Scottish Rugby

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So close, yet so far. It seems even Scotland's women can't break the national sporting curse of promising so much and just coming up short.

Their Six Nations story actually looks remarkably similar to the men's side in recent years. A historic win on the road in Wales, a narrow loss to France, and then a nail-biting defeat to Ireland.

There is a similarity too, in the manner of victories. Wins over Wales and Italy felt more like an risky heist rather than the comfortable victories that some of Scotland's play threatened.

They struggled in the red zone, highlighted by the fact that they were the lowest point-scorers in the competition - despite ultimately finishing fourth.

They scored more tries than only Wales, and their attacking stats were largely down on last year. Fewer tries, carries, metres gained, line breaks, defenders beaten, tackles evaded, and entries in the opposition 22m.

Put simply, Scotland need to be far more clinical. The immense frustration for head coach Bryan Easson is that they have shown they are capable of such feats, having done it during WXV 2 when they won all of their games by a margin of 10 points or more.

They also have a back-line capable of piercing top-tier defences. Emma Orr is a dynamic runner, capable of bouncing off tackles and spotting a gap. Outside her, they have a back-three that Rachel Malcolm rightly called "world class" in Rhona Lloyd, Francesca McGhie and Chloe Rollie.

Of course, it's not all about attack. Defensively, Scotland were sound and it was their solid base that almost led to a historic win over France.

They conceded only 104 points across the five games - almost half of which came against England. You have to go back to 2006 to find a Scotland defence more miserly.

Individually, 19-year-old Alex Stewart was one of the breakout stars of the tournament, making a tournament-high 74 tackles. Alongside her in the back-row, Evie Gallagher had seven breakdown steals - more than any other player - while Louise McMillan pinched seven line-outs.

Off the pitch too, there were plenty of positives. A sell-out crowd of 7,774 at the Hive Stadium against England set a new record for Scottish women's rugby, and player names were on the back of the jerseys for the first time ever.

Players, coaches and fans might be feeling low on the trip back from Belfast; once the dust has settled, there is plenty to smile about.

After another weekend of high drama in Scottish rugby, Glasgow rose to the top of the URC table while Scotland fell to defeat against Ireland, denying them a third place finish in the Six Nations.

Here's your views on that disappointing loss in Belfast:

Graham: I would've kicked the points to draw level near the end to take third position. That’s one that got away, but Scotland should be very proud of their achievements this year. My 14-year-old daughter plays rugby, and now she has some wonderful role models to look up to.

Geoff: It was a tough match against an improving Irish side. Many critical decisions went against the Scots, halting momentum. As the professionalism improves so must the discipline. This Scottish side has style and capability.

We also asked for your thoughts on Glasgow's dominant win over Zebre:

Joshua: Glasgow started slowly but finished well. Got the result we needed but would have been punished more in the first half hour by most other teams in the league.

Peter: Glasgow had what is becoming their trademark - a slow start. Zebre took the game to them and it looked like Glasgow were not expecting it. In the second half, it looked like a different team. Unfortunately, only playing well for 60 minutes is not going to be enough for the two games in South Africa.

Stuart: Good five-pointer for Warriors, but the slow starts are a worry. Seems it’s been a problem for both our two pro clubs and national side these past few seasons. Bulls will not be a push over in South Africa in our next match.

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Jamie Dobie says Glasgow Warriors "put things right" with their second-half performance in Italy as they took top spot in the URC.

France Smith's men led by eight at the break against Zebre before roaring clear with tries from Kyle Steyn (2), Jamie Dobie and George Horne to notch a 40-9 bonus-point triumph.

“We’re delighted to take the full five points," scrum half Dobie said.

"The game didn’t start how we wanted it to, we didn’t have many attacking opportunities apart from those two maul tries that we got before half-time.

“I think there will be frustrations with the first half overall. But we’re in a pretty good place.

“We had a good gathering at half-time and put a lot of our problems right in the second half using the attack and flair we have and we scored some really good tries.”

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Edinburgh flanker Jamie Ritchie praised his side's ability to dig deep for victory in Cardiff and boost their URC play-off hopes.

The hosts briefly levelled in the second half on Saturday but Edinburgh responded strongly with tries from Ewan Ashman and Boan Venter to secure a 24-7 win.

"It was tough, we knew they would be playing with a lot of emotions and we'd have to weather that storm," player of the match Ritchie told Premier Sports.

"I am really proud of how we weathered that and the tide turned when we were more clinical in other areas than they were."

Edinburgh occupy ninth place in the table, a point behind Benetton, Ulster and Connacht, with three games remaining in the race for the play-offs.

Skipper Grant Gilchrist said: "Every week is a cup final. We're embracing the pressure because it's a real privilege to be in the fight for the top eight."

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Scotland centre Lisa Thomson was left “absolutely gutted” by the narrow loss in Ireland that cost her side a third-place Six Nations finish and a spot in WXV1.

Bryan Easson’s side finished the championship fourth with nine points after wins over Wales and Italy, with their other defeats coming against top two England and France.

“We’ve not been pleased with our performances throughout the Six Nations but we’ve been finding a way to win,” said Thomson.

“We didn’t do that here [in Belfast] and those are the games when everything’s riding on it we need to find a way to win.”

Scotland’s defeat also kept them waiting for World Cup qualification and means they will defend their WXV2 title rather than play in WXV1.

“The championship as a whole would suggest we are moving forward but we wanted to finish it off in a way we deserved,” said head coach Easson.

“Now we have to focus on what we will learn from this championship, move on and look to come back and perform as best as we can. We’ll look forward to going to South Africa, contesting the title and making sure we qualify for the World Cup.

“The depth we have built in this squad and the performances we have put together have been good but our ability to put away opportunities is going to be the point of difference to take us to the next level.”

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Scottish Rugby have eased concerns over the condition of Caity Mattinson after the scrum-half was taken off on a stretcher in Saturday’s Six Nations loss to Ireland.

Mattinson received lengthy treatment on the pitch before departing before half-time of the 15-12 loss that consigned Scotland to a fourth-place finish.

A Scottish Rugby statement said: “We are pleased to confirm, after receiving medical care against Ireland yesterday, Caity Mattinson is back with the team and is doing well.”

What did you make of Scotland's defeat away to Ireland, as their Six Nations campaign ended in disappointment?

Have your say here.

A victorious afternoon away from home for both Scottish clubs. Glasgow beat Zebre in Parma, while Edinburgh won in Cardiff.

What did you make of the performances? Who stood out?

Let us know your thoughts here.

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Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt spoke to Premier Sports after his side's win away to Cardiff in the URC:

"We set a challenge for the last five games. It's a shame not to come away with the bonus point but it's an important win away from home.

"I'm happy we were able to pull through at the end against a relentless and resilient Cardiff.

"Hats off to them, they've had a good season, I know their results haven't gone their way. I thought we did really well to come back, we were under the pump from the first five minutes but we pulled through.

"I think we did well to keep Cardiff out in the first half. To keep them scoreless at half time was a good effort from our boys. I thought Cardiff defended well and you could see the emotion they put into their performance.

"I'm happy with the patience our boys put into the performance today."

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Glasgow Warriors lock Scott Cummings spoke to the club's media team after their comprehensive 9-40 win over Zebre:

"It was a great win in the end. Obviously coming here and putting 40 points up, you can't not be happy with that.

"I don't think we were happy with the way we started the game, Zebre obviously came out and performed well in that first half.

"We got a bit frightened, there were areas we could be a lot better and a lot more effective in.

"I think as the game went on we came into our own a little bit more and definitely got our structure going how we wanted it to. It all paid off in dividends at the end."

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Scotland hooker Elis Martin insists Scotland are taking nothing for granted before their final match of this year's Women's Six Nations against Ireland on Saturday.

Scotland beat Ireland 36-10 in last year's championship, but Martin is expecting a "close match-up" despite that comprehensive win.

"You would never want to be complacent," she said. "You never want to come in thinking we won last year. I think that's definitely not how we're feeling.

"We're aware that it's a big game and we saw the performance that they put out against Wales. We know that they're really competing hard.

"I think we are excited because I think it's a close match-up, but we're definitely not complacent and we're looking forward to hopefully winning.

"We're going to need to put our best foot forward."

Martin also says Scotland's players feel like they are riding the quest of a wave at present with wins over Wales and Italy, and a narrow defeat to France.

"I know that last year we definitely felt momentum was building," she said. "I think this year we almost feel like the wind in our sails now.

"We're competing with all those teams now, which is really exciting. I wouldn't say that it's necessarily that different [from last year] because I think last year there was momentum there."

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Franco Smith insists Glasgow will take nothing for granted when they take on "unpredictable" Zebre in Parma on Saturday.

Smith is well acquainted with the URC's bottom side from his time as Italian Rugby's head of high performance, and he wants Glasgow to focus on their own game in Parma, knowing that a win could take them top of the league table.

"I know them very well, all the players in the team," Smith said. "I was part of contracting those guys two years ago. I know they're proud. I know that the coaching group of proud people, they will definitely get the team up.

"There will be a good vibe in the crowd, so they will be very dangerous and we expect that they will come out fighting.

"Zebre have got that unpredictability. We don't know which version of them we're going to get this week.

"Instead of focusing on that, we decided that we will concentrate on what we can control, and we must get that part of our game even better if we want to compete further on.

"We're playing against the competition, not necessarily against the opposition."

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Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt is thrilled to have Emiliano Boffelli available again after the Argentina winger's "hard road to recovery" from injury.

Boffelli returns to the starting line-up for Saturday's URC trip to face Cardiff after missing the last five matches because of back spasms.

"It's great to have Boff back," said Everitt. "We're just hoping he doesn't have a relapse of the same condition that he had.

"For what is coming this weekend, Cardiff have a threat in their kicking and Boff certainly helps us in that position.

"We've just managed his load during the week. He's come through the week really well and we look forward to seeing him on the park."

Centre Chris Dean will make his 150th appearance for Edinburgh if he comes off the bench at Cardiff Arms Park.

"Chris has done well for us, he does cover midfield as well," added Everitt. "He's been a great servant to Edinburgh and he's accumulated these games pretty quickly.

"It'll be a good reward for him and we'll certainly give him that opportunity to get his 150th tomorrow."

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Edinburgh star Emiliano Boffelli returns from injury to start Saturday's URC clash against Cardiff.

The Argentina back is one of six changes from the win over Scarlets, with the other tweaks all coming in the forward pack.

Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman and WP Nel all featured as replacements against Scarlets, but are promoted to the starting XV this week. Boan Venter, Dave Cherry and Javan Sebastian make way.

Lock Sam Skinner and flanker Hamish Watson also return, in place of Jamie Hodgson and Viliame Mata, respectively.

Centre Chris Dean could also make his 150th appearance for the club if he comes off the bench.

Edinburgh XV to face Cardiff: Goosen, Boffelli, Currie, Lang, van der Merwe, Healy, Price; Schoeman, Ashman, Nel, Skinner, Gilchrist (C), Ritchie, Watson, Crosbie.

Replacements: Cherry, Venter, Sebastian, Sykes, Mata, Vellacott, Bennett, Dean.

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Glasgow head coach Franco Smith has made nine changes to the side that beat Sharks last time out, as the Warriors prepare for Saturday's URC clash away to Zebre Parma.

Prop Allan Dell starts for the first time this season in a new-look front row, alongside Gregor Hiddleston and Lucio Sordoni, with Nathan McBeth, Johnny Matthews and Zander Fagerson all dropping out.

Lock Sintu Manjezi is preferred to Scott Cummings, and there is also a reshuffle in the back row.

Henco Venter switches to number eight, with Ally Miller and Thomas Gordon chosen as the flankers.

In the backs, Jamie Dobie and Ross Thompson come in for George Horne and Tom Jordan at nine and 10, respectively, while Josh McKay returns from illness and replaces Facundo Cordero.

Glasgow XV to face Zebre: McKay, Steyn (C), McDowall, Tuipulotu, Rowe, Thompson, Dobie; Dell, Hiddleston, Sordoni, Manjezi, Williamson, Miller, Gordon, Venter

Replacements: Stewart, McBeth, Z. Fagerson, Cummings, Ferrie, Brown, Horne, Jordan.

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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.”