Saints fuelled by belief their doomed, says Mitchell
St Johnstone are being fuelled by the collective view they are already destined for the drop, says on-loan Charlton defender Zach Mitchell, 20. (Courier - subscription required), externalRead Saturday's Scottish gossip
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Scotsman
38 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Glasgow Warriors' URC title defence buried in Scottish graveyard as relentless Leinster march into final
Argy-bargy at the Aviva as Warriors comprehensively beaten Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... No Scottish team has won at the Aviva and this impressive arena continues to be a graveyard for tartan travellers who come to Dublin more in hope than expectation. Glasgow Warriors have experienced their own particular horror stories at the stadium and added a fresh chapter on Saturday as their reign as kings of the United Rugby Championship came to an end. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Leinster pummelled them into submission, winning this semi-final 37-19, and they will now host the final next weekend at Croke Park. Glasgow Warriors suffered their third defeat of the season at the Aviva Stadium to relinquish their URC crown as Leinster claimed a 37-19 semi-final victory. (Photo by) | Getty Images Glasgow were comprehensively beaten and a couple of late converted scores from Jamie Dobie and Sione Tuipulotu made the scoreline less grizzly than it could have been. Leinster won the game in the first half, punishing every small error made by the visitors and playing with a relentlessness that was hard to live with. Their kicking game was excellent and in James Lowe they had a player who dominated the aerial battle. They seemed able to pick off their opponents at will, making a mockery of claims that they are a team on the slide. They scored six tries in total, four of them in the first half, and the margin of victory would have been far greater had stand-off Sam Prendergast been more accurate off the tee. Dan Sheehan and Jamie Osborne, with two tries apiece, did the bulk of the damage and there were also scores from Thomas Clarkson and replacement Ciaran Frawley as the boys in blue swept Glasgow away in the Dublin rain. George Horne scored a well-worked try after five minutes to keep the Warriors in touch but things went awry soon after. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This was the third time Leinster had beaten Glasgow at the Aviva this season and the aggregate score stands at 102-24. It wasn't as bad as the 52-0 game in the Champions Cup in April but there were times you feared it might be. The Warriors came with hopes that their creative trio of Tuipulotu, Tom Jordan and Adam Hastings could ask questions of Leinster but the hosts were physically outstanding and snuffed out most of the threat. It was a final bow in a Glasgow jersey for Henco Venter, Jordan and Jack Mann but they couldn't go out on a high. Worst possible start It started badly for the champions and got progressively worse. Venter took the Leinster kick-off but was quickly isolated and conceded a penalty. There were only 18 seconds on the clock and the first try quickly followed. Leinster built the phases, hammering away at the Glasgow defence until the outstanding Jamison Gibson-Park flipped it out to Sheehan to score the first of his two first-half tries. The acrid smell of the pre-match pyro was still in the air as Prendergast slotted the conversion. The game would run away from the visitors in the final 15 minutes of the half but their initial response was impressive and they scored a fine try through Horne. Tuipulotu's sharp flat pass found Josh McKay and he played in Kyle Rowe haring down the left. The winger's chip inside was perfectly judged for Horne to run on to and no-one was catching him. The scrum-half was off target with the conversion. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Unsurprisingly, it was a full-blooded affair and things spilled over at times. When Scott Penny had a 'try' disallowed for crossing by James Lowe, the Leinster winger took out his frustration on Scott Cummings, shoving him to the ground and sparking an all-in melee. A few minutes later, referee Andrea Piardi felt compelled to speak to both captains after another flashpoint. Amid the argy-bargy, Prendergast was pushing and probing with his kicking game. He also landed a penalty to push the hosts 10-5 ahead at the midway point of the half and things unravelled for the visitors thereafter. Jordan couldn't hold on to a no-look pass from Tuipulotu and Leinster capitalised. Osborne thought he'd scored but Gibson-Park's pass to the centre had been forward and the score was chalked off. Osborne was not to be denied, though. Two minutes later he took receipt off Lowe's one-handed offload and hared down the left wing to score - and there was nothing wrong with this one. Relentless Leinster That made it 15-5 and Leinster would add two more tries before the half was out. They both originated at the lineout and relied on brawn. Clarkson was just far too strong as he barged his way past Fin Richardson, Horne and Euan Ferrie. And then Sheehan was at the back of a lineout maul to score his second of the afternoon. The only saving grace for Glasgow was that Prendergast was off target with both pots at goal and Leinster went in at the turn 25-5 ahead. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Jordie Barrett came close to adding a fifth Leinster try in the early stages of the second half but the home fans in the sparsely populated Aviva didn't have long to wait. They hammered away at the Glasgow defence before the imperious Gibson-Park picked out Osborne who scored his second. Prendergast, who had struck the post with a straightforward penalty moments earlier, converted this one. It was gruelling for Glasgow in the face of relentless opponents. The home side were fortified by their bench and one of the replacements, Frawley, plundered try number six. Lowe, a menace throughout, won an aerial duel with Kyle Steyn to put Leinster on the attack, Tommy O'Brien made headway down the right before finding Frawley who finished gratefully.
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Iwata in key Rodgers admission as reason for Celtic exit revealed
The midfielder completed a deadline day switch to the English third-tier outfit. Iwata has thrived in his first year south of the border, scoring eight goals and finding himself nominated for League One's Player of the Season award. Read more: He recently lifted the lid on his Celtic exit, admitting that he had no knowledge of Brendan Rodgers when he rejoined the club. "Manager Rodgers was a famous coach in Scotland, but I didn't know of him at all," Iwata told Soccer Digest Web. "At first, I wondered, 'What kind of person is he?' The team actually got going, and the football they were trying to play was interesting. "But there were some areas where I wasn't able to fully showcase myself. It was partly because there was an absolute player in Callum McGregor in the same position, but honestly, I feel like I could have done more. "For players in the front line, the numbers are clear, but my strengths are my one-on-one strengths and my ability to steal the ball. "At Celtic, it's difficult to show that. The teams that are overwhelmingly strong in Scotland always have the ball and take the lead. "I would take it positively that I was able to concentrate on the offensive side, but I can't show my strengths much and I don't get much playing time. "The level of the Scottish first division is a little lower than the top five European leagues, so I often felt that it was a difficult environment for me." The 28-year-old's lack of minutes, along with his family life, was a key factor in his exit: "I wasn't impatient, but more than that, I couldn't help but feel the regret that I, a soccer player, wasn't playing in the games," he said. "At that time, I had a very strong desire to play soccer. Seeing my wife taking care of our children in a foreign country where I was not familiar with them, cooking meals and doing housework, I couldn't help but feel the emotion. "Birmingham made me an offer as soon as the off-season began, and they patiently waited until August 31st, the final day for transfers. "I thought to myself, 'If they feel that way about me, I want to go,' and immediately packed my bags and headed for my new home. I didn't have any negative feelings about it being in the third division, and my biggest motivation at the time was wanting to show my family that I was working hard. "In addition, the manager, Chris Davies, had previously been a coach at Celtic and had recently been a coach under Ange at Tottenham. "The two managers had heard about me and offered me the position with confidence that we could work together, so I was able to go with peace of mind." Birmingham won League One last term, and Iwata will play his football in the Championship in the forthcoming 2025/26 season.
Daily Record
2 hours ago
- Daily Record
I am Celtic player who hadn't heard of Brendan Rodgers and here's my reasons for struggling in 'lower' level Scotland
It was a rocky road for the midfielder in Glasgow's east end as he acted as Callum McGregor's understudy Former Celtic man Tomoki Iwata admits he hadn't even heard of Brendan Rodgers when the boss made his return to Parkhead. The revelation from the Birmingham City midfielder has emerged as he attempted to explain his struggles in the Scottish Premiership before his move to English League One. Iwata initially made a loan switch to Glasgow from Yokohama F Marinos under Ange Postecoglou in January 2023 - with the move becoming permanent that summer. However, ally Postecoglou would leave the Hoops for Tottenham that same summer for Tottenham after brining a Treble to Celtic Park. That would see Rodgers' come back to Celtic for his second spell in the dugout. Iwata, reflecting on his time in Scotland with Japanese outlet Soccer Digest Web said: "Manager Rodgers was a famous coach in Scotland, but I didn't know of him at all. "At first I wondered, 'What kind of person is he?' The team actually got going and the football they were trying to play was interesting. "But there were some areas where I wasn't able to fully showcase myself. It was partly because there was an absolute player in Callum McGregor in the same position, but honestly, I feel like I could have done more." While he watched Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate impress in Glasgow - but reckons the Hoops' didn't play to his strengths and the "lower" level of Scottish football didn't allow him to catch the eye. He said: "For players in the front line, the numbers are clear, but my strengths are my one-on-one strengths and my ability to steal the ball. "At Celtic, it's difficult to show that. The teams that are overwhelmingly strong in Scotland always have the ball and take the lead. "I would take it positively that I was able to concentrate on the offensive side, but I can't show my strengths much and I don't get many playing time. "The level of the Scottish first division is a little lower than the top five European leagues, so I often felt that it was a difficult environment for me." The Japan international admitted he wasn't sure if Birmingham City was the right move for him - but now hopes he can push them all the way to the Premier League. He said: "I wasn't impatient, but more than that, I couldn't help but feel the regret that I, a soccer player, wasn't playing in the games. "At that time, I had a very strong desire to play soccer. Seeing my wife taking care of our children in a foreign country where I was not familiar with them, cooking meals and doing housework, I couldn't help but feel the emotion. "Birmingham made me an offer as soon as the off-season began, and they patiently waited until August 31st, the final day for transfers. "I thought to myself, 'If they feel that way about me, I want to go,' and immediately packed my bags and headed for my new home. I didn't have any negative feelings about it being in the third division, and my biggest motivation at the time was wanting to show my family that I was working hard. "In addition, the manager, Chris Davies, had previously been a coach at Celtic and had recently been a coach under Ange at Tottenham. "The two managers had heard about me and offered me the position with confidence that we could work together, so I was able to go with peace of mind. I was also moved by the fact that "Birmingham was in a similar situation to when Oita Trinita, the club I grew up in, was relegated to J3. "They were originally a large club in the Premier League, but they had been relegated to the third division and were trying to climb back up. When they said, 'I want to go to the Premier League with you' I remembered the time when they had risen to J2 and J1." Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport's newest podcast, Game On, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.
