Latest news with #SioneTuipulotu
Telegraph
14 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Why Lions were right to bank on Sione Tuipulotu
One senses there is further selection drama to come in the build-up to this British and Irish Lions tour. With a game against Argentina in Dublin on June 20, six days after the Premiership and United Rugby Championship (URC) finals, Andy Farrell seems likely to draft in reinforcements. Injury replacements are an inevitability as well. At the initial squad announcement on May 8, there were not too many shocks. It reflects the quality of Sione Tuipulotu that his inclusion, despite not having played since January 10, barely raised an eyebrow. Excellent for Glasgow Warriors and Scotland over the past few years, the 28-year-old had evidently done enough to secure his place before a pectoral problem wiped out his Six Nations. Farrell must regard Tuipulotu as a potential Test starter, and the latter's performance against the Stormers on Friday evening will have heartened the Lions head coach. Glasgow progressed to the URC semi-finals with a display underpinned by Tuipulotu's influence as a midfield triple threat. Up the guts and coast to coast Power and poise on the gain line are essential assets for centres, particularly those who regularly step up at first-receiver in first-phase situations. Tuipulotu is a master at manipulating defences in tight spaces with subtle deception, as we will examine later. But he can also surge through heavy traffic to generate impetus. From this early line-out, Tuipulotu begins on the outside of Tom Jordan… …before bustling across his fly-half to link up with Rory Darge at the tail of a driving maul: Warriors are running a planned strike play and, on the third phase, Tuipulotu is on his feet on the far side of the breakdown to offer himself. Meanwhile, another Lion in Scott Cummings stands at the front of a three-man pod of forwards with Jordan arcing behind. This looks conventional enough, but a trailing Kyle Steyn is the runner to watch: Cummings goes to the gain-line and, rather than turn to his left to throw a pull-back to Jordan, plays an inside pass to Steyn, who cuts in front of Alex Samuel and through the Stormers line: Steyn's surge brings about a yellow card for Seabelo Senatla, the Stormers wing. Everything is set up by Tuipulotu's piercing carry in traffic, and he was dangerous in unstructured situations as well. Here, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has just seen his drop-goal attempt come off the post. Tuipulotu and Gregor Hiddleston are pointing up-field, urging their team-mates to counter-attack towards space: Tuipulotu joins the break-out, latching on to Josh McKay's offload and bumping off Ben Loader: A couple of minutes later, Feinberg-Mngomezulu sends a grubber through the middle. Initially on the other side of the breakdown… …Tuipulotu retreats as Kyle Rowe fields the ball and gives Glasgow some impetus. The hosts then reorganise far more quickly than the Stormers. They have an obvious overlap and Tuipulotu has worked into position to take advantage: His simple pass puts McKay outside the Stormers front line and Glasgow are in behind: The next ruck is messy, with a hint of a knock-on from George Horne, but Tuipulotu has again dropped deeper. You can see how he is scanning the defence from that position: Horne and Jordan spread the ball to him and a neat grubber finds Rowe: Andrew Goodman, one of the Lions assistant coaches, is renowned as an intelligent shaper of smart strike moves. Tuipulotu will offer him scope to put together an effective repertoire. Influential body language This next clip comes to nothing but a Glasgow spill, yet hints at the nuances of Tuipulotu's gain-line prowess. From this scrum, Horne feigns towards the far side, which causes Stormers scrum-half Stefan Ungerer to head in the same direction. This in turn deprives Feinberg-Mngomezulu of cover to his inside: Tuipulotu, stationed at first-receiver again, aims to capitalise by stepping towards Feinberg-Mngomezulu's outside. He wants to tempt Dan du Plessis to bite in. Stafford McDowall, meanwhile, is running an 'overs line' and essentially curving from in to out to beat Du Plessis: Tuipulotu fulfils his role perfectly, fixing both Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Du Plessis, pushing a pass across the latter for McDowall to gallop on to and gather. However, the ball is fumbled and Stormers get the put-in: Du Plessis may have readjusted to complete the tackle, but Glasgow would have certainly won ground and a quick ruck at the very least. Tuipulotu's footwork and pass selection are crucial in crowded spaces, where two-metre gains can be hugely important. Although needed to defend for long periods, Tuipulotu only registered seven tackles across the 80 minutes. Glasgow's forwards, led by the relentless Rory Darge, were more prominent than their backs when Stormers were in possession. That said, at the end of a critical stand in the final minutes of the first half, watch how Tuipulotu and Horne press out of the line together. This seems to convince Feinberg-Mngomezulu to step back inside: Henco Venter forces a fumble, and Glasgow know it could be a pivotal moment in the game. Tuipulotu celebrates heartily, geeing up his colleagues and thumping his chest: Just before the break, he is back at first-receiver from another scrum. This time, Ungerer has backed away to bolster the defensive line and is on the inside of Manie Libbok, who has come off the bench at fly-half with Feinberg-Mngomezulu shifting to centre. From this set-up, one would expect Jordan to circle around Tuipulotu to receive a pass that goes behind McDowall. However, Glasgow react to the defence and Jordan stays on the inside of Tuipulotu. Jordan, a powerful carrier himself, trucks up to the Stormers 22: On the next phase, Tuipulotu is at first-receiver again and feeds McKay, who bounces off a tackle and offloads to Steyn to sweep Glasgow deep into opposition territory: While Warriors do not add to their tally here, they pulled away in the second period. Looking further ahead to the Lions tour, Tuipulotu already has an existing relationship with Finn Russell. It will be fascinating to see how quickly he can gel with Fin and Marcus Smith, because Tuipulotu is as adept at creating space for others as he is troubling defences with the ball in his hands. Quality in attack and defence Tuipulotu's cut-out pass to McKay was a vital component of Horne's try on Friday evening: "Contender for try of the season!" 🤩 George Horne caps off a dazzling team score and stretches @GlasgowWarriors ' lead ⚔️ — Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) May 30, 2025 And this run brought about Glasgow's last three points. From yet another scrum, he sees Stormers defenders scrambling over towards him and catches them over-chasing by stepping against the grain. The offload to McDowall keeps the ball alive: Returning to defence, Tuipulotu was perhaps caught a bit narrow for Senatla's try early in the second half. He bites on the decoy line from Suleiman Hartzenberg and cannot readjust when Libbok wraps around: Later, though, having moved to outside centre upon the introduction of Adam Hastings in place of McDowall, there was this calm piece of defence. Stormers run a play that involves Libbok and Senatla circling Feinberg-Mngomezulu: Tuipulotu backs off, trusting Jordan on his inside, and tackles Senatla when the pass comes: Farrell is gradually finding out who will be available for the Lions opener against Argentina in Dublin. The URC semi-final between Leinster and Glasgow will shape plans significantly given the Irish province had 12 players named in the squad. Either way, it will offer Farrell an opportunity to scrutinise Tuipulotu's form further. Early signs are highly positive, pointing to a seminal summer for the Scotland centre.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Warriors run in FIVE tries to stun Stormers and seal play-offs semi-final place
Glasgow Warriors 36 The Stormers 18 GLASGOW WARRIORS booked their place in the semi-finals of the United Rugby Championship courtesy of a thrilling victory over the Stormers at Scotstoun. The Warriors scored five tries in total, some of which were truly sublime in their creation, as they blew the Stormers away. It was a breathless, pulsating encounter which saw Franco Smith's men overcome the absence of so many key players to injury. There's an old cliché in rugby that, in order to beat a South African side, you first of all have to win the battle up front. Yet, in reality, Glasgow made a mockery of that. Especially in the first half, they were second-best by a long way in the forward battle. They eventually found parity in the second half. But, more than anything, this was a victory which was built almost exclusively on attacking flair and lethal finishing ability. Glasgow gave away far too many penalties, but it didn't matter. Stormers were profligate in key moments, with the home side also defending superbly well deep in their own half. Kyle Rowe scored twice, with the other tries coming from man of the match Rory Darge, Henco Venter and George Horne. Sione Tuipulotu was also excellent and showed glimpses that he's not far away from a return to his very best form. The reigning champions will now advance to the last four, where they will most probably face Leinster in Dublin next weekend, presuming the Irish side beat Scarlets on Saturday afternoon. 'The boys showed a lot of heart tonight, especially with how we defended,' said Smith. 'That's what got us through in the end. I am so proud of their effort because Stormers put us under a lot of pressure at times. 'Kyle Rowe was really good, he has something a little bit different. All of the boys really played well and I feel we deserved to win. 'It's a long season. Especially when you consider the Champions Cup as well, there are so many high-level matches. 'There were a lot of positive for us. Henco Venter and Rory Darge were excellent. Scott Cummings got great minutes under his belt, Sione Tuipulotu brought a spark for us. 'To win the competition is one thing. To stay at the top is really another thing completely. It's difficult, but we are ready for the challenge heading into the semi-finals. 'We are not getting over-excited by anything. The mission is still to go on and try to win the semi-final next weekend.' The Stormers arrived in Glasgow on the back of some excellent form over the final few weeks of the regular season. The visitors won a penalty in the scrum inside the opening six minutes and fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu drilled it between the posts. But Stormers were reduced to 14 men when winger Seabelo Senatla was sent to the sin bin – and Glasgow duly punished them shortly after. The move started with Kyle Steyn making a great line-break and bursting through a gap in the wall of blue-and-white jerseys. Glasgow won a penalty and, from the quick tap, it was Darge who powered over from close range after some nice hands from Euan Ferrie. The conversion from Horne put them 7-3 ahead. Glasgow line-breaks were becoming a common theme of the opening 20 minutes or so against a Stormers defence who were all over the shop at times. A second try for the Warriors came when Tuipulotu dinked a kick in behind into acres of space, for Rowe to eventually hoover up the ball and dot it down. Rarely will you ever see a South African team be so weak and porous in defence, conceding from a move which started deep in Glasgow's half, with Horne's conversion stretching the lead to 14-3. Another penalty from Feinberg-Mngomezulu reduced the deficit, before Stormers scored their first try of the night on 26 minutes. Having only just returned from his yellow card, it was Senatla who profited from Glasgow's failure to deal with a high ball to scamper in and score under the posts. But the response from Warriors was immediate, as Venter peeled off the back of a ruck to dive over in the corner. Yet, for all their advantage on the scoreboard, Glasgow were guilty of gifting Stormers an easy route back into the game. Smith's men gave away six penalties inside the opening 30 minutes and they were having problems up front, most notably in the scrum. On his first start of the season, tighthead prop Murphy Walker was taken off and replaced by Sam Talakai after 32 minutes. Meanwhile, after an injury in their backline, the Stormers could bring on World Cup winner Manie Libbok to pull the strings. Leading 19-13 at the break, it was Glasgow's backline and ability to break from deep which had propelled them in front, despite their struggles up front. A quicksilver line-break from Libbok created another try for Stormers early in the second half, with winger Senatla racing away down the touchline to score his second of the game. But Glasgow roared back and Rowe also notched his second of the night when he applied the finish to some great work from Tom Jordan. By this point, Glasgow were rampant. Some of their attacking rugby with ball in hand was sensational – and they scored another superb try on 52 minutes. Tuipulotu looped a sublime pass out wide and the ball was eventually fed back inside for Horne to touch down and finish a wonderful team move. The Warriors scrum-half converted his own try and added a penalty shortly after. Seemingly in the blink of an eye, Glasgow now led 36-18. In the end, a chaotic game eventually petered out. For Glasgow, the hard work was done. They coasted home, safe in the knowledge that their quest for back-to-back titles goes on.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Wounded Warriors will have to do it the hard way if they are to defend URC crown
Bruised, battered and bashed-up for much of the season, there was almost a cruel sense of inevitability that Glasgow Warriors should lose another key player to injury ahead of the URC play-offs. The absence of Huw Jones due to an Achilles injury is undoubtedly a blow to Glasgow's chances of beating the Stormers in their quarter-final clash at Scotstoun tonight. Glasgow head coach Franco Smith spoke yesterday of how the problem is not expected to be long-term, and of how Jones could even return as early as next weekend for any possible semi-final. But to lose one of the form players in Europe this season, and bearing in mind that Jones had only recently returned to action, felt in keeping with the rotten luck Glasgow have experienced throughout the campaign. It is perhaps just as well that Smith has become well-accustomed to operating with one hand tied behind his back over recent months. As reigning champions, Glasgow's title defence has been pockmarked by the loss of key players. The injury list has been extensive, to the extent they actually had well over 20 players out of action at one point. Jones has only played four times for Glasgow since the turn of the year. His partner in crime in midfield, Sione Tuipulotu, has only recently returned from a four-month lay-off. Zander Fagerson has started just one match since the Six Nations finished in March and the word at Scotstoun is that he may not play again this season due to a calf injury, before he heads of with the Lions in the summer. His brother, Matt, also continues to be a big loss due to an ankle injury and hasn't started a URC match since late December. Jack Dempsey hasn't started a URC game for Glasgow since last October and hasn't played at all since Scotland's Six Nations win over Wales in early March. These are all players who would go straight into a first-choice XV for Glasgow. There have been other squad players who have also missed a large chunk of the season. Smith is able to welcome back Josh McKay and Henco Venter for tonight's clash with a Stormers side who finished the regular season with four straight wins and are former champions. That is undoubtedly a welcome boost, but it's undeniable that Glasgow's team has a makeshift and patched-up look to it in certain areas, most notably up front. Murphy Walker comes in to make his first start of the season at tighthead. That's a tall order at this stage of the season against a South African side who are sure to put him under huge pressure in the scrum. Indeed, there are only three of Glasgow's forward pack — Jamie Bhatti, Scott Cummings and Rory Darge — who could claim to be first-choice. The rest is make do and mend. Smith acknowledged that having such a depleted squad is far from ideal at this stage of the season, but he sees it as a challenge. It is a chance for his players to dig deep and show resilience. 'These three games that are lying ahead in the play-offs are a different season,' said the Warriors head coach. 'It's a completely different task than what is expected in the first part of the season. 'This is the 12th play-off game that we're going to be involved in since I arrived and there's a clear understanding that it's different. 'The challenge that people may overlook over a period of 35-36 weeks is to stay mentally and physically prepared, rotate the squad, win, stay on top when you're the leaders or the previous year's champions. 'It's a big mental challenge. We've played games with hookers at loose forward, flankers at lock, locks at flanker and things like that. 'We see that as a completely different challenge and we're looking forward now to the next one, which obviously we have worked hard to be a part of. 'We just want to go out and finish this season on a high. Everybody goes through a bit of a patch where they're challenged. But I'm not concerned, I'm excited.' Glasgow beat the Stormers at the same stage of the competition last year on their way to winning the title, winning 27-10 at Scotstoun before going on to win away at Munster in the semis and the Bulls in the final. As was the case last year, this is likely to be their last home game of the season tonight, with a semi-final away in Dublin against Leinster looming large on the horizon. But, in order to get there, they will need to dig deep. The Stormers are a quality outfit who finished the regular season like a steam train. Reeling off four straight wins, they scored an aggregate of 172 points in those four matches against Connacht, Benetton, Dragons and Cardiff. However, all four of those wins came on home soil in South Africa, so this will be a much stiffer proposition going away from home against a Glasgow side who have made Scotstoun a fortress under Smith. Stormers lost at home to Glasgow 28-17 earlier in the season, so they will need to raise their game if they are to progress to the semi-finals. But with the likes of Springbok star Manie Libbok on the bench, they have plenty of star power to cause Glasgow serious problems. Asked about the expectation that it will be a tight game, Smith replied: 'Yeah, we expect that. Play-off rugby is all about that. That's why I say it's a completely different competition from previous rounds. 'We've got that experience. We've been in close games. I think there's some cool heads on the pitch who have played a lot of Test match rugby as well. 'I'm sure that the plan and the approach that's in place allows the players to manage that well. 'I'm sure that playing at home, being motivated with the amount of people in the stands and with the pride that we have for the jersey, I've got no doubt that we will manage the back end of the game well.' This is a test of Glasgow's character and resilience as much as anything. They have been the walking wounded for much of the season. But, even bashed-up and without so many first-team starters, they won't give up their title without a fight. It promises to be a Friday night thriller at Scotstoun.
Scotsman
4 days ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Glasgow Warriors' chase aided by 'infectious personality' as Springbok's Scotstoun nightmare explained
Warriors' title is on the line in URC knock-outs 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... And then there were eight. Like victims in an Agatha Christie thriller, half the cast list of the United Rugby Championship has been dispatched. There will be further casualties over the next three weekends as the survivors are whittled down via a play-off schedule which begins with Friday's first quarter-final, between Glasgow Warriors and the Stormers, and continues on Saturday with the Bulls v Edinburgh, Leinster v Scarlets and the Sharks v Munster. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Glasgow were the last club standing a year ago, victors over the Bulls in a dramatic final in Pretoria. It was a seismic moment, one which showcased the Warriors squad's abilities and courage in equal measure under the totemic leadership of Franco Smith. Glasgow Warriors' Sione Tuipulotu tries to break clear of Manie Libbok during last season's United Rugby Championship play-off quarter-final against the Stormers at Scotstoun. | SNS Group It was a real team effort but several Glasgow players touched new heights across the play-offs which, like this year, began with a home quarter-final against the Stormers, then continued with a semi-final win over Munster in Limerick followed by the remarkable triumph at Loftus Versfeld. Zander Fagerson was a titan in the scrum, playing the full 80 minutes in all three knockout ties; Tom Jordan was equally effective in the backline but it was Sione Tuipulotu who added the extra pizzazz, the dynamism, personality and sheer attacking brilliance to elevate Glasgow. Poirot not needed to crack this case It doesn't take Hercule Poirot to work out that the Warriors have missed Tuipulotu. The all-action centre has been injured: sidelined since mid-January after ripping a pectoral muscle in training. If anything, Tuipulotu's form had been even better this season, both for club and country, and he had been set to lead Scotland into the Six Nations. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad As things turned out, he missed the entire championship but happily he has recovered and made his comeback from Glasgow a fortnight ago, playing the first half of their narrow loss to Leinster in Dublin. A small step, perhaps, but not an insignificant one. 'I think Sione's return for 40 minutes against Leinster was massive for the club,' said Chris Paterson, Scotland's all-time record points scorer, who will be on punditry duties for Premier Sports at Scotstoun. 'I thought he was outstanding. His influence on others, let alone his own performance after being out for so long, was brilliant. Sione Tuipulotu during a Glasgow Warriors training session at Scotstoun this week, | SNS Group 'I think his infectious personality and his standards make a difference. And I also think, technically against a team like Stormers, who traditionally want to come really hard at you in defence, his ability to play the late pass at the line or cut through the line and carry, I think will really suit him. So I think he'll be crucial. It's really good to have him back.' Tuipulotu will go into battle without his side-kick, Huw Jones, who has been ruled out by the persistent Achilles tendon problem that has been troubling him since the Six Nations but Stafford McDowall is a more than adequate replacement. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Boks playmaker's horrible night in front of the posts When the sides met at this stage last year, it was something of a slow burn. There were no tries until the 58th minute when Ben Loader scored for the Stormers. It galvanised the hosts and Glasgow touched down three times in the final quarter, through Sebastian Cancelliere, Henco Venter and Ross Thompson, to win 27-10. It was a difficult evening for Manie Libbok. The lavishly gifted South Africa fly-half had a horrible night in front of the posts, missing everything. He is on the bench tonight, with fellow Springbok Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu preferred as the starting 10. 'I do think it'll be open because of the nature of the two teams,' said Paterson. 'It's the same quarter-final as last year and that was a disappointing game. It was wet, it was windy and it was in the balance. I think there were three points in it until about the last 15 minutes. 'Manie missed four kicks I think, consecutively. I was standing at the side of the pitch watching him in the warm-up and he was really struggling because of the wind. And Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu seemed to be hitting everything. 'Not to get too technical, but Manie Libbok's tee was really high. The ball sits right up and he kicks underneath and it goes really high. I don't think there was much wrong with his technique and I just think it just wasn't suited to the wind whistling through Scotstoun. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Former Scotland international Chris Paterson will be on duty for Premier Sports at Scotstoun. | ©INPHO/Tom Maher 'For as much as it hindered Stormers, it actually helped Glasgow because it meant they could stay ahead. And then of course Glasgow ramped it up the last 15 minutes and finished the game. 'I don't know what the conditions are going to be like tomorrow but if I was in the Stormers' camp I'd be thinking, 'we let ourselves down last year, let's make the difference now', which will focus the mind. And Glasgow have to be aware of that.' The return of Murphy Walker Winning the title last year has raised expectations for Smith's side who have struggled in recent weeks. Injuries took their toll and they slipped from second to fourth in the URC standings. It was enough to secure a home quarter-final but they go into the tie still without some key personnel. Jack Dempsey, the Fagerson brothers and Jones are all missing but they are fortified by the return of No 8 Venter from suspension and full-back Josh McKay who has recovered from an ankle infection. There are also recalls for half-backs George Horne and Jordan and lock Scott Cummings, and a first start of the season for Murphy Walker at tighthead after a wretched time with injuries. Tuipulotu remains Glasgow's game-breaker, however, a point not lost on Stormers coach John Dobson. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We know the threat Tuipulotu poses,' said Dobson. 'He was really good against us at Stellenbosch, which was a game we deserved to lose. He is their game-maker, their talisman and we have to be better at defending him than we were last time.'
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Glasgow Warriors can storm back to their best in URC quarter-final, says RYAN WILSON... but Edinburgh will face the wrath of Bulls
Glasgow haven't been in the best of form lately but I'm still backing my old club to beat the Stormers tomorrow night and qualify for the URC semi-finals. Franco Smith and the boys wouldn't have been happy at losing to Leinster last time out but there was something in that performance that told me they're not going to give up their title without a fight. They would have headed back to the Aviva desperate to make amends for that heavy Champions Cup defeat there in April and I think there was enough in that performance to give Leinster something to think about, especially if Glasgow end up returning to Dublin next weekend for a semi-final. First things first, however, and this tricky tie against the Stormers. John Dobson's side finished the regular season in great form with four straight wins but it ought to be a different story at Scotstoun where Glasgow have been traditionally really strong. It's a rematch of last year's quarter-final which was a really cagey affair in the first half before Warriors stepped it up after the break and ran out fairly comfortable winners. I suspect it could well be another tight one but I reckon Glasgow will have just a bit too much for their visitors to take the win. Warriors have had a nightmare time of it with injuries this season and at one point recently they had 27 players not training! So they've done well even just to make it this far. And the good news is the situation seems to be clearing up a bit at last. We saw Sione Tuipulotu back for the first 40 minutes against Leinster which was great news for Glasgow and for the British and Irish Lions. He looked like he had never been away and showed some nice touches during his time on the pitch. Having Sione back is massive at this stage of the season, especially with the Lions tour just around the corner, although it's a blow that his centre partner Huw Jones misses out again for this one. Glasgow can also call upon Henco Venter again with the big man's long suspension from the Leicester game at the start of April finally served. Henco is one of those unsung heroes who just goes about his business quietly but what a performer he's been over the last few years, a real team player. With Matt Fagerson and Jack Dempsey still missing, getting Venter back is a real boost for the Glasgow back-row. Unless Scarlets can shock Leinster on Saturday, this is all set to be Glasgow's final home game of the season and there will be a few saying their goodbyes to Scotstoun at full-time. The likes of Venter and Sebastian Cancelliere have been real stalwarts for the team over the last few years. It's a shame to see them go but Scottish Rugby seems to be moving down the road of having fewer foreign boys and focusing mainly on Scottish-qualified ones instead. That makes sense for the benefit of the national team but hopefully there can still be a balance as the overseas players have traditionally added a lot of value, especially when all the Scotland lads go away on international duty. Ryan Wilson will be on punditry duty with Premier Sports for all the weekend URC action I'm also hoping this won't be Franco's last home game at Glasgow, too. We're now into the final year of his contract and other clubs and countries have been sniffing about, so hopefully a deal can be done soon to keep him here as he's been brilliant for Scottish rugby over the last few years. After tomorrow it's all eyes on Loftus on Saturday lunchtime as the Bulls take on Edinburgh. Sean Everitt's side looked good in the second half of their final regular season match against Ulster, Darcy Graham in particular. In truth, though, Edinburgh shouldn't have been leaving it until the last game before booking their place in the top eight. A squad of that quality should have been in there a lot earlier and even pushing to try to join Glasgow in the top four. They made it a lot harder for themselves than needed to be the case. Finishing seventh means they've got an incredibly difficult route in the playoffs, starting with this quarter-final tie against last year's finalists. Jake White and his Bulls players seemed fired up for their recent rematch with Glasgow and it will be a similar story I suspect this weekend. They seem on a mission to make up for failing to win the final at home last year and I worry they will be too strong for an Edinburgh side still missing one or two players. For the good of Scottish rugby, though, it would be brilliant to see both our clubs making it to the semi-finals. And, as we saw last year, at that point anything can happen. ■ Ryan Wilson is part of the Premier Sports team showing all four BKT United Rugby Championship quarter-finals this weekend as the home of URC rugby with every game live. Ryan joins Ross Harries, Thinus Delport, Chris Paterson, Andy Goode, Rory Hamilton and Connie McLaughlin for all the action from Scotstoun on Friday from 7pm on Premier Sports 1. Premier Sports now shows more than 400 live rugby games every season including URC, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, Japan League One and MLR with a dedicated 24/7 Premier Sports Rugby Channel. To join in visit
