#Darcy Graham

Returning Wales coach Warren Gatland will have been thrilled at how the regions fared, winning four from four across the Heineken Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup, while players old and new staked a claim to new England boss Steve Borthwick. England and Wales, as well as Scotland, will all be naming their squads for the Championship next week,…

Jack Dempsey will make his first start for Scotland as Gregor Townsend's side face Argentina in their Autumn Nations Series finale on Saturday. The Glasgow Warriors back row has featured off the bench in all three of Scotland's matches so far this autumn, making his debut in the narrow defeat to the nation of his birth Australia, and will now get…

A campaign that began in the best possible fashion with their first Calcutta Cup win over England at Twickenham since 1983 has since given way to familiar disappointment, with successive narrow defeats against Wales and Ireland on home soil in Edinburgh leaving them fifth in the standings. Their trip to France was postponed last month due to a…

Scottish rugby in the last decade has grown more than most nations. Since an underwhelming Rugby World Cup in 2011, crashing out at the group stage, Scotland have vastly improved as a rugby nation. However, to take the next step and seriously challenge for a Six Nations title, will Scotland need to look at losing their national identity? Gregor…

Rugby's Greatest Championship returns this weekend, and the Saturday action kicks off in Rome with what is sure to be a fascinating encounter. The hosts are still on the hunt for their first victory in the tournament since 2015, which came against Scotland at Murrayfield, while Gregor Townsend's side want to get back to winning ways after defeats…

The Autumn Nations Series concluded at the weekend, with the Wallabies mounting an incredible comeback against Wales in Cardiff, while South Africa ended their tour on a high with a resounding win over England at Twickenham. We take a look at where those games were won and lost and look at some of the positives for each team in this year's series.

Next weekend, the 2022 edition of European rugby's treasured showpiece begins and there is huge expectation of a classic Six Nations campaign. Sportsmail's panel of experts - columnists Sir Clive Woodward, Danny Cipriani and Andy Nicol, along with former Wales coach and captain Rob Howley and former Ireland full back Geordan Murphy - debate the…

Ireland have a shot at keeping their Six Nations 2022 title hopes alive when they face Scotland on Super Saturday in Dublin. The permutations for the Irish are simple. Win the game and hope France lose or lose the game and that's the end of the matter. Andy Farrell's side made a meal of their clash with England, who were down a man for 78 minutes…

Rugby's Greatest Championship returns this Saturday and the action kicks off at Murrayfield as the title favourites head to Edinburgh. The visitors are the only team still on track for a Grand Slam victory following their 30-24 win over Ireland in Round Two while Scotland are looking to bounce back from a 20-17 defeat to Wales. It's the first of…

Scotland missed a last-minute penalty as they lost by a point to a valiant Australia in a fascinatingly tight grudge match in Edinburgh. A fast start to the contest culminated in the opening try, with hot-stepping Scotland full-back Ollie Smith diving over in the corner to score on just his second appearance in dark blue. That start gave way to a…

IS it just me or does it leave a sour taste in everyone's mouth that Gregor Townsend dropped Finn Russell out of the Scotland squad altogether, offering an excuse that no one bought, before throwing him straight back into the starting XV in a crude attempt to salvage his own coaching reputation with that long awaited inaugural win over New…

Scotland continue their end-of-year campaign with a third successive match at Murrayfield, and this one is set to be their toughest yet, as New Zealand's All Blacks travel to Edinburgh looking for a third consecutive victory on their tour of the Northern Hemisphere. Scotland's two Tests this autumn have been a mixed bag, with Gregor Townsend's men…

Scotland have never beaten the All Blacks and, in truth, the quest has been going on for closer to 120 years. In 31 meetings between the sides New Zealand have prevailed on 29 occasions, with two matches drawn since they first faced each other at Inverleith in Edinburgh in 1905. The Scots have long recognised New Zealand as the preeminent rugby…

Week two went next level in the drama and force of the north-south conflict. Despite the win-loss count, the south made some ground back. North No. 1 (Ireland) struggled to put an experimental version of South Africa (south No. 2) away, their attack stymied and depending on marginal passes, looking spent in the last ten minutes and like the final…

Hello earthlings and welcome to Friday's Rugby News. It's a rugby weekend again and what a weekend we have. Let's first preview the Wallabies against The Haggis Eaters in'If you ain't first, you're last'. Go inside camp Wallaroo and a look at my favourite player with'Amazing Grace' . Look into the NZR boys club with'Women's Rugby Sucks' . I host…

Since the Scotland show now moves to Wales, it might be appropriate to mention Sam Warburton at this point. The great man has been saying some interesting things about the Scots of late. The former Wales and British and Irish Lions captain is a fan of this team and thinks there might just be something special in them. He reckons they are on a…

We were treated to a stunning spectacle of rugby last weekend which saw all four Southern Hemisphere nations take the chocolates, while France was the only team from up north to collect a win. With several series on the line can England, Ireland or Wales fight their way to victory in Game 2? Read on for all the line-ups and key team news as it…

Defending Six Nations champions Wales know they have to win when Scotland come to town on Saturday - a second defeat on the spin would all but end their hopes of back-to-back titles. In truth, the odds have been stacked firmly against Wayne Pivac's side due to an injury list which would make any coach in the world gulp. Still, that was no excuse…

There was a lost to take in during game week one where we got plenty of questions answered but a few new ones opened up. What next for England after their defeat? Can Scotland challenge for the title? Will anybody be able to stop France this year? Here are six talking points from the opening weekend of the 2022 Six Nations Championship: Paolo…