CHRISTMAS BONUS (POINTS)
Two wins for the Scottish pro sides, attention turns to Europe, and Scots light up the Gallagher Prem
WELCOME: a sombre note to begin this week’s newsletter, with the news that Scotland Woman’s back row Siobhan Cattigan has passed away aged 26. The Stirling County player won 19 caps for the national side, debuting against Wales in 2018. In a wonderful gesture, County and Watsonians forfeited their scheduled match yesterday, and agreed to play a friendly to celebrate her life. Our thoughts go out to her family, friends and teammates at this difficult time.
DAM THAT’S GOOD: Edinburgh saw off a stuffy Benetton side at the DAM Health Stadium on Friday night, a fourth consecutive victory that takes them to the giddy heights of 2nd place in the URC table. Tries from Darcy Graham, Kinghorn, Boffelli and Rambo were enough to see of a stuffy Benetton side, who lest we forget inflicted Edinburgh’s only defeat of the season just a few months ago. While scrappy in parts, the match once again showed Edinburgh’s determination to play, and victory sets them up nicely with Europe round the corner. Blair talked afterwards about the journey this Edinburgh squad are on, and that he expects them to “learn whilst winning”, which they certainly seem to be doing at the moment.
MAG-NIFICENT: Magnus Bradbury was fittingly named man of the match on his 100th appearance for the capital club, and looks set for a return to the international stage sooner or later. Blair Kinghorn once again dazzled in parts, particularly in the lead up to Boffelli’s try (who himself looks like a very smart signing), while the buzz bombs of Vellacott and Darcy Graham look like they are loving their rugby at the moment.
BENETTON BACKLASH: Glasgow bounced back from last week’s Italian nightmare with a comprehensive victory over the Dragons at Scotstoun. While the performance was far from perfect, Danny Wilson will be happy with the response he got from his players, in particular a snarling performance from eventual man of the match Jack Dempsey. Still not 100% sure on the lid though…
GO ON SIONE: Tuipulotu looked dangerous throughout and was rewarded for his efforts with this first Warriors try on home soil, adding to scores from Dempsey, Kyle Steyn (see below), Ali Price and Jonny Matthews. The sight of new signing Josh McKay, who quietly impressed, will also warm the hearts of the Warriors faithful.
NOT THAT BAD: While last week’s loss to Benetton prompted much soul searching, it is easy to forget that Glasgow remain 5th in the URC table, just 4 points behind 3rd placed Ulster (and 7 behind Edinburgh, as fans from the capital will remind their weegie counterparts). At full strength Wilson’s side should be a match for most, and they are overflowing with back three talent: most teams would kill to be able to call upon the likes of Josh Mackay, Rufus Maclean, Kyle Steyn, Sebastian Cancilliere and Cole Forbes. Still, bigger tests await, perhaps no more so than this weekend’s clash with La Rochelle.
YOU, ME AND DU PREEZ: Glasgow have moved early to strengthen for next season, with the signing of South African lock JP Du Preez from Sale Sharks. Standing at a mere 6ft 10 1/2 inches, Du Preez looks like a handy addition, bringing experience of both the English Premiership and Currie Cup rugby and providing depth to the Warriors second row stocks. By all accounts Sale were reluctant to let the former Cheetah go, but their hand was forced by EQP rules. Would him and Richie Gray be one of the tallest boiler room combinations of all time? Answers on a postcard please.
EUROPE PREVIEW: attention now turns to European action, as the Champions and Challenge Cups kick off this weekend.
In the big cup, Glasgow have the unenviable task of travelling away to La Rochelle on Sunday afternoon. While their domestic record has been mixed this season (6 wins and 5 losses in the Top 14), last year’s beaten finallists will be firm favourites, with the ability to call on the likes of Uini Antonio, Levani Botia, Victor Vito, Will Skelton and Thomas Aldritt in the forwards alone. However, Glasgow can take some comfort from the fact the last time they tipped up at the Marcel Deflandre stadium in 2019, they emerged the winners with a heroic 27-24 victory. Survivors from that victory include Kyle Steyn, Sam Johnson, Nick Grigg, Fraser Brown, the Fagerson brothers, Scott Cummings, Ali Price and Ryan Wilson, so there remains a chance of the Warriors upsetting the odds.
If Edinburgh were expecting a slightly easier time of it in the wee cup, they have Nigel Wray’s financial engineering to thank for their opening fixture against Saracens in the north of London. Saracens have been in imperious form domestically this season, having got the old gang together after their relegation to the Championship. They tend to win by grinding down the opposition, something Scottish teams have historically struggled against, and will provide a proper examination of Blair’s Babes.
SEVENS HEAVEN: Scotland 7s Head Coach Ciaran Beattie has announced his core squad for the 2022 World Sevens Series, drawing on a mixture of experienced operators and starlets from this year’s Super 6. There is also a welcome return for former 7s stalwart Lee Jones, who returns from a brief retirement following the end of his Glasgow career. The familiar names of Farndale, Lowe, Coombes, Elms and McCann form the spine of the team, while newcomers Barreto, Edmunds, Davidson and Callum Young have all impressed in training and during the Super 6 season. Femi Sofolarin will be looking to make a name for himself as he combines his studies at Newcastle with his 7s duties. 2022 is a big year for the sport of 7s, with the Commonwealth Games and Rugby Sevens World Cup on the calendar.
Meanwhile there were several Scots strutting their stuff over the weekend at the Dubai 7s, with Robbie Fergusson, Jamie Farndale and Max McFarland all turning out for Team GB, who finished 5th in the end. Here are a few clips of our boys shining in GB colours:
SCOTS ABROAD
The weekend saw a host of Scots proving their value to the English Premiership, with Duhan and Rory Sutherland leading Worcester to victory against Wasps, Kyle Rowe continuing to impress at London Irish, and Rory Hutchinson strutting his stuff for Northampton. Meanwhile over in France, Finn remains seemingly out of favour at Racing, left out of their squad entirely as they slipped to defeat at the hands of Castres.
English Premiership
Gloucester v Bristol: Adam Hastings (10), Chris Harris (13), Andrew Davidson (19) and Charlie Chapman (21) v Jake Kerr (16). There is quite the Scottish contingent at the hearbeat of Gloucester now, with Hastings and Harris part of a dynamite midfiled alongside the classy Mark Atkinson. Harris helped himself to a well worked score - and is firmly in the “world class” category according to his coach George Skivington - while Chapman rounded off things with a peach of an individual try.
Exeter v Saracens: Jonny Gray (4) and Stuart Hogg (15) v Tim Swinson (19) and Andy Christie (21). Gray looked back to his best on his return from injury, and might be the missing piece for an Exeter side that have looked out of sorts this season.
London Irish v Newcastle: Kyle Rowe (14) and Alan Dell (17) v Gary Graham (7). Former Scotland Sevens man Rowe is really making a name for himself down south, with this worldie of a score taking his tally to five for the season. With Irish pushing for the playoffs this season, he seems well placed to catch the eye of Toonie and co with the Six Nations approaching.
Northampton v Bath: Rory Hutchinson (12), Fraser Dingwall (13) and Nick Auterac (17) v Josh Bayliss (8) and D’arcy Rae (18). Hutchinson was at his elegant best, while Dingwall is a consistent performer for the Saints (and remains uncapped by England…)
Worcester v Wasps: Rory Sutherland (1) and Duhan van der Merwe (11) v Robin Hislop (1) and Elliott Millar Mills (18). Duhan scored one and set up another through his trademark beligerence, while Sutherland put in his best display since moving down south.
Leicester v Harlequins: v Huw Jones (13)
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