Scottish Rugby

Did you take in Edinburgh's United Rugby Championship win over Scarlets or follow from home?

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Did you watch Scotland's historic win over Italy in the Women's Six Nations?

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Glasgow Warriors captain Kyle Steyn told BBC Scotland the 21-10 win against Sharks was a "frustrating one".

Glasgow remain second in the United Rugby Championship for now just one point behind leaders Leinster.

"It's becoming a bit of a trend, you know, we start in games really well. Finding ways to score and then as teams are adapting, we're just finding it harder and harder and yeah, it was a bit of frustrating one to be honest I don't really have all the answers.

"I thought credit to our big men, we asked a lot of them in that second half to put in loads of carries. I thought they did that really well we've just got to find ways to generate quick ball once once teams manage to slow it down.

"So a work in progress. I was proud of the effort, we nearly got the bonus point there right at the end. Chuffed to bits for Oli Kibble to get his 100th appearance, albeit very short."

Scotstoun Stadium remains a fortress after Glasgow Warriors defeated Sharks 21-10.

Were you at Scotstoun, or were you following along at home? We want to hear your thoughts here.

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Former Scotland international John Barclay thinks "Glasgow can finish top two" in the United Rugby Championship despite feeling "deflated" by missing out on a bonus point in their 21-10 win over Sharks.

"Sharks should be happy with that result," he told Premier Sports. "Glasgow should feel a little bit deflated.

"Sharks are the team for me that have such potential given the squad that they have. Just the sheer size of the players they've got. They have to watch their errors in the game.

"Glasgow can finish top two. It's so important if they get the win and they get a home quarter and semi-final. That is probably why Franco [Smith] is being as tough. They want that home semi."

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Player of the match Max Williamson told Premier Sports Glasgow Warriors "will be disappointed not to get the bonus point" in their 21-10 win over Sharks.

"We didn't stick to our game plan," the 21-year-old lock said. "Our plan was to try and apply ourselves onto them.

"We got into that 50-50 battle and that's not how we wanted to play it. I think the game got away from us a little bit and it fizzled out in the second half.

"We'll be a bit disappointed that we weren't able to get a bonus point and just with our performance in the second half. I think it got a bit messy. That's not really how we wanted to play it, but we got the win, so that's good."

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Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith says his side will be "disappointed as they weren't as clinical as they thought they could be" during their 21-10 win over Sharks.

"Very happy with the win," he told BBC Scotland. "Obviously to keep on winning at Scotstoun is fantastic for us. It helps with the morale.

"We will be disappointed we weren't as clinical as I thought we can be. Which is understandable, due to the amount of line speed and defence pressure that we've received from the Sharks in the second part of the game.

"We always knew it was going to be the case. They are a good outfit, they're a quality side. Some learnings to take into next week."

Smith said he was "frustrated" not to get the bonus point as they aim to finish as high as possible in the United Rugby Championship.

"But this team is still evolving," he added. "It still needs to get a lot better if we want to compete at the business end. I prefer to take the lessons learned.

"We want to finish as high as possible, but we want to also be comfortable with the brand that we play so that we can take it into the play-offs.

"Last year, we played some good rugby, scored a lot of tries and got stuck in the quarter-final. So we know we still need to build our brand and also understanding of what we need to do in the final."

Eve McTiernan
BBC Sport Scotland

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Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt says "no team can be underestimated" in the United Rugby Championship as his side look to bolster their play-off hopes with victory over struggling Scarlets on Saturday.

The Welsh side are 14th in the table - 18 points below Edinburgh - and have yet to win away all season, picking up only three victories in 13 games.

Everitt is taking nothing for granted, though, and said: "Scarlets are going to be looking to improve on their performances.

"They got a good result at home to Benetton, who are sitting in the top eight at the moment. So no team can be underestimated in this competition.

“And the same can be said for the Sharks, who are also languishing at the bottom of the table. We went to Durban and they beat us twice, and likewise for Zebre - they’ve come close with the teams in the top eight as well.

“So we’re not looking too much into the form of Scarlets at the moment. It’s about focusing on us and improving in the areas that we need to.”

The South African says "it was always the plan" to rest Sam Skinner and Hamish Watson this weekend, with both players on the bench amid seven changes from last week's Challenge Cup loss in South Africa.

"We plan ahead and look at the number of games that the guys have played," he added.

“Sam carried the load when Grant [Gilchrist] was away, and then with Luke Crosbie and Jamie Ritchie out, Hamish carried a big load as well.

"They carried that load through the Six Nations and were part of the Six Nations squad, so deservedly they get a rest this week, and we’re able to do that because we’ve got the likes of Luke coming back from injury."

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Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt has freshened up his side with seven changes for Saturday's visit of Scarlets in the United Rugby Championship.

Five players drop out of the pack from last weekend's Challenge Cup quarter-final exit at Sharks, with Dave Cherry, Boan Venter and Javan Sebastian replacing Ewan Ashman, WP Nel and Pierre Schoeman.

Jamie Hodgson and Luke Crosbie also come into the XV as Sam Skinner and Hamish Watson are rested.

With a new contract under his belt, Ali Price starts ahead of Ben Vellacott behind the scrum. James Lang comes in for Jake Henry, who misses out due to a hamstring injury.

Edinburgh: Goosen, Currie, Bennett, Lang, van der Merwe, Healy, Price; Venter, Cherry, Sebastian, Hodgson, Gilchrist (C), Ritchie, Crosbie, Mata

Replacements: Ashman, Schoeman, Nel, Sykes, Boyle, Vellacott, Scott, Dean

Grant Young
Fan writer

The Ali Price era at Glasgow is officially over. The scrum-half's loan move to Edinburgh will become permanent in the summer.

Price was a major part of the success under Dave Rennie, but saw himself on the periphery under Franco Smith and his exit was widely anticipated.

I wrote a few weeks ago about Adam Hasting's potential return to Scotstoun. There has definitely been a mixed response to the confirmation of that deal. The Scotland 10 returns north after an injury-ravaged spell at Gloucester, but it does confirm that we have a replacement for Domingo Miotti, who left for France at the start of this season.

The 10 jersey is a much-debated topic at Scotstoun and Hastings' return can only add to the already talented Glasgow back line, provided he can remain fit.

With new beginnings there is always the goodbye. It's a shame Price will not get the send-off his Glasgow journey deserves, from the time he became Scotland’s first-choice scrum-half and then - more impressively - a Lions scrum-half.

I always enjoyed watching the Price-Hastings combination in Glasgow colours, and wish them both well moving forwards.

Eve McTiernan
BBC Sport Scotland

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Oli Kebble's 100th Glasgow Warriors appearance will be a "huge compliment" to the prop, says head coach Franco Smith.

Kebble will reach the milestone should he come off the bench against Sharks at Scotstoun on Friday night.

"I'm very happy to be involved with Oli and to have him contributing for the hundredth time," said Smith.

"He's been a stalwart and a key part of the team for such a long time. To be rewarded with his 100th cap is a huge compliment to the big man."

Smith also provided an update on Warriors' injury list, saying the only players who won't make it back this season are JP du Preez, Fraser Brown and Ollie Smith.

He added: "Richie [Gray] is not far off, the same with Sione Vailanu and Sebastian Cancelliere. Rory Darge is a temporary setback. Jamie Bhatti is in the same bracket as well.

"Huw Jones and George Turner might be slightly towards the quarter-final or just before."

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Scotland scrum-half Ali Price says it's "nice to have stability" after he signed a one-year deal to stay at Edinburgh next season.

The 30-year-old has made 12 appearances for the capital club after signing on loan from Glasgow Warriors in November, and will make the switch permanent come the summer.

"It's exciting for me," he said. "It's also nice to have some stability and know what the next 12-15 months have in store.

"So far, I've enjoyed the change and I enjoy coming through here every day. I’m looking forward to the year ahead.

"At this stage of my career, I've played a lot of rugby and for me enjoyment is a massive part of coming to work.

"I enjoy the environment and, no matter the minutes you're playing, if you go into an environment you enjoy, that's important. I've got that here, so to be coming back next season is brilliant."

There were rumours linking Price with a move to France earlier this year, and while he refused to rule out a future transfer, he fully believes he has made the right choice to extend his stay with Edinburgh.

"It depends on the situation," he added. "These moments come round every two or three years when you might be off contract and you might be looking for a new challenge or a different league.

"At this stage, with my current situation, staying here - where I'm stable and enjoying it - is the right thing to do.

"There's a brilliant squad here and a brilliant group of boys that I know well. Especially with my home situation, it just makes sense. We could be talking in a year or two years' time and the situation could be different.

"A new challenge could be a conversation for another day, but for this period of my career and where we're at as a family, this is the right one."

Eve McTiernan
BBC Sport Scotland

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Head coach Bryan Easson says Eva Donaldson is an "important change" after handing the Leicester Tigers lock her first Scotland start in Saturday's Six Nations match away to Italy.

Donaldson has nine caps and Easson said: "I felt Eva brought some real energy off the bench [in last week's defeat by England]. She’s also a good lineout option for us.

"We’ve worked pretty hard on our lineout this week and she and Louise McMillan have worked pretty well.

"She’s always brought us energy - that’s the one thing you can say about Eva. Around the pitch, away from set-piece as well, she’s defensively good. She’ll get on ball in attack, and looking at the game ahead, I think it’s an important change for us.”

Molly Wright comes in at looshead prop, replacing Leah Bartlett, and Easson added: “Molly gives us some real edge - defensive and ball-carrying dominance.

"Looking at this game, it was a really important thing for us to do - to really get into the game nice and early against a side who we know that, if we start well against, we could really squeeze them.

“But also when you look at Leah and Elliann Clarke, they both scrummage well and as the game goes we’ve got two really good scrummagers along with Elis Martin on the bench that we can really squeeze Italy in that department.”

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Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith has made to changes to the side that lost 28-24 to Harlequins last time out, as they prepare to host Sharks in the URC on Friday.

Glasgow sit second in the league table, and look well placed for a home tie in the competitions quarter-finals.

Scotland co-captain Rory Darge drops out of the matchday squad and is replaced at openside by Henco Venter. The rest of the pack is unchanged from the trip to London.

In the backs, Facundo Cordero comes in for Josh McKay, which sees Kyle Rowe switch to full-back.

Meanwhile, Oli Kebble could make his 100th appearance for the club if he comes off the bench.

Glasgow Warriors XV to face Sharks: Rowe, Steyn (capt), McDowall, Tuipulotu, Cordero, Jordan, Horne; McBeth, Matthews, Z Fagerson, Williamson, Cummings, M Fagerson, Venter, Dempsey.

Replacements: Hiddleston, Kebble, Sordoni, Manjezi, Miller, Gordon, Dobie, Thompson.

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Rory Darge says Glasgow will use the “gut punch” of their European exit to aid their push towards guaranteeing home advantage in the URC knock-outs.

The Warriors were dumped out of the Champions Cup at the quarter-final stage away to Harlequins last time out but return to URC action on Friday at home to South African side Sharks.

Glasgow sit second in the league table, with the top four sides guaranteed a home quarter-final and the top two a home semi-final should they progress.

“The reason it’s a big game is every game and every performance matters now because we’re five games out from the play-offs,” flanker Darge says.

“We are a team that can play and we have different ways we can score. But Sharks have got personnel who are world class. You’ve got to take this game as it is, they’re low down the league but have something to play for, so it’ll be a tough fixture.

“We want to achieve something as a group. We have to start building belief for [the knock-out games] now.”

On the return of Adam Hastings, Darge adds: “It’s a great signing. Every time I’ve played with him he’s been a real class act.”

Edinburgh's European exit has a "silver lining" as it allows them to focus solely on chasing a play-off spot in the United Rugby Championship, says flanker Jamie Ritchie.

Having lost in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals to Sharks last weekend, Sean Everitt's side - currently ninth in the table - have five games remaining to make the top eight.

"We've got an exciting run-in and we believe we have opportunities to win all those games," said Ritchie as he gears up for Saturday's visit of Scarlets.

"I don't think we're a million miles away. We're showing a little bit of improvement every game.

"We played really well in the first half at the weekend. If we can put that into any performance we're going to be tough to beat.

"It's frustrating. The nature of the leagues and the competitions we play in, if you fall off for 10 or 20 minutes, you're going to get punished.

"Maybe when we are in those periods, it's how we manage the game. Those are things that we're trying to learn on the hoof at the moment, but we are improving.

"It would be a bit worrying if it wasn't in our hands. We've got massive opportunities in all these games. We've shown in the past that we can beat the teams that we're up against."

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Scotland are taking no notice of their long winless run in Italy and focussing only on "our performance and what we can do" to end it, says Helen Nelson.

The Scots are without a victory on Italian soil in 25 years, but fly-half Nelson says that is a stat the players "haven't spoken about at all as a group".

A point and a place below Italy in the Six Nations table, a rare win in the country would lift Scotland above Saturday's opponents.

"We know if we play to the best of our ability then that result will come and we can then look at that history afterwards," Nelson says.

"It's very much focus on us, on training, working on those things we took from the England game and how we can be better for Saturday.

"Italy, their strength comes in their unpredictability. We just need to back our defence, especially what we showed against France.

"It's going to need be a big defensive performance from us and then it's just building on the attack we showed against Wales."