Scottish Rugby

We asked for your views on Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend's squad selection for the Nations Championship matches at home to New Zealand, Australia and Japan.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Tom: No Freddy Douglas and Magnus Bradbury is a disgrace. Ollie Leatherbarrow can't get a start for a bang average Newcastle team yet is included over Scotland's most promising forward. Ollie Blyth-Lafferty and Hector Patterson also unlucky not to make. Is Townsend showing bias towards Red Bulls like Leatherbarrow and Elliot Millar Mills?

Andy: In Gregor we trust. He is vastly experienced and I will support whatever team he picks. Great that Jack Dempsey is available, the man is a beast. I would've liked to have seen Douglas in the squad but he'll have more opportunities to come, I'm sure.

Dave: I'm excited about the opportunity for Scotland to test themselves against some of the best players in the world. Scotland's squad has some world-class players and talented youngsters and that blend of youth and experience could produce results. I am surprised to see Duhan Van Der Merwe make the squad given his injuries, limited game-time and dip in form. I hope he can seize his chance when it comes and get back to scoring tries and reasserting himself as a top player.

Doug: The Autumn Tests are usually a great chance to blood or develop young talent before the Six Nations, surprised not to see Blyth-Lafferty and Patterson called up. Douglas and Bradbury unlucky as well. The likes of Duhan and Jonny Gray are lucky to be in this squad currently.

Scott: The depth is starting to show across the board. Great for Leatherbarrow, unlucky for Douglas. Bradbury is a surprise omission as he has been at his best lately, perhaps he needs to show it for longer. Tough squad to get into now.

Geoff: The squad is very strong but I am surprised and disappointed that Bradbury and Douglas are omitted as they have both been exceptional for Edinburgh. Patterson and Blyth-Lafferty are unfortunate but their time will come. Edinburgh only have five representatives which seems harsh given their form so far this season. In any event, these are three exciting fixtures and an opportunity to put down a real marker.

Steve: Why 19 Glasgow players and only five Edinburgh, with two of those five having scarcely played? I hope this makes Edinburgh angry, as well it should.

Sandy Smith
Fan writer

Of all the stats in the URC the only one Edinburgh top is the lineout. Oh, and the table itself of course.

It is the first time in Edinburgh history we have recorded 19 points after the opening four games. Our average points return over the past five years at this stage is nine.

You'll be thinking Liam McConnell is our man in the lineout and you'd be right. He is the joint top lineout thief in the URC but what you might not have realised is it's Glen Young he shares that position with.

If the previous game was a bit of a progress gauge for Hector Patterson as he pitted his skills against the Scotland number nine incumbent Ben White, this week he showed why there was a clamour to see the Hawick scrummie included in the Scotland squad.

Two tries, two assists, his part in the disallowed Geordie Gwynn try, some typical scrum-half attitude and for this observer the goalline tackle on Lions number eight Francke Horne that had he not managed would have given Lions a half-time lead all led to a thoroughly deserved man of the match award.

Gwynn arrived almost under the radar but has quietly turned out to be a great acquisition. He has serious pace, is excellent under the high ball and only Piers O'Conor has beaten more defenders and made more metres. I predict Gwynn won't be far off being Edinburgh's top try scorer by season's end.

I pretty much wrote Wes Goosen off after his first season and kind of did the same with Mosese Tuipulotu. My assessment turned out wrong in both cases but I didn't learn from those mistakes and put O'Conor in the utility substitute category, yet he has been a huge asset at 15 for Edinburgh this season.

It seems becoming first-choice tighthead for Edinburgh, surpassing the excellent scrummager Paul Hill and more than holding his own against Springbok Boan Venter, still wasn't enough to earn Ollie Blyth-Lafferty a place in the Scotland squad.

That's disappointing, as were some other decisions, even if they made sense as Scotland build towards a World Cup. But the difference is this time last year no one was surprised Edinburgh weren't well represented in the national squad.

Sandy Smith can be found at the Burgh Watch, external

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend joins Tom English and Andy Burke to discuss his squad selection, competition for places and preparations for matches against New Zealand, Australia and Japan.

We want your questions after a big week in the world of Scottish rugby.

Both Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors secured URC victories, while Scotland women rounded off their WXV campaign with a ninth consecutive Test defeat, failing to hold on to a half-time lead against Australia.

Plus, Gregor Townsend has named his latest Scotland men's squad, with uncapped Newcastle Red Bulls back-row Ollie Leatherbarrow included for the three home Nations Championship fixtures against New Zealand, Australia and Japan.

Send us your questions for Tom English and Andy Burke via this link. A selection will be answered and published on this page later in the week.

Cal Gilkison
BBC Sport Scotland

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Head coach Gregor Townsend has been speaking to the media after announcing his Scotland squad for November's three home Nations Championship fixtures against New Zealand, Australia and Japan.

Here are the key lines:

• Townsend feels his side are in a "decent place" ahead of their trio of Nations Championship matches. He knows the challenge that awaits them when they face New Zealand in the opening game but wants Scotland to be tested against the best teams more regularly.

• "We're going to get huge learning playing New Zealand in a couple of weeks' time, so we want to be playing those teams more regularly," he says. "That's a motivation. I don't think anything gets bigger than playing New Zealand outside of the Six Nations. That's on our mind, and we know what a challenge that's going to be."

• The Scotland head coach believes uncapped Ollie Leatherbarrow's form towards the end of last season and at the start of this campaign has earned him his first Scotland call-up.

• On Leatherbarrow, Townsend says: "Hopefully we'll get opportunities in the next few weeks, because he's playing really well, Ollie. I think with Ollie, we know he can cover all three positions in the back row. He's a very good ball carrier. He's an openside by trade, but he's played a lot of rugby at six and eight. We feel his form at the end of last season, and especially at the beginning of this season, gives us an opportunity to look at someone else."

• Townsend says he is "looking for more" from Magnus Bradbury following his omission from the Scotland squad. He acknowledges Bradbury's strong start to the season with Edinburgh and says the back-row forward will be challenging for a place in the Six Nations squad.

• Glasgow full-back Josh McKay could join the Scotland squad for the Japan game. According to Townsend, a decision on McKay's involvement will be made next weekend.

• Looking ahead to next year's World Cup, Townsend is targeting a place in the knockout stages, adding: "That's our goal, to be playing knockout rugby in 12 months' time, and between now and then, play our best rugby. That will put us in a really good position to have a good World Cup but also put us in a position to do something special before then."

We want your views on Gregor Townsend's latest Scotland squad.

Uncapped Newcastle Red Bulls back-row Ollie Leatherbarrow has been called up for the first time for the three home Nations Championship fixtures against New Zealand, Australia and Japan.

But in-form Edinburgh forwards Magnus Bradbury and Freddy Douglas are surprising omissions from the 37-man squad.

Send us your thoughts on the selection.

We asked for your thoughts after scrum-half Hector Patterson inspired Edinburgh victory over Lions and Glasgow recovered from 17 points down to win a thriller at Benetton and continue their unbeaten start to the URC.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Benetton 20-24 Glasgow Warriors

Stuart: Benetton made Warriors work hard for this win. Too many handling errors on the day, but found a way to win even with the poor refereeing. A win is a win, bonus point win brilliant.

George: Glasgow showed dog and fight to get back in. Matthew Urwin at 10 is far from the finished article but I thought had a good start. Jamie Ritchie in a Warriors jersey is strange but he is such a class player. Both Scottish teams on top, nothing to complain about.

Dave: Glasgow certainly overplayed things in the first half and were surprisingly ineffective and a bit predictable. The referee clearly had an issue with the scrummage but Glasgow didn't adjust or change things quickly enough could have been punished more severely. Glasgow were much better in the second half and deserved their win for showing ambition and the desire to win.

Edinburgh 31-10 Lions

Rob: There's an invention and a level of quick-thinking about this team that Edinburgh fans haven't seen for a long time. Also a real belief amongst them that they can go and beat teams. The head coach has come in for a lot of criticism over the past few seasons, but perhaps, given the difference the changes have made, it was the coaching team that was the issue and not one scapegoat.

Steve: If I'm being hyper critical, you always know which way the ball is going to go once Hector Patterson arrives at the ruck. A bit of deception now and again would complete this exceptional athlete. Great platform by the forwards, but Duhan van der Merwe, I'm sorry. Edinburgh have had no value from him for too many years. Take his money and enhance a few more of the youngsters contracts.

Thomas: I'm a Glasgow fan, but it's been so much fun to see Edinburgh turn it on this season. This was the most complete performance I've seen. Any one of the pack would have been a worthy man of the match, and I loved the backs' ambition to keep playing despite the downpour. James Grayson looks so solid and Hector Pat is a revelation. Can't wait for the 1872!

Glasgow recovered from 17 points down to win a thriller at Benetton and continue their unbeaten start to the United Rugby Championship season.

Read the match report

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Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith tells Premier Sports:

"It was about showing our determination and we saw that. Compliments to Benetton, they fought really hard and we would have lost today if we didnt stick to task.

"With the European Cup, we need to give everybody some chance. Matty Urwin made his debut and Jamie Richie too, they did well. It's important to get the whole squad up to level."

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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Losing run continues but green shoots show

Nine defeats in-a-row doesn't look good on paper admittedly, but this was the narrowest losing margin of the bunch.

That might rankle, as there's an argument that this game was winnable. However, it should also encourage when circumstances are taken into account.

An interim head coach, four first-choice players still out injured - in a season in which another five key players have missed spells through injury - and nine debuts handed out during 2019.

There now appears to be more cohesion under Dave Butcher, while rookies who were chucked in at the deep end are starting to acclimatise to Test match rugby.

Hooker Aicha Sutcliffe impressed on her first start while second-row Holland Bogan, in from the start for the fourth match on the trot, will be hard to shift when Emma Wassell returns.

Lack of punishment for Aussie indiscipline

Skipper Rachel Malcolm, who put in one of her best performances in a Scotland shirt at the age of 35, talked in the post match of a "different kind of frustration" as compared to other losses.

That's because Scotland failed to fully punish Australia's ill-discipline. The hosts were given four yellow cards and at one-point were down to 13 players.

The Scots did score two tries in that time, at the end of the first half, to take the lead going into the half.

But when the Wallaroos were punished again in the second half, as tighthead replacement Eva Karpani was put in the bin, Butcher's side didn't take advantage.

The comeback only amounted to Malcolm's second try in the 78th minute, by which point the chance of rescuing a draw was minute.

Rolling maul weapon

Although there were several superb performances in the backline - the ever-dependable Rhona Lloyd, new face Katie Buchanan and playmaking centre Meryl Smith - it was the forwards who proved more potent.

That was largely thanks to the set-piece. Most of Sutcliffe's darts found their target and the rolling maul was a constant threat.

The lack of physicality was one of the biggest disappointments from the 56-12 defeat in Sydney last week. Thankfully, that weakness was addressed through the week and there was a noticeable difference in Canberra.

As usual, Evie Gallagher stood out as the player always on hand to truck the ball forward, breaking out of a few tackles throughout. It would be no surprise if she was back Down Under next year as part of the inaugural British and Irish Lions Women's Tour.

A sparkling display from scrum-half Hector Patterson inspired Edinburgh to a comfortable bonus-point victory over Lions in the URC.

Read the match report

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Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt tells Premier Sports: "In the URC it's great we are able to build momentum early in the competition and get a bonus-point win in these conditions.

"We worked hard on our ball movement. I thought we were one-dimensional last week [against Toulon] and kicked too soon. The passes stuck today and the guys managed the game well.

"They showed bravery with ball in hand. Part of our DNA is we want to play fast. That quick tap [try] from Hector [Patterson] probably took the arm wrestle away from the Lions. Glad the youngster had the courage to do that.

"Our lineout contesting has been good. Brad [Davis] has done an amazing job with the defence. To concede one try against a dangerous Lions team shows the effort the boys put in."

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith believes Jamie Ritchie has not yet reached his full potential as the back-row prepares to make his debut for the club against Benetton in the URC on Saturday.

Former Edinburgh captain Ritchie moved to Scotstoun from French side Perpignan in the summer but has had to wait to make his first appearance as he recovered from ankle and Achilles tendon problems.

Smith believes even with 63 Scotland caps and a wealth of experience behind him, the 30-year-old can still get better.

"I hope he finds that his ceiling is still a long way off," Smith said.

"I feel he's physically developed well now. With a foot injury, usually you get an opportunity to strengthen the upper body and the rest of your power game. And I think in the first game, if we can just see him carry the ball well and do what Jamie does the best he can, that will be enough for us for now.

"He's a good all-round loose forward and we just want that from him.

"There's a calmness about him and a leadership. He's a natural leader. He doesn't have to say much now in our current leadership group. But he brings that experience of having played and captained important Test matches.

"So, with him and [Rory] Darge and Sione [Tuipulotu] and obviously Kyle Steyn and George Horne, all those players and Stafford McDowall, they play important roles. Scott Cummings, I shouldn't leave him out.

"They all play important roles in our leadership group. And I think his contribution from that perspective is also good."

BBC Sport Scotland's Tom English has been answering some of your Scottish rugby questions.

Graeme asked: After impressing again last Friday night, where do Hector Patterson and Freddy Douglas sit in the pecking order for their respective positions for the national team?

Tom answered: Douglas has a much bigger chance of involvement. He played the last dozen minutes or so in the incredible win against France in the Six Nations and was a starter against Fiji in the summer.

The problem for Douglas is Rory Darge's extraordinary consistency and durability. There's potential for movement at six and eight (Matt Fagerson, Jamie Ritchie, Gregor Brown, Josh Bayliss, Liam McConnell, Magnus Bradbury and Jack Dempsey, who's available for the Nations Championship). But seven is a bit of a closed shop.

As long as he's playing the way he can, Darge will be the starting seven, so Douglas, though hugely gifted, is scrapping for a bench place and the competition there is enormous. He's an out-and-out seven and that mitigates against him somewhat, albeit Gregor Townsend had him in the 23 against France.

If anything happened to Darge I don't think Townsend would have any issue about making Douglas his starting seven. He's close, but probably not as close as he would want to be.

As for Patterson, what a brilliant start to the season he's made. Such an exciting player.

I think he's got a lot of traffic to get through, though. Ben White, George Horne, Jamie Dobie would be the top three. I'm not ruling out Ali Price either. He's 33 but going well with Montpellier. Patterson's time will come.

Stuart asked: Have any of the younger players performing really well got a chance of being called up for the Scotland games next month?

Tom answered: Yes, a few. Douglas and Seb Stephen are still only 21. McConnell is only 22. Ollie Blyth-Lafferty must have a big chance at tighthead. He's only 20 but what a future this boy has

Not sure I see too many others because there are outstanding players blocking their way just now.

Gavin asked: With Dobie in the form of his life, does he start on the wing for Scotland, assuming Ben White starts at nine, or is he too versatile a player to not have on the bench to cover both?

Tom answered: Dobie and Kyle Steyn are the two most consistent wings right now. Kyle Rowe is an inch away - a superb player. Darcy Graham is working his way back into it.

Your point about bench cover is a big one. There is a very obvious logic in having Dobie on the bench covering two positions with Rowe starting as one wing and Steyn as the other. That leaves Graham out of the 23, which is a hard call.

I'm a fan of all of these guys but Rowe is such an impressive player and I'd want him in the mix.

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Lyall asked: Will this reality check for Edinburgh be good for them in the long run? Often teams come back with fresh focus after a loss and this could be a useful experience for some of the junior players in this team.

Tom answered: I don't really think they needed a reality check, to be honest. They played pretty well against Toulon, who were just a little more powerful and savvy.

It's critical that Edinburgh keep their URC form going this weekend. They can't slip back into old ways. They're playing a more aggressive and ambitious style of rugby and I want to see more of it.

Andy asked: What is it about the Glasgow lineout maul that seems to cause so many problems for opponents, yet seems so hard for them to replicate?

Tom answered: I'll defer to some learned colleagues on that one. They must drill their lineout maul to death in training. The timing of the thing is phenomenal. So many moving parts and yet they make it look so easy.

It's not. A ton of work goes into making it look easy. These are smart rugby players who know exactly what they're doing after hours of repetition on the training ground.

The Glasgow maul has an aura about it now. Opponents must be scared by it and Glasgow have supreme confidence in it.

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Scotland flanker Jamie Ritchie will make his Glasgow Warriors debut against Benetton in Italy on Saturday.

Former national skipper Ritchie, a summer arrival from USA Perpignan, is one of five Glasgow changes for the URC match.

Former Scotland U20 fly-half Matthew Urwin starts for the first time since signing his first professional contract with the club this summer.

Rory Sutherland comes into the front row for his first outing of the season after recovering from a calf injury and lock Max Williamson is restored to the XV to make his 50th appearance for the club.

Rounding out the changes is Ollie Smith, who starts on the wing after a try-scoring appearance from the bench in last weekend's Champions Cup win at Sale Sharks.

With Ritchie at blindside flanker, Euan Ferrie moves to number eight, while Jamie Dobie shifts from the wing to scrum-half.

"We look forward to seeing Jamie in a Glasgow Warriors shirt for the first time - he has worked hard to earn the opportunity," said head coach Franco Smith.

"We know Benetton will pose a stern test as they defend a proud record in front of a vocal home support."

Glasgow: Kyle Rowe, Kyle Steyn, Stafford McDowall, Sione Tuipulotu, Ollie Smith, Matthew Urwin, Jamie Dobie; Rory Sutherland, Seb Stephen, Zander Fagerson, Max Williamson, Scott Cummings, Jamie Ritchie, Rory Darge, Euan Ferrie.

Replacements: Gregor Hiddleston, Nathan McBeth, Murphy Walker, Alex Craig, Jare Oguntibeju, Gregor Brown, Callum Reidy, Bayley Kuenzle.

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Duhan van der Merwe makes his first appearance of the season and fellow Scotland international Grant Gilchrist also returns to the Edinburgh starting line-up for Friday night's URC home game against Lions.

Wing Van der Merwe had been suffering with an ankle injury and replaces Malelili Satala.

Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt said: "He comes in at the right time. To get a quality player like that back in the URC is really good for the club, especially with his experience.

"On top of that, he's been training exceptionally well. He's been our star performer at training over the last couple of weeks, so it's great that he's fully fit now and ready to go."

In other changes to the starting XV, Geordie Gwynn starts on the right wing in place of Darcy Graham, who is being rested after picking up "calf tightness" during last week's Challenge Cup defeat by Toulon, although the issue is not expected to rule him out of Scotland contention with the November Tests in mind.

"It's not serious at all," said Everitt. "He got a calf strain against Toulon on Friday night and he's still experienced some stiffness in that calf.

"It's pointless to risk him this week, especially with perhaps a Scotland call-up in November and perhaps a game against Benetton next week."

Gilchrist comes into the second row in place of Callum Hunter-Hill, while Liam McConnell is recalled at blindside flanker, with Tom Currie switching to openside in place of Freddy Douglas, who misses out having sustained a concussion in training.

Fresh from signing a new contract with the club, Hector Patterson keeps his place at scrum-half. Lock Marshall Sykes is poised for his 100th appearance for Edinburgh as he's named among the replacements.

"First of all, he's also a popular guy among our group, not only because of his food channel that he's got on Instagram, but he brings a physical edge to our team," said Everitt. "He's really good in set-piece and he carries the ball well and he's a stopper defensively.

"He's been at the club for a while now and therefore he's getting his 100th game. You have to play really well to get 100 caps at Edinburgh."

Edinburgh: Piers O'Conor, Geordie Gwynn, Matt Currie, Mosese Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe, James Grayson, Hector Patterson; Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, Glen Young, Grant Gilchrist, Liam McConnell, Tom Currie, Magnus Bradbury.

Replacements: Harri Morris, Jamie Stewart, Paul Hill, Marshall Sykes, Tom Dodd, Conor McAlpine, Cammy Scott, Harry Paterson.

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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As Edinburgh prepare to face the Lions in Friday's United Rugby Championship match, head coach Sean Everitt believes the South African side have shown "tremendous courage and bravery" following the death of team-mate Hyron Andrews.

And Everitt expects them to continue to "celebrate" his life when the sides meet at the Hive.

The Lions second row, who Everitt coached during their time at South African club Sharks, died last Friday night, a day before Lions' Champions Cup match against La Rochelle. An autopsy found the 31-year-old died from natural causes.

Ivan van Rooyen's side went ahead with their European tie, a decision Everitt felt was the right thing to do, and were beaten 31-14 in France.

"As Ivan van Rooyen alluded to during the week, there's no manual for how you deal with tragedies like this within a team," said Everitt.

"I suppose you do have two choices. One, you can step back and spend time mourning and getting over it. The other way is to celebrate the life of Hyron and look at it live through his eyes and what he would have liked. I think the Lions have chosen to go that route, which is brilliant.

"They've shown tremendous courage and bravery to have got through that game on Saturday. It's really difficult to understand what the team went through this week.

"Every time there's a death, it puts life into perspective, doesn't it? It just shows you that life is fragile. You never know what's around the corner. It is upsetting to hear news like that, it's how you deal with it and how you obviously handle those emotions."

Edinburgh have confirmed the crowd at the Hive on Friday night will be asked to stand and applaud during the fifth minute of the match to pay tribute to Hyron, who wore the number five shirt.

Everitt's side go into this game leading the way at the top of the URC after three wins from three and Everitt says they've "fixed the wrongs" after their disappointing European challenge cup defeat by Toulon last Friday.

"The team's got a lot of confidence," said Everitt. "Obviously disappointed with our performance last Friday. It wasn't what we displayed in the first three weeks.

"I thought it was just inaccuracy in our performance all around.

"We have prepared well this week and we've fixed the wrongs and we're looking to put in a good performance and continue on the momentum that we've gained in the first three rounds."

While describing the Lions as a side who "thrive on the scraps of the game" but who have also "added to their depth", Everitt says Edinburgh intend to "focus on themselves."

"We've been putting in good performances in different areas, but never all at the same time," he added.

"That's always going to be our motivation and that's to focus on ourselves and put performances together that are going to make the game enjoyable and certainly good to watch.

"I don't believe that we're there yet and we're just looking from week to week to get better and grow."