Scottish Rugby

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has been speaking to the media after naming his side to face Fiji in the first game of the Autumn Nations Series on Saturday.

Here are the key points:

• He's expecting a "physical" Fiji side with "terrific individual skills" and more "cohesion" than they've ever had before, as most of the squad plays for Fijian Drua in Super Rugby.

• Ali Price was picked because "he's in the best form right now" and that's why he's been selected over "unlucky" Glasgow scrum-halves George Horne and Jamie Dobie.

• Townsend also says there "were a number of close calls" but admitted it is a "settled side" with "combinations that play a lot together for us".

• He admitted to having "sleepless nights" as WP Nel and Simon Berghan came towards retirement, but the emergence of Elliot Millar Mills and Will Hurd has soothed that worry, as has D'Arcy Rae, who's been "at the heart of" Edinburgh's scrum.

• Townsend has picked an experienced XV because he wants "players to get up to speed with Test rugby" before the game with South Africa next week.

• The head coach spoke of his excitement at getting Darcy Graham back involved after almost a year without a cap due to injury, and welcoming Tom Jordan into the Scotland side.

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

Sean Everitt was asked a few weeks back about the growing rumours linking Duhan van der Merwe with a move to France once his Edinburgh contract expires in the summer.

Everitt said the club was "desperate" to keep him. If they are as desperate as Everitt suggests, then they're wrong.

To borrow a line from Ian McGeechan, Van der Merwe is a Test match animal. He's not an animal for club rugby. His financial cost to Edinburgh? Significant. His return on that cost? A whole lot less.

It wasn't always this way. When Van der Merwe joined Edinburgh in 2017, club rugby was his be-all and end-all. He scored 10 tries in 18 games in his first season, 10 in 23 in his second and 11 in 19 in his third.

Then he became a Test player and all those Edinburgh tries started to dry up and were replaced by scores on the bigger stage.

The Edinburgh wing has 28 tries in 41 Tests. It's thunderously impressive. In his four full seasons as an international he's scored eight in nine, four in nine, five in nine and 11 in 13. The stats are off the scale.

His numbers for Edinburgh in those seasons? One in seven, two in eight, seven in 17. That's not counting his season at Worcester. In relative terms, Van der Merwe draws a huge wage. If Scotland are still getting the benefit of his Test tries wouldn't they be better off getting him off the wage bill?

Edinburgh, toiling badly again, are in need of a shake-up and cutting loose some of their biggest (and underperforming) earners is not a bad place to start a required rebuild.

Van der Merwe is by turns thrilling and infuriating. He has extraordinary running power and a penchant for scoring mesmeric tries, but nobody has ever accused him of being a fiend for work or a complete rugby player.

The (sadly injured) Kyle Steyn is a far more rounded performer; less dynamic but far more consistent. Kyle Rowe, tough and intelligent, is playing better than Van der Merwe right now.

There's a default setting with Van der Merwe. He drifts in and out of matches for Edinburgh. Whole games can pass him by. He can be defensively suspect and weak in the air.

But the reason he's undroppable for Scotland is that knowledge of what he can do when the ball is in his hands and his head is in the game. Pure devastation. Nobody else can do what the big man can do. You just wish he'd do it more often.

When fit, he'll always be picked for Scotland, but Edinburgh ought to be having conversations internally now. Is he worth it? Should they really be "desperate" to renew his deal? Does the reality of Van der Merwe at Edinburgh, as opposed to the potential, justify the vast expense?

In his time as a Scotland player Van der Merwe has a wonderful try return of 0.68 per game. Since he became a Scotland player, his try return for Edinburgh is 0.35 per game.

He'll most likely come into his own again this autumn. Everybody at Edinburgh would be entitled to ask: "Where's that Duhan when he plays for us?"

The club has many issues. What to do with their star wing is just one of them.

Listen to the full episode of BBC Radio Scotland's Rugby Podcast as Tom English and Andy Burke discuss Glasgow and Edinburgh's results and look forward to the Autumn Test Series.

• Listen and subscribe to all episodes of the BBC Radio Scotland Rugby Podcast here.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Jamie Dobie says the Autumn Nations Series is a "massive campaign" on a personal level as he looks to cement his place in the Scotland squad.

The Glasgow Warrior has been selected as one of four scrum-halves in the squad alongside George Horne, Ben White and Ali Price, but has played much of his recent rugby for club and country on the wing.

Price's departure from Warriors to Edinburgh last season has opened the door for Dobie, 23, to get more game time, and he featured in all four Tests in Scotland’s summer tour of the Americas.

"I think it's a massive campaign and season," Dobie said.

"I got my first cap three years ago from this series and had to wait almost two years to get my second cap.

"I missed out on that World Cup squad but I think coming back to the summer tour, it was a great opportunity for me. I ended up being involved in all four matches there, so that was massive for me personally.

"The start of the season with Glasgow has been relatively positive so I'm happy with where my rugby's at and the direction it's going.

"Hopefully this is going to be a big few weeks to really cement a place in the squad and be involved in as many of the matches as possible.”

Dobie views himself primarily as a scrum-half but says he is happy to play his part on the wing if it increases his chances of being involved in the coming weeks against Fiji, South Africa, Portugal and Australia.

"I'm definitely happy playing both positions now and obviously the main thing is being involved,” he said.

"So whether that's at scrum-half or wing, that would be the main benefit.

"I still see myself as playing scrum-half mostly and the additional benefit of being able to cover the wing.

"Obviously on summer tour the two starts that I got were on the wing. So I only see that as a benefit for me, being able to cover those positions and obviously in the last couple of years with Franco (Smith) running the 6-2 (bench) and especially with that, I've spent plenty of time on the wing.

"So I'm more than comfortable to do that and I'm glad the coaches have the faith for me to play either."

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Scotland defence coach Steve Tandy says he has no concerns about the confidence of Edinburgh players ahead of the Autumn Nations Series despite the capital club's poor start to the URC season.

Sean Everitt's men have lost four of their opening six matches, including a humiliating thrashing by the Lions in Johannesburg and a dispiriting loss to an Ospreys side who had been bottom of the league table going into Saturday’s match in Bridgend.

Glasgow Warriors, conversely, are riding high after collecting seven points from 10 from their double-header in South Africa, including an outstanding bonus-point victory over the Stormers in Stellenbosch.

Tandy does not believe Edinburgh's struggles will affect their players when they pull on the blue of Scotland for the matches against Fiji, South Africa, Portugal and Australia.

"I think with the boys, they just get excited to come back into (Scotland) camp," Tandy said.

"It is not so much a fresh start, but everyone's energised to see and get a group back together, so I don't have any concern around that.

"Obviously the Glasgow boys fly in great coming off the back of the win, it does probably help your recovery a little bit, winning games, but the (Edinburgh) boys, I can't see any issue with them and they're just excited to be back and can't wait for Saturday."

Grant Young
Fan writer

Warriors ended their first block of games of the URC season with big smiles on their faces.

With the difficult South Africa trip ticked off, Glasgow returned north with seven points from a possible 10 after a convincing and clinical second-half display against Stormers.

The league leading attack showed its full might with some incredible play by the much-spoken-about Sione Tuipulotu and the constantly overlooked Kyle Rowe, both scoring standout tries and assisting in others. Both, you would assume, will play a big part in Gregor Townsend's autumn plan.

Glasgow have emerged from a difficult opening run of fixtures, which has taken them to Italy, Cardiff, Ulster and finally South Africa, in a strong second place in the URC standings. A brilliant platform to build from.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the importance of winning on the road to truly be in the chase for top spot. Well, Glasgow were the only away victors last weekend.

The win over Stormers also brought the curtain down on Richie Gray's second Glasgow stint, which has elevated his status as a legend of our game.

The way that he impacts the game is a real cornerstone in how successful the Warriors have been these past seasons. It is now up to the younger second rows to battle it out for his jersey.

So now for a break, Scotland duty for many players awaits, while for others it is a chance to recover and get healthy. Franco Smith and Warriors fans will be hoping a fully-fit squad returns for the resumption of domestic action at the end of November.

Sandy Smith
Fan writer

If we had beaten Ospreys we would have all breathed a sigh of relief, congratulated the team for sticking at it even when we weren't at our best, and moved on.

There may have been a few grumbles but a first win against Ospreys in Wales since 2009 would have been welcomed going into the international break.

Had we lost to a great display by Ospreys you might even have been able to point out that we were unlucky. The team gave their all in terms of spirit and commitment but it just wasn't to be this week.

You could even moan about the referee. I've been around a bit and I've never seen a ref give a penalty because a player ran into him. It wasn't crucial to the outcome of the match, but in a way that would have been easier to take.

What did make this particular defeat hard to swallow was that Ospreys were terrible, especially in the first half. Any other team in the league would probably have been at least two scores ahead at that point.

We didn't make them look like world beaters like we did with Lions. We just made them look marginally better than us, which didn't seem to be much of a stretch for them.

Grant Gilchrist has been pretty vocal over the last couple of weeks in asking for a level of pride or passion or commitment, call it what you will, but it appeared those qualities were left back in Scotland with him.

We got a reaction to the loss to Lions, but the boost that followed it appears to have disappeared like a politician's promises after just two decent displays.

All we took to Wales was inaccuracy and ill-discipline, and again, Ospreys were poor enough that even those frailties, if backed by a little belief, might have been sufficient to get the job done.

I always want to see Scotland play and win but dislike the disruption to the league, especially when it comes to games scheduled for outside the international window.

Right now though it's a welcome break.

Sandy Smith can be found at The Burgh Watch, external

After Glasgow's big win and Edinburgh's defeat in the URC this weekend, are there any questions you would like to put to Tom English and Andy Burke?

Send them in via this link, external and they will be answered either on this week's Radio Scotland Rugby Podcast or in written form on this very page.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Underperforming? Or overhyped?

It was interesting reading some comments from Ospreys fans after their team’s victory over Edinburgh on Saturday.

Some of them could not fathom why Edinburgh or their fans would assume they would be favourites heading to Bridgend.

Maybe because Ospreys were bottom of the URC table going into the game? Or Edinburgh are stacked with internationals?

The Ospreys fans mostly asked one very basic question – what have Edinburgh ever done to justify their confidence in beating anyone on the road?

Maybe some of us have been guilty of overhyping Edinburgh in recent times. Maybe we inflate the reputation of some of these players off the back of the occasional good performance in a Scotland shirt.

Aside from a couple of seasons early in Richard Cockerill’s reign when they really did appear to have turned a corner, Edinburgh have been a big let-down for a long time.

Some of those players with big reputations in the Edinburgh squad are on the downward curve of their careers, some have been beset by injuries and some consistently fail to perform for their club to anywhere near the same standard they do for their country.

Should Edinburgh be better than they are? Yes.

Should they be in the mix at the top end of the table? There is little historical evidence to suggest that’s where they belong.

Sean Everitt under the microscope

Inevitably the head coach will come back under the microscope after yet another dismal performance.

Sean Everitt is a good man and there is nothing coming out of the dressing room to suggest the players are anything other than right behind him.

Over a year into the job it’s reasonable to ask, though, what has he improved at Edinburgh?

Certainly not the mentality of the squad, which seems as fragile as ever.

Why are they so infuriatingly inconsistent? How long have we being saying Edinburgh’s big players – all their players – need to step up?

The international break will give the Edinburgh coaches some time to reassess where this team is going, and if they don’t emerge after the Test window with some new ideas, they will continue to wallow in the back alleys of underachievement.

Misfiring attack and fly-half conundrum

Edinburgh’s attacking game is in a dire state. It’s hard to detect what it is they are actually trying to accomplish when they have possession of the ball.

Even in the victories over the Stormers and Cardiff, it was very much a stick-it-up-the-jumper, pick-and-go strategy.

It’s uninspiring stuff and the coach has yet to prove he can find a system that gets the back-line into the game at all, far less hurting teams.

Everitt has a problem at 10 because rather than pushing each other to new heights by competing for the fly-half jersey, neither Ben Healy nor Ross Thompson has looked convincing as the chief creative force of the team.

Against Ospreys, Thompson’s decision-making was questionable. He aimed a couple of cross-field kicks towards Duhan van der Merwe when it looked like it was on to put it through the hands.

At one point he attempted a drop-goal from 45m which smacked of desperation, of trying his luck purely for the lack of a better idea.

Thompson needs some help from the experienced heads around him, and perhaps a clearer picture of what the game plan is actually supposed to be.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Sensational Sione

In the week he was announced as Scotland captain for the upcoming autumn internationals, Sione Tuipulotu gave yet another reminder of his game-altering abilities.

From the first whistle, the centre set the agenda, punching holes in the Stormers defence with powerful bursts.

He showed good anticipation to telegraph Seb Cancielliere’s clever kick through to grab a try, and fired a long pass out to Kyle Rowe – some would argue it may have been a shade forward – to set the winger free for Glasgow’s third try. Rowe still had plenty to do, and he did it brilliantly.

Tuipulotu has become a player that opposition teams fear. He can carry like a train, handle like a surgeon and his understanding of where holes may appear means he can put the likes of Huw Jones through those gaps time and again.

He has become one of the best, most complete centres in world rugby and much of Scotland’s hopes for a successful autumn rest on his shoulders.

Matthews sends a message

As Scotland squad announcements under Gregor Townsend go, the latest for the Autumn Nations Series was fairly routine, with only a couple of controversial calls – the main one being the non-selection of Johnny Matthews.

The omission of the Glasgow hooker continues to bemuse those who have watched him become a key cog in a winning Warriors machine.

He looked like a man on a mission in Stellenbosch. He put in some monstrous hits, made two clean breaks, carried for 50m, beat six defenders and bagged his customary try.

Townsend’s only reasoning for leaving Matthews out has been to point to the form of others, but none of those selected ahead of him - Ewan Ashman, Dylan Richardson or Patrick Harrison - can point to the successes Matthews has enjoyed in the past year or so.

Clearly the national head coach sees flaws in Matthews’ game that he feels make him unreliable in the Test arena. It would be good to know what they are because Franco Smith clearly believes his first-choice hooker is a man who can handle the big occasion.

Venter the unsung hero

Henco Venter was a Glasgow signing that attracted a bit of criticism when it was announced in the summer of 2023.

Why were Warriors signing a 31-year-old South African journeyman while releasing young Scottish back-rows who had never been given a fair crack of the whip?

Nobody is questioning the signing now. Venter has been an influential presence, particularly during the Test periods when the likes of Rory Darge, Matt Fagerson and Jack Dempsey are away with the national team.

Venter is tough and when he comes off the bench in the biggest games he brings an edge and an intensity that is priceless in the heat of a knife-edge contest.

He may not be the player who grabs the headlines, but you sense Franco Smith would trust his compatriot to be thrown into any situation and deliver for his team.

We asked for your views on Glasgow Warriors' 28-17 win over Stormers in South Africa.

Here's what some of you said:

David: A really top performance from the Glasgow squad. Sione Tuipulotu, Huw Jones and Kyle Rowe showed up really well. Rowe's consistency must have him close to starting for Scotland, but this game was won by the forward battle and all the forwards went well. Rory Darge, Johnny Matthews, Jack Dempsey, Zander Fagerson and Gregor Brown showed great physicality, going straight at the Stormers heart.

Ben: Best performance of the season by far for Glasgow. They are looking really strong this year and the depth Franco Smith has built is outstanding. No matter who plays, they step up. Also a word for Rowe who has been magnificent all season. I really hope he gets a good run in the autumn for Scotland.

Henry: Excellent on field leadership, control from Adam Hastings, back row winning performance supported by a strong, influential bench made it a complete win for the Warriors.

Peter: Seven points on the road in South Africa, that's a great result. This team is as Franco wanted, moving to the next level. Sione was phenomenal, Zander outstanding and Tom Jordan abrasive when he came on. To be honest too many to mention but Smith has to take a lot of credit.

Ken: URC champions showing that they can still get better. Getting seven points out of 10 is a great return from the tour to South Africa and shows an improvement from last season and their general record against South African teams away from home. Will be a confidence booster ahead of Scotland v South Africa, at least from the Warriors players perspective.

David: Glasgow played some of the best rugby they have all season against a strong Stormers side. That momentum is vital going into the international break. The second row problem seems to be smaller than previously expected. There is a big sense of confidence as they enter the Champions Cup. Seven points will be huge at the end of the season.

Pauly: What a great performance by the Warriors, the boys have had a cracking tour of South Africa, I reckon Smith's knowledge of his home soil has worked wonders. Fingers crossed we can take this form into the European competition. We are Warriors and fear no team.

Edinburgh fans, we asked for your views after Saturday's defeat to Ospreys.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Mark: Conditions were perfect for rugby but we saw two very poor sides playing a borefest. Things need to change soon or fans will start demanding a change to the coaches.

Stuart: Watching Edinburgh play Ospreys was like watching Scotland play a Warren Gatland coached Wales from his first tenure. All Ospreys had to do was keep fighting and eventually Edinburgh would crumble. Edinburgh had the talent, even the endeavour, just not the fortitude. Instilling that is what is still clearly missing.

Ian: Edinburgh are now two from six. Something's missing. Something's not working. Don't know what it is but the urgency from the last two weeks, which got us two wins and good performances to boot, wasn't there. It's not talent, we've got plenty of that on paper. Is it gameplan, coaching, culture, something else or all of the above?

Stair: Edinburgh were terrible! A dearth of ideas and complete confusion at times. The referee was awful but that was the same for both teams. Experienced players looked totally mystified. Surely the SRU realise that this coach is not up to the job.

Andrew: Edinburgh were overpowered at the breakdown by an average Ospreys side in an error strewn game. When the heat was on in this dogfight of a game our attack offered nothing and we folded. On the positives there was some belligerent defensive sets but with no field position they never looked like winning the game. Another rollercoaster season beckons.

Jonny: Here we go again, Edinburgh doing Edinburgh things. I wish I was surprised but it's this club's culture to have their bellies tickled. Fans are tired of the same old rhetoric of the management and the team. They say they want to prove us wrong well and do their talking on the park. Well, we're waiting.

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Tom Jordan can't wait to get back to Glasgow after their URC victory over Stormers in South Africa.

The 28-17 victory secured a bonus point for Franco Smith's side and was a welcome turnaround after last week's narrow defeat to Sharks.

"That first half effort from the boys really set up our second half," Jordan told club media.

"A huge credit to everyone involved in the game, it was unreal.

"We're really happy to get that bonus point and looking forward to getting back to Glasgow."

We saw a comfortable win for Franco Smith's side in South Africa, but a disappointing defeat for Edinburgh at the Brewery Field.

Now Glasgow and Edinburgh fans, it's over to you. What did you make of Saturday's URC action?

Have your say here, external.

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Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith hailed the performance of his players after overcoming both the heat and the Stormers defence to record an impressive win in South Africa.

"I'm really happy with the win," he told URC TV after the 17-28 victory.

"It was a very warm day here for the Scottish boys.

"The plan that we had was accepted by the players, to get a second group on to make a difference for us.

"Apart from some of the set-pieces it was a complete performance.

"All teams you have to break them down, nobody rolls over. For us it's important to stay on the script and stay on the plan.

"It's good for us the way we can finish games, that's important."

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Richie Gray will make his final Glasgow appearance against the Stormers in Saturday's URC game in South Africa before he heads to Japan to join Toyota Verblitz.

The Scotland lock announced his intention to leave Scotstoun last month and played his final home game against Benetton in a 42-10 win.

The 35-year-old is one of seven changes to Franco Smith's side for their second game in the southern hemisphere, after narrowly losing to the Sharks last weekend.

There's a new front row, with Jamie Bhatti, Johnny Matthews and Sam Talakai all coming in.

Both locks are replaced, with Gregor Brown joining Gray in the second row as the latter makes his 119th and final Warriors appearance.

Adam Hastings replaces fly-half Tom Jordan, who this week earned his first Scotland call-up, while Huw Jones comes in for Stafford McDowall.

Glasgow head coach Franco Smith said: "The Stormers will provide another stern test for us in Stellenbosch. They look to be hitting top form as they showed in their convincing win over Munster last weekend.

“They will also be able to call upon a wealth of international experience and quality, with Springboks and World Cup winners throughout their squad."

Glasgow Warriors: McKay, Cancelliere, Jones, Tuipulotu (c), Rowe; Hastings, Horne; Bhatti, Matthews, Talakai, Brown, Gray, M Fagerson, Darge, Dempsey.

Replacements: Hiddleston, Sutherland, Z Fagerson, Cummings, Williamson, Venter, Dobie, Jordan.

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Matt Scott will make his 100th Edinburgh appearance on Saturday night when he starts against hosts Ospreys in the URC.

The 34-year-old former Scotland centre rejoined the club in the summer for his third spell and will become the 43rd player to make a century of appearances for Edinburgh.

Scott is one of seven changes to the Edinburgh side that comfortably beat Cardiff at the Hive last weekend.

Ewan Ashman returns at hooker, with Jamie Hodgson replacing club co-captain Grant Gilchrist in the second-row.

Scotland internationals Jamie Ritchie and Hamish Watson start on the flanks with Ben Muncaster moved to number eight following his call-up to the Scotland squad for the autumn Tests.

Ben Vellacott skippers the side from scrum-half, with Scott replacing Mosese Tuipulotu at inside centre. Harry Paterson makes his first appearance of the season at full-back.

Among the replacements, Dave Cherry, Angus Williams and Glen Young all return from injury.

Gilchrist, Darcy Graham, Ali Price and Pierre Schoeman are all rested.

Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt said: "We know it will be a tough match this weekend. Ospreys are good at home and will come after us, so we know what to expect.

"I'm very happy for Matt and his achievement. He’s a proud Edinburgh man, and embodies everything we want to see in this team, bringing physicality and determination every time he takes to the field."

Edinburgh: Paterson, Goosen, Currie, Scott, Van der Merwe; Thompson, Vellacott (c); Venter, Ashman, Rae, Sykes, Hodgson, Ritchie, Watson, Muncaster.

Replacements: Cherry, Williams, Hill, Young, Crosbie, Shiel, Healy, Tuipulotu.

We asked for your views on the Scotland squad announced by Gregor Townsend for next month's Autumn Tests.

Here's what some of you said:

Bruce: Strong and exciting squad, a good combination of new blood and old, but the Jonny Gray saga is confusing.

Jim: Another petulant pick from Townsend. Omissions of Johnny Matthews, Ross Thompson and Richie Gray do not reflect well on him as a coach or man.

David: The squad looks really good, maybe still missing an enforcer type, but I thought Matt Fagerson really looked good in the URC final run-in. We still miss a good second tight-head, but D'Arcy Rae has played well for Edinburgh in the last few games. Looking forward to seeing Patrick Harrison, Dylan Richardson, Harry Paterson, Alex Samuel and Mosese Tuipulotu get game time.

Michael: Overall an excellent squad, although the lack of depth in certain positions - particularly tight-head - is brutally exposed by the out-of-window game. Congratulations to Sione Tuipulotu on being named captain - a true leader. However, still uncertain if Finn Russell has been demoted or Sione has risen to the challenge.

Gordon: Surprised the new Saracens 10 [Fergus Burke] isn't there. They should've got him before England snaffle him. Surprised about Gray, Cameron Redpath and Guss Warr being omitted. I am pleased to see Rory Hutchinson in there, he has been underused at international level, also good to see Dylan Alexander in there, a good long-term option at hooker.

Chris: Really pleasing to see a lot of young players involved who have rightly earned their place. Looks like a squad with an eye on the future. Wise decision from Gray, just finding his feet in the Top-14, which will make him an even better player.

Cameron: No Matthews is an absolute joke. Far too many Edinburgh players considering their form in the URC compared with Glasgow.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend discusses his anger and disappointment at Bordeaux second row Jonny Gray making himself unavailable for Scotland's Autumn Tests squad.

Hear from Townsend on the BBC Scotland Rugby Podcast