Scottish Rugby

Eve McTiernan
BBC Sport Scotland

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Franco Smith says his Glasgow Warriors players are "calm" and ready to deliver on the big occasion when they face Stormers for a place in the URC semis.

Smith's side have a flawless home record in the URC this season but struggled past Zebre at Scotstoun last weekend after successive away losses to the Bulls and Lions.

Now they face another dangerous South African outfit on Saturday and head coach Smith said: "I'm excited. It's not the first time I've come to the finals, so I know what the feeling is about.

"I think we've prepared well, the players are calm and clear in what needs to be done. I'm looking forward to seeing them act on what they believe they can get right.

"The focus from the start this week was really good. It was special this week. You can see that the players are aligned and they are eager to go out there and express themselves.

"We had a good week of training. I will not be able to say that it was the lack of training and preparation that didn't get it done [last week]. I'm excited to see how they're going to perform on Saturday night."

After a disappointing home quarter-final defeat defeat to Munster last year, Smith feels Glasgow aren't going to be "the architects of our own demise" again.

"If we're going to be over-eager we might let ourselves down in certain areas," he added.

"The message this week was all about the lessons learned and what we need to concentrate on to make sure we leave the best product out in the field that can lead to a win.

"It was all about acting on the process and not concentrating easily on the emotional part of it."

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The URC quarter-final between Glasgow Warriors and Stormers has been lauded by former Scotland flanker John Barclay as the tie of the round.

It's fourth meets fifth as the South African side travel to Scotstoun in the last of the weekend's play-off matches.

Glasgow, the league leaders just a few weeks prior, fell down the standings after suffering back-to-back losses in South Africa while the Stormers, last year's runners-up, have won four in a row.

"I think it’s the tie of the round and probably the tightest one to call,” said Barclay, who will be commentating on the game for Premier Sports.

"Glasgow’s form has arguably dipped a little bit whereas the Stormers seem to be hitting their straps at the right time, as they always seem to do under John Dobson.

"Glasgow were first or second in the table for pretty much the whole season and they were there for a reason. I thought they were going to have home advantage all the way through the play-offs. It feels like a huge opportunity missed and they face a harder challenge now.

"They have got to hit their straps this weekend because I think the Stormers will come to play and hit their best game. It could be a tough day."

Barclays, 37, rates Stormers as the most dangerous team outwith the top four.

"At times this season, they’ve been a little bit careless and sloppy with the ball," he added.

“But of all the teams below the top four, they are the most capable of upsetting the quarter-final draw if they get it right, with the players they have, the style of rugby they play, their handling, their power and physicality.

“So that’s the hardest one to call. But I still think the Glasgow lads have got it in them to iron out the creases in their game.”

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Stormers must do without influential South Africa flanker Evan Roos in the URC quarter-final against Glasgow, although full-back Warrick Gelant returns.

Roos, 24, misses out at Scotstoun on Saturday night with a concussion suffered during training, while Gelant is restored having been rested for last week's win over the Lions.

Only five players - fly-half Manie Libbok, scrum-half Herschel Jantjies, locks Ruben van Heerden and Jason Dixon and loose forward Hacjivah Dayimani - retain their place in the team from that victory.

Stormers ended the regular season by winning six of their final seven games to finish fifth, one place behind Glasgow.

Director of rugby John Dobson said: "We know it will take a top performance to stay alive in this competition and that is a challenge we have embraced.

"We will have to do it without a number of our frontline players due to injuries, but it is a testament to the depth we have built and the quality of our squad that there is plenty of belief.

"Despite having almost a full team ruled out, we have built up some good momentum heading into the play-offs."

Stormers: Gelant, Hartzenberg, D du Plessis, Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Loader, Libbok, Jantjies; Harris, Dweba, Malherbe, Moerat (C), van Heerden, Engelbrecht, Dixon, Dayimani.

Replacements: Venter, Sithole, Fouche, Smith, Theunissen, Evans, de Wet, J du Plessis.

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Glasgow skipper Kyle Steyn returns from a brief injury to start against Stormers in Saturday night's URC quarter-final at Scotstoun.

The Scotland wing is favoured over Facundo Cordero in one of five changes from last weekend's scrappy win over Zebre.

Scott Cummings comes in at the expense of Max Williamson to start alongside Richie Gray in the second row while Josh McKay replaces Kyle Rowe at full-back.

Behind the scrum, George Horne and Tom Jordan are the preferred half-back pairing as Jamie Dobie takes a place on the bench and Duncan Weir drops out of the squad.

It's an unchanged pack as Jamie Bhatti and Zander Fagerson pack down either side of Johnny Matthews.

Hooker George Turner will make his 100th appearance for the club if he is called upon from the bench.

Glasgow finished fourth in the regular season - six points above the Stormers in fifth - having won all nine home matches.

Glasgow: McKay, Cancelliere, Jones, Tuipulotu, Steyn (C), Jordan, Horne; Bhatti, Matthews, Z Fagerson, Cummings, Gray, M Fagerson, Darge, Dempsey.

Replacements: Turner, McBeth, Kebble, Williamson, Ferrie, Venter, Dobie, Thompson.

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Scotland full-back Shona Campbell has been named captain of the GB women's sevens team for the Rugby Europe Championship first leg in Croatia this weekend.

Campbell was first called up to the Sevens squad in 2021 and skippers the side which also includes fellow Scotland team-mates Lisa Thomson and Rhona Lloyd.

The 23-year-old played a crucial role in helping GB qualify for the upcoming Olympics with gold at the European Games in Krakow in June 2023.

GB Sevens women take on Portugal, Italy and Poland in Pool C of the tournament, while the men's team face Belgium, Lithuania and Spain in Pool B.

The second leg takes place at the end of the month in Hamburg, Germany.

Eve McTiernan
BBC Sport Scotland

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Home advantage could be key for Glasgow Warriors as they look to prolong their season by making the URC semi-finals at the Stormers’ expense on Saturday night.

While the dangerous South African outfit won the sides’ first meeting – a resounding 32-7 victory in Cape Town in April 2022 – they have left empty-handed in their only two previous visits to Scotstoun.

Glasgow snatched a dramatic 24-17 home win in January last year and came tearing out of the traps in this season’s encounter to triumph 20-9 in November.

Franco Smith's Warriors have made Scotstoun quite the fortress this season, finishing the regular URC campaign with nine wins from nine to stand proud as the only side not to suffer a home defeat.

While Glasgow finished fourth in the table, their 41-point home haul was the highest in the division, a point more than Leinster and Bulls.

Warriors' only home loss in all competitions came against Northampton in the Champions Cup.

Despite their proud record, though, Smith's men made hard work of beating bottom-of-the-table Zebre at home last weekend and were trailing 12-16 at half-time, something the hosts cannot afford to do on Saturday.

The Stormers clearly present a formidable obstacle for Glasgow to overcome. Since entering the league in 2022, the South African side have performed admirably in the play-offs, marking their debut season with title success and then finishing as runners-up to Munster in 2023.

Saturday’s showdown has the makings of a cracker.

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Scotland fly-half Helen Nelson says Loughborough Lightning "is an environment that celebrates you representing your country" after signing a new contract.

Nelson has made 56 appearances for the PWR club since joining in the 2019-20 season.

“Playing for Scotland is something I am really passionate about,” said the 30-year-old. "If it didn’t work moving so seamlessly between Scotland and Loughborough it would be a little tricky.

"Moving from both teams regular is quite tough, not just on me, but also the girls that stay at Lightning.

“Everyone is so supportive though and they always celebrate our successes and pick us up when we need it. Loughborough is an environment that celebrates you representing your country, which is brilliant.

“It’s already my fifth season, which feels crazy, and I’m loving it. The set-up is world class and it is also a great group of girls."

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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It's been an eventful few months for Huw Jones. There were rumours he was off to France, before signing a new contract with Glasgow.

He then had surgery on a hand injury, before becoming a father for the first time.

"It's been a big adjustment," the Scotland star said as he prepares for Saturday's URC quarter-final agains the Stormers.

"The first couple of weeks, with my hand in the cast, I was pretty useless. I was on the sidelines at home as well as here.

"It's been good to be more hands-on [with baby Romy] recently. It's amazing, really enjoying it. She was at the Zebre game, so it was nice to have my biggest supporter here for the first time."

Thankfully for Jones, his partner Annabel and Glasgow fans, the 30-year-old centre is back fit for the play-offs after making his comeback in last weekend's narrow win over Zebre.

"[The injury] was in the last game of the Six Nations, and you always look forward to coming back to your club, getting into the business end of the season, playing European games - which I missed out on.

"It was pretty frustrating but it's rehabbed pretty well and I've managed to get back to play some rugby.

"[Zebre] probably wasn't our best performance. We made it pretty difficult for ourselves, mostly with inaccuracy. We're happy that we got the job done, but it wasn't ideal from a performance point of view."

There has been some concern of Glasgow's perceived loss of form heading into the play-offs, although head coach Franco Smith said he was happy for pundits to write his side off.

"Franco is ever the spin doctor," Jones laughed. "We don't need to worry about that. There'll be a lot of external noise around this time of the season.

"We've just got to stick to what we do, stick with our processes that we've been doing from the beginning of the season that have got us into the good position for the play-offs."

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Scottish Rugby’s Super 6 club series has been scrapped earlier than planned.

The competition – comprising Ayrshire Bulls, Boroughmuir Bears, Heriot's, Southern Knights, Stirling Wolves and Watsonians - was due to end in November.

But Scottish Rugby have now said the autumn Super Series Championship schedule will not be played, meaning the competition will conclude this weekend with the final round of Super Series Sprint fixtures.

The Super 6 series has been a halfway house between the national league and the two URC clubs for the past five years.

Confirmation of its early demise came as Scottish Rugby announced the Premiership and National league fixtures for the 2024-25 season.

The men's Premiership starts on 31 August with a repeat of the Scottish Cup final as Edinburgh Academical host Hawick. Champions Currie Chieftains begin their title defence against Ayr.

The women's Premiership gets under way on 24, with defending champions Stirling County travelling to Heriot's.

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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Oli Kebble admits he's sad to be leaving Glasgow this summer after seven years at the club and is targeting the perfect send-off of URC glory.

The Scotland prop is one of six departures from Scotstoun in the summer, having recently made his 100th Warriors appearance.

"I'm pretty sad I'm leaving, but I think I've had a great stint here," Kebble said. "All good things have come to an end. It's not really a reality yet, we've got three big weeks to go, so I haven't thought about it much.

"The awards dinner on Saturday was the first time I've thought about it properly. It's quite sad, but if you stay too long you become a villain, so I'm glad I'm leaving a hero!"

Joining in 2017, the former South Africa Under-20s star went on to play for his adopted country and was part of the Glasgow sides that lost in the Pro14 final in 2019 and the Challenge Cup showpiece last season.

The 31-year-old must now face his former side, the Stormers, on Saturday for a place in the URC semi-finals, before making a call on his future - although he remains tight-lipped.

"I've got a decision to make this week, it sounds like. That's all I can say right now."

Reflecting on his highlights, Kebble said: "Making the [2019] final at Celtic Park was really special.

"Being a really competitive side every year, we've done well every year even if we haven't won anything. To top it off this season with a trophy would be lovely and a good way to end it.

"The guys who did experience that [final] will have a little extra knowledge when it comes to finals rugby. For us, we're completely a different team. We just need to focus on being the best we can be for ourselves and when it comes to those big moments hopefully we can be a little bit luckier."

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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Edinburgh's season may have come to an end, and many might argue they've underperformed. However, there was some standout individual performances which Opta stats have highlighted.

In the URC's regular season, no player beat more defenders per 80 minutes than the blond bombshell himself - Duhan van der Merwe.

The Scotland flyer beat six players per game on average, with Glasgow's Kyle Steyn in second place with 5.5 defenders beaten per 80 minutes.

Josh McKay was the only other Scottish-based player in the top 10, with the Warriors full-back eighth on 4.1. Just a few more years until he qualifies for Scotland...

It wasn't just the backs that impressed. Edinburgh's former Scotland captain Jamie Ritchie won more jackal turnovers than any other players (19), while he also slowed down or disrupted a further nine opposition rucks.

That made his defensive ruck effectiveness rating a league-high 34%. No, us neither. But we do know it means he was a nuisance at the breakdown and a key defensive asset.

Ahead of the Premiership semi-finals in England, it was revealed Finn Russell has made 14 line break assists - more than any other player in the league. Just Finn Russell doing Finn Russell things, eh?

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Edinburgh winger Jake Henry has signed a two-year contract extension and will spend next season on loan at English Championship side Coventry.

The 23-year-old, who has been blighted by injuries in recent years, marked his debut in March with a try against the Stormers in Cape Town and has made a further four appearances for Sean Everitt's side.

Henry told the Edinburgh website: "I’m really happy to be staying. Being involved at the end of this season has given me huge confidences in myself and my body after a tough start to the year.

“I’m also excited to head down to Coventry. I’ve only heard good things from the boys that have been there before so looking forward to it.”

Glasgow Warriors hooker Johnny Matthews chats to BBC Scotland's Andy Burke and Tom English as he prepares for the URC quarter-final against the Stormers on Saturday.

Listen to the full interview on the BBC Scotland Rugby Podcast

Tom English and Andy Burke dissect Edinburgh's failure to make the play-offs and chat with Glasgow Warriors hooker Johnny Matthews about his side's upcoming URC quarter-final against the Stormers.

It's all on the BBC Scotland Rugby Podcast - listen and subscribe here.

Grant Young
Glasgow fan columnist

It was a lacklustre Glasgow who limped past Zebre to remain on course for an unbeaten home season - a streak now lasting 24 games.

A quick start to the second half followed a torrid first-half performance from Glasgow, who needed five points and big winning margin to threaten Leinster, who sat one place above them in the table.

Yet it was Zebre who looked the better side that had something still to play for.

The Warriors were one of the top defensive sides this season, but they've now conceded over 100 points in the past three games - something the coaching staff will no doubt be looking to rectify as we head into the play-offs.

The Scottish/Italian Shield may have been retained, but the Kyle Steyn-less side looked leaderless at times and without hard-hitting lines from Rory Darge and Jack Dempsey, they may have ended up on the wrong side of the scoreline.

In the end, a big final 20 minutes was the difference, which is testament to the Warriors' fitness as we continue to see this strong finish in matches week after week.

We are into knockout rugby - win or bust - and it's the Stormers who will be returning to Scotstoun to seek revenge for their 20-9 defeat here earlier in the season.

Glasgow will be hoping captain Steyn can return to the squad and perhaps the ever-present Stafford McDowall will add to his sparkling highlights in midfield.

It was also noticeable that Glasgow changed to a 4-3 split on the bench. Head coach Franco Smith had been consistent with his 5-2 split and encouraging his team to go to the corner from penalties. Will we see a change now that it's knockout rugby?

Sandy Smith
Edinburgh fan columnist

As Mark Bennett’s kick hit the post, denying Edinburgh a try at the death of the game against Benetton, it felt like that was our entire campaign distilled into one single moment.

We needed to see the level of intensity the team had shown against Munster but it seemed like Wes Goosen had taken it all with him and, in his absence, it was potentially the worst we had played all season.

In the wake of such ignominious defeat, and failure to make the play-offs, the knives have been pointed in Edinburgh’s direction and almost all of the attackers have referenced the lack of bonus points as being the main problem.

To me that is a symptom of a much wider malaise that I'd call 'coherent attack strategy flu' and occasionally, but regularly porous, 'defence anxiety'.

Some will point to a disjointed start to the season but it has been nine long months and to my untrained eye there has been no improvement in that area whatsoever.

Defensively we can appear solid but too often, and when you least expect it, a hole will open and someone will run through it and score from 40 yards. See Geronimo Prisciantelli’s try for Zebre in our recent game as an example.

There have also been calls for Sean Everitt to go. That won’t happen unless he falls on his sword and I can’t see that happening either. He’ll get another go but this time there are no excuses.

Significant progress beyond a couple of meaningless bottom eight places in the league will be required and with the tough start we’ve been handed next season, it’s already starting to look like a last chance saloon.

• You can read more of Sandy's work at his blog The Burgh Watch., external

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Stuart Hogg could make a sensational return to professional rugby next season by joining French Top 14 side Montpellier, according to reports in Midi Olympique, external and The Telegraph, external.

The former Scotland captain, 31, retired in July last year after initially aiming to quit following the World Cup in the autumn.

At the time, he said: "I fought with everything I had to make the Rugby World Cup, but this time my body has not been able to do the things I wanted and needed it to do."

"It's hard to put into words just how much of an impact the game has had on my life. I will be retiring knowing that I have given my body and heart to rugby. I will be forever grateful to this amazing community and cannot wait to begin my journey as a proud supporter of the team."

Earlier this month, Hogg pleaded not guilty to a domestic charge of acting in an abusive manner towards his estranged wife. He has been ordered to stay away from his estranged wife and her home in Hawick ahead of his upcoming trial.

Not guilty pleas were also entered into causing fear and alarm during a disturbance in February, and Hogg will return to court on 15 July for an intermediate hearing ahead of his trial on 30 July.

Hogg had also been linked with a move to Premiership side Newcastle Falcons although that has since been rubbished by director of rugby Steve Diamond.

Instead, it appears he could make the move to France as a 'medical joker' after full-back Anthony Bouthier suffered an ACL injury.

The former Scotland full-back, who amassed 100 caps for his country over an 11-year spell, also recently spent time in a rehabilitation clinic to "reset".

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Murrayfield will host the URC final on Saturday, 22 June - if Glasgow qualify for the showpiece as top seeds.

For that to happen, the Warriors would require Munster, Bulls and Leinster to all fall at either the quarter or semi-final stage.

The news was confirmed by URC chief executive Martin Anayi on Tuesday, who was confident the Murrayfield pitch will have recovered sufficiently from Taylor Swift's Era's Tour show, with the pop star playing three nights in Edinburgh this weekend.

“We would play at Murrayfield if they got through to the final [as the home team] ,” Anayi said.

“We spoke to Celtic Park after having a final there a few years ago between Glasgow and Leinster. They’re doing some refurbishments inside the ground so that wasn’t available. So we’ll play it at Murrayfield."

Glasgow host the Stormers at Scotstoun on Saturday and, should they win, will face either Munster away or Ospreys at home next weekend.

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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Scott Cummings insists Glasgow aren't panicking despite their shaky run of performances heading into the URC play-offs.

The Warriors topped the table a few weeks ago but two losses in South Africa, followed by a nervy win over Zebre, led to a fourth-place finish and some doubts over their credentials as URC contenders.

Franco Smith's men host the Stormers in the quarter-finals on Saturday and lock Cummings said: "We're all trying to stay positive. It's tough because it's easy to think we should change things when a couple of games go wrong, but we've had a really positive season where a lot has gone right for us.

"Not a lot of teams have gone to South Africa and won. It's a very tough thing to do. We're not panicking. We're not looking to change everything we do. We've got a way that we play and that's the way we believe is best to win. We're going to stick to that and stick to who we are."

Cummings, 27, was part of the Glasgow side that lost the 2019 Pro14 final, as well as last season's Challenge Cup final, and believes the team can harness those disappointments.

"It's a funny one because losing that [2019] final hurts a lot but it's still one of my best memories in a Glasgow shirt," he said.

"It was a horrible day, pouring rain, and it didn't quite go our way but we were so close and to see so many Glasgow fans in the stands at the Celtic Park was incredible.

"Experiences like that are massive. We also learned a lot from last year in that Challenge Cup final. We didn't fire a shot and there's a lot that you learn from those moments. We're hoping to apply things that we've learned from that in the next couple of weeks."

The Scotland second-row also heaped praise on youngsters Max Williamson and Alex Samuel, who have played at lock this season when Cummings has been absent.

"They're the perfect pairing together because Max does all that hard number four work, he's a bit heavier, a bit more size and gets to that grunt," he added.

"Big Al does more line-out stuff but he's still really good around the pitch and incredibly physical as well.

"They have stepped up this year and there's so much still to come from them. They're going to be a massive part of the squad for the years to come."

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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Assistant coach Nigel Carolan insists Glasgow's attacking identity is alive and well after a tough few weeks to end the regular URC season.

After two defeats on the road in South Africa, the Warriors squeezed past Zebre at Scotstoun in their final game before the play-offs.

"[The nerves were] pretty obvious among the players and staff," Carolan said of last Friday's narrow win.

"It was a frustrating night, both forced and unforced errors mounted up. We probably had double the turnovers that we'd normally have, or normally see as acceptable.

"Some of our good work went unrewarded and it just created a level of frustration. There was still enough good stuff there statistically - metres and tackle breaks and line breaks, we were well up there.

"In our review, it was just about managing that frustration, not letting it get to us and just be next action focused. Whatever the next action is - a set-piece or a kick transition - put our effort and our focus into that and nail that. That's how you get back your momentum."

Glasgow will need that momentum back behind them if they are to get past the tough task of Stormers at home in the quarter-finals.

"The [last few weeks have] focused our minds again. We focus on what we do well.

"We've looked at our attack stats for the season and we're top three in most of the major metrics there, which shows that our identity is alive when we play to our strengths and to our DNA. It will certainly ask questions of most teams, so it's about bringing that back to the fore again."

George Turner and Kyle Steyn are in contention to return on Saturday night - and it could be Turner's last game for Glasgow, after it was confirmed the Scotland hooker will leave at the end of the year.

"He's got a pedigree that certainly we'll miss, but in his absence we've had Johnny Matthews - the top try scorer in the URC for the regular season, which is no mean feat there either.

"We've also got Gregor Hiddleston and Angus Fraser who've been bubbling away in the background. We're developing young guys as well, so while he'll be missed, we'll still bring players through and that's our mandate. If someone leaves, we've got the next guy ready - that's what we're doing."

After a wretched performance in Treviso, Edinburgh failed to make the play-offs for the second-year running.

We asked for your thoughts after Sean Everitt's side lost 31-6 to Benetton:

Andrew: Depressingly predictable, totally dominated in all areas. A truly awful performance. When it comes to the pressure end of the competition, we fold. The attack has been consistently firing blanks whereas the top teams have gone full metal jacket. Duhan van der Merwe and Ben Healy consistently weak in defence. Ewan Ashman the only shining light on Saturday.

Simon: Not sure where Edinburgh go from here - seems to be a very repetitive story of one step forward and two steps back. Too often we lack on-field leadership. Attack looks blunt and I feel for young Mosese Tuipulotu, as some will expect him to be the solution to our midfield issues. If he isn't, then the pressure on him will be immense.

Domenic: Sadly, nothing new here. Promise big and under-deliver. Edinburgh are a soft team. Every team can beat them at home with a bonus point and most teams will look at the fixture list and see Edinburgh as an away win. So, what next? Fix it quick or lose the audience.

Ronald: Toothless, spineless, clueless, no passion, fight or pride from seasoned internationals. Not unexpected though, they deserved exactly what they got. Everitt has taken this team backwards even though the bar wasn't set very high to begin with.

James: Considering the pool of players available, this season is poor. Sean Everitt and his coaches need a hard look at themselves. There is a honeymoon period when a new management team takes over but Everitt is well past that and sadly I don't see anything that tells me they can progress from the style of rugby they are playing.