The Official Scottish Rugby Podcast

Podcast hosts Caroline Blair and Chris Paterson welcome two exciting guests to the pod. First, an in-depth chat with new Scottish Rugby Performance Director, David Nucifora. David talks through his impressions of the role so far, what he hopes to acheive in his position and the challenges and opportunities ahead for rugby in Scotland.    Then, the pair are joined by Edinburgh Rugby Women’s team Head Coach for the upcoming Celtic Challenge, Claire Cruikshank. Claire steered Edinburgh to an impressive second placed finish in the team’s inaugural season, and will now take on the role in a full-time basis as part of the Scottish Rugby Female Performance Pipeline, funded by Royal London’s Level the Playing Field programme, enabled by the British and Irish Lions.

The Official Scottish Rugby Podcast returns to preview a bumper weekend of action in Edinburgh. Scotland round out their Famous Grouse Nations Series campaign when they host a resurgent Australia on Sunday. The result of that game will go a long way to setting the mood of November. Before that, Scotland 'A' are back in action on home soil for the first time in a decade as they host Chile at Hive Stadium. Caroline Blair and Chris Paterson preview both fixtures, and reflect on the Autumn as a whole. There is also special mention for an extra-special attendee to Sunday's game. Sione and Mosese Tuipulotu's 'Granny from Greenock', Jaqueline Thomson will watch her grandsons play rugby in the flesh for the first time, after she was flown over by Skyscanner, Official Partner of Scottish Rugby. 

Hosts Caroline Blair and Chris Paterson are back for another episode of the Official Scottish Rugby Podcast to look ahead to a big November.   Caroline and Chris sit down with by new face in camp Freddy Douglas ahead of the upcoming Autumn fixtures at Scottish Gas Murrayfield. Scotland are set to take on Fiji, South Africa, Portugal and Australia in The Famous Grouse Nations Series.   Scotland A Head Coach Pete Horne also joins the podcast as preparations ramp up towards welcoming Chile to Hive Stadium on 23 November.

Caroline Blair and Chris Paterson journey into clubland to preview the 2024/25 season of the Arnold Clark Men's and Women's Premierships.    At Bridgehaugh, home of Stirling County, Caroline is joined by ex-Scotland international Megan Gaffney and Stirling skipper Ciorstaidh Ainsworth to look at the runners and riders for the Arnold Clark Women's Premiership. Chris headed to Currie to preview the Men's competition in the company of Ayr's Blair Macpherson and Currie Chieftains' Charlie Brett.   

Scotland and Edinburgh backrower Jamie Ritchie is this week's guest on the Official Scottish Rugby Podcast. He talks to Caroline and Chris about his journey to winning his 50th cap for Scotland in Washington on Friday night. Scotland take on USA as part of the Skyscanner Americas Tour and Ritchie will reach another milestone six years on from winning his first cap in North America. He talks about his journey in rugby, from starting out at mini rugby with George Horne, joining Edinburgh as a professional straight from school and the highs and lows of playing on the international stage.

Before jetting out to Canada for the opening game of the Skyscanner Americas Tour, Ben Healy and Harry Paterson invited Caroline Blair over for a cup of tea and a chat at their flat in Edinburgh. The Scotland and Edinburgh backs have been living together for the past four months and in this special episode they chat about what they get up to away from the rugby pitch, what it's like living in Edinburgh and reveal who they invite over for dinner parties. Harry also tells Caroline about the moment he found out on the morning of the game that he was going to start against France and make his Scotland debut in the last Six Nations. The pair also look ahead to the tour and the opportunities it represents for them both, starting with this weekend's game against Canada in Ottawa.

Caroline Blair and Chris Paterson sit down with Huw Jones and Peter Murchie at Scotstoun to discuss Glasgow's win over the Bulls, which saw them win the URC in Pretoria on Saturday evening. Jones chats about how they had to come back from 13-0 down to win the title for just the second time in the club’s history. Murchie, the Warriors defence coach, talks about the "great team performance" and how they were firing in all departments. He also talks about the message that the coaches gave the players ahead of the game and how they needed to "stick to the plan". Jones talks about what was said at half-time, with the team trailing by six points and how they managed to peak at the right time of the season. The Scotland international also talks about the upcoming Skyscanner Americas Tour and potentially winning his 50th Scotland cap and what Glasgow's win could do for the whole of Scottish rugby.

Caroline Blair and Chris Paterson sit down with Scotland men's Head Coach Gregor Townsend to discuss the 37-man squad he has selected for the upcoming Skyscanner Americas Tour. Scotland will play Canada, USA, Chile and Uruguay in July and the squad selected includes 10 uncapped players. Townsend talks about the benefits of the tour, why he has chosen a mix of youth and experience and the challeneges he expects from the four teams they'll play in North and South America.

Scotland assistant coach, Pieter de Villiers joins Chris and Caroline on this week's episode of the Official Scottish Rugby Podcast to chat all things scrums. Ahead of this weekend's Community Game Conference at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, where Pieter is hosting two scrum workshops, he speaks about the link between the physical, tactical and physiological aspects of scrummaging. He also discusses the value of the scrum, interaction with refs and looks ahead to this summer's tour to North and South America.

Scottish Rugby referees, Hollie Davidson and Chelsea Gillespie join Chris and Caroline on this week's episode of the Official Scottish Rugby Podcast. Hollie talks about her recent appointment to referee world champions South Africa this summer, when they take on Portugal in a summer Test. It is another major milestone in Davidson’s career which saw her make history earlier this year, becoming the first female to be part of the officiating team in a Guinness Men’s Six Nations fixture, as an assistant referee in England’s win over Wales at Twickenham. In 2022 she also became the first woman to referee a men’s Six Nations team when Italy played Portugal. Chelsea talks about returning to refereeing after a 10-year hiatus, during a time which saw her contract meningitis and become a Mum. Both talk about their love for refereeing and some of the challenges they face both on and off the pitch.