! All the top sides are there so no matter who the Warriors drew it was always going to be a difficult task. I should think that all the other sides are saying the same about the Warriors.

Xando: Absolutely brutal group for Glasgow. It appears winning the URC is not rewarded as richly as winning the Premiership in terms of group seedings.

Alex: A tough draw for Glasgow but looking at all the groups, there are no easy games. Certainly have the quality to get the two wins needed and particularly want to get a win against Quins after they snuck by us last season.

Ian: Glasgow has a tough draw but might come second at best, will need to win most of their home games and one away game to go through. Edinburgh should get through the group stage but that's all.

Arran: Pretty decent group for Edinburgh. Black Lion and Vannes will bring interesting and new challenges but should be contending for top of the group. Gloucester will be biggest challenge for us I think.

Stuart: As Warriors fan, if you want to be the best you must beat the tough opponents. Good draw for me. Exciting matches ahead!

Alan: This is the chance for Edinburgh to show their mettle and demonstrate why they're the number one Scottish club side. A good chance to meet up with Glasgow if they manage to pick up a Challenge Cup spot when they're inevitably ejected from the Champions Cup.

Anthony: Looking at the other groups there are no easy routes to the knockout stage. To be honest I’d actually go as far as to say Glasgow have done okay with their draw. Pool 3 looks horrendous. Edinburgh have a great chance to go through.

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Scotland scored a remarkable 19 tries to crush Samoa in the opening match of their World Rugby U20 Trophy campaign.

The Scots set a tournament-record tally in their 123-15 victory in Edinburgh, overtaking Japan's 105-20 success against Hong Kong China just a few hours earlier.

Winger Finlay Doyle and full-back Fergus Watson both celebrated hat-tricks in a one-sided contest.

Hooker Jerry Blyth-Lafferty touched down twice either side of his tighthead brother Ollie doing the same.

Fly-half Andrew McLean kicked 13 conversions, including one from his own try.

Scotland take on Hong Kong China on Sunday and complete Group A against Japan on Friday 12 July.

Uruguay, Netherlands, USA and Kenya make up Group B.

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Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt is relishing an "exciting" Challenge Cup group that includes last season's runners-up Gloucester and debutants Vannes.

Completing the Pool 3 line-up next season are Bayonne, Scarlets and Georgia’s Black Lion.

The Scottish side have never previously faced Black Lion - now led by former Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill - or Britanny-based Vannes, who are making their Challenge Cup debut after earning promotion to the French top flight for the first time.

The other three teams are familiar opposition. Everitt's men lost by a point to Gloucester in the group stage last season before winning at fellow URC side Scarlets to reach the knockout rounds where they beat Bayonne.

Edinburgh's run was halted in the quarter-finals by eventual champions the Sharks in South Africa - can they advance further this time round?

Edinburgh will face four of the five sides, with fixtures yet to be announced.

"It’s an exciting pool, with a couple of teams we know well having played them last season," said Everitt.

"We could also be going into the unknown if we face Black Lion and Vannes, who are two strong teams that will be looking to lay down a marker in the competition.

"The European nights at Hive Stadium have such a buzz about them, we can’t wait to get started."

Challenge Cup Pool 3 fixture dates

• Round one – 6-8 December

• Round two – 13-15 December

• Round three – 10-12 January

• Round four – 17-19 January

Glasgow have the chance to avenge last season's defeat when they tackle Harlequins in a tough-looking Pool 4 of the Champions Cup next term.

A 28-24 away defeat ended Glasgow's hopes in the last 16 in April and Harlequins made it as far as the semis before falling to eventual champions Toulouse.

Warriors also have Toulon for the second season running after the French side finished bottom of the group last term having lost 29-5 at Scotstoun.

Another French outfit, England fly-half Owen Farrell's Racing 92, provide an eye-catching tie for Franco Smith's URC champions. Glasgow impressively secured home and away wins when the sides last met in the 2016-17 campaign.

And the Scotstoun side will take on Sale Sharks - who finished third in the English top flight last season - for the first time since easing to a 45-7 group-stage victory back in 2020.

The tournament gets under way in December and each team in the pool plays four games - two home and two away - before the top four advance to the round of the 16. The final takes place in Cardiff on May 24.

Champions Cup Pool 4 fixture dates

• Round one – 6-8 December

• Round two – 13-15 December

• Round three – 10-12 January

• Round four – 17-19 January

Glasgow have drawn French sides Racing 92 and Toulon as well as English Premiership clubs Harlequins and Sale Sharks and South Africa's Stormers in Pool 4 of the Champions Cup next season.

Franco Smith's side won't play Stormers as clubs from the same league can't face each other.

Edinburgh are in Pool 3 of the Challenge Cup alongside Vannes and Bayonne of France, Georgian side Black Lion, Scarlets of Wales and England's Gloucester.

What do you make of the draw for your team? Can you reach the knockout rounds and go deep in the tournament?

Have your say here, external

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Scotland winger Rhona Lloyd has expressed her disappointment at not being selected in Great Britain's sevens squad for this summer's Paris Olympics.

The 27-year-old has been a regular for Team GB in recent years, but was left out by head coach Ciaran Beattie.

The 27-year-old also missed out on the Tokyo Olympics and says she now needs "to figure out who I am" without her Olympic dream, hinting she will take a break from the sevens format.

"Congratulations to all the athletes selected for the Olympics, especially to my GB Rugby 7s teammates," Lloyd wrote on Instagram.

"After not getting selected for Tokyo, I was determined to do everything to not let that happen again - and I thought I did. Elite sport can be cruel and not everyone gets their fairytale ending.

"I'm taking a break from social media to put my energy into supporting my team in the lead up to Paris and to protect my headspace.

"I have dreamed of the Olympics for as long as I can remember and I need to figure out who I am without that and what to dream of now.

"It's been a huge honour representing Great Britain but, at least for now, my 7s chapter comes to a close.

"Thank you to everybody who has been a part of it - teammates, support staff, opponents and everybody who makes the World Series spin. It's been a pleasure."

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Scotland's summer tour is something of a banana skin, according to former national team prop Peter Wright.

Gregor Townsend's side face Canada, USA, Chile and Uruguay, and will be expected to win all four Test matches.

"This is almost a no-win tour for them because the four teams they are playing against are way down the world ranking and they should beat them," Wright told Sportsound..

"Uruguay and Chile will see Scotland as a real scalp. It's a tough tour. It will be really exciting for some of the younger players though.

"For the likes of Sione Tuipulotu, it's been a really long, hard season with very little rest. Still, you always want to play for your country and it will be an exciting summer."

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Try scorer Blair Kinghorn celebrated a double-winning start to his first season in France as Toulouse thrashed Bordeaux Begles 59-3 in the Top 14 final.

The Scotland star recorded the sixth of nine tries, and two conversions as the European Champions Cup winners ran riot in the second half at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille.

Thomas Ramos and Antoine Dupont both claimed a brace, along with further tries from Peato Mauvaka, Julien Marchand, David Ainuu and Ange Capuozzo.

Two further conversions from Ramos, along with two penalties from his boot, completed the rout with Maxime Lucu's 10th minute penalty the only glimmer of resistance from Bordeaux.

Kinghorn, signed from Edinburgh in December, put the finishing touches to an excellent break through the Bordeaux lines with ten minutes remaining to put himself on the scoresheet for the second week running.

He then turned home the conversion from his try, before wrapping the scoring up with a final effort to complete the rout..

It marked a showstopping end to Kinghorn's first season in France, winning 14 out of 14 matches played for the champions.

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Edinburgh utility back Matt Currie has been named as one of the URC breakout stars of the season.

The 23-year-old started in all 16 games he played for Sean Everitt's side.

With 119 tackles and an 85% success rate, Currie established himself as a dependable defensive asset.

Currie also showed his attacking ability by making 101 carries for 394 metres despite Edinburgh's practical approach. Everitt's men scored 47 tries, ranking them 12th of the 18 teams.

Uncapped Currie is set for a Scotland debut this season having been named in the squad for the tour of the Americas.

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Scottish second row Callum Hunter-Hill has joined English Premiership champions Northampton Saints from Saracens.

Hunter-Hill, 27, played 81 games and won the Premiership and Championship during his five-year Saracens spell after leave Edinburgh.

The former Under-20 international joins fellow Scots Rory Hutchinson and Robbie Smith at Northampton.

"When the opportunity to join Saints came, I looked at the team and it just seems like a fantastic place to be," Hunter-Hill told club media, external.

"They are a club on the up and have obviously just won the Premiership.

"I love the brand of rugby Saints play. It is very open and very quick. Even the defensive systems suit me as a player, it just makes me excited.

"Hopefully I can get in there and get some game-time, but it is a really talented group and Saints didn’t win the competition for no reason."

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Edinburgh winger Ross McCann has been called up for Scotland's tour of the Americas this summer.

The 26-year-old will fly out with the squad this weekend for games against Canada, USA, Chile and Uruguay.

McCann joins the national set-up from GB Sevens after recently featuring at the Monaco repechage where a 14-5 defeat by South Africa in the final ended hopes of qualification for this summer's Paris Olympics.

Uncapped McCann - who made his Edinburgh debut last October and has signed a two-year deal to join on a permanent basis this summer - is the club's 12th player to be called up for the tour.

The games against Chile (20 July) and Uruguay (27 July) will be shown live on BBC Scotland. Gregor Townsend's men begin the tour against Canada on 6 July and face the USA six days later.

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Sevens stalwarts Jamie Farndale and Robbie Fergusson are to retire after more than 560 games for Scotland and Great Britain between them.

Farndale made his debut in 2015 and Fergusson first featured two years later.

They have amassed just shy of 1,300 points between them and will bid farewell to the sport after Great Britain Sevens failed to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Both Farndale and Fergusson have captained Scotland's sevens team and appeared at two Commonwealth Games. They would also have each featured at consecutive Rugby World Cup Sevens had Fergusson not missed the 2022 tournament for the birth of his second child.

On his sterling career, Farndale said: "There are so many moments that will live with me forever.

"In terms of a highlight, it is hard to look past becoming the first and only Scottish team to beat the All Blacks on the way to beating England in their own back yard to lift the [World Rugby Sevens Series] trophy at Twickenham in 2017. That day was so incredibly special!”

Fergusson added: "Off-field the memories and friendships I have made will last a lifetime.

"On-field, making the Olympic squad for 2020 is a career highlight and more recently, beating Australia in Singapore to keep Great Britain on the World SVNS Series circuit was very special."

Ciaran Beattie, under whom both Fergusson and Farndale captained Scotland, paid tribute to the pair, saying: "It’s been a privilege to see Robbie and Jamie grow into the players and people that they have.

"They’re exceptional human beings, have always helped others coming through and they represented Scotland with distinction."

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Having returned home from Pretoria with the URC trophy in hand, Glasgow Warriors have been enjoying the celebrations with their fans.

A 4,500-strong crowd turned out at Scotstoun on Tuesday night to welcome home their champions and some of the players spoke to BBC Scotland's Rugby Podcast about how much it means to them.

Matt Fagerson: "I've been here nine years, you see the murals on the wall of the 2015 season and to be part of that legacy is priceless."

Richie Gray: "I grew up playing with wee Duncan Weir and then the Fagersons [Matt and Zander] came a wee bit later but I know them well and all the new guys, Sione [Tuipulotu], Jack Dempsey, Josh McKay, they've all just bought into what it's all about and it's been great.

"Doing it with your pals, doing it at your hometown club, doesn't get better than that."

Duncan Weir: "The boys' physical effort over the last three weeks in these play-offs, how we've had a real controlling performance as well has been great.

"The pack have been ferocious and so physical, credit goes to them. I don't know another tight-head in world rugby that could go three 80-minute performances in play-off games and then play as well as he did in the final 10 minutes than Zander [Fagerson]."

Sione Tuipulotu: "I just thought we needed to buck the trend of Scottish teams failing at the last hurdle and that's probably what I'm most proud of - we had to do it the hard way.

"Thomond [Park] away, Loftus away and every week there was different guys putting their hand up. I'm proud we could buck the trend and this group gets to share that special thing."

George Horne: "I don't think anyone really gave us a chance. It was just an unbelievable three weeks in terms of the performances the boys put in and the belief in the squad. We're still over the moon and shocked."

Managing director and former captain Al Kellock: "It doesn't just happen in 80 minutes. It happens over the whole season, it happens for years before that.

"There's so many people connected to it, a huge effort went in and then the boys delivered unbelievably well and in a very difficult place to go and win."

On this week's BBC Scotland Rugby podcast, host Andy Burke joins United Rugby Championship winners Glasgow Warriors at their homecoming event and hears from players, fans and head coach Franco Smith.

Click here to listen.

Edinburgh hooker Patrick Harrison explains he almost missed his Scotland call-up for the summer tour.

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Edinburgh hooker Patrick Harrison has revealed he initially rejected the phone call regarding his "surreal" Scotland call-up as he did not recognise head coach Gregor Townsend's number.

The 22-year-old will fly out this weekend for a tour that will include matches against Canada, the United States, Uruguay and Chile.

"We're on the way back from training," he explained. "It was actually Gregor who phoned me and it was an unknown number. I didn't see who it was. I didn't answer it.

"And then when I saw his face in the profile pic, I said, 'I better phone that number back'."

Harrison was playing for Peebles five years ago and had to pinch himself when he was called up.

"Yeah, pretty, pretty surreal to be fair to think about that," he said. "I've been at Edinburgh for four years coming up. That's been a fair bit of of work in the last four years.

"It’s always a goal growing up in Scotland to play for Scotland. It was never really in the back of my mind. It was a bit of a surprise."

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Glasgow Warriors paraded the URC trophy in front a packed Scotstoun on Tuesday after their superb league triumph in Pretoria.

Franco Smith's side beat Bulls 21-16 in the final on Saturday, having beaten previous winners Stormers and Munster to get there.

This was the first chance for Glasgow fans to celebrate with the players since they returned to Scotland, and they did so in style, with the event sold out.

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