Latest news with #ScottishRugby
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
South African Henco Venter disappointed to be forced out of Glasgow Warriors due to Scottish Rugby strategy on foreign players
Henco Venter expressed disappointment over his impending Glasgow exit after becoming one of the first victims of Scottish Rugby's drive to reduce the number of non-Scottish-qualified players affiliated to the country's two professional clubs. It was announced in March that the 33-year-old South African back-rower would be leaving Warriors this summer to join French second-tier side Brive. Venter, a fans' favourite at Scotstoun, had hoped to extend his two-year stint at the club, and head coach Franco Smith said in April he would have liked to have retained the forward. However, Scottish Rugby director of rugby David Nucifora is overseeing a shift in strategy to provide more opportunities for Scottish-qualified players to play for Glasgow and Edinburgh. Explaining his reasons for leaving at a press conference on Monday, Venter said: 'Oh, tricky question. It's from above and all the stuff going on in Scotland rugby with the foreigners. That's basically one of the main reasons. I love this place and I'd love to stay here.' Venter has had more than two months to get his head around the fact his Glasgow career will be over once their involvement in the United Rugby Championship play-offs is over this month, but he admits he was not expecting to be released. 'It's rugby, so there's always something and some challenge to overcome, some injury,' he said. 'So, yeah, it's bad and I didn't like it, but it's rugby. You don't take anything personally. 'You learn to accept stuff and just be better where you can be better and perform where you can perform and enjoy every moment. I'll enjoy this week and hopefully next week.' Venter insisted he 'respects' Scottish Rugby's change of policy with regard to foreign players. 'I understand that's their plan going forward and I respect it,' he said. 'I am not Scottish, so it's a privilege to be here and to give back to the club and to the country. 'If they make their plans, they have a will to make Scotland rugby better and I hope they succeed in it.' Venter was the toast of Scotstoun during and after Friday's URC quarter-final victory over Stormers as he scored a try and produced a magnificent display in his final home match for the Warriors. They now face Leinster in the semi-final at Aviva Stadium on Saturday, and the South African is braced for a formidable task as he bids to prolong his Glasgow career by one more week. When asked what it would require to win in Dublin, he said: 'Twenty-three dogs and 80 minutes of just everyone giving everything. 'They're a class outfit with world-class players and world-class coaching staff. But it's rugby. So if we do our stuff right, then we can do it. 'These games, this is what you play for. Big stakes, big crowd, everyone just ready to give everything.'
STV News
13 hours ago
- Sport
- STV News
Henco Venter disappointed to be leaving Glasgow due to Scottish Rugby strategy
Henco Venter expressed disappointment over his impending Glasgow exit after becoming one of the first victims of Scottish Rugby's drive to reduce the number of non-Scottish-qualified players affiliated to the country's two professional clubs. It was announced in March that the 33-year-old South African back-rower would be leaving Warriors this summer to join French second-tier side Brive. Venter, a fans' favourite at Scotstoun, had hoped to extend his two-year stint at the club, and head coach Franco Smith said in April he would have liked to have retained the forward. However, Scottish Rugby director of rugby David Nucifora is overseeing a shift in strategy to provide more opportunities for Scottish-qualified players to play for Glasgow and Edinburgh. Explaining his reasons for leaving at a press conference on Monday, Venter said: 'Oh, tricky question. It's from above and all the stuff going on in Scotland rugby with the foreigners. That's basically one of the main reasons. I love this place and I'd love to stay here.' Venter has had more than two months to get his head around the fact his Glasgow career will be over once their involvement in the United Rugby Championship play-offs is over this month, but he admits he was not expecting to be released. 'It's rugby, so there's always something and some challenge to overcome, some injury,' he said. 'So, yeah, it's bad and I didn't like it, but it's rugby. You don't take anything personally. 'You learn to accept stuff and just be better where you can be better and perform where you can perform and enjoy every moment. I'll enjoy this week and hopefully next week.' Venter insisted he 'respects' Scottish Rugby's change of policy with regard to foreign players. 'I understand that's their plan going forward and I respect it,' he said. 'I am not Scottish, so it's a privilege to be here and to give back to the club and to the country. 'If they make their plans, they have a will to make Scotland rugby better and I hope they succeed in it.' Venter was the toast of Scotstoun during and after Friday's URC quarter-final victory over Stormers as he scored a try and produced a magnificent display in his final home match for the Warriors. They now face Leinster in the semi-final at Aviva Stadium on Saturday, and the South African is braced for a formidable task as he bids to prolong his Glasgow career by one more week. When asked what it would require to win in Dublin, he said: 'Twenty-three dogs and 80 minutes of just everyone giving everything. 'They're a class outfit with world-class players and world-class coaching staff. But it's rugby. So if we do our stuff right, then we can do it. 'These games, this is what you play for. Big stakes, big crowd, everyone just ready to give everything.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
BBC News
15 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
'They want more Scottish players' - Venter sorry to leave Glasgow
Henco Venter is leaving Glasgow Warriors reluctantly and says it felt "bad" to be told his departure is down to a Scottish Rugby directive to have fewer foreign players in the professional club South African back-row was given an emotional farewell by Warriors fans after a 36-18 win over Stormers set up Saturday's URC semi-final away to 33-year-old has agreed to join French club Brive but admits he would rather be extending his two-year stay at coach Franco Smith has also made it clear would have chosen to keep his compatriot on, saying in April: "If it was up to me, definitely he would stay."Asked about his impending exit, Venter replied: "It's a tricky question. It's also from above and all the stuff going on in Scotland regarding foreign players. That's basically one of the main reasons."I love this place and I'd love to stay but... Leave it there!"They want more Scottish players and I understand that's their plan going forward and I respect that. I'm not Scottish so it's a privilege to be here and give back to the club and the country."If they make their plans and have a will to make Scottish rugby better, I hope they succeed in it." On being told of the decision to let him go, he added: "It's bad and I didn't like it, but it's rugby and you don't take anything personally."Through many years in this game you learn to accept stuff and just be better where you can be better and perform where you can perform and enjoy every moment. So I'll enjoy this week and hopefully next week."That reference is to the daunting task of having to beat Leinster at the Aviva Stadium to prolong Warriors' title of the outcome, Venter says he cherishes his time in Glasgow."This place is special, not just for me but for my wife and our daughter," he explained. "It's just been an amazing journey for us."Despite a 52-0 hammering in Dublin earlier in the season, Venter thinks his Warriors team-mates are capable of pulling off what would be seen as a shock win against the Irish giants in their own backyard."We are in it to win it but you're not always in a team that has the potential to win," he said."Here, we do. We stand a chance, always. If the guys believe in our chance to win, then it's just magical to play in a team like that."
BBC News
5 days ago
- General
- BBC News
What is play-off success for Glasgow & Edinburgh? Does Russell get a raw deal?
BBC Scotland's chief sportswriter Tom English has been answering some of your Scottish rugby questionsJamie asked: What is success for Glasgow and Edinburgh in the play-offs? Is it crazy to think Edinburgh have a better chance at the title?Tom answered: Let's talk Glasgow first. They have to beat the Stormers at home, that's a given. On current form, I'm worried. Anything other than a victory and the season will go down as a they win, their problem then is that because they fell away to fourth they'll probably have to go to Dublin. They took the tough road to glory last season but this season looks even their injuries, I can't see them beating Leinster in Dublin. A competitive semi-final defeat would go down as a decent title defence in my book.I wouldn't say Edinburgh have a better chance. They have a really hard assignment away to Bulls on Saturday and if they win that then, on seeding, they'll be playing Sharks away in the semi-final and, again on seeding, Leinster away in the a brutal run. If they win the URC then forget the chat about Sean Everitt keeping his job, the only thing up for debate at that point will be where to put his asked: With George Turner joining Harlequins can we look forward to him being part of the Scotland set-up again? We've missed Tom answered: Totally agree Scotland have missed him. He's still the best hooker and it's good news he's back close to me, if he's still playing close to his best, he's first choice for Scotland. I hope he's making himself available come the asked: Great win for Bath in the Challenge Cup final but what has Finn Russell go to do? He got slated by the radio comms for having a poor game, this is the same commentator that criticises him for being a maverick. But when he controls a game behind a strong pack it's clearly not good enough answered: People are allowed their opinion. In my view, Finn Russell's game management is outstanding. Some have an outdated view of him as some kind of Harlem Globetrotter, but it's wildly one of the best 10s I have seen and he's more mature now than he's ever been. His performance in the Challenge Cup final was quietly authoritative. No bells and whistles, just calm and dominant. The him behind a strong pack, as he'll have in the summer with the Lions, and he'll be brilliant. He can deliver the flashes of genius, but that's only part of what he asked: If Aberdeen, against all the odds, can win the Scottish Cup for the first time in 35 years, what's holding Scotland back from a Grand Slam? It's clearly about belief within the squad and clear, concise messaging from the answered: If only it was so easy. Scotland don't win championships or Grand Slams because they have to win four or five games in a row, with some of them against physically superior haven't been good enough to do that. They haven't had the artillery up front, where most rugby games are all due respect to Aberdeen's opponents in the early rounds of the Scottish Cup, they were lower league. Then they beat nine-man Hearts in the semi-final. A Six Nations is a lot harder than that. You're playing against some of the best teams in the world. The attrition is through the roof.I think these Scotland players believe in themselves, and they're a very fine side, but they're just not as good as Ireland and France.
Times
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Times
‘I knew I was done' – Matt Scott's Edinburgh highs and lows
When he first broke through in season 2011/12, Matt Scott signalled a new era in Scottish centre play, bringing a flash of power and panache to an arena which had long been dominated by honest plodders and basic bashers. Stuart Hogg burst onto the scene at almost exactly the same time, fired by a rich running game and exquisite spatial awareness, and when Finn Russell followed suit a couple of years later, the national team had the right conductor to pull the whole thing together. In the meantime, Scott had swiftly established himself as a centre of class, composure and so few clunky elements that it was easy to forget he himself had long been identified as the future at number 10. 'I was playing
