Scottish Rugby

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Johnny Matthews says fellow hooker George Turner is "one in a million" and will be "sorely missed" at Glasgow Warriors.

Turner, who played his 100th game for Glasgow in the URC quarter-final win over Stormers on Saturday, is leaving the club this summer to reunite with former head coach Dave Rennie at Japanese side Kobe Steelers.

"On a personal point of view, I'm quite disappointed he's leaving," said Matthews.

"But there were a lot of positive words spoken about George in that changing room and every one of them was spot on.

"He's a brilliant character, he's one in a million. There's no one quite like him. As a competitor, sharing a position, he's brilliant for me.

"He'll be sorely missed and I'm sure all the Scotstoun fans will say the same. He's been brilliant in the shirt."

Another Warriors hooker, Gregor Hiddleston, has had a breakthrough season this year under Franco Smith, signing his first professional contract.

Hiddleston has been linked with a Scotland call-up for the summer to the Americas – Gregor Townsend announces his squad today - and Matthews thinks "he'll kick on and do great things".

"Gregor's been fantastic and showed a real maturity," he added.

"He's come through Stirling and the stewardship of Sean Kennedy. He's brilliant and I think he'll kick on and go onto do great things for Warriors and Scotland."

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The latest edition of the BBC Scotland Rugby podcast is now available here.

Fraser Brown discusses Glasgow Warriors' United Rugby Championship semi-final away to Munster.

Eve McTiernan
BBC Sport Scotland

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Having confirmed his move to Kobe Steelers, there is now a question mark next to George Turner's name in terms of his international career.

While there isn't anything stopping the 31-year-old from continuing playing for Scotland, the Japan Rugby League One schedule directly clashes with the Six Nations, which puts the hooker in doubt.

Having been a regular for many years, will head coach Gregor Townsend look to replace Turner?

With Stuart McInally retiring last summer, Fraser Brown following suit this year and Dave Cherry being out of the national set-up since the 2023 Rugby World Cup, Scotland have a shortage of hookers.

Edinburgh's Ewan Ashman has been hot on Turner's heels to fill the jersey and it could make sense for Glasgow Warriors' Johnny Matthews, the URC's top try scorer, to step up as well.

Outside of those two, however, Scotland don't have any other established hookers to call upon.

Gregor Hiddleston has had a breakthrough season at Glasgow but is yet to receive the call from Townsend. Fellow Warriors hooker Angus Fraser seems to have fallen out of favour.

Edinburgh's Patrick Harrison has had some strong performances this season, scoring in round 12 of the URC against Stormers. Could he receive a Scotland invite?

The summer tour is known for blooding young, up-and-coming players, so it wouldn't be a total surprise to see him included.

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Scotland scrum-half Jenny Maxwell has announced she will leave Loughborough Lightning after seven seasons at the club.

Maxwell first joined in 2017 has had a "tough" last two season through various injuries.

Maxwell took to Instagram, external to thank her teammates and the club.

"To the best team mates, staff and supporters, both past and present - thanks for the memories," she said.

"The last couple have been so tough, but I finished the season on the pitch with my faves.

"Excited for a new challenge."

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Former Scotland international Megan Gaffney has been appointed new director of rugby of Heriot's women's team.

With experience from playing rugby internationally in both sevens and XVs, including the Rugby World Cup in 2021, Gaffney will manage the development of the Heriot's rugby women programme and related pathways.

While recovering from shoulder surgery, Gaffney has taken on various other opportunities, even being selected to be Scotland's representative at the launch of the first British and Irish Lions women's tour.

Speaking to club media, Gaffney said: “When playing for the national squad we talked a lot about inspiring the next generation, and I've always wanted to push the women’s game forward for those players coming after me.

“While you are playing at the top level you are the face of the game, but you don't have much time to do much else. Now I can put the time and effort into building those pathways for other players."

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Glasgow Warriors and URC top try scorer Johnny Matthews believes his side "need to go up another level" when they travel to Limerick to take on Munster.

Warriors have already faced the Irish side this season and suffered a 40-29 defeat.

But Matthews thinks Glasgow are "in a great spot" this time around after Saturday's 27-10 win over Stormers.

"A few things didn't go our way last game against Munster, but a lot did," he said. "So rely on those positives and try and fix up the ones that maybe didn't go so well.

"Now from Saturday we're in a great spot physically, we've put on a great performance. We need to go up another level there.

"From my point of view, Munster are a fantastic team. I've got a lot of admiration for what they did last season."

Munster are currently on a 10-game winning streak, but Matthews isn't too fazed by this after a strong season from his side.

"Similar to ourselves, they very, very strong at home," he adds.

"We went over there last season and did the business, so we need to try and replicate that performance and build on it as well."

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After rumours swirled for weeks, it is finally confirmed that George Turner is leaving Glasgow Warriors for Japan.

The 31-year-old Scotland international will team up with his former Warriors coach Dave Rennie.

"I couldn't miss this amazing opportunity to live and play in Japan," Turner said.

"I have always wanted to play in Japan since the Rugby World Cup in 2019.

"The Kobe Steelers are a great team and I want to contribute to their success. This is a great adventure not only for me but also for my family, who I'm sure will gain a lot from this experience.

"Rugby in Japan is very exciting and I'm looking forward to the challenge."

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Glasgow defence coach Pete Murchie played down the rivalry between his Warriors side and Munster before Saturday's United Rugby Championship semi-final.

The two clubs have been fiercely competitive in their matches over the years, with tensions rising on more than one occasion.

"It was my era, but it was mainly Ryan [Wilson] who was the protagonist," Murchie admitted. "These things come and go with sets of players retiring and whatnot.

"You're actually looking at quite a long time ago now since there was that particular needle. It's a big game in its own right, forgetting whatever's happened in the past. It's a new set of players, they're not thinking about those things that may or may not have gone on."

Last season, the clubs met in the URC quarter-finals at Scotstoun with Munster triumphing despite the Warriors going in as favourites.

"It was another really close game and we know what ended up happening with [Munster] and the run they went on, winning three games away from home on their way to winning the title.

"You have to take your hats off to them. We moved on and we had a final after that as well, which we had to concentrate on. It'll be a different game."

Glasgow go in confident after a superb performance in the wind and rain to edge past the Stormers last weekend.

"It was tight, it was a classic knockout game," added Murchie. "It was really good to come out on the right side of it, and in that last 10 minutes we managed to start breaking them down and start getting rewards on the scoreboard that maybe we didn't get throughout the game. It was pretty nip and tuck the whole game."

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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Glasgow defence coach Pete Murchie has been speaking to the media after the Warriors' URC quarter-final victory over the Stormers.

Here are the key points:

• He says the quarter-final win over Stormers was a "classic knock-out game" they "came out on the right side" of.

• Was really proud of Glasgow's "effort" given the conditions and amount of kick-chases and tackles.

• Murchie thinks the "needle" between Glasgow and Munster has perhaps gone as players involved in past tense encounters have now retired, namely Ryan Wilson.

• He insists the Warriors have moved on from last season's quarter-final defeat to Munster and says this is "a different game".

• Hopes there will be a "huge representation" of Glasgow players in Scotland's summer tour squad, which is set to be named on Wednesday.

We asked for your thoughts after Glasgow Warriors saw off Stormers to progress to the semi-finals of the URC, where they will take on Munster.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Stuart: After this display there is belief, Munster were no better than Warriors today. Closing down the Stormers worked well, they had really no space. Played as a team in coordination this week. More of the same next week.

Sten: Well done to Glasgow on getting on the right side of the ref and taking the win against an out of sorts Stormers. John Dobson isn't the coach required at Stormers.

Frank: I thought Tom Jordan had probably his best game ever for Glasgow and was surprised he was not mentioned by John Barclay for player of the match. George Horne’s kicking was indeed excellent but his missed opportunity early on was unforgivable. When we are close to the line and all forwards was to score, they need to vary it more. Hence Venter was just lucky.

Anon: Best defensive performance of the season against the Stormers. The Fagersons, Jack Dempsey and Scott Cummings all had good, aggressive games. Will be disappointed missing out on two tries. Horne’s kicking really was the difference for most of the game. Munster next week will be a real test, need to back this up again.

Kenny: In my opinion, the referee at last night's Glasgow game was excellent. He was clear, decisive and consistent.

Listen as Peter Wright and Chris Paterson join Andy Burke in analysing Glasgow Warriors' United Rugby Championship quarter-final victory over Stormers.

Listen and subscribe here.

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Former Scotland prop Peter Wright thought Glasgow were 'solid' but not 'outstanding' in the 27-10 win over Stormers which saw the Warriors progress to the URC semi-finals.

Just a point ahead with 10 minutes to go, Franco Smith's side kicked on to score two tries and put themselves out of sight of their South African opponents.

"It was a solid performance from Glasgow - not outstanding," Wright said on Sportsound. "Stormers weren't great but Glasgow's defence was outstanding, and had maybe one of their best defensive performances.

"Stormers weren't in the Glasgow 22m very often, and Glasgow forced errors and mistakes from a very good Stormers team, who will be disappointed as they've not fired too many shots.

"It was a cagey game for a long time but Glasgow come out well-deserved victors.

"They were really disappointed to lose against Munster last year, so they've got a chance to turn the tables next week. It's a winnable game. Munster are a good side, but they're beatable and Glasgow will want revenge. They've got a massive history, they hate each other.

"When Glasgow were winning well and consistently, they played how they did tonight. They were efficient, they played quality rugby, defensively they were strong.

"Set-piece was good, scrum was excellent, line-out was generally quite good. At the end, they showed their line-out power. All 23 players contributed to the victory. George Horne was outstanding, Zander Fagerson not far behind him."

What a game that was. Bucketing rain, howling wind, and one of Glasgow's best performances of the season.

What did you make of the game? Who stood out for you? And how do you rate Glasgow's chances against Munster next week?

Let us know your thoughts here., external

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Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith told BBC Scotland: "Really proud. We've talked all week about an 80-minute performance, applying ourselves the whole game to the best of our ability. There was some really intense commitment from the players tonight.

"The South African teams have added [physicality] to the competition and they can bully you physically, which makes it hard. That was one of the big work ons and the boys fronted up nicely.

"We smashed our windows of opportunity. I'm excited we converted those points and the way we controlled the game towards the end, from a discipline perspective, was very exciting.

"[George Horne] played really well tonight. We gave him a good platform to play from. He's a competitor, and I'm really proud of him. That's why we kept him on there for 80 minutes - to finish in the style he started.

"The less we think about what's happened [in the past], the better it will be. This is a new challenge, a different pitch to play on. They'll be waiting for us with a few plans, so this week we will come up with our strategy and take the game to them."

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Despite Finn Russell's best efforts, 14-man Bath fell short as Northampton Saints claimed their first Premiership title in 10 years.

The Scotland fly-half was influential for Johan van Grann's side, kicking a conversation and a penalty - the latter of which had his team ahead before Saints' numerical advantage paid off.

Bath threatened a sensational comeback as Northampton nerves jangled, but a 25-21 victory sparked celebrations for the East Midlands outfit.

• Read the full report

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We asked how you're feeling as Glasgow get set for their URC quarter-final with South African side Stormers.

Here's some thoughts:

Stuart: Warriors will have to provide a fluid error-free display closing the Stormers down quickly.

Maine Libbock is the Stormers' marshal and he will dictate their play. Warriors have the men to threaten them, but the loss of form recently is a worry!

Richie Gray in the line out and Jack Dempsey will be influential, as well as our half- backs.

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Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith insists previous meetings against Stormers hold little significance, before their URC quarter-final on Saturday.

Smith's side won 20-9 when the South African outfit visited Glasgow earlier this season, and while Smith says that is a good memory to have, he is treating this clash as a "completely new challenge".

"It was good to have won that game," Smith said. "It is obviously better to use a victory rather than a loss against them in preparation for that game but it does not affect much in our preparation this week.

"We looked back at it a little bit as a coaching group to see what was done and how it worked but that’s not going to influence this game at all.

"This is going to be a completely new challenge because it’s a one-off match, it’s knockout rugby, it’s not going to be as liberal, I would think, as it was in the previous game."

Stormers finished fifth in the URC, one place behind Glasgow, and Smith says his side will need to perform to their best if they are to reach the semi-finals.

"They had a rough start and they dropped some games which they were used to winning but they are still the finalists of last year and the team that won it the year before," the South African coach said.

"They’ve still got the same players there, the same quality. They’ve got a lot of Springboks across the board, their coaching team has been with them for a while, so they have good continuity.

"They’ve got a solid platform so it’s going to be a tough ask to come out on top."

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Munster ground their way into the United Rugby Championship semi-finals with a workmanlike victory over Ospreys.

Simon Zebo and Niall Scannell scored first-half tries before the boot of Jack Crowley sealed victory for the defending champions at Thomond Park.

Ospreys were briefly on level terms after Keelan Giles' early try but could not make the most of their scrum dominance.

Munster will host a semi-final on 15 June against either Glasgow Warriors or Stormers, who meet on Saturday night, for a place in the Grand Final.

The teams are announced and the stage is set. It's all eyes on Scotstoun this Saturday night as Glasgow Warriors face Stormers in the URC quarter-finals.

Are you happy with the line-up named by Franco Smith and feeling confident for the visit of the South Africans?

Who will be the key men for Glasgow? And where might the big game be won and lost?

Send us your thoughts here., external