Scottish Rugby

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Sean Everitt has already admitted to pinpointing the last five games in Edinburgh's season. They came through the first one - a topsy-turvy rout of Scarlets - unscathed, but what are their chances of a play-off push?

Let's look at the fixtures. Up first, a trip to the Arms Park. Cardiff are yet to win this calendar year and sit 12th in the table. An easy four points then, right?

Well, their points difference is only -5. Edinburgh's is only +4. Their biggest league loss this season was 33-20 to Leinster - a mere seven-point deficit.

They've picked up losing bonus points almost every week, and only two sides - Leinster and Scarlets - have secured an attacking bonus-point in the Welsh capital. Ominous.

Next, Zebre at home. One win all season, and a few thumping defeats in the last few weeks on the road. Yes, Italy's exploits on the international stage have improved recently, but that has not yet been reflected in Parma. Five points here is a must.

Then, the real deciders. Munster at home will provide the sternest test of Edinburgh's credentials.

Although they didn't win on the road in the URC until February, they have arrested that patchy form and have only lost once in the league this calendar year.

The head-to-head guide does not make for better reading. Edinburgh have only beaten Munster once in the last 10 years. A losing bonus point would be a decent result.

Finally, Benetton in Treviso. A chance for revenge, and it could be do-or-die.

Ask an Edinburgh player about the biggest missed opportunity this season, they'll say Benetton at home. 19-10 up at half-time, they proceeded to throw the game away. "We've beaten ourselves this evening," said Everitt after the match.

They have a chance to right that wrong, although it's a much tougher ask. Benetton sit fifth, three points above Edinburgh, and have only been beaten once at home all season.

48 points was enough for eighth place last season. Edinburgh sit on 39 currently. They'll need at least two wins, if not three, and they'll want a bonus point or two to make it safe.

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Grant Stewart will rejoin Glasgow Warriors in the summer on a two-year contract.

The 29-year-old hooker departed in 2022 after five years and 48 appearances for the club - including a try-scoring cameo in the 2019 Pro14 final loss to Leinster.

He joined Connacht on a six-month contract after leaving Scotstoun and has since starred for the Ayrshire Bulls in the Super Series.

His performances at Millbrae have seen him train with Glasgow this season, impressing Franco Smith enough to earn a deal.

"I’m really excited to be back,” Stewart said. "I’ve really enjoyed being back in the environment over the course of the season. There’s a great feeling about the place."

Head coach Smith said Stewart is a "reminder to all to not give up on your dreams".

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Head coach Bryan Easson insisted his Scotland side have not discussed their potential third-place finish in the Six Nations - a feat not accomplished for almost 20 years.

The Scots head to Belfast for their final match against Ireland knowing a win would secure their best campaign since 2005 and qualification for WXV 1.

“I’ll be honest, we’ve not talked about it," Easson said. "The recipe this season has genuinely been looking at one game at a time, we’ve concentrated on ourselves and it’s been really positive around that.

"We made it very clear that even though it’s the last week of the Six Nations and there are things on the line, we’ve not looked beyond 2.30pm on Saturday. That’s how the week has gone and that’s how we’ll continue.”

Scotland have also leapt up the world rankings to sixth - their highest-ever position - thanks to eight wins in their last 10 matches.

“It’s been a lot of hard work and a lot of people should take credit for that," added Easson. "The management team have been outstanding and the players have been excellent.

"Success doesn’t happen overnight and it’s hard work. We always review, we’ll review on Monday as soon as Six Nations is finished. We’ll be looking ahead to what comes, whether that’s WXV1 or 2."

Easson is without Chloe Rollie for the trip to Ravenhill after the full-back was sent off in the dying stages of last weekend's match against Italy.

“It was a technical part of her game that just went a little bit wrong," Easson said. "We work pretty hard on winning the head and shoulder battles and she just kind of lost that.

"When you look at what that ban could have been, the entry level of that is six weeks, that’s why she got three. She was very apologetic, she sent messages to the player as well and her perfect disciplinary record before this is what went for her.”

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The URC is heading into the home straight, with only four games to go before the crunch play-off matches.

Glasgow are flying high, sitting a point behind Leinster at the top of the table - and 11 points clear of fifth-placed Benetton.

That means a top-four finish is more than likely but there's still some work to do to secure it, with home and away fixtures against Zebre to come, as well as a trip to South Africa for a Bulls and Lions double-header.

Franco Smith's side should go into those games confident. In the URC this season, no team has made more metres (5853), beaten more defenders (327) or made more entries into the opposition's 22m (131) than the Warriors.

The player who leads the charge is Josh McKay. Individually, the Kiwi has beaten more defenders (37) and made more metres (805) than any other player.

Johnny Matthews sits pretty at the top of the URC try-scoring charts (12), with Kyle Rowe (7) close behind in third.

It's not just McKay, though. Stafford McDowall has beaten 36 defenders, while Tom Jordan's impressive season is highlighted by his 14 clean breaks, putting him in the URC's top five.

However, it's McKay who also has more offloads and carries than any other Glasgow player. The Warriors are by no means a one-man show, but the Kiwi full-back has certainly taken centre stage this season.

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Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt has admitted to targeting the final five weeks of the season in their play-off push, and they got off to a good start with a fine win over Scarlets.

Wes Goosen was the player of the match on the night, beating nine defenders - more than any other URC player last weekend.

Post-match, Everitt heaped praise on another player - Jamie Ritchie - and rightfully so. The former Scotland captain is in fine form, highlighted by the fact no player has won more turnovers this season than the 27-year-old (15).

In attack, Ben Healy leads the URC stats when it comes to individual points scored (138) and no one has scored more penalties (27) than the Scotland international.

In fact, the fly-half has kicked more in play (128) or kicked more metres (3802) than any other URC player.

It will be no surprise to see Bill Mata carry more often than most, coming third in the URC charts (69), while Goosen and Duhan van der Merwe have both beaten 35 defenders - making them some of the most elusive runners in the league.

However, while Healy leads the way for Edinburgh in offloads (16), he has also lost possession 20 times - the fifth most this season.

Defensively, it's a better picture as a unit. Edinburgh's tackle percentage (89%) is fourth best in the league, rarely missing a hit, while they've only conceded 165 turnovers - fourth best again.

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Ben Healy says Edinburgh can take positives out of their poor first-half display against Scarlets, but admits this weekend's game against Cardiff represents "a far bigger challenge."

The capital side found themselves trailing to Scarlets 15-7 at half-time before turning the game on its head for a huge URC win last weekend.

"The half-time [chat] was about going back to what we spoke about doing during the week," said fly-half Healy.

"We probably didn't execute as well as we thought we would in the first half. At the end of the game, we just said we reacted well to the chat at half-time.

"I think [the attack] did click [in the first half], we just had one or two last passes that could have led to tries and it didn't quite go to hand. There’s a lot of positives in that first half and I think in the second, that last pass just clicked and that's where we got more tries."

Edinburgh currently sit eighth in the league and know failing to win in Cardiff on Saturday could badly hamper any hopes of a play-off place.

"There's actually a bit of a difference between Scarlets and Cardiff. We've played Scarlets twice this year and although we were poor in that first half, we’ve come away with a good result whereas Cardiff is going to be a whole new challenge," added Healy.

"They’ve got nine losing bonus points, so they've come really, really close to winning a few times. It's a far bigger challenge when it comes to this weekend."

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Scotland loosehead prop Molly Wright says the national team are reaping the rewards of "long-term investment" in women's rugby.

Bryan Easson's side could clinch third place in the Six Nations with a win away to Ireland on Saturday.

Victory would cap off an impressive campaign for Scotland, while also securing their place in the World Cup in England next year.

"We're now seeing the benefits of the long-term investment, and it has taken a couple of years for us to get there," Wright said.

"It's probably the most consistent our squad has been, so you're starting to really see the connection in the group. We're hoping to see them fire together at the weekend.

"We still feel like we've left stuff out there. But do I think you've seen the best version of us? Absolutely not, so hopefully more to come.

"We want young boys and young girls picking up a rugby ball after watching us play."

Opponents Ireland trail Scotland by two points ahead of their meeting in Belfast, with Wright anticipating the hosts will be determined to bounce back from their 88-10 defeat by England last weekend.

"I think we need to prepare for an Ireland that wants to retaliate for their big loss at the weekend," she added. "Every game we play against Ireland is a tough-fought match.

"This weekend we 100% believe we can do a job. We're not worried about what we can do after it."

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Scotland winger Francesca McGhie says it will be an extremely proud day for her and the rest of the team if they beat Ireland this weekend to clinch third spot in the Six Nations for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Scotland’s women haven’t managed the feat since 2005 and with a place at next year’s World Cup up for grabs, McGhie says it would cement the good progress the national side has made over the past year.

"To make history again with this team would be something else," she said. "It will be a really proud moment if we do come third.

"Whatever happens this weekend, we’ll be proud of our campaign and how far we’ve come in the last year.

"A World Cup is every rugby player’s dream so I’m just looking forward to this weekend and then we’ll see what happens. We know the rugby we want to play and the game we want to have.

"Ireland are a tough opponent and they’ve had a great campaign so far so we’re really just focussing on ourselves."

The past year has been a something of a whirlwind for McGhie.

She was nominated for World Rugby's women’s breakthrough player of the year in 2023, and also scored her first Scotland try in the big win over Ireland in last year’s Six Nations.

"It was a very happy game last year," she said. "I scored my first (international) try but it was also a big win for Scotland.

"Last year we started making history and we’ve carried on doing that. The central contracts are a big step in the right direction for the team to develop and the players within it."

We asked for your memories of Fraser Brown as the 34-year-old announced his retirement at the end of the season.

Here's what you had to say:

Kenny: One of the best to ever do it at hooker for Glasgow and Scotland. Only injury stopped him reaching even higher numbers for club and country. A great player and professional. Always enjoyed his more downbeat, verging on grudging, approach to media. Enjoy your retirement, Fraser.

Nick: Great player, had an amazing career. He was an absolute mainstay in the Scotland side for a couple of seasons.

Joe: It's a shame that I'll always remember him more for giving away repeated unnecessary penalties more than anything else.

Chris: Absolute legend. Tough as nails and always delivered - especially in the seven jersey!

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Luke Crosbie revealed that Edinburgh's unwavering belief in their game plan was what turned the scoreboard around against the Scarlets in last week's URC win.

The Welsh side went into the sheds ahead after a disappointing opening 40 from Edinburgh, but the hosts turned it around at the Hive to rack up a convincing bonus point win.

"If you get frustrated and then come in and speak frustratedly, it breeds more frustration," Crosbie said. "We just spoke about sticking to the systems, what we've implemented throughout the week and staying true to it, and then we knew we'd get the result and the scoreboard would take care of itself.

"It's a good way to do it because I don't know if we had gotten shouted at, what way it would have gone, but Sean [Everitt] delivered it in the right way."

Edinburgh have struggled with their discipline this season, much to the annoyance of head coach Everitt, but Crosbie is convinced his side can stay calm in the big moments.

"Sometimes if it's a big game, you want to do something special and then you're jumping out of the system to try and get a turnover or whatever it is and you can give away a penalty."

"When we get frustrated, sometimes we might jump out of the system and give away a penalty and give teams positions that they can capitalise on. It's really just staying calm and just believing in what we do from the start right to the 80th minute."

Glasgow and Scotland scrum-half George Horne talks to BBC Scotland about how anger limited his prospects as a tennis player.

The latest BBC Scotland Rugby Podcast has just dropped and it features a in-depth interview with Glasgow Warriors and Scotland scrum-half George Horne.

He talks about his tennis talents as a youngster, biding his time at Scotstoun and his hopes for the URC run-in this season.

You can listen in here.

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Rhona Lloyd says she feels "privileged" to be playing professional women's sport as she reflected on her Scotland career after picking up her 50th cap.

The winger made her debut aged 18 in 2016 against England and has seen a huge change in the women's game since then.

"It was at Broadwood, I'd guesstimate a max of 300 people there," Lloyd said of her Scotland bow.

"We were the curtain-raiser for the Scotland men's Under-20s. It was a huge honour then and it's still a huge honour now. I am so privileged that I've played during this period where women's rugby has changed so much.

"We've seen professionalisation at that international level and girls that are coming through now, it just looks so different for them. It's been an incredible journey."

Although Lloyd has been a mainstay of the Scotland squad since her debut, she admitted she never thought about reaching 50 caps - or even turning professional.

"I definitely did not think professionalisation would happen in the time I was playing. The first six years I was doing this, we were not getting paid," she added.

"A lot of sacrifices were being made to play for Scotland. Now that we've been rewarded for that, you can really think about doing this for a lot longer. It's such an exciting time in women's sport."

Lloyd's 50th cap came in Saturday's win over Italy and the 27-year-old revealed it had been an emotional week in camp.

"It was a tough week for us, with the news of Emma Wassell's mum Pauline [passing]. It was very much about making Emma proud that weekend," she said.

Fraser Brown - a mainstay of Scottish rugby for the past 14 years - has announced his decision to retire at the end of the season.

What do you remember about his career? Are there any standout moments you look back on fondly? And will Scotland and Glasgow miss him?

Have your say here.

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Sean Everitt admitted his delight at signing Scotland number eight Magnus Bradbury as he wants more local players in his Edinburgh side.

Replacing Bristol-bound Bill Mata, Bradbury will return to Edinburgh in summer after two impressive years at the West Country club.

"Magnus did have other opportunities elsewhere, and he's chosen to come home to Edinburgh," Everitt said. "This is where he grew up, where he started his professional rugby career.

"It's important for Edinburgh, and it's important for the club, that we have guys that carry social responsibility. By that I mean, they went to school here and there's something more to play for than just a salary at the end of the month or to win trophies.

"Sometimes that motivation is more powerful than the others. It's great to have a group of guys from Edinburgh playing together. They bring a bit of a brotherhood to the club as well and they're very close friends. Putting in performances for one another and being close to one another is important for me."

Edinburgh showed their teamwork in the second half of the weekend over Scarlets at the Hive, coming from behind to triumph 43-18.

"Unfortunately, our line-out didn't function," said Everitt. "Our discipline was good - that's something that let us down in Durban. It was a big improvement in our game, and although we weren't ahead on the scoreboard after half-time, there was some good rugby."

Everitt's men will need to be good again if they are to win Cardiff this weekend as they look to strengthen their URC play-off hopes.

"They're near the bottom of the table but have played some really good rugby - they're not deserving of their position on how they've played," Everitt said of the Welsh side.

"They've got really good attack, they work hard off the ball and they really hard to beat at home. They've got eight or nine losing bonus points, so that tells a story in itself - they cannot be underestimated."

A 43-18 victory is a big win by any standard but the margin tells only a fraction of the story.

It was an abysmal first half from Edinburgh's perspective. Our line-out was taken apart by Scarlets and we were sloth-like at the breakdown. There were also flashbacks to the Challenge Cup match when they managed to charge down a number of box-kicks.

At half-time, it looked like a terrible Scarlets team was about to put an end to Edinburgh's season, but the second half was a different animal entirely.

I didn't think our first-half problems were in the front-row but there's no doubt the 'Bam Squad' made an impact.

Our first try of the half looked as if it had actually had some planning behind it - a pleasant surprise - and it sparked the subsequent rout.

Our discipline held up for the rest of the match, only five penalties conceded throughout, and we kept Scarlets off the scoreboard apart from a solitary penalty. We also secured a hugely important bonus point for only the second time this season.

Job done then? Sort of. It's hard to ignore that first half because some of the teams we've still to play won't be as generous as Scarlets were.

Four games remain and three points separate the teams from sixth from 11th. It's tighter than the lid on a jar of pickles and only the teams with the best grip will be able to deal with that pressure.

Sandy Smith can be found at The Burgh Watch, external