Scottish Rugby

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

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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.

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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."

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Hector Patterson says Edinburgh's attacking style suits his game after the 21-year-old was rewarded with an improved contract.

The new terms, which run until the end of the 2027-28 season, take effect immediately and improve on the scrum-half's first professional contract from earlier this year.

Patterson has started all four of Edinburgh's matches this season and scored in the opening-round URC win against Ulster in Belfast.

"I'm really proud to have signed a new deal with Edinburgh. This is my club and I honestly didn't want to be anywhere else," he said.

"I love the direction we're heading in this season and the attacking style that's been brought in suits the way I want to play.

"We've got a great group of young players coming through, alongside some really experienced guys who do a brilliant job of leading the squad.

"It's an exciting time to be at Edinburgh. There's a lot ahead of us and I can't wait to be part of it."

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Scotland international Alex Craig has extended his contract with Glasgow Warriors until the summer of 2029.

The 29-year-old became a key member of the Scotstoun forward pack in making 16 appearances last season in his first campaign with the club.

Craig marked his first outing of this term by scoring his first Glasgow try in the 47-27 away victory over Sale Sharks last weekend.

Craig's contract extension comes 24 hours after fellow lock Alex Samuel signed a new deal.

"I'm absolutely delighted," Craig said.

"It was a really easy decision to be honest - I loved my first season with the club, and I'm really excited to see what we can achieve as a group."

Andy Burke and Tom English chat to Tavi Tuipulotu, brother of Scotland captain Sione and Edinburgh's Mosese, after he marked his Glasgow debut with a try.

Tavi talks about the chaos of growing up in the Tuipulotu household and why he dreams of running out for Scotland.

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Scotland lock Alex Samuel says it was an "easy decision" to sign a new contract with Glasgow Warriors.

The 23-year-old has made 58 appearances for Franco Smith's side and played a prominent role in last season's table-topping URC campaign.

Samuel, who won the first of his four Scotland caps two years ago, is eager to continue improving for club and country once he recovers from a knee injury.

"I'm looking forward to the next few years, and with the way the club is moving it was a pretty easy decision to stay," he said.

"I've obviously been fortunate enough to play a lot of games in the last year or so, which has certainly allowed me to keep improving my game. The environment here is second to none and that's really put me in the best position possible for my own development.

"It's great fun coming to work every day with your mates, and with guys that you've grown up playing alongside. It makes everything so much easier and I feel like we're really building something together here at Scotstoun.

"I just want to keep improving and put my hand up for selection once I'm back fully fit. I'd obviously love to play for Scotland more as well, but first things first I've got to get myself back into the best form possible for Glasgow and give my all for the club."

Head coach Smith says Samuel is a "great influence" at the club, adding: "He provides a physical edge both with and without the ball, regularly putting in the hard work to put his team in the best position possible."

Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Ruwald van der Merwe says he and his new family are loving life in Scotland and feels Glasgow Warriors are the ideal club to take his game "to the next level".

After making the move from the Airlink Pumas to become the first new Scotsoun arrival in the summer, the big South African forward - who says he's happy to play anywhere across the back row - is relishing the learning curve.

"Coming here, it's quite evident from the first few training sessions that there's a lot of space for improvement," said Van der Merwe.

"So I've been learning a lot, especially skill wise. In South Africa we play a much more physical brand of rugby, whereas here my experience has been it's not maybe as physical but the skills are much better and the pace of the game is also quite quick so that's something I have to adapt to.

"The coaching and the players have all been great leading up to my debut in just developing small areas of my game."

As well as building his game, Van der Merwe has just started a family, which meant there was someone extra with him and his wife when they made the move to Glasgow.

"We've got a 10-month-old daughter so moving across with a small baby is obviously a big decision," he explained.

"I did speak to Henco Venter and Nathan McBeth as well. They're in sort of similar situations. So yeah, they just motivated me to do it. She's still small. So yeah, she's actually adapting really well in Scotland. I think she likes the cold weather.

"There's a lot of small kids at the club. So yeah, it's been good. And all the girls have also been really welcoming to my wife."

Having just made his debut in the bonus-point win at Sale in the Champions Cup, Van der Merwe was given an early indication of the standards expected at his new club and the pressure to deliver.

"The standard of the club is really high," he said. "It's quite evident that this is the next level. Standards are high, obviously more pressure on games and you're expected to perform on the next level.

"So I think the players at this club make it so easy because they lift you up with them. I just think of playing next to someone like Sione Tuipulotu this weekend. He's so experienced and helped me on the field. Rory Darge as well and Scott Cummings.

"The boys have been great helping me adapt to this next level."

Sandy Smith
Fan writer

One swallow does not make a summer and one defeat does not mean disaster.

Yes, this was a first-ever defeat to Toulon in four meetings and it probably wasn't a 100% first-choice team they sent.

It was also our least accurate display of the season to date and yet until Toulon's last score in the 65th minute we were in the game and deserved to take something from it.

If there's a worry it is this. If you had to rate Edinburgh performances so far this season from one to four - one being the highest - this game would be four and the order of the rest would follow the calendar.

If our lineout won us the game against Stormers it was a key part in the losing of this one. Toulon stole a number of Edinburgh throws and varied their own inputs very effectively.

It wasn't the only key as our own inaccuracies, particularly from the restarts along with the decision to pass up at least nine easy penalty points, all contributed.

Add to that some shockingly poor passing and an attack that was for the most part ineffective and somewhat predictable.

For balance though this loss has to be considered in the light Toulon have been the best team we have played this season and their power, sheer size and overall ability outstrips anything we have faced.

After 30 minutes, possession and territory were firmly in Toulon's favour with both in the 70% region and they only had three points to show for it.

By the end of the match we were ahead on possession and had closed the territory gap substantially, but the previously mentioned inaccuracies and Toulon's smarts kept them ahead on the best statistic, the scoresheet.

We have work to do but this match makes clear what areas we need to target if there had been any doubt on that front.

It is a wound but not one we can't overcome across the scope of the tournament and I hope we don't start dismissing it because I don't think we've yet earned the right to be picky about where we put forward the best efforts.

It does increase the pressure for a good result this week against Lions as I've no doubt the 'bubble has burst' comments which are already circulating will become prominent.

Sandy Smith can be found at the Burgh Watch, external

We want your questions for our rugby expert Andy Burke after a packed weekend of action.

Glasgow secured an impressive bonus-point victory away to Sale in the Champions Cup, while Edinburgh suffered their first defeat of the season, going down to Toulon in the Challenge Cup.

Scotland's women also suffered defeat, going down to Australia in a chastening eight-try loss in their WXV Global Series match in Sydney.

Send us your questions via this link, and a selection will be answered and published on this page later in the week.