Latest news with #MarshallSykes
Edinburgh Reporter
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Edinburgh Reporter
Gregor Townsend makes five changes for Samoa game
Gregor Townsend has made five changes to the team that lost against Fiji last weekend ahead of Scotland's first match in Auckland since the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Scotland last played at Eden Park against England 14 years ago and will be aiming for their first ever win at the historic venue. In the backs, Kyle Rowe, Kyle Steyn, Fergus Burke and Jamie Dobie all retain their places. Tom Jordan has been ruled out of the match due to fracturing his hand with Rory Hutchinson and Stafford McDowall taking his and Cameron Redpath's place in the centre. Arron Reed starts on the wing in place of Darcy Graham, after scoring a try in the win against the Maori All Blacks. Rory Sutherland and Ewan Ashman will join the British & Irish Lions in Australia on Sunday but will start the match against Samoa in the front row along with Elliot Millar Mills. Gregor Brown replaces Marshall Sykes in the second row and pairs up with Grant Gilchrist. Andy Onyeama-Christie returns to the starting line-up alongside tour captain Rory Darge and Matt Fagerson, who completed his return from injury last weekend against Fiji. In a 6-2 split on the bench, prop Fin Richardson is in line for his first cap having previously donned the blue jersey against the Maori All Blacks. Nathan McBeth and George Turner offer front row options from the bench with Cameron Henderson and Marshall Sykes able to offer support in the second row. Ben Muncaster has recovered from his leg injury sustained in the first game of tour with George Horne and Adam Hastings also named on the bench. Samoa v Scotland, Friday 18 July 2025, kick-off 7.35pm (local time) (Friday 18 July 2025, kick-off 8.35am (UK time) Eden Park, Auckland. Live on Premier Sports and BBC Scotland (Online and iPlayer) 15. Kyle Rowe – Glasgow Warriors (13) 14. Kyle Steyn – Glasgow Warriors – VICE-CAPTAIN (24) 13. Rory Hutchinson – Northampton Saints (10) 12. Stafford McDowall – Glasgow Warriors (13) 11. Arron Reed – Sale Sharks (3) 10. Fergus Burke – Saracens (1) 9. Jamie Dobie – Glasgow Warriors (13) 1. Rory Sutherland – Glasgow Warriors (42) 2. Ewan Ashman – Edinburgh Rugby (28) 3. Elliot Millar Mills – Northampton Saints (8) 4. Gregor Brown – Glasgow Warriors (9) 5. Grant Gilchrist – Edinburgh Rugby – VICE-CAPTAIN (81) 6. Andy Onyeama-Christie – Saracens (8) 7. Rory Darge – Glasgow Warriors – CAPTAIN (31) 8. Matt Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors (56) Replacements 16. George Turner – Harlequins (46) 17. Nathan McBeth – Glasgow Warriors (2) 18. Fin Richardson – Glasgow Warriors (uncapped) 19. Cameron Henderson – Leicester Tigers (1) 20. Marshall Sykes – Edinburgh Rugby (3) 21. Ben Muncaster – Edinburgh Rugby (2) 22. George Horne – Glasgow Warriors (37) 23. Adam Hastings – Glasgow Warriors (33) Like this: Like Related
The Herald Scotland
10-07-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Fergus Burke ready for Scotland debut against Fiji
Asked about the qualities of the Saracens fly-half, who was born in New Zealand but qualifies for Scotland through his Edinburgh-born grandfather, Townsend said there was lots to like. The Scotland head coach added: 'I think the most important element is how physical he's been, both with carrying the ball, but in particular his defence. He's been excellent this year for Saracens, and he's shown that on tour. 'We're going to need our backs to defend really well on Saturday. His game management, his game understanding, is up there with the best 10s. 'He knows why you would play a certain shape, why you might play a certain tactic against a different opposition, and he's got the technical skills to execute that. "He's been a joy to work with right throughout the Six Nations, when he didn't get an opportunity, to now, on tour, having played at the weekend, and then now getting a chance for his first start.' Townsend also explained why he has made 14 changes from the win over the Maori All Blacks. Marshall Sykes is the only player who started in Whangarei to retain his place in the starting line-up in Fiji. 'We'd planned to mix up the first two games, which is an element of risk, in that two different teams, you don't get the continuity between games. 'But what I believe works well for us, and has worked in the past, is you get that cohesion with that team. 'This team that is going out against Fiji, having trained together now for the last two or three weeks - they've trained against the team that played against the Maori. 'We're very pleased with the performance of the group against the Maori. And if it had been a different scenario, then maybe we would have changed the selection, because players really played well in that game, but we stuck with these two teams. 'And what we'll have is a fresh team too. Not many of them played against the Maori, and they've been raring to go.' Scotland are back in Fiji for the first time since defeat on Townsend's first tour in charge back in 2017. Several players took ill before that match eight years ago, and Townsend revealed they have taken extra precautions to ensure they do not endure a repeat this time. Asked about the learnings from that came that can be taken into Saturday's match, he said: 'We didn't win the physical battle, and that was really disappointing. We'd had a great win the week before in Sydney and it would have been a brilliant way to end the tour, but we just didn't front up physically. 'It's rare to see that in a Scotland team. Every now and again if you have that performance you know that can never happen again. That was the biggest learning. 'There were other learnings off the field. We did have some players going down ill the day of the game, and we've taken a lot of precautions this week to make sure that what we're eating and drinking is as safe as possible and what we're used to so we'll be in great physical condition when we go into the game. 'But the most important thing is matching the physicality. Not allowing the Fijians to build confidence and get the crowd into the game, which they did that day.'
BBC News
02-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Sykes out to put himself 'in spotlight' for more Scotland caps
Marshall Sykes aims to use Scotland's summer tour to put himself "in the spotlight" as he chases more Test Edinburgh lock, 25, made his Scotland debut against Tonga in 2021 but had to wait three-and-a-half years for his second cap, coming on as a replacement against France in this year's Six Scotland gear up for their tour opener against the Maori All Blacks in Whangerei on Saturday, Sykes is keen to make every moment count that he gets on the field."It's just about getting yourself in the spotlight," said Sykes"Now I've got myself over here, it's about what I do with it. So I suppose the onus kind of comes to me."The coaches, they're pretty clear with what they want. The tour is a real opportunity, especially while, for instance, in my position, you've got Scott Cummings away [with the Lions]."It's a chance to put your stamp on the jersey and see what you can do there. I'll be just giving my all each week to try and get myself in this squad long term."
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Edinburgh make four changes for must-win game in Galway
Edinburgh have made four changes to the side knocked out of Europe by Bath for their crucial URC trip to face Connacht on Saturday. The capital side head to Galway needing a win to keep their play-off hopes alive. Edinburgh are 10th in the table, two places and two points outside the top eight, with two matches of the regular season remaining. Lock Marshall Sykes and back-rower Ben Muncaster come into the forward pack, while centre Mosese Tuipulotu and wing Jack Brown also start. Magnus Bradbury captains the side in the absence of the rested Grant Gilchrist, while Jamie Ritchie and Harry Patterson both miss out with concussion. Pierre Schoeman starts in the front row fresh from his call-up to the British and Irish Lions, though fellow Lion Duhan van der Merwe is still not ready for action after an injury layoff. Darcy Graham starts and will have a point to prove after missing out on Andy Farrell's 38-man squad. "I think the results don't reflect our performances over the past couple of weeks," said Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt. "If you look back at the Sharks game and at Bath, the effort and the work and energy that the guys have put in on the park has been admirable. So we'd look for the same there. What I'm looking at this week is for more accuracy and what we're good at. "The result's vitally important tomorrow. Obviously, it's a challenge playing in Galway. "We've had a good week of preparation. We've got over the Bath game and the guys are ready to go." Edinburgh: Wes Goosen, Darcy Graham, Matt Currie, Mosese Tuipulotu, Jack Brown, Ross Thompson, Ali Price; Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, D'arcy Rae, Marshall Sykes, Sam Skinner, Ben Muncaster, Hamish Watson, Magnus Bradbury (c) Replacements: Paddy Harrison, Boan Venter, Javan Sebastian, Glen Young, Liam McConnell; Charlie Shiel, Ben Healy, James Lang
Scotsman
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Edinburgh Rugby boosted by the return of their stand-out performer
Full-back on the comeback trail along with Scotland lock forward 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... Edinburgh Rugby have received a boost ahead of Saturday's Euro semi-final clash with Bath with the return of two key players to training. Wes Goosen and Marshall Sykes have both recovered from injuries and are likely to come into contention for this weekend. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Goosen, a stand-out performer at full back this season, had played in every minute of every game up to and including the win over the Bulls in the EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-final earlier this month. Edinburgh's Wes Goosen has returned to training after a back problem. | SNS Group He was then sidelined by a back issue and missed the games with the Sharks and Zebre but is back training ahead of Saturday's Challenge Cup semi against Bath at Hive Stadium. So too is Sykes, the Scotland international second-row who has been out with a foot injury. It is the first time Edinburgh have reached a European semi-final in 10 years and it was announced on Monday that Georgian referee Nika Amashukeli will take charge of the tie. The match will come too soon for Edinburgh co-captain Ben Vellacott and winger Duhan van der Merwe who are working their way back from foot and ankle injuries, respectively. Both are expected to be available again from early May. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Matt Scott (back) and Lewis Wells (ankle) are on a similar timeline for their return to play but winger Ross McCann is not likely to return until the end of May due to a foot problem. Edinburgh's Marshall Sykes should be available for the Challenge Cup semi-final with Bath. | SNS Group The club's injury list remains lengthy and they are awaiting the results of a scan on Paul Hill to determine the extent of the prop's back issue. Emiliano Boffelli, the Argentine international, continues to be assessed on a weekly basis due to a persistent back nerve problem which has dogged him for a couple of seasons. Dave Cherry (knee), Jamie Hodgson (tricep), Luke Crosbie (pec) and Tom Dodd (shoulder) are all ruled out until June which means they may not play again this season, depending on the club's progress or otherwise in the United Rugby Championship.
