Bullscot
Zander Fagerson will play his first game in five months tomorrow, having recovered from a broken leg.
The tight-head prop was injured against the Cheetahs on Glasgow’s trip to South Africa in September and is named to start against Cardiff Blues following five months of rehabilitation.
George Turner also returns from injury to start, the hooker hasn’t played since picking up an ankle injury in Glasgow’s home game against Lyon in the Champions Cup in December. Alex Allan completes the front-row.
Scott Cummings will play his 50th game for the club behind them, Tim Swinson is his partner in the engine room.
An emerging force against a wounded champion. High-octane flair versus ruthless structure. A maverick fly-half opposite a colossus of the sport.
Scotland, a growing power under Gregor Townsend, eased past Italy in the opening round of the Six Nations despite a late defensive lapse.
Defending champions Ireland arrive at Murrayfield on Saturday having been thumped by England in Dublin.
Edinburgh have retained the 1872 Cup after a strong second-half performance was enough to put Glasgow Warriors to the sword at a blustery Scotstoun.
Leading 6-3 at the half, the capital side capitalised on robust forward play and set-piece dominance to eventually grab a well-deserved win on the road, with captain Stuart McInally snatching the only try of the contest.
The victory now means Edinburgh have lifted the trophy in four of the last five seasons, whilst the four league points gained keeps the capital side well within the race for both the Guinness PRO14 Finals Series and Heineken Champions Cup qualification.
Pete Horne will play his 150th game for Glasgow Warriors in today’s 1872 Cup first leg at BT Murrayfield.
Pete Horne made his Warriors debut against Ulster nine years ago and has 343 points to his name to date, including 20 tries.
The 29-year-old has represented Scotland 38 times during his Warriors tenure and started Glasgow’s 2015 Guinness PRO12 Final win.
He starts again this weekend, at inside centre with Nick Grigg outside of him in midfield.
His younger brother George starts at scrum-half with Adam Hastings his half-back partner, both fresh from signing new contracts with the club this week.
Head Coach Gregor Townsend today named six personnel changes to the starting Scotland side to face South Africa in this Saturday’s Autumn Test match at BT Murrayfield (17 November, kick-off 5.20pm, 7.20pm SA Time).
The home side last faced the Springboks in the Pool rounds of Rugby World Cup 2015, losing 36-14 at St James’ Park in Newcastle, with the 2010 Autumn Tests the most recent home success on a day where stand-off Dan Parks kicked all of Scotland’s points to win 21-17.
The return of Glasgow Warriors centre Huw Jones is the only change to the back division, with Scotland’s pack featuring the remaining five.
The magical skill and power of Fijian players was on display last night as Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh both picked up valuable bonus points wins against Ospreys and Scarlets respectively.
Fijian Niko Matawalu came on as an early replacement to score a stunning hat-trick for Glasgow and inspire a bonus-point victory over Ospreys.
Wing Matawalu replaced Ruaridh Jackson after three minutes and crossed for three tries as Warriors extended their Pro14 Conference A lead to nine points.
Edinburgh climbed to third in Pro14 Conference B after an entertaining bonus-point win over Scarlets.
Bill Mata and Tom Brown – twice – scored first-half tries for the hosts but Scarlets struck through Morgan Williams and Paul Asquith to trail by just three points at the break.
He’s played Chief Tui in Disney’s Moana and Jango Fett in Star Wars, but now actor Temuera Morrison is set to play Eddie Jones.
The New Zealander will portray the Australian in a new film about the greatest Rugby World Cup shock ever, when Japan beat South Africa 34-32 in 2015 at Brighton’s Amex Stadium.
Jones – now head coach of England – was then the Japan boss and the mastermind behind the Brave Blossoms’ dramatic win.
Under the working title ‘The Brighton Miracle’, the film is expected to begin shooting in Australia in January and will be overseen by Australian writer and director Max Mannix.
Karne Hesketh scored a last minute try as unfancied Japan won their first World Cup game since 1991 and also secured their first ever victory over two-time world champions the Springboks, one of the sport’s great powers who would go on to reach the semi-finals.
Back row Cornell du Preez went to hospital after sustaining a worrying blow to his throat in Worcester Warriors’ 21-20 defeat to Wasps at Sixways.
The Scotland international, making his competitive debut for Warriors in the Premiership opener, was a second half substitute but lasted just five minutes before being forced off with the injury.Director of rugby Alan Solomons confirmed du Preez, who joined Worcester from Edinburgh this summer, had fractured his larynx, also known as the voice box.
Court artist sketch of Danny Cipriani, by Elizabeth Cook, appearing at Jersey Magistrates’
England rugby international Danny Cipriani has been fined £2,000 after an assault in a Jersey nightclub.
The Gloucester player pleaded guilty to common assault and resisting arrest and was ordered to pay £250 compensation to a woman police officer.
She has been named in reports as former Welsh international footballer Jodie Botterill.
Three other charges – assault on police, larceny and being disorderly on licensed premises – were dropped.
Celtic Park will host the 2019 Guinness PRO14 Final on May 25 as the Championship takes another historic step with the showpiece event being held outside of a traditional rugby venue for the very first time.
Fresh from the success of the 2018 Guinness PRO14 Final in Dublin that saw a new record attendance set for the third year in a row, Glasgow will play host as the Championship decider returns to Scotland for the first time since 2016.
After the first Guinness PRO14 season brought about increased attendances and audiences across broadcast and social media, the move to host the Final at Celtic Park will ensure that fans new and old can experience the thrilling play that the Championship decider delivers every season.
With a capacity of 60,832 Celtic Park is known for football, but also hosted athletics and cycling when the site opened in 1892 and today holds a reputation for providing some of the most colourful and passionate atmospheres in all of sport.
Scotland tour captain Stuart McInally has recovered from injury to feature in the national team’s third and final Test match against Argentina at the Estadio Centenario tomorrow ( Saturday 23 June, kick-off 4.40pm; 8.40pm UK time, 9:40pm SA time).
The Edinburgh hooker has been given the all-clear to start in Resistencia having been ruled out of the first and second Tests against Canada and USA by a calf strain sustained on the eve of the tour. McInally is one of eight changes to the starting side named today by Head Coach Gregor Townsend, six of which accompany him in the pack where Tim Swinson is the only forward to be retained from last weekend’s loss to USA – albeit as a second-row this time round.
Edinburgh props Allan Dell and Simon Berghan return to join McInally in the front-row, with lock and vice-captain Grant Gilchrist coming in to partner Swinson.
A new back-row trio is also named, with Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh), David Denton (Leicester Tigers) and Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors) selected in the loose forwards.
Holders Leinster will face three other former winners in Pool One of next season’s Heineken Champions Cup.
The Irish Pro14 champions have been drawn against Wasps, Toulouse and Bath, with 11 titles between the four sides.
English Premiership winners Saracens are in Pool Three, alongside Challenge Cup champions Cardiff Blues, Glasgow Warriors and Lyon.
Last year’s runners-up Racing 92 are in Pool Four with Scarlets, Leicester Tigers and Ulster.
Exeter Chiefs, who were beaten by Saracens in May’s Premiership final, are in Pool Two, alongside French Top 14 champions Castres, Munster and Gloucester.
The competition has been renamed from the European Champions Cup, having previously been known as the Heineken Cup from 1995 to 2014.
Barend van Graan
The Blue Bulls Company would like to confirm that the contract of CEO Barend van Graan will be coming to an end at the end of January 2019.
Van Graan, an absolute asset to the brand, was requested by the board to stay on even after he had reached retirement age in 2015. He was then appointed on a four-year contract, taking his overall tenure with the brand up to 35 years.
President of the BBRU Willem Strauss heaped praise on what Van Graan had achieved with the brand: “Barend is not only the leader of the Blue Bulls Company but also a mentor to his management, staff and players. He has embedded a proud culture and heritage, and there is no doubt that his legacy will still inspire us as we move forward.”
“Even though it will be sad to see him go, we respect his decision to step back and allow new blood to come in and take over the reins. We would like to sincerely wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”
Scotland play the USA next Saturday in Houston and while the Eagles are expected to put up a brave fight on the field of play the really important battles in American rugby are being fought in the boardroom, with two Scots at the centre of the maelstrom.
Former West of Scotland centre Steve Lewis, a coach with a level four certificate and huge experience, has been personally responsible for toppling about half of the USA Rugby board, which he considered a rotten edifice. Another Scot, the interim chief executive (and ongoing chief operating officer), Ross Young has the unenviable task and putting the whole thing back together again.
The two are good pals, still, and both are working hard for the betterment of rugby in America, even if they are coming at it from different angles.
For most rugby players and fans in the US, 2018 is like any most years: Spring playoffs have given way to sevens tournaments and Summer friendlies dominate the international test landscape.
But at the highest administrative levels, the competitive fun we all associate with the game is nowhere to be found. Rather, USA Rugby — the sports National Governing Body — is experiencing a slow-moving tsunami of bad news.
Glasgow Warriors Head Coach Dave Rennie will be hoping a couple of weekends off is just what his squad needed to freshen up after a long and attritional season. It’s certainly been good for the Warriors’ injury list with just 4 longer-term absentees unavailable.
The coaches would have had 44 members of the full-time squad to select from this week – that’s a lot higher than the season average of 31 and there would have been some big debates before the final calls were made. The selection is a high quality one and predominantly homegrown as Glasgow seek to make it to their third Grand Final.
19 of the 23 are Scottish qualified
19 of the 23 are capped internationals
15 of the 23 came through either the Scottish Rugby Academy or Elite Development Programme
Head Coach Gregor Townsend today named six uncapped players in a 33-man Scotland squad for the 2018 Summer Tour to Canada, USA and Argentina next month.
The potential debutants are split between the touring forwards and backs, with Edinburgh Rugby duo Lewis Carmichael and Jamie Ritchie joined by Glasgow Warriors back-row Matt Fagerson in the pack.
Glasgow Warriors half-backs George Horne and Adam Hastings earn the opportunity to continue a stellar debut season on the tour, alongside former Scotland U18 and Harlequins midfielder, James Lang, who also gets the call.
Simon Zebo will start for Munster in his final home game for the Irish province when they host Edinburgh in their Pro14 play-off at Thomond Park.
The return of the full-back, who joins Racing 92 in June, is one of 12 changes from the side that drew with Ulster.
Edinburgh centres Chris Dean and Mark Bennett both return along with full-back Blair Kinghorn.
The winning side will travel to play Champions Cup finalists Leinster in the Pro14 semi-final in Dublin on 19 May.
Zebo will be partnered in the back three by fellow Irish internationals Keith Earls and Andrew Conway while the influential Conor Murray returns at scrum-back.
Fly-half JJ Hanrahan, centre Sammy Arnold and prop James Cronin at the three Munster players to retain their starting roles.
Forwards Gerbrandt Grobler and Robin Copeland, who will also leave Munster at the end of the season, are named among the replacements.
Following 20 rounds of action in the inaugural Pro14 the final round of matches before the knockout stages of the multinational competition takes place on Saturday 28th April. The 21st round of matches promises to be an exciting affair as all seven matches to take place will be derby matches between the teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa and Wales.
The format of the competition is such that there are two pools/conferences of seven teams – Conference A and Conference B. The winner of each Conference get an automatic home semi-final while the teams who finish 2nd and 3rd in their conference get a chance to qualify for the semi-final by playing a quarter final match. The quarter final match line-ups will be as follows: 2nd in Conference A host 3rd in Conference B, while 2nd in Conference B host 3rd in Conference A.
Toyota Cheetahs can seal their place in the Guinness PRO14 Final Series, in their first season in the Championship, if they defeat Munster Rugby at the Toyota Stadium tonight.
It’s third meets second in Conference A and it’s sure to be a much closer contest than when Munster thrashed the Cheetahs 51-18 at Thomond Park in the second round of the season.
The Cheetahs took a big step towards the play-offs last week as a late penalty try gave them a dramatic 29-27 victory over Cardiff Blues, while Munster ensured their season will be extended last weekend by defeating Southern Kings 39-22.
There is news and rumour of the movements of two young South African props with Edinburgh Rugby the common denominator in both.
Firstly, the news: Tight head prop Kyle Whyte is returning from Edinburgh to try and join the Sharks.
Secondly, the rumour: Loose head prop Pierre Schoeman could be moving from the Bulls to join Edinburgh Rugby.
Edinburgh’s Duhan van der Merwe
Duhan van der Merwe freely admits he viewed Edinburgh more as a club that could help kickstart his career than one which would be competing for honours when he joined last year.
The imposing 6ft 4in, 16 stone South African wing signed a two-year deal from Montpellier but was frustrated by a five-month injury which delayed his Edinburgh debut until November, which ironically came in his homeland during the back-to-back games against Cheetahs and Southern Kings. Since then, his five tries have helped contribute to Richard Cockerill’s men pushing themselves into play-off contention and the winger is now hoping to add a European semi-final to what is unfolding as an excellent season when Cardiff Blues come to BT Murrayfield tomorrow evening in the Challenge Cup quarter-final.
Glasgow Warriors are back in action at Scotstoun tonight Friday 23rd March . Kick off 7.35pm UK time (9.35pm SA time) at Scotstoun Stadium.This will be just the second home PRO14 match of 2018 for Glasgow and there will only be one more in the current regular season. Scheduling around the Champions Cup and Six Nations is tricky but hopefully next season the league can avoid front-loading Warriors’ home games into the first half of the campaign and provide a more even distribution. It should mean a rowdy reception for the team though – after all absence does make the heart grow fonder…
On the pitch only 10 of 30 players started the same match last season – 6 for Glasgow and 4 for Zebre. The Italians’ answer to Nikola Matawalu – Guglielmo Palazzani – started at full back on his last trip to Scotstoun but will captain his side from scrum half this time around.
Head Coach Gregor Townsend has made one change to the starting Scotland team for this Saturday’s NatWest 6 Nations Test against an unbeaten Ireland side at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin (10 March, kick-off 2.15pm UK time).
Back-to-back wins over France and England at BT Murrayfield have earned all but one of the starting XV the opportunity to take their home form on the road, with Glasgow Warriors wing Tommy Seymour an injury-enforced change to the back division, having failed to recover sufficiently from the back injury sustained in the national team’s Calcutta Cup win.
In-form Edinburgh Rugby back Blair Kinghorn will earn his first start for the national team on the wing in place of Seymour, with Glasgow Warriors wing Lee Jones taking his vacated place on the bench.
Townsend has made one further change to the replacements bench, with Glasgow Warriors hooker Fraser Brown – who featured in all but two Scotland Tests last year – returning from injury to replace Scott Lawson.
Scotland have become the second team to beat England in 26 tests, winning the coveted Calcutta Cup for the first time since 2008.
Last Saturday (24 Feb), Scotland stunned visitors, England, 25-13 at BT Murrayfield to keep their NatWest Six Nations Championship hopes alive and return to their record placing of fifth in the World Rugby rankings. After the match, Captain John Barclay said, “I’m enjoying the win, they’re a fantastic side so to win, to have the trophy in the dressing room and to play in such a fantastic game at BT Murrayfield, as epic as it was today, is something I’ll remember.”
Head Coach Gregor Townsend has reselected the starting line-up from Scotland’s round two win over France (32-26) for this Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash with England at BT Murrayfield Stadium (kick-off 4.45pm UK Time; 6.45pm SA Time).
The Scots fought back from a ten-point deficit on two occasions and scored 12 unanswered points in the final quarter to post their first win of the 2018 NatWest 6 Nations Championship, with the two-try showing rewarded with reselection for the staring XV.
There are, however, three changes to the bench with fit-again prop Willem Nel (Edinburgh Rugby) and lock Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors) – both of whom returned to the squad this week – named among the replacements in place of Jon Welsh (Newcastle Falcons) and Ben Toolis (Edinburgh Rugby).
Centre Nick Grigg is the only change among the backs replacements as a reward for his consistency of performance for Glasgow Warriors, highlighted in his man-of-the-match winning performance for the club in their bonus-point win over Cheetahs last weekend.
It would seem the England management are leaving no stone unturned in their preparations for Saturday’s Six Nations match against Scotland at Murrayfield as they aim to retain the Calcutta Cup which they won in emphatic fashion last year at Twickenham.
First came the news that the ever inventive Eddie Jones had enlisted the help of Georgia in a live forwards training session last week. This included scrums and lineout practice and from the feedback from the likes of England’s Joe Marler it seems as if the England pack learnt a lot from going head to head against the tough Georgian pack.
Further proof of the innovations come from reports that England’s replacements will be once again be wearing battery operated trousers to help keep them warm on what is expected to be a cold winter’s day at Murrayfield. England’s replacements have already made use of the “hot pants” in their last match at Twickenham against Wales.
More unthinkable though is the news that Scot David Moyes, who is currently manager of West Ham United football club, will be linking up with the English Rugby Squad today to give them advice. What advice that may be who knows but it won’t be the first time they have had input from the round ball bosses as previously Manchester City’s manager Pep Guardiola was also invited to spend some time with the squad. Although it does seem odd that a proud Scot Moyes would agree in the first place to try and help the Auld Enemy in their preparations for a match against his countrymen.
Glasgow Warriors welcome back second row pair Scott Cummings and Tim Swinson and centre Sam Johnson for the visit of the Toyota Cheetahs tonight, kick-off 7.35pm UK time, 9.35pm SA time.
Scotland international Swinson has been out of action with a hand injury since November, Johnson suffered a broken jaw in the game against Montpellier in December and Cummings has been out since the beginning of the year.
All three come straight into the starting XV, Swinson and Cummings starting behind a front row of Alex Allan, James Malcolm and Siua Halanukonuka.
Behind them Rob Harley captain’s the side and equals Graeme Morrison’s record for all time Glasgow Warriors appearances, playing his 177th game for the club.
Zane Kirchner
Brandon Thomson
Glasgow Warriors are away to the Dragons tonight in Newport as Guinness PRO14 action resumes following a short break.
The Glasgow Warriors squad is a much depleted one with various players away on international duty and even more injured. Nine players are away with the Scotland squad while fourteen players are listed as injured including three hookers. One could pick a very strong team for Glasgow from the injured players alone with a good match day squad there if it was topped up with the players away on international duty.
Taking a look at the squads for tonight’s game it was interesting to note that Brandon Thomson has been selected to play as centre for Glasgow Warriors while Zane Kirchner is due to start at flyhalf for Dragons. It would be interesting to hear from those in the know about how often Thomson and Kirchner have played in these positions at professional level if at all. I can remember quite a long time ago fullback Zane Kirchner played in the number 13 jersery for the Springboks but don’t recall him playing at flyhalf. He has also featured on the wing for Leinster when he was still with them. Likewise, Brandon Thomson is becoming Mr Versatile for Glasgow Warriors as the former Stormers flyhalf shifts into the centre and also can play fullback, in fact I have even seen him playing on the wing for the Warriors.
Nathan Mc Beth
Head Coach Stevie Scott has named the Scotland U20 team to face Wales at Parc Eirias in the opening fixture of the U20 Six Nations this Friday (2 February, kick-off 8.15pm) . Scott has named the Golden Lions youngster, who has decided to through in his lot with Scotland, Nathan Mc Beth, as one the props on the bench.
Of the 23-man squad named, 11 players are products of the BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academy.
In the centre, Stafford McDowell – one of two players in the starting XV to feature in last summer’s World Rugby U20 Championship – is joined by Strathallan School product Mark New.
Edinburgh Rugby’s Callum McLelland and livewire scrum-half Kaleem Barreto form an all action half-back partnership.
Hooker Robbie Smith is named as captain and will pack down alongside Edinburgh Accies duo Shaun Gunn and Finlay Richardson – who complete the powerful front-row trio.
In the second-row, Jamie Hodgson is joined by Racing 92’s Ewan Johnson, whilst Archie Erksine, Guy Graham and Devante Onojaife form an abrasive back-row.
Experienced scrumhalf Greig Laidlaw returns to a 40-man Scotland squad announced for the Six Nations.
Laidlaw, 32, has not played a Test for almost a year and is just returning from a broken leg.
John Barclay retains the captain’s role he took on when Laidlaw was injured during last season’s Six Nations.
Uncapped props Murray McCallum and D’Arcy Rae are included, along with fullback Blair Kinghorn and scrumhalf Nathan Fowles.
Head coach Gregor Townsend also recalls Dave Denton, Scott Lawson, Gordon Reid and Jon Welsh after long absences from the international scene.
But there is no room for Josh Strauss, Matt Scott and Tim Visser, while John Hardie is overlooked as he nears the end of a 3-month “gross misconduct” ban.
Wales have named uncapped pair James Davies and Josh Adams in their squad for the Six Nations.
Flanker Davies, 27, has been rewarded for his excellent form with Scarlets, while Worcester wing Adams is the top try scorer in the English Premiership.
Bath No 8 Taulupe Faletau is included despite being ruled out of the 1st 2 Rounds of the Six Nations with a knee injury.
Harlequins centre Jamie Roberts and Bath lock Luke Charteris are left out.
The 39-man squad is larger than usual, partly because of fitness concerns over a handful of players.
The Southern Kings return to Guinness PRO14 action following their Christmas break with a tough assignment away to Edinburgh at Myreside.
The Kings’ last game was against Friday’s opponents as they went down 48-21 at Nelson Mandela Bay with the Scottish side playing Glasgow Warriors back-to-back in the meantime.
What’s at stake? The Kings are yet to record a win in the Guinness PRO14 but there is no better time than a New Year for a change in fortunes.
A victory would help the Kings close the ten-point gap to the Dragons.
Edinburgh meanwhile are eight points behind third-placed Ulster and need success to reduce that deficit as well as move them further clear of Benetton in Conference B.
Gary Graham called up for England training camp
Bath prop Beno Obano and Newcastle flanker Gary Graham have been called up to England training for the first time.
Obano, 23, and Graham, 25, are part of a 34-man training squad named by England boss Eddie Jones for a two-day camp in Brighton starting on 1 January.
Saracens winger Nathan Earle is also included but Courtney Lawes is rested for personal reasons, while Elliot Daly and Nathan Hughes are injured.
James Haskell is recalled while injured number eight Billy Vunipola will also attend as champions England start their preparations for the Six Nations – their first match is against Italy in Rome on Sunday, 4 February.
The winner of world’s oldest inter-city rugby rivalry will be decided by the ‘best of three’ format used in the international arena it was confirmed today.
Edinburgh Rugby host Glasgow Warriors in the opening leg of the 1872 Cup this Saturday (23 December, kick-off 5.10pm UK time; 7.10pm SA time) at BT Murrayfield in round 11 of the Guinness PRO14.The sides will meet again at Glasgow’s Scotstoun home a week later (Saturday 30 December, kick-off 3.15pm UK time; 5.15pm SA time), with a third, potentially decisive derby held at the home of Scottish rugby on the last weekend of the regular season (27/28/29 April).
Previously the 1872 Cup was awarded to the aggregate winner of the two league matches between the clubs, however with the expansion of the Guinness PRO14 – to include South African sides Southern Kings and Toyota Cheetahs – means that the Scottish sides now meet three times in a season instead of two.
The derbies attract the biggest rugby audiences in Scotland outside of national team test matches and will see many of the stars who lit up the recent Autumn Test campaign go head-to-head with their club sides – battling it out for PRO14 points, bragging rights and the chance to get a hand on the coveted 1872 Cup.