Scottish Rugby

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

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Gregor Townsend says that Scotland’s defeat to USA during their 2018 summer tour was mentioned straight after their victory over Canada in Ottawa on Saturday night.

The ghosts of Houston, where they lost 30-29, were perhaps part of the reason why Townsend has chosen a far more experienced starting line-up than he did against Canada a week ago.

There are some survivors from the shock in Houston, but not many. The half-backs are the same. Adam Hastings only had one cap back then, and George Horne made his debut. So too did Matt Fagerson, who also starts on Friday night.

In the wake of the Houston debacle, Lewis Carmichael, the starting lock, and Luke Hamilton, the starting openside, never won another cap. Dougie Fife, Tim Swinson and Murray McCallum were all on the bench that day. Fife and Swinson won one more cap each.

"It’s a more experienced team than the team that played Canada last week," Townsend said.

"It was 10 new caps at the weekend and they put a really good marker down in what we are expecting around the detail of our game. It’s up to these players now to take it to another level."

Townsend spoke about handling the pressure of being favourites in all of their games on tour. "One challenge is keeping our focus, our togetherness and our accuracy when we are favourites for games.

"One of the learnings of the Six Nations when we were favourites for a game was how disciplined we are in our focus and the Italy game (a crushing defeat) was one where we didn’t do that well."

A repeat of Houston is unthinkable. More likely, it’ll be another big score and another comprehensive victory against a team that lost to Romania last weekend before they move on to South America and games against Chile and Uruguay.

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

Image source, SNS

You will remember Scotland’s breathtaking victory in Paris in 2021, the late drama, the wonderful team try finished off by Duhan van der Merve that shocked and sickened the French.

But can you remember Scotland’s replacement lock that night, the big guy who played the closing minutes of one of Scotland’s most memorable victories this century?

You’d be forgiven if you can’t, because he hasn’t played a minute of Test rugby since.

It’s Alex Craig, of course. Now of the Scarlets. He has two caps to his name, both off the bench and both wins, but come Friday in Washington he’s going to have three because he starts against the USA.

"Alex picked up a little niggle so wasn’t considered last week against Canada," said head coach Gregor Townsend. "He’s fully fit now. He’s somebody who has had to wait a little while for his opportunity.

"When we beat France in Paris in 2021 he played and was excellent that season, then he had a couple of injuries and moved to Scarlets. He’s been very consistent, has got better and better and won their player of the season last season, a huge achievement for somebody who is not a local player.

"What he bring is aggression and work rate and he goes forwards, he loves the contact side of the game. He’s a really good complement with Scott (Cummings) and how they control the lineout."

Craig is 27, hard-bitten but still young enough and good enough - the Scarlets rave about his ball-carrying - to add to that caps total if the USA game goes his way.

With Richie Gray and Grant Gilchrist at 34 and 33 years old, Scotland need all the quality locks they can lay their hands on.

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

Image source, Getty Images

Scotland’s tour of North America must feel especially poignant for Jamie Ritchie who won his first cap against Canada in Edmonton six years and will win his 50th against the USA in Washington on Friday.

Gregor Townsend sang the praises of his flanker, former captain and now vice-captain. "It’s a great achievement for him and his family," said Townsend, shortly after naming his team to play the USA in Scotland’s second game of their summer tour.

"He’s had a few injuries in his career, some serious ones, and has put his body on the line for Scotland ever since he came through on this tour to North America six years ago.

"Talking about Jamie and his performances in the Six Nations and how he conducted himself in training, and off the field, when he wasn’t selected in a couple of match day squads, he was outstanding, A real credit to who he is as a person and a leader.

"He’s playing probably the best rugby of his career. He finished the season in excellent form and has continued it in training and will go into the game with real confidence. He’s in great condition and has many more (caps) to come."

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Scotland's Under-20 women were beaten 69-10 by France in their second outing of the Six Nations Summer Series in Parma.

The Scots suffered early injury setbacks, with Chloe Brown and Ellie Willamson both forced off, but grabbed the lead with a Gemma Bell try converted by Lucy MacRae.

France roared back and crossed four times for a 26-7 half-time lead.

A MacRae penalty reduced the arrears but Les Bleus added a further seven tries, with five of them coming after Scotland had been reduced to 14 players by an injury to Eilidh Fleming.

Claire Cruikshank's side, who lost their opening game to Italy, wrap up the tournament against Ireland on Sunday.

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Sione Tuipulotu is relishing Scotland's sun-drenched summer tour of the Americas after a manic month in his personal and professional life.

The Glasgow Warriors centre became a dad to son TJ, won the URC with his club, then got engaged to partner Lara.

"It’s been massive. To be honest it’s flown by. I’m missing my fiancée and TJ back home massively," Tuipulotu told Scottish Rugby.

"It’s amazing [becoming a dad]. You listen to all the other boys’ stories about their first born and don’t really know how it feels until you’re in the hotspot yourself.

"I’m glad I’ve got my first one out the way and I’m just ready for the missus to give me the all-clear on number two!"

The 27-year-old popped the question to Lara before jetting out with Gregor Townsend's squad for the four-match summer tour.

“[I was] Very nervous," he added. "It was directly after the celebrations for the grand final. I was anxious, so I thought I’d get all done before we came away on tour.

"Job done so I’m going back to a happy home."

Having not featured in the opening tour win over Canada, Tuipulotu is expected to return to the squad for Friday's game with the USA in Washington DC.

"I’ve never played them and only watched them on the laptops here," he said. "Americans are patriotic and passionate about their country so I’m expecting a passionate outfit and we’ll match that.

"The heat is a real factor out here but I’m loving it, it’s a nice little change from the rugby we’ve been playing back in Glasgow, so it’s nice to be back in the heat.

"It’s always a factor, but it’s a challenge the team is ready for."

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Scotland's men's U20s side racked up over 100 points for the second successive game with a 15-try victory over Hong Kong.

Equally impressive was their defence showing in the 101-0 win at the Hive to continue their strong start to the World Rugby U20 trophy.

Finlay Doyle scored a first-half hat-trick with Freddy Douglas on a double at the interval, while Liam McConnell, Jonny Morris, Hector Patterson also got on the scoresheet before the break.

In the second period, Morris grabbed another as Johnny Ventisei, Jack Hocking, Fergus Watson, Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, Ludo Kolade and Ryan Burke got in on the act.

Scotland will next take on Japan at the same venue on Friday, 12 July (19:45 BST).

We asked for your views after a youthful Scotland side scored 11 tries to batter Canada in the first outing of their summer tour.

Here's what some of you had to say:

David: I was able to make it to Ottawa for the game. Great display, Dylan Richardson was really impressive as a ball carrying hooker and Harry Paterson at full-back brought pace and skill. Really good to see the team gel so well, with complex moves and a very low error count. Great start to the tour for a young team.

Jock: This performance showed that we have some really talented players coming through and should not be wetting our pants when we see our U20 players not doing so well in the Six Nations.

William: Fantastic win with a young side. The future is looking good.

Tom: I’ve been convinced Scottish rugby has a bright future and I'm pretty sure we are to reap the rewards of a strong coaching scheme, but do we have the right coaches at the top?

Colin: Good to see new caps in a young and fresh team. They had a crack at taking opportunities when they arose and most of it came off. Gus Warr and Ross Thompson looked useful, as were Paterson and Richardson. Pack needs a bit of bulk, well done Canada for taking their chances. Tougher tests to follow but good to see a confidence-boosting win under the belt.

Martyn: Got to be honest the opposition weren’t great. However, there were some outstanding individual performances. Paterson looks the real deal. Warr was excellent and the team looked really sharp. Hopefully the opposition improves as the tour goes on.

Stuart: Good to see the array of young talent on show. Some of these lads were out to show they are quality. Paterson was outstanding, Richardson fabulous, Warr enterprising. I know Canada were poor, but our line breaks and support lines were top drawer!

What did you make of Scotland's record-breaking victory over Canada?

Who impressed you out there? Who should we see more of on this tour? And what can Gregor Townsend really learn from games like that?

Let us know your thoughts here., external

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Harry Paterson. Seen above offloading to Arron Reed for the debutant winger's first try, he was absolutely superb in only his second Scotland appearance.

Brave in defence and electrifying in attack, he plays with the reckless abandon you'd expect to see in schoolboy rugby.

That isn't a negative, though. He's raw and dogged, always willing to fly into contact but with the skill and vision to create a chance with his offloading.

If he maintains this trajectory, he should expect to pick up plenty more Scotland caps.

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Stafford McDowall says it was a "shock" to be asked to captain Scotland against Canada on Saturday.

The Glasgow Warriors centre has been named as co-captain alongside Edinburgh's Luke Crosbie for the first Test of Scotland's summer tour.

The 26-year-old believes his experience leading the URC champions this season has helped him grow as a player.

"Gregor told me and Luke Crosbie together that we'd be co-captaining when we first came into camp," McDowall said.

"It was a bit of a shock, I was a bit overwhelmed. I was straight on the phone to my dad and he's coming out for the game on Saturday.

"He was always planning to come to one game, and when he heard I was going to be co-captain, he was like 'that's the one'. It's a special day for my family. He's played a massive role in my career so I'm glad I get to share the day with him.

"Being part of the leadership group at Glasgow has been massive for me. Just having the confidence to put my thoughts forward."

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Scotland Under-20s began the Six Nations Summer Series with a narrow 17-13 defeat to Italy in Parma.

The Scots led at half-time through a converted Nicole Flynn try and two penalties from the boots of Lucy MacRae, but were unable to score any points after the interval.

Greta Copat scored the decisive try for the hosts after a sustained spell of pressure, but Scotland did have chances to win it late on.

Sky Phimister looked set to score with the game's final play after Aregash Pellizzon fumbled a kick over the top, but the Scottish winger's kick rolled over the dead-ball line before she could chase it down.

Scotland take on France on 9 July, before rounding off their Summer Series campaign against Ireland on 14 July.