Latest news with #Scotlandteam
Yahoo
21-02-2025
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Finn Russell's Calcutta Cup availability delights Scotland co-captain Rory Darge
Rory Darge says it is 'massive' to have fellow co-captain Finn Russell available to aid Scotland's pursuit of Calcutta Cup history. Gregor Townsend's side are bidding to continue their recent domination against rivals England by recording an unprecedented fifth consecutive win in the fixture. Influential fly-half Russell has been passed fit to start Saturday's Guinness Six Nations showdown at the Allianz Stadium after recovering from a nasty head knock suffered in his country's round-two loss to Ireland. Your Scotland team for Saturday's Calcutta Cup clash. Read more ➡️ — Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) February 20, 2025 Glasgow flanker Darge, who is preparing for the first Twickenham outing of his career, said: 'Finn plays a lot of his best rugby in a Scotland shirt. 'He's played lots and lots of games for us now, so it will be big having him back. 'It's massive isn't it? He's obviously world-class, great to play with and really important to us as a team, so delighted that he's fit. 'It's a big boost. He has so much experience playing for Scotland and his talent speaks for itself.'
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Sport
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Finn Russell fit but Darcy Graham misses England clash
Scotland co-captain Finn Russell has been passed fit for Saturday's Calcutta Cup match with England but fellow back Darcy Graham misses out. The key duo were doubts for the Guinness Six Nations showdown at Allianz Stadium after colliding with each other and being forced off with head injuries in the first half of the defeat by Ireland. Bath stand-off Russell has been able to recover in time and pass the concussion protocols to be named at number 10. But Graham, who came off worst in the clash between the pair and was taken to hospital as a precaution, has not been deemed fit enough for inclusion in the 23. Your Scotland team for Saturday's Calcutta Cup clash. Read more ➡️ — Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) February 20, 2025 The Edinburgh wing has been replaced by Glasgow's Kyle Rowe in the only change to Scotland's backline from the side that lost 32-18 to the Irish. There are two changes to the Scottish pack, with Edinburgh pair Pierre Schoeman and Jamie Ritchie taking over from Glasgow duo Rory Sutherland and Matt Fagerson in the front row and back row respectively. Sutherland and Fagerson both drop to the bench where they are joined by fellow forwards Ewan Ashman, Will Hurd, Sam Skinner and Gregor Brown in a 6-2 split. Glasgow duo Jamie Dobie and Stafford McDowall – who both played more than half of the Ireland game after coming on for Graham and Russell – are again the two replacement backs as Gregor Townsend's side head to Twickenham bidding to win the Calcutta Cup for the fifth year in succession.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
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Ben Earl: England gunning for redemption after rewatching Calcutta Cup losses
Ben Earl revealed the agony of rewatching recent Calcutta Cup failures has left England gunning for redemption as he admitted Scotland's last visit to Twickenham caused him to question his suitability for international rugby. Gregor Townsend's team are chasing a record-breaking fifth consecutive win over their fierce rivals during Saturday's pivotal Guinness Six Nations showdown at Allianz Stadium. Part of England's preparation to end Scottish domination stretching back to 2021 has involved analysing painful footage of their two defeats in the fixture during the reign of head coach Steve Borthwick. Back-row forward Earl came off the bench in the first of those matches – a 29-23 loss in south-west London at the start of the Borthwick era – before being dropped for the remainder of the 2023 championship following a round-two cameo against Italy. Next up: @Scotlandteam 👊@allianzuknews | #AllianzStadium — England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) February 17, 2025 'It certainly feels like a big week in terms of this is a team that's got the wood over us at the moment,' he said. 'This is a team that we've not had a huge amount of joy against, certainly for a good chunk of time. It's got a big-game feel to it and that more times than not has brought the best out of us. 'We've watched the last two games we've played (against Scotland); that's almost unidentifiable in terms of what we've been as a team when we've been at our best over the last couple of years since Steve's come in. 'We've watched some of that back, we've learnt some lessons. We're not going to be short of motivation, that's for sure.' Having initially been jettisoned by Borthwick, Earl returned from a period of soul searching to become a key cog in the England side which finished third at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France and then remain a regular. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ben Earl (@benearl7) The 27-year-old Saracens player, who started last year's 30–21 loss at Murrayfield, feels a shift in mindset was central to his revival at Test level. 'I distinctly remember 2023 Scotland at home was a big turning point for me in terms of I had to learn a really harsh lesson,' said Earl. 'That was a time where the penny really dropped: that I was unfit, that I didn't know what it takes to become a top-class international rugby player, I didn't know what it took to play under Steve. All of that, really. 'It's not necessarily unfit in terms of physiologically. It's like, 'I'm shattered, can I keep going?' is a different mindset to 'I'm shattered, I think I've emptied myself and got nothing left'. You've always got more. 'Steve's a big believer in the back-rowers being the ones who run the furthest, work the hardest. You always think that until you get thrown into the Colosseum. It certainly felt that was a day for me that I learnt the most.' Following defeat to reigning champions Ireland on the opening weekend, England catapulted themselves back into title contention courtesy of a last-gasp 26-25 win over France on February 8. Ready for Calcutta Cup week 👊 A 36-player squad has assembled to continue preparations for our upcoming #GuinnessM6N match against Scotland 🌹@o2uk | #WearTheRose — England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) February 16, 2025 Flanker Tom Curry trained on Monday as he manages a chronic hip condition, while lock George Martin, who is nursing a knee injury, took part in a modified session. Curry believes the thrilling defeat of Les Bleus has created intense competition in the camp. 'Obviously the first 48 hours (after a win) are really good but the main thing is even last week's training and today's training are edgy as in people are pushing,' said the 26-year-old. 'It's not comfortable. I have won big games and sometimes you come back in and the first session everyone is on their heels a bit. But everyone is on their toes. 'It doesn't mean everything is going right but it means people are pushing and that's a really good feeling when it is not perfect, there is stuff to work on, but you know the attitude is right.'
Yahoo
10-02-2025
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Gregor Townsend wants perspective after Scotland's Six Nations loss to Ireland
Gregor Townsend called for a sense of perspective to be applied in the wake of Scotland's chastening 32-18 defeat by Ireland as he pointed out that it would have been a 'massive shock' if his side had turned over the defending Six Nations champions at Murrayfield on Sunday. After an encouraging autumn campaign, the Scots came into the championship with high hopes of finishing in the top two for the first time this century. But Sunday's demoralising defeat at the hands of an Irish side chasing a third consecutive title brought a familiar sense of deflation for Townsend and his players after they had spoken extensively in recent months about the progress they felt they had made since their 36-14 World Cup pool-stage defeat by the same opponents in Paris in October 2023. Grant Gilchrist reflects on a disappointing afternoon and looks ahead to the challenge in Round 3⃣. #AsOne — Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) February 9, 2025 'No, I don't,' said the head coach when asked if he felt an 11th consecutive defeat by Ireland had left Scotland 'back at square one' in their quest to become genuine title contenders. 'The scoreline was big, and I know it's you guys' (journalists) job to talk about this game but we have to look a bit longer term and where we've been. 'After that game against Ireland in the World Cup we changed a lot, who we select, who we are as a team, and that was done with the players as well. Our next game, we played a different type of rugby against Wales. 'We've carried on that, we've added bits to it and we've been really competitive since then. This was probably our most disappointing performance, defeat let's say, since Ireland, but it happens every now and again. If it was to happen in the next two or three games I'd be much more concerned. 'It's a one-off game and you've got to have context. We're playing a tournament where you've got to play five games and if you start to over-analyse what went on in the one game, you lose sight of what you've been building towards. I said before the game that the defeats we've had against Ireland have shaped who we are as well. 'It's changed a little bit how we played and that's been transferred to other performances. It didn't transfer well enough this time but you've got to take the learnings out of your game. 'No-one's more disappointed than me that we weren't able to go two from two today and we weren't able to beat Ireland. But they deserved to win and we've got to make sure that this game, and all the last four or five that we've played, are part of who we are next time we play.' Townsend admitted 'it's going to be difficult' for Scotland – who have trips to England and France either side of a home game against Wales – to get back into title contention after Sunday's defeat. 'We've lost to the number two team in the world who are going for the third title,' he said. 'If you take it like that, you go 'well, it would have been a shock' if we had won. I think it would have been a massive shock. They were clear favourites but we believed we could win and we worked hard towards a win. 'Playing our next opponent (England) was always going to be difficult (regardless of the Ireland result). We don't have a brilliant record down there, it's a very tough place to play but we do have a very good record recently. They've just come off the back of winning a great game against France. 'We know how difficult each game in the Six Nations is. We've got to obviously play much better next time to have a chance of bouncing back with a victory.' Townsend indicated that Bath centre Cam Redpath and Edinburgh back-rower Ben Muncaster could come into contention after missing the start of the championship through injury, but Glasgow backs Kyle Steyn and Adam Hastings will remain sidelined. Key duo Finn Russell and Darcy Graham will continue to be assessed after the head injuries they sustained against Ireland, with the latter released from hospital on Sunday evening.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Sport
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Sir Chris Hoy's Murrayfield appearance can inspire Scotland
Scotland co-captain Rory Darge expects Sir Chris Hoy's presence at Murrayfield to inspire his side ahead of Sunday's Guinness Six Nations showdown with Ireland. The 48-year-old former cyclist – with six Olympic gold medals and 11 world titles to his name – will drive a Lead the Legends car at the front of the team bus as they arrive at the stadium and will then deliver the match ball on to the pitch. Hoy revealed in October that he has terminal cancer and was told by doctors that he had two to four years to live. Six-time Olympic Gold medallist and 11-times world champion Sir Chris Hoy will be back at Scottish Gas Murrayfield this Sunday delivering the match ball for the game against Ireland. Read more ➡️ — Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) February 6, 2025 And back-rower Darge is anticipating 'a special moment' when one of Scotland's sporting greats – Edinburgh born and bred – is welcomed by the Murrayfield crowd before kick-off. Darge said: 'He's obviously a massive inspiration, from his sporting achievements in cycling, but obviously what he's going through personally is really inspiring, so I'm sure he'll get a good reception at Murrayfield tomorrow, and it'll be a special moment and a good start to the game, hopefully. 'I'm sure the Murrayfield crowd will get behind that, and make it an even more special moment, and that energy will hopefully be something that we can feed off as players and put into the performance.'
