{"id":812288,"date":"2026-10-24T09:36:25","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T09:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/812288\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T09:36:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T09:36:25","slug":"i-think-he-qualifies-in-the-last-two-weeks-soon-to-be-eligible-scot-eager-for-test-rugby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/812288\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I think he qualifies in the last two weeks’: Soon to be eligible Scot eager for Test rugby"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Franco Smith believes Glasgow<\/a> full-back Josh McKay is ready to enter the Test arena with Scotland<\/a> next month when he qualifies for his adopted country via the five-year residency rule.<\/p>\n

The swashbuckling Kiwi from Kaiapoi, just north of Christchurch, has been a pillar of consistent excellence for Warriors since arriving at Scotstoun in mid-November 2021, racking up 85 games \u2013 all starts \u2013 and 25 tries to date.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old will not be available for the Scots\u2019 opening Test of the November Nations Championship<\/a> block against his native New Zealand<\/a> and it is unclear whether he would be eligible for the Test against Australia<\/a> on 15 November.<\/p>\n

But Scotland\u2019s third match against Japan, on 21 November, looks a more realistic option should Gregor Townsend opt to bring McKay into the fold alongside likely around 18 of his Warriors team-mates when he unveils his squad on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he qualifies in the last two weeks [of November],\u201d said Glasgow head coach Smith. \u201cWhether he\u2019s going to be picked or not, I can\u2019t say. It is everybody\u2019s dream to play international rugby. We always speak about there being two types of players here: internationals and players who want to be internationals.<\/p>\n

Fixture<\/p>\n

United Rugby Championship<\/p>\n

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Benetton <\/p>\n

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Glasgow <\/p>\n

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\u201cI think he\u2019ll be very excited at qualifying and having that opportunity. He\u2019s been here five years now and I think you can\u2019t help thinking there\u2019s a slight possibility and it will be fantastic for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKay started Glasgow\u2019s first three URC matches this term before sitting out last week\u2019s Champions Cup opener against Sale, with Kyle Rowe starting at full-back, as he will again in Saturday\u2019s URC trip to face Benetton<\/a> in Treviso, with McKay rested again.<\/p>\n

Smith confirmed McKay is \u201c100 per cent fine\u201d and \u201ctrained really well this week\u201d, adding: \u201cWe\u2019re excited to have him fresh next week, so you can put him on the team sheet.\u201d<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s selection may also be with one eye on Scotland\u2019s Murrayfield date with New Zealand in a fortnight.<\/p>\n

At least half the Warriors starting side \u2013 maybe a dozen of the 23 \u2013 aiming to maintain their unbeaten start to the season at the Stadio Monigo will be suiting up for Scotland in that All Blacks<\/a> game, with most unlikely to feature in Glasgow\u2019s final URC game before the international window against the Lions<\/a> next Friday.<\/p>\n

Rowe, nominally a winger, has started at full-back in nine of his 19 Tests for Scotland, including against Argentina<\/a> and South Africa<\/a> in July when Blair Kinghorn was rested after an intense two seasons in France<\/a> with a British and Irish Lions tour in between.<\/p>\n

Kinghorn has only had two outings for Toulouse<\/a> this season and not played since he started against Vannes<\/a> on 19 September, although is reportedly coming to the end of a \u201creconditioning\u201d phase after missing their last four games.<\/p>\n

United Rugby Championship <\/p>\n

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Townsend can also call upon versatile Bristol<\/a> back Tom Jordan, who has started at 15 six times for Scotland including their last Test against Fiji, and will be deployed there again on Saturday for a third time in four PREM games for Bristol this season.<\/p>\n

Another Glasgow option is Ollie Smith, but Rowe would appear to be the front-runner to face the All Blacks if doubts persist over Kinghorn\u2019s fitness.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know where he is in the pecking order with other full-backs or what Gregor\u2019s plans are regarding team selection, but Kyle\u2019s been playing well,\u201d noted Smith. \u201cHis name has been mentioned more often than not around playing in that role for Scotland.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve played him there for various other reasons \u2013 obviously, to freshen Josh [McKay] up and make sure the workload this year in the back three is shared better. But Kyle\u2019s in good form and he\u2019s an exciting player.\u201d<\/p>\n

While a sizeable chunk of the Glasgow side are shoo-ins for Townsend\u2019s squad, former Scotland captain Jamie Ritchie will be one of several players aiming to re-state their Test claims when he makes his Warriors debut in Treviso.<\/p>\n

The 30-year-old former Edinburgh<\/a> flanker\u2019s last game was more than five months ago, for Perpignan<\/a> in early May, and Smith is looking forward to belatedly unleashing his new signing.<\/p>\n

\"JamiePerpignan\u2019s Scottish flanker Jamie Ritchie (C) runs with the ball during the French Top14 rugby union match between Stade Rochelais (La Rochelle) and USA<\/a> Perpignan at The Marcel-Deflandre Stadium in La Rochelle, western France on September 27, 2025. (Photo by XAVIER LEOTY \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cHe looks excited, to be honest\u201d said the head coach. \u201cHe\u2019s trained well and prepared well. I wanted to make sure he goes onto the pitch in his first game unburdened. That\u2019s why we waited a little bit longer. I don\u2019t want him to think too much about what he\u2019s going to do, just how he\u2019s going to apply himself. It was definitely worth the wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith has been impressed at Ritchie\u2019s quiet authority amid a leadership group already including Kyle Steyn, Rory Darge, Sione Tuipulotu, Stafford McDowall, George Horne and Scott Cummings.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike all the other players, he gives and then gets. That is our mission here. The more you give, the more you\u2019ll get. From the first day, he contributed to conversations and to the environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe obviously wanted to understand a lot of things and in that process, we could revisit some of the detail that was important for everybody. He brings a lot of experience and there\u2019s a calmness about him in terms of leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a natural leader. He doesn\u2019t have to say much in our current leadership group, but he brings that experience of having played and captained in important matches.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith believes there is still room for improvement in Ritchie\u2019s game as he begins life in a new environment after 11 years at Edinburgh and a year in France.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope he finds that his ceiling is still a long way off,\u201d Smith added. \u201cHis carrying ability, defensive approach, energy and ability to turn the ball over are all important.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel he\u2019s developed well physically now. With a foot injury, you usually get an opportunity to strengthen the upper body and the rest of your power game. But in the first game, if we can just see him carry the ball well and do what Jamie does as best he can, that will be enough for us for now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith has also handed a first Glasgow start to former Scotland Under-20s fly-half Matty Urwin, whose senior club experience to date consists of four minutes off the bench against Munster<\/a> last January.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a youngster who\u2019s been knocking on the door for quite a long time,\u201d Smith said of the 21-year-old. \u201cIt was also a project for us to bring a young player through.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got a good kicking game, which is maybe different from the other players in that respect. I feel he\u2019s got a good general understanding of what we want, therefore I\u2019ve introduced him among the other internationals to make sure he\u2019s calm.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can just concentrate on his distribution and the way he manages the game. I don\u2019t want him to go onto the pitch with any pressure or expectations. We just want him to contribute as much as he can.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Franco Smith believes Glasgow full-back Josh McKay is ready to enter the Test arena with Scotland next month…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":812289,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-812288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=812288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/812289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=812288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=812288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=812288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}