A big November ahead | Pete Horne and Freddy Douglas

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. 

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.