Bullscot
Kelly Brown, the 30-year-old back-row forward, will captain Scotland for the first time in next weekend’s EMC Test against New Zealand. The announcement was made today by head coach Andy Robinson as the national squad’s three day St Andrews camp drew to a close.
The movement of players away from the Free State was reported on this site earlier today with mention being made of the exodus of various locks from the province. Here we bring the news article from the ‘other side’, announcing the arrival of former Free State lock Izak van der Westhuizen.
Ireland skipper Brian O’Driscoll and hooker Rory Best have been ruled out of the forthcoming autumn international series because of injuries.
Former Scotland international Bryan Redpath has been sacked as director of rugby at Sale Sharks.
England pair Dylan Hartley and Courtney Lawes are doubts for the November Tests after suffering knee injuries in Northampton’s defeat by Saracens.
Ruan Pienaar scored 21 points playing at flyhalf as unbeaten Ulster secured a 46-19 away Pro12 victory against the Dragons on Friday.
The focus turns once again to the Pro12 this weekend, with Ulster leading the table courtesy of their unbeaten run so far this season. They travel to Rodney Parade on Friday night to face a Newport Gwent Dragons team who are uncomfortably sat at the wrong end of the table, although at this stage in the season there are only 5 points, or a try bonus point win, between the Men from Gwent and 5th placed Munster.
After two emphatic European victories Worcestor Warriors will be keen to give their home crowd something to cheer about in the Premiership against Sale Sharks on Friday.
Head coach Andy Robinson has today named seven uncapped players in his 34-strong Scotland squad for training at St Andrews next week in preparation for the first EMC Test against New Zealand at Murrayfield next month.
A 31-man Ireland squad, including four uncapped players, has been named by Ireland head coach Declan Kidney for the upcoming GUINNESS Series games against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina. Centre Luke Marshall and forward Iain Henderson named in the panel and who were involved in the Ireland training camp in September are included in the squad as are prop David Kilcoyne and hooker Richardt Strauss, who is now eligible to play for Ireland based on his residency for the past three years.
Glasgow Warriors and Scottish Rugby have today pulled off another major signing coup, landing Crusaders back-three star Sean Maitland. The 24-year-old Canterbury man, equally adept on the wing or at full-back, is one of the most highly rated outside backs in Super Rugby, and qualifies to play for Scotland courtesy of both his paternal Grandparents who were born in Glasgow.
Rob Howley has named a 35-man Wales squad to contest the 2012 Dove Men Series at the Millennium Stadium this Autumn (Northern Hemisphere) which includes just one uncapped player and the returning Jamie Roberts.
Flanker Steffon Armitage’s form justifies a place in head coach Stuart Lancaster’s England squad, according to Toulon team-mate Jonny Wilkinson.
Alan Dymock looks at a drookit night when Glasgow Warriors traded errors with Ulster. The problem he finds is that Glasgow’s mistakes were closer to their sticks and Ulster were bossing breakdowns and lineout drives.
In the face of a determined Munster Edinburgh simply whimpered, pulled a pout and took a battering, with three tries coming in the last ten minutes.
Richie Gray is an injury doubt for Scotland’s opening autumn Test against New Zealand on 11 November. The 23-year-old Sale lock has damaged ankle ligaments and is expected to be sidelined for several weeks.
Saracens will be playing at “home” in Brussels against Racing-Metro in an intriguing second round of European Cup action this weekend.
This weekend saw an action packed start to the Heineken Cup. All twenty four teams were involved in the round which started on Friday and ended on Sunday.
Ruan Pienaar’s last-gasp try gave Ulster a deserved bonus-point win over Castres in the Heineken Cup opener.
Former All Blacks coach John Mitchell will be at Sale Sharks soon, according to chief executive Steve Diamond.
Leinster will target an unprecedented hat-trick of back-to-back European Cup titles when action in the continent’s showpiece club tournament gets under way on Friday. The Irish province were champions in 2009, 2011 and 2012, and now have a chance of matching Toulouse’s record of four titles (1998, 2005, 2008, 2010).
Scotland play the third and final of their EMC Test matches this autumn, northern hemisphere, against Tonga at Pittodrie football stadium in Aberdeen on Saturday 24th November. The Scottish Rugby Union have teamed up with Serco Northlink in an initiative to help fans travelling from the far flung Northern Isles attend the match.
The cross-border competition casts off this weekend for its fourth season, with five Scottish teams aboard on a voyage of discovery.
The Aviva Premiership and RaboDirect Pro12 leagues head into temporary hibernation and we look forward to the start of this season’s Heineken Cup competition this weekend. The Heineken Cup features the elite of the European clubs, with twenty four clubs taking part.
In what will be the final round of Pro12 games before the start of the European competitions, Ulster sit one point clear at the top of the table with a game in hand over their rivals. They welcome Connacht to Ravenhill on Friday night, a place where the visitors have never won in this tournament.
Wing Mark Cueto admits it is easy for Sale Sharks to get bogged down with the negatives of their start to the Premiership season, but he insists only a positive frame of mind will bring a change of fortune.
Scottish Rugby is encouraging supporters to see Scotland “in the flesh” in a bold new marketing campaign that is being launched in Edinburgh today. Giant 30 foot artwork covering the entire façade of a building at one of the Capital’s busiest junctions gives fans the opportunity to see Scotland players as they’ve never seen them before.
The fifth round of the RaboDirect Pro12 started with four matches on Friday night and the remaining two fixtures in the round being played on Saturday. This round yielded numerous surprise results, so much so that we only managed to correctly predict one out of the six results.
It is the fifth round of Premiership action this weekend and it sees Saracens make the trip across London to Harlequins to face the reigning champions at The Stoop.
In the wake of Nevin Spence’s death alongside his brother and father, Ulster’s players now just want to return to action. They will do so on Friday night when they face Cardiff Blues in the RaboDirect PRO12 at the Arms Park.
This weekend sees the fifth round of the 2012/13 Pro12 competition, with four games taking place on Friday night and the remaining two fixtures in the round scheduled for Saturday.
Glasgow Warriors are gunning for their second home RaboDirect PRO12 victory in seven days when they face Zebre at Scotstoun Stadium on Friday (kick-off 7.35pm British Summer Time). The Warriors have made several changes to their match day squad of 23 for this game. In arguably the most notable change, former Golden Lions eighthman and captain Josh Strauss will be starting at eightman.
One of the foremost coaches in world rugby is to visit Scotland next month to spend time with the country’s two pro-clubs and to outline his philosophies to senior club and school coaches.
As Round Four of the PRO12 opens, a Welsh Region still tops the table, however it is not last season’s winners, Ospreys, but their opponents on Friday night, Scarlets, setting the pace.
As the Premiership starts gaining momentum, the spotlight will shine much brighter on newcomers London Welsh, who opened their account with a fine win last week.