Category: Scotland Rugby

Excitement and optimism abounded after two statement wins but result shows Schmidt’s work is just starting out

It had been a fortnight of razzle-dazzle and eye-catching headlines. Offloads and sidesteps, pyrotechnics and sliding tries in the corner had filled highlights reels and provided content for podcasts and think-pieces. There wasn’t a spare seat on the bandwagon. The hype train was chugging along at full throttle. Everyone wanted to know: Were the Wallabies back?

This was the reality check that Australian rugby needed. Because for all their brilliance in their record wins in London and Cardiff, they were handed a lesson here in Edinburgh. This 27-13 defeat serves as a timely reminder that for all the positivity that has been accrued this autumn, there are still more pressing questions that need answering.

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Sione Tuipulotu helped halt Australia’s autumn resurgence as the Scotland captain scored the opening try in an impressive 27-13 triumph

“Gervase Greene here in (very) early-morning Sydney, finding myself in the weird situation of hoping a rampant Wallabies can offset the national shame of our aged and hapless cricket team being trounced in the Perth Test. You’ll appreciate this is not a sentence we have had cause to utter in several decades…”

4 mins. A big clearing kick from Kinghorn forces Wright to find touch in his own half. The Scotland lineout is good, but as Russell looks to get the attack going the ball is spilled forward by Jones in midfield.

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• London-born Potter gets his debut at Murrayfield
• Suaalii starts with Kerevi banned after red card

Australia are trusting in some backline wizardry, handing a debut to the winger Harry Potter and returning Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii to the starting lineup for the Scotland Test match.

Suaalii is set for his biggest examination yet in Wallabies gold with the cross-code superstar back as outside centre for the third leg of their British Isles grand slam bid at Murrayfield on Sunday.

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• Autumn Nations Series: Scotland 59-21 Portgual
• Wing takes try total to 29 in 41 appearances

Wing Darcy Graham equalled the record for the most tries for Scotland as they ran in a total of nine in a dominant 59-21 victory over Portugal in their Test at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Graham scored the third of Scotland’s five first-half tries to bring his total to 29 in 41 international appearances and equal Duhan van der Merwe’s record.

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• Former Scotland rugby captain admitted to single charge
• Sentencing for abuse of Gillian Hogg set for 5 December

The former Scotland rugby international Stuart Hogg has admitted abusing his estranged wife over the course of five years.

Hogg, 32, had been due to stand trial at Selkirk Sheriff Court on Monday but pleaded guilty to a single charge when he appeared at the court.

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• Scotland 57-17 Fiji
• Home side run in eight tries in Autumn Series opener

Darcy Graham notched four times to briefly move joint top of Scotland’s all-time try-scoring list, only for his fellow Edinburgh wing Duhan van der Merwe to climb back ahead of him with a late touchdown of his own in a comfortable 57-17 victory over Fiji at Murrayfield.

Glasgow centre Sione Tuipulotu kicked off his captaincy of Gregor Townsend’s team, but it was talismanic wing Graham who stole the show in his first Test outing since the World Cup defeat by Ireland in Paris 13 months ago.

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New Zealand sit third after Scott Robertson’s strong start and England have work to do after a 2-0 defeat

Ciarán Frawley’s last-gasp drop goal sealed a stunning win in Durban, ensuring South Africa had failed to win a series against Ireland for the first time. It was the latest thrilling instalment of the global game’s leading rivalry at present and Ireland have now won two of their last three against the Springboks. Add in the 2022 series win in New Zealand and Ireland’s ability to pick up away victories in the southern hemisphere sets them apart from their European rivals. That they went to South Africa and drew the series without Jamison Gibson-Park speaks volumes about the depth Farrell has unearthed, with full-back Jamie Osborne the latest to flourish. Farrell does not pick his British and Irish Lions squad for around 10 months but at this rate it will be dominated by his Irish charges.

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The Scotland back couldn’t be happier after switch to French club who face Harlequins in a Champions Cup semi-final

It’s been five months since Blair Kinghorn decided to move from Edinburgh to Toulouse mid-season. He’s played 10 games and won every one of them. Toulouse are second in the Top 14, two points off Stade Français, and have a home semi-final against Harlequins in the Champions Cup on Sunday.

Kinghorn has scored six tries and eanred himself a spot in a freewheeling backline that includes Antoine Dupont, Romain Ntamack, and Thomas Ramos. He’s been playing in front of a 20,000 home crowd every other week. And he and his fiancee are settled into their new house, next door to his friend and teammate Jack Willis.

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Even with Ireland once again top, a middle England, and Italy and Wales battling at the bottom, the tournament still thrills

At first glance not an awful lot changed during the men’s Six Nations championship this year. Ireland and France occupied the table’s top two positions, as they did in 2023, with Wales and Italy in the bottom two and England and Scotland once again the meat in the club sandwich. Ireland, for the third year in a row, had the meanest defence and only the winless Welsh, strangely, managed to score more tries than last year.

Yet if this was not a vintage Six Nations in absolutely all respects, the old tournament is enjoying a refreshing renaissance. The competition is now so tight that 10 of the 15 matches were decided by four points or fewer, including all three of the final-round games. If Netflix cannot stitch together an award winning series from the stunning “Super Saturday” footage alone it should abandon its fly‑on‑the‑wall cameras and walk away.

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Ireland retained their Six Nations title after a tense 17-13 win over Scotland in Dublin

4 mins. An organised start from both sides, each taking a couple of carries up before dispatching the ball with the boot of their scrum-halves. Rinse, repeat.

There’s a slight variation when Ireland spin to Lowe and his kick is charged down by Christie rampaging out of the line with a block.

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England, France and Scotland can still lift Six Nations trophy with Gregor Townsend’s men harbouring some regrets

Only sad old men in pubs indulge in “coulda, shoulda” talk, but we are legion among Six Nations followers, so why not? Dublin coulda, shoulda been a grand-slam decider.

As it is, we will almost certainly witness Ireland’s procession towards a second consecutive Six Nations title. Even if they lose.

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• Tough task ahead with Ireland winning last nine successive ties
• Gatland ‘loves’ pressure of avoiding wooden spoon with Wales

Gregor Townsend admits Scotland will have to “do something special” in Dublin as he challenged them to score at least 20 points against Ireland and give themselves a fighting chance of a first triple crown since 1990.

Scotland are heading to the Irish capital looking to save face after a shock defeat in Italy last weekend all but ended their hopes of winning the championship and left them staring at the possibility of finishing fifth if results go against them on Saturday.

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From Le Garrec’s mega pass to the mesmerising Menoncello and the mighty Martin, a new wave of impressive young talent is making its mark

There is still one final round of the 2024 Six Nations remaining but a striking trend is already apparent. Look across all the teams and a new wave of impressive young talent is announcing itself. While there will always be a place for cauliflower-eared experience at the highest level, it is rare for as many fresh faces to be making such a concerted impact on the grand old tournament.

Front and centre for France in Cardiff on Sunday was the 21-year-old l’homme du match Nolann Le Garrec, whose outrageous reverse Hail Mary long pass has rightly been delighting social media users from beyond rugby’s traditional audiences. Then there is Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, also 21, who was outstanding on his first start for England having missed training the week before to sit a medical exam. If his bedside manner is anything like his attacking instinct, the future of the National Health Service is in safe hands.

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