Bullscot
Centre Sam Johnson will make his first Scotland appearance since emerging on the international scene in the 2019 Guinness Six Nations in this Saturday’s Summer Test match against Georgia at the Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi (31 August, kick-off 5pm BST, 8pm local time, 6pm SA time) – live on Premier Sports.
The play-making midfielder is one of 10 changes to the side that defeated France 17-14 at BT Murrayfield last weekend. He will make his comeback alongside 23-year-old Rory Hutchinson, who will start his first Test match for his country.
Scotland will be the first Tier One national side to travel for a Test match on Georgian soil, which doubles as the last opportunity for players to stake their claim for the final 31-man group for Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan, announced by Head Coach Gregor Townsend at a public event at Linlithgow Palace on Tuesday 3 September.
Scotland Women head coach Philip Doyle has announced his backroom staff for the upcoming season.
Doyle has confirmed that Bryan Easson will remain in post as Assistant Coach for the season ahead. Easson will be working with the backs with Doyle being the lead defence coach.
New to the management team will be Andy Weir. Weir has worked with Doyle for several years supporting him both with Ireland Women and at Ulster Rugby. Weir will be assisting the team and management with the continued development of a winning culture as well as supporting player welfare.
Scottish Rugby has appointed Jim Mallinder as its new Performance Director.
The highly respected coach has worked throughout the English club game at the highest level and led teams at senior age-grade and England Saxons, alongside roles in the English National Academy. He most recently worked as the performance pathway coach with the RFU.
Mallinder joins Scottish Rugby following Scott Johnson’s departure in April this year.
The former Northampton and Sale Sharks head coach will lead Scottish Rugby’s performance department from the newly created Super6 competition for part-time professional club teams through to the Scotland men’s national team.
Australia coach Michael Cheika has named uncapped teenager Jordan Petaia and David Pocock in his World Cup squad, despite the forward’s fitness concerns.
Pocock, 31, has not played for the Wallabies since November 2018 because of a calf injury but joins an experienced squad with back Adam Ashley-Cooper, who has 117 caps.
Fly-half Christian Lealiifano, who was diagnosed with leukaemia in August 2016, is also in the squad.
“I’m confident,” Cheika said.
“We’ll be a little bit unpredictable, that’s been a little bit of our theme this year, if we don’t know what we’re doing no one will know what we’re doing.”
George Ford and Owen Farrell will start together for the first time in over a year when they line up for England against Ireland on Saturday.
Captain Farrell partners Manu Tuilagi in the centres for the first time in a Test match.
Flankers Sam Underhill and Tom Curry are both named in the back row.
“This weekend we will be looking to gain more match fitness and test different sorts of game strategies,” said boss Eddie Jones.
Ford and Farrell formed a successful partnership for the first two years of Jones’ tenure, before Farrell switched to fly-half regularly last year.
The last time they started in the same midfield was the second Test against South Africa in Bloemfontein last June, which England lost 23-12.
After an incident in the Wales v England match at the weekend, World Rugby has announced an immediate amendment to Law 3 to stipulate that a match cannot restart until a player leaving the field of play for a blood injury or Head Injury Assessment (HIA) has been temporarily replaced.
In the World Cup warm up match, Pascal Gauzere allowed play to restart before the interchange had been fully completed. While England were still replacing their HIA player, they had 13 players on the field (with another in the sin bin). Wales went to to score from the penalty move. While the restart wasn’t wrong in law, most referees would have waited in such circumstances.
Marcell Coetzee
Ulster forward Marcell Coetzee has been ruled out of South Africa’s squad for the Rugby World Cup with an ankle injury.
The back row hurt his ankle and suffered a blow to the head during the Springboks’ warm-up win over Argentina in Pretoria.
Coetzee is expected to be sidelined for 12 weeks.
Italy head coach Conor O’Shea has named his squad for the Rugby World Cup in Japan, with 15 Benetton Rugby and 10 Zebre players included in the 31.
Commencing their campaign against Namibia in Osaka on Sunday 22 September, the Azzurri, skippered by Sergio Parisse, also face New Zealand, South Africa and Canada.
Parisse, set to appear in his fifth World Cup, is joined by Maxime Mbanda, Sebastian Negri, Jake Polledri and Abraham Steyn as the back-row options – with Dean Budd, Federico Ruzza, David Sisi and Alessandro Zanni the locks named.
Simone Ferrari, Andrea Lovotti, Tiziano Pasquali, Nicola Quaglio, Marco Riccioni, Federico Zani, Luca Bigi, Oliviero Fabiani and Leonardo Ghiraldini complete the pack as the nine front rows.
Fiji Rugby named the squad to represent Fiji at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan at a Media Conference at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva, Fiji.
Head Coach John McKee said the squad, captained by Dominiko Waqaniburotu, has an opportunity to do something special for Fiji and is challenging the players to step up their intensity and commitment to make a real impact in Japan.
“I wish the players selected well and remind them of the responsibility they must take on in representing Fiji in a RWC,” said McKee.
“With 35 days until our opening match against the Wallabies now is the time to step our preparation up in the final phase to ensure we put ourselves in the best position to achieve our performance goals at RWC.”
Scotland’s World Cup build-up got off to a poor start as they were crushed by an impressive France side in Nice.
The hosts claimed the initiative within two minutes through Alivereti Raka’s try and never looked back.
Maxime Medard and Gregory Alldritt scored further first-half tries, with Medard and Antoine Dupont crossing after the break as the free-flowing French ran riot.
The sides meet again at Murrayfield next weekend.
Head Coach Gregor Townsend today named the Scotland team to face France in the opening Summer Test match at the Allianz Riviera in Nice this Saturday (kick-off 9pm SA time, 8pm UK time).
The match will be the first of four Test matches for the national team in the coming weeks – Scotland host France in the return fixture next Saturday at BT Murrayfield, before away and home Tests against Georgia – all of which are designed to refine the selection decisions of Head Coach Gregor Townsend, who will name his final squad for Rugby World Cup 2019 next month.
Townsend said: “A huge amount of work has gone in throughout the past two months in order to deliver our best level of performance in the Rugby World Cup.
“These four Tests are a vital part of that process in terms of testing our systems and combinations but also in seeing which players put their best foot forward when it comes to selection for the final 31-man group going to Japan next month.”
Hosts South Africa and Kenya are now just one win away from securing the region’s qualification ticket to Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 in New Zealand after maintaining their winning records on Tuesday in the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup in Brakpan.
Played under blue skies at the Bosman Stadium, Kenya kicked off the second round of the inaugural competition with a seven-try, 37-5 victory over a Ugandan side that battled hard in a tight first half before succumbing to the Lionesses’ attacking prowess.
South Africa knew they would do well to match their 89-5 win over Uganda in round one and they came up against a Madagascan side that showed plenty of promises in what was only their second test. The Springbok Women, however, showed no mercy and ran in tries at regular intervals as well as keeping opponents scoreless for the first time in more than nine years.
Head coach Eddie Jones said England “need people who have got a samurai spirit” after naming his squad for the Rugby World Cup in Japan.
Jones gave shock call-ups to flanker Lewis Ludlam and uncapped wing Ruaridh McConnochie in the 31-man group.
Gloucester scrum-half Willi Heinz, 32, whose England debut came in Sunday’s win against Wales, is also in the squad, but centre Ben Te’o is not.
“You need guys who are mature, who enjoy life,” said Jones.
“And we’ve deliberately picked a squad like that because it’s going to be an important factor.
“This is an enormous cultural event apart from being a sporting event and you’ve got to be able to cope with the different culture.”
South Africa showed their determination to secure a return to the Women’s Rugby World Cup stage with an impressive display of attacking rugby that Uganda simply had no answer to in their Rugby Africa Women’s Cup 2019 match at Bosman Stadium in Brakpan.
The hosts simply had too much pace, power and experience for Uganda, a side ranked 33 places below them in the World Rugby Women’s Rankings, and 10 first-half tries set them on the road to an 89-5 victory in their opening match played on National Women’s Day in South Africa.
Kenya were the other winners on day one of the first African women’s 15s competition, although they had to battle much harder for their 35-5 victory over test debutants Madagascar in the opening match of a tournament that will determine the first regional qualifier for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 in New Zealand.
The World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup 2019 comes to a conclusion this weekend with silverware on the line as the USA and Japan, the two unbeaten teams, meet in the title decider in Suva.
There could be double delight for USA in the Fijian capital of Suva on Saturday as the Eagles chase their first World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup title and a possible all-time high of 11th in the World Rugby Rankings.
To do this, they would need to beat Japan by more than 15 points – a difficult task given that the Brave Blossoms are also unbeaten and looking in good form following impressive wins against Fiji and Tonga. Like the USA, Jamie Joseph’s men have rankings history in their sights as a record-equalling ninth place could be theirs if they win and the result of the Rugby Championship match between Argentina and South Africa in Salta falls in their favour.
Head Coach Gregor Townsend today released four players from Scotland’s Rugby World Cup training squad, reducing it to a 40-man group.
Glasgow Warriors Kyle Steyn (wing/centre) and Nick Grigg (centre), Edinburgh scrum-half Henry Pyrgos and Newcastle Falcons back-row Gary Graham have all returned to their clubs.
Townsend said: “I’d like to thank these players for the work-rate and commitment they’ve shown as part of our preparations for the Rugby World Cup in Japan.
He added: “Players are often called up from beyond the 31-man group that travels to a world cup, so I’d encourage these players to keep working as hard on their skills and fitness as they have over the summer, as we may need to call on them in the weeks ahead.”
Gloucester scrum-half Willi Heinz and Bath wing Ruaridh McConnochie will make their England debuts against Wales at Twickenham on Sunday as they make a late bid for Rugby World Cup selection.
Heinz will be vice-captain and partners skipper George Ford at half-back, with Piers Francis at inside centre.
Sam Underhill and Tom Curry play as flankers together for the first time.
Head coach Eddie Jones said his focus for the four warm-ups is on “developing a team capable of winning in Japan”.
Both Heinz and McConnochie were surprise inclusions in the wider training squad, with Heinz now edging ahead of Ben Spencer in the battle to be Ben Youngs’ back-up.
The New Zealand-born playmaker now looks almost certain of a place in the final 31-man World Cup squad, which is named on Monday.
Exeter have signed lock Jannes Kirsten from South African Super Rugby side the Bulls on a one-year deal.
The 25-year-old joined the Bulls in 2012 and this will be his first time playing for another club.
Kirsten, who can also play back row, is the sixth signing of the summer for Chiefs’ director of rugby Rob Baxter.
Kirsten told the club website: “If you ask any South African player, they want to come here and have a taste of the Premiership.”
Both Leinster and the Isuzu Southern Kings will get a taste of Rugby World Cup action in pre-season after both announced clashes against international opposition.
Defending champions Leinster will face Canada at the end of August in Ontario while the Kings will head to Tbilisi to take on Georgia.
Both fixtures will serve as ideal warm-ups for the Guinness PRO14 seasons to come as the two sides prepare for the many road trips to come and test themselves against opposition intent on hitting their straps in time for Japan.
The stage is set for a thrilling World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup 2019, with the tournament taking on added significance two months out from the World Cup.
This year’s edition promises to be one of the most competitive and fascinating to date with all six participating teams making their final World Cup preparations.
The tournament will be contested by Japan, Canada, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and USA over three rounds on July 27, August 3 and August 9-10, offering teams a vital chance to fine-tune their squads and scope out their opposition.
This Saturday’s opening round fixtures feature Tonga versus Samoa in Apia, Japan versus Fiji in Kamaishi and USA versus Canada in Glendale.
GREIG LAIDLAW flashes a wry smile when the inevitable question arrives. The 33-year-old scrum-half has been around the block enough times to have known it was coming, and he has shown time and again during his career that he has the mental fortitude to shrug off any negative energy directed his way.
So, when he was quizzed earlier this week about whether he believes he can win back the Scotland No 9 jersey which was surrendered to Ali Price for the final two games of last season’s Six Nations, the feisty Borderer didn’t miss a beat.
“Without a shadow of a doubt I feel I can win the shirt back,” he fired back. “I’ll fight to the death for my jersey, I’ll fight tooth and nail for it if I have to. I won’t be shying away from that.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge and I think it’s good for me. Ali is playing really well, George [Horne] is coming in as a young scrum-half, but I think I add value to the group and you probably saw that in the latter stages in the game down in England.”
Which brings us – almost inevitably – to Scotland’s last outing, when the team demonstrated inside the space of 80 crazy minutes at Twickenham just how vulnerable they are when the wheels come off, but also how dangerous they can be when they find their groove.
After that match, head coach Gregor Townsend spoke about the influence of his benched captain as the squad looked to regroup after a torrid opening 40 minutes during which they had fallen 31-7 behind.
Even in the ever-changing world of rugby union, the nine-point try might seem a bit bizarre. So it’s hard to believe that this inflated value of touching down over your opponents’ goal-line is now a selling feature of Global Rapid Rugby, a new competition with amended laws being introduced to the the Asia Pacific region, which, some suggest, might shape the future direction of World Rugby.
If the nine-point try is still a bit alien to most Scots then not to worry. Because out in Hong-Kong, a key driver of Asian rugby, the ‘Power Try’, as it’s being dubbed, is now everyday life to ex-pat and former North Berwick High School scrum half, Jamie Lauder.
Lauder, who played for Edinburgh Under-18s as well captaining Aberdeen University, recently signed a part-time professional contract with the South China Tigers, one of the sides that is showcasing the new competition this year. The 2019 exhibition series will add up to just 14 matches that will feature the Asia Pacific Dragons (Singapore), Fijian Latui (Fiji), Kagifa Samoa (Samoa), South China Tigers (Hong Kong), Western Force (Western Australia).
Then, for 2020, the competition will move into full blown mode by featuring eight teams playing home and away and fighting for a $1 million AUD first prize. The plan is to expand the competition with teams from the east coast of Australia and from New Zealand, as well as Japan and Hawaii.
The Currie Cup First Division will feature added beef in the form of Argentinean outfit, the Jaguares XV, when it kicks off this weekend with a full round of matches.
The South Americans will play in the Currie Cup First Division for the first time after a similar sortie in the Vodacom Cup a couple of years back. They are based in Potchefstroom and will face a short, but tough trip to Welkom, where they will face Griffons, in their tournament debut.
The Argentineans could again prove a handful. Coach Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe himself is a well-known figure in world rugby, having played for the Pumas in three Rugby World Cups, while they have some notable players in their squad as well.
Gonzalo Bertranou (scrumhalf), who played for the Jaguares in the Super Rugby tournament this year, is returning from injury and will be a boost to the squad.
The Red Roses secured a bonus-point 38-5 win over USA Women in their Women’s Rugby Super Series opener in San Diego.
In glorious sunny conditions at the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center in California, it was England who opened the scoring when Amber Reed, on her 50th cap, launched a crossfield kick that bounced kindly for Poppy Cleall to feed Kelly Smith to stroll in – Emily Scarratt converting.
The hosts were level five minutes later when a couple of powerful forward drives saw Hope Rogers cross from close range, but Claudia Macdonald’s sniping run off the back of a ruck saw her dart in from 10 metres out for her first England try.
Scarratt then read a USA attacking move to intercept the ball and canter in under the posts, and then converted her own score, before some powerful work from the pack was rewarded when hooker Heather Kerr drove over for the bonus-point, and a 26-5 half-time lead.
Edinburgh have continued to strengthen their squad ahead of next season with the signing of South African scrum-half, Nic Groom.
Groom, 29, joins from Super Rugby side Lions and brings a wealth of experience having amassed over 100 appearances for both the Stormers and Northampton Saints in recent seasons.
The scrum-half was a key man in the 2019 Lions Super Rugby squad that narrowly missed out on reaching the knockout stages of the competition, appearing in 13 out of 16 conference fixtures.
On joining the club, Groom said: “I’m really excited to link-up with Edinburgh. I’ve been keeping an eye on their results from South Africa and it’s definitely a club on the rise. I can’t wait to play my role in the seasons to come.
“My time at the Lions has been awesome. I’ve had the chance to work with fantastic coaches alongside some great players and I’m hugely grateful for the opportunity they gave me to play for them.
“From what I’ve heard, Edinburgh is a great place to live and play your rugby. My family can’t wait for the adventure that lies ahead.”
Rugby’s most capped Scotsman, Ross Ford, today confirmed his decision to retire from playing the sport to take up a role bringing on the next generation of young Scottish players in the Fosroc Scottish Rugby academy.
Ford earned his last – and record-breaking 110th – Scotland cap against Fiji on the 2017 summer tour and has brought an end to a historic career that was accompanied by close to 300 professional club games for Border Reivers and Edinburgh Rugby and a Test appearance for the British & Irish Lions on the 2009 tour to South Africa.
He won his first senior cap for Scotland when he was introduced as a replacement during the opening match of the 2004 Autumn Tests against Australia at BT Murrayfield around two years after making a positional switch from back-row to hooker.
There are three categories of team involved in Monday’s first round of knock-out matches – the four with a chance of being champions, the next four with only pride at stake, and the bottom four desperate to avoid relegation.
The top four are playing semifinals while Fiji, Georgia, Italy and Scotland battle to avoid relegation, especially vital for Italy as their are the 2020 host nation.
Of the top four, South Africa, who are the only unbeaten side in the tournament, Australia and Argentina were winners of their pool. France, who are the reigning champions, were statistically the best of the other nine teams
The semis will be played at the Hipódromo, the stadium next to the racecourse at the Jockey Club in Rosario.
The Old Resians Club – a generous place as is the case with the great clubs of Argentina – was founded for the past pupils of Rosario English School – hence the RES of Resians. It is now the San Bartolomé School.
Two tries by Yoann Huget proved the difference as Toulouse capped a superb season by beating Clermont Auvergne 24-18 in the French Top 14 final in Paris on Saturday to lift the trophy for the first time since 2012.
The winger crossed the line in the 28th and 55th minutes to give Toulouse a deserved victory, although five Greig Laidlaw penalties meant the outcome was never a formality.
Toulouse had finished top of the regular season table with a record points tally and reached the European Champions Cup semi-finals while Clermont finished second having scored more points than any other side during the 26-match campaign.
Pre-match billing spoke of a “dream final” and a 79,000 crowd in the Stade de France were treated to a grand occasion even if the game failed to match the blockbuster between the sides in April when Toulouse won 47-44.
Toulouse will not care, though, as they claimed their 20th French championship.
For Wales under-20s lock Teddy Williams, a World Rugby Championship match with Argentina was not even his hardest test of the day.
Tackles and mauls were the stress relief for 18-year-old Williams, one of three members of the Wales under-20 side who is balancing the World Rugby U20 Championship with their A-level exams.
Williams, a pupil at Cardiff Welsh medium school Ysgol Glantaf, sat chemistry in the morning, was driven hastily across the city of Rosario back to the stadium just in time to help his side defeat the hosts 30-25 in a contest that kicked off at 1pm.
“We have three players involved with exams, we are balancing it.”
Glasgow Warriors head coach Dave Rennie has named an unchanged line-up for Saturday’s Pro14 final against holders Leinster at Celtic Park.
Callum Gibbins captains the side, while Stuart Hogg makes his final appearance before joining Exeter Chiefs.
Ireland duo Rob Kearney and Jonny Sexton and former Australia lock Scott Fardy come into the Leinster team.
Sexton skippers Leo Cullen’s side, having last started in the Champions Cup final defeat by Saracens.
Kearney’s place at full-back means Jordan Larmour moves to the wing, while Ross Byrne drops to the bench and Devin Toner, Dave Kearney and Sean O’Brien do not feature, with O’Brien expected to leave for London Irish this summer.
Warriors head coach Dave Rennie has urged “excitement machine” Hogg to concentrate on reproducing his recent form.
“We tried to put the brakes on him today – he went berserk yesterday at training,” Rennie said.
“He’s an excitement machine. He’s desperate to go out on a big note and all we need him to do is to play as well as he has in the last few weeks and hopefully it’s enough.”
Johnny Sexton starts on the bench as Pro14 champions Leinster defend their title in the semi-final on Saturday against Munster in Dublin.
Leinster make four changes from the Champions Cup final defeat by Saracens.
Ross Byrne, Dave Kearney, Rhys Ruddock and fit-again Josh van der Flier, in his first game since Ireland’s Six Nations win over France, all start.
Munster also make four changes from the quarter-final win over Benetton with Keith Earls and Joey Carbery included.
Van der Flier has not played for Leinster since January, after sustaining a groin injury while on Six Nations duty. There were doubts whether he would be available again this season and his return is a timely boost for club and country in a World Cup year.
He replaces Sean O’Brien in the back row with Rhys Ruddock, who will captain the team, coming in for Scott Fardy.
Glasgow head coach Dave Rennie has named his team to face Ulster in Friday night’s PRO14 semi-final at Scotstoun.DTH van der Merwe returns to the Glasgow Warriors starting XV. The Canada international winger, who was ruled out for the remainder of the season following shoulder surgery in February, has recovered four weeks ahead of schedule.
The 33-year-old scored the dramatic winning try in Glasgow’s last league semi-final victory in 2015, also against Ulster at Scotstoun.
Club co-captain Callum Gibbins returns to lead the side having not played since suffering a head injury against Saracens in March.
Stuart Hogg will play his final game at Scostoun before joining English Premiership side Exeter Chiefs next season, he joins DTH in the backfield, along with fellow club centurion Tommy Seymour.
Sam Johnson and Kyle Steyn start in midfield for the fourth consecutive game while recent recipient of the Guinness PRO14 Young Player of the Season award, Adam Hastings starts at fly-half and Ali Price is once again named at scrum-half.
Prop Mako Vunipola will make his first Saracens appearance since January against Munster after an ankle injury picked up on England duty.
Centre Brad Barritt, who was injured in the quarter-final win over Glasgow, and number eight Billy Vunipola also start.
Winger Keith Earls is missing for Munster after failing to recover from a thigh injury.
The flanker was one of a number of players rested in last weekend’s 37-28 win at Benetton.
Liam Williams returns on the wing for Saracens after missing the club’s last two games with a minor hamstring problem.
Kyle Steyn in action for Scotland 7s
Kyle Steyn tells a story about unity, forgiveness and love, the tale of a white South African cop assigned to protect Nelson Mandela amid some of the most volatile days the nation had seen.
The subject of the yarn is Steyn’s father, Rory, a former Johannesburg police officer raised in the days of apartheid and conditioned by division. In 1994, he was hired to lead the security team who watched over the newly-elected president during his five-year term – he knew little of what to expect or what kind of man he had been tasked with guarding.
Josh Strauss
Forward Josh Strauss is available for Scotland’s Six Nations match against France in Paris on Saturday – despite losing his passport.
Strauss was a doubt for the match after his South African passport went missing, with it being too late for the 32-year-old to get a replacement.
However, the Scottish Rugby Union says the situation has now been resolved and he will make the trip.