Scottish Rugby

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Jack Dempsey's recovery from injury is progressing quicker than anticipated and he is back training with the Scotland squad, according to Glasgow head coach Franco Smith.

The number eight suffered an arm injury in the Six Nations victory over England, with head coach Gregor Townsend describing it as "serious" and assistant Pete Horne saying he expected Dempsey to miss the remainder of the championship.

But things now look more promising and Dempsey is back on the training field before next Saturday's crucial match against France at Murrayfield.

"It's gone well," Smith said of Dempsey's recovery.

"I don't know if you've had any news from Scotland, he's obviously now in their books. But he got called into camp yesterday [Thursday], apparently he trained already with them yesterday, so that's good.

"That obviously tested the fitness and I'm quite excited to know that that injury is manageable."

Smith said he was not in a position to gauge Dempsey's readiness to take on the French.

"I don't know," he said.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Glasgow head coach Franco Smith says Jack Oliver, son of late Scotland international Greig, has all the tools to have a big future in the game.

Scrum-half Oliver made his first team debut against Zebre in January and this week signed his first professional contract with Warriors having previously been part of the Munster set-up.

His father Greig, who wore the nine jersey for Scotland three times between 1987 and 1991 and was a highly regarded youth coach in both Scotland and Ireland, died tragically in a paragliding accident in South Africa at the age of 58 in 2023.

Smith says the influence of his father is clear to see in Oliver's approach to his rugby.

"I think he's a clever guy, understands the game well," Smith told BBC Scotland.

"You can see where his DNA comes from, it's all evident and obvious in the way that he prepares for training, he enjoys contributing - he's a rugby person through and through. And that obviously comes only if you grow up in that kind of environment.

"Fantastic to have signed him on. I think there's a young group stepping up and a lot of them will stay on and become pros, I believe, so Jack is one of the leading guys in that perspective.

"He's still young, he's still 22 years old, his body will still develop quite a bit in the next few years from a physicality perspective, but he's already got the skill-set and he's already got the mentality that's good enough to play at a higher level.

"So as he physically develops and gets better, I think he's got a good future ahead of him."

Oliver has been named on the bench for leaders Glasgow's URC trip to face Connacht on Saturday.

Second-row Alex Samuel returns from injury in the only change from last month's bonus-point win over Munster.

Glasgow: McKay; Rowe, McDowall, Yule, Smith; Lancaster, Afshar; Bhatti, Stephen, Walker, Oguntibeju, Samuel, Ferrie, Fraser, Miller.

Replacements: Hiddleston, Schickerling, Talakai, Craig, Vailanu, Duncan, Oliver, Hastings.

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Boan Venter makes his 100th Edinburgh appearance and Mosese Tuipulotu returns from a nine-month injury absence in Friday night's URC game against Scarlets at the Hive.

Springbok Venter will become the club's 46th centurion and only seventh prop to reach the milestone in Edinburgh history.

Dylan Richardson and Marshall Sykes to the starting XV after injury, while fellow internationals D'arcy Rae and Magnus Bradbury are released from Scotland's Six Nations camp to feature.

Winger Malelili Satala makes his home debut and James Lang shifts to outside centre as Tuipulotu returns to the midfield for his first outing since suffering a knee injury last May.

Edinburgh are 13th in the URC table, seventh points adrift of the top eight with eight games left of the regulation campaign.

"We are confident because the destiny is in our hands," said head coach Sean Everitt.

"Every point that you can muster between now and the end of the season is of the utmost importance.

"Your home games become vital to get a result. We're going to have to show the same fight as we did at the end of last season to be able to come through."

Edinburgh: Paterson; Satala, Lang, Tuipulotu, Goosen; Thompson, Vellacott; Venter, Morris, Rae, Sykes, Young, Muncaster, Richardson, Bradbury.

Replacements: J Blyth-Lafferty, Whitcombe, O Blyth-Lafferty, Hunter-Hill, Boyle, Shiel, Scott, O'Conor.

BBC Scotland's Andy Burke has been answering some of your Scottish rugby questions.

Andy asked: The most likely scenario for Scotland now looks like third in the table with two wins. Is that progress?

Andy answered: No, I don't think so. Scotland have won two games in each of the last two Six Nations – and three of the last four – so if they finish with the same again, I do not think you can convincingly argue it represents progress.

Getting to three wins will be very tough. France look as if they are on an unstoppable march to a Grand Slam. Ireland served a timely reminder at Twickenham on how formidable they remain – not that Scotland needed any reminding given they have lost their last 11 games in that fixture.

So picking up another win in this Six Nations is a big ask, but that's what required if Scotland are to show they have really kicked on.

Ronald asked: Did Duhan Van der Merwe and Blair Kinghorn do enough to keep their place against France and Ireland or are they too big a risk defensively?

Andy answered: I think Blair Kinghorn keeps his spot. He is a devastating runner and Scotland will need to ask questions of the French defence which Kinghorn can do. He is also very familiar with the French team, playing alongside many of them at Toulouse.

I would be surprised if Duhan van der Merwe starts. He did try to get himself into the game in Cardiff but it just didn't happen for him.

Darcy Graham has shown better form and I think he starts in the back three alongside Kyle Steyn, with Tom Jordan on the bench.

Jim asked: Do Scotland stand a chance at Murrayfield against France? From watching them it seems they've hardly got out of second gear and have dismantled everything they've come up against.

Andy answered: There's always a chance! Gregor Townsend has won five of his 13 matches against France (in all competitions) so it's far from impossible that Scotland can do it again.

This France team does seem to be a cut above anything else in the Six Nations and it's hard to imagine what kind of game Scotland can play to beat them.

However, many of the same things were said of an England team on a 12-match winning run and Scotland came up with a game plan to put them away.

France are a much better side than England and I expect them to come to Murrayfield and win, but if this Six Nations has taught us anything it's that upsets can happen.

Tom English and Andy Burke answer listener questions and look back on Scotland's Six Nations win against Wales in Cardiff.

Have Scotland turned a corner? Is it redemption time for Townsend?

With the two of their toughest games in the tournament ahead of them are two wins out of five enough to silence the Townsend critics?

Was beating Wales a bigger win for Scotland than beating England?

Listen here.

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Darcy Graham says losing his starting place for Scotland helped fuel his impactful performance off the bench in last weekend's Six Nations win over Wales.

Graham scored his 35th Test try in the 23-26 win - taking him level with Duhan van der Merwe as his country's all-time leading try scorer.

He has been among the replacements for Scotland's past three outings and he admits it has been difficult.

"It's been a tough couple of months," Graham said.

"Coming off the benches is hard. It's been something totally different and I've had to adjust to it.

"The way the team's announced you have a wee 10-minute sulk and then you're straight on the training park to prove why you should be there."

Asked if being dropped had given him added motivation, Graham said: "Of course. You always want to be starting in these big games.

"But the way Kyle [Steyn] is playing he deserves every minute that he's playing. Steyno's playing unbelievable.

"He's world class and he's raised the bar, especially when I came into camp as I had to catch up.

"I'm glad to still be involved and bring my energy because these wins are special."

Graham said his try against Wales came after a quick nod with fly-half Finn Russell.

Wales had just kicked a penalty to extend their lead to 23-12 before Graham gathered Russell's restart to score.

"Finn said as they were taking the penalty 'Darcy, be ready'. I've seen him sprint up to the halfway line and he gave me the nod," the winger said.

"I gave him a nod and I knew it was on. So I just went as hard as I could for that ball and got a lucky bounce.

"He's obviously seen that space and it worked out. I'll probably never get a bounce like that again."

Do you have any burning questions on Scottish rugby for our experts, Tom English and Andy Burke, after Gregor Townsend's side came from behind to beat Wales in Cardiff?

Send in your questions via this link and a selection of answers will be published on this page later in the week.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Scotland pull back from cliff edge

Trailing 20-5 with half an hour left to play at the Principality Stadium, Scotland were staring down the barrel of a hugely damaging defeat.

As good as Wales were, not many would have forgiven Gregor Townsend and his team had they gone down to a side that had lost 23 of their previous 25 Test matches.

So often the Scots have proved unable to dig themselves out of a hole, and it's to their great credit they did so under extreme pressure in Cardiff.

The performance level was way below what we saw against England, but Scotland navigated their way through choppy waters to win ugly and keep their Six Nations hopes alive.

Quick-thinking Russell's key moment

The crucial moment of the match came, as it so often does, from Finn Russell.

Having just conceded a penalty to fall 24-12 behind, Russell's clever and perfectly executed quick restart to set up Darcy Graham for a try completely changed the complexion of the game.

Suddenly a buoyant Principality crowd became nervous, and a Wales team who had given so much started to doubt themselves.

His try early in the second half started the Scottish revival and Russell's big interventions were critical in Scotland ultimately getting over the line.

Townsend's changes turn tide

A criticism levelled at Townsend more than once has been his use of the bench.

At times he has turned to his replacements too late - or not at all - in matches, but he made decisive early moves in Cardiff.

He introduced Pierre Schoeman and Josh Bayliss in the 35th minute to try and inject some fresh impetus to a side that was on the back foot.

The rest of the bench was emptied at the right times to wrestle the momentum of the match away from Wales and Scotland won the second half 21-6 to snatch victory in a match that could so easily have been lost.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Rallying from 15-points down to grind out a gritty win over Wales demonstrates Scotland's growth as a team, according to back-row star Matt Fagerson.

The Scots' Six Nations challenge was hanging by a thread as they trailed 20-5 with half an hour to play at the Principality Stadium, but they scored three tries to snatch a 26-23 victory.

A criticism of Scotland in recent times has been their inability to come through difficult situations, something they did impressively in Cardiff.

"I think the second half especially, the belief was always there," number eight Fagerson told BBC Scotland.

"We spoke about how we were going to get up and put ourselves in positions to score.

"Once we got into that finish zone, we had a try disallowed off our trick play and that was a bit frustrating.

"The mental fortitude for the boys to then go back and put points on the board to put us into the lead, that's a massive growth in this team.

"There's plenty of years gone by that you've probably watched that we probably wouldn't have done that - that's a big positive."

We asked for your views on Scotland's thrilling comeback win in the Six Nations in Wales.

Here's what some of you said:

Willie: All credit to Scotland. In years gone by they would have crumbled under that pressure, but they dug deep and ground out a bonus point win. Finn Russell is a genius, quick thinking on his feet turned the game on its head for Darcy Graham try.

Andy: Great comeback, but all the same questions as after the loss to Italy. So many of our problems are self-inflicted, most noticeably Gregor Townsend's squad selection of three hookers, none of whom can be relied on to throw in to the line-out. So every time we get good field position from a penalty, we lose the line-out.

Chris: Honestly? Much, much happier with that win than beating England last week. Against a team that was massively fired up and clearly targeted them, Scotland found a way to win through grit, determination and a little bit of guile. Very pleased with how they pulled that back.

Barry: Time for us all to ditch the negativity and get behind the team. Credit must be given to Townsend for early changes and the players for remaining positive under pressure.

GC: Should we be pleased that the gap between the greatest Scotland team in a generation and the poorest Welsh team in a generation is three points? The team predictably underperformed yet again following a Calcutta Cup win. Credit to Wales but we were too passive up front, which let them dictate the game. If we want to be a great team then we need to stamp our authority on these encounters.

Scott: Unreal. I must admit I was thinking here we go again, same old story, save our best for England. Finn magic wins the day, bring on the French!

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter in Cardiff

Pierre Schoeman says the Six Nations victory over Wales was bigger for the Scotland team than their Calcutta Cup triumph over England.

The Scots were in a hole against the unfancied Welsh, trailing 20-5 with half an hour left to play, before finally finding their attacking game to prevail 26-23.

Having come through adversity to rescue their Six Nations hopes in Cardiff, prop Schoeman believes his side will take more from that experience than their stunning win over England at Murrayfield.

"We spoke about it afterwards, this is a bigger win for us, in my opinion," Schoeman told BBC Scotland.

"Us as a team, we don't worry about the outside noise, we love the support, but as a unit, we learned a lot more fighting for this win than the England win, perhaps.

"The learnings we took from (the defeat to) Italy as well, we have to just find a way to win.

"We speak about what we want to fix and what I like about us as a team is we learn quickly. We adapt and then we put it into place.

"I think it's only the second time in 24 years that Scotland has beaten the Welsh side here. So we take that. A Welsh man is dangerous if his back is against the wall and they made it tough and difficult for us."

Image source, PA Media

Former Scotland full-back Chris Paterson: "In some ways, this is more important or more impressive than last week when they were in control.

"Gregor Townsend was asked difficult questions and made brilliant coaching decisions to introduce players quickly.

"It's an excellent win on the road for Scotland."

Former Scotland prop Peter Wright: "They didn't play particularly well.

"But they showed grit, determination and composure. They controlled the maul well and George Turner got over for the try.

"Did we deserve it? In the end, just. We showed bottle and that's what you want."

Former Scotland captain John Barclay: "Credit to Scotland for coming back. It was brave of them after the restart to go and attack Wales and the game changed after that Graham try. Scotland got away with that.

"Wales were brilliant. There was so much in that for Wales to build on and they'll be frustrated that they haven't won.

"But there were so many positives for Wales."

Former Wales fly-half Jonathan Davies: "I thought they looked far better in their attacking shape and they did what they had to do. They built pressure, they forced errors.

"The turning point was that Darcy Graham try.

"At international level you cannot allow opposition to score a try straight from the restart when you've got 15 players in your own half."

Image source, PA Media

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend speaking on BBC One: "That was some game. It would have been great for the neutrals. We left it late but I'm really proud of the effort in the second-half.

"It's not just a physical effort, it's a mental effort too - finding solutions, staying together and riding momentum waves.

"Wales started really well, played with real energy. Tactically they were excellent. They took us on wide and defended well.

"We needed to up our effort in the second-half, which we did and our bench made an impact which was pleasing."

[On Darcy Graham's try]: "That was a big moment in the game and credit goes to Finn for seeing that space and Darcy being alive to it. The scrum penalty near the end was a huge moment too.

"It's a 23-man game and we backed our bench. I thought Josh Bayliss was outstanding.

"We're still in the championship. That's all that counts.

"Today showed - not just our game - that anything can happen in the championship.

"We'll be underdogs against France and we know we'll have to play our best rugby."

Scotland staged a thrilling comeback to beat Wales in Cardiff and remain on course for a first Triple Crown since 1990.

Gregor Townsend's side trailed 20-5 and 23-12 but rallied in the second half with a 74th-minute try from replacement hooker George Turner sealing the victory.

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