Scotland fly-half helps Saracens to narrow win as ex-Edinburgh man shows kicking skill with 50m penalty

A round-up of the Scotland rugby stars in actions last weekend across England’s Gallagher PREM and France’s TOP 14.

There were plenty of Scotland players in action away from the opening round of the 2026/27 URC season last weekend, as the new English PREM Rugby campaign also kicked off and the Top 14 in France continued.

Down south, there were some exciting contests - including a 40-38 thriller at Welford Road between Leicester Tigers and Saracens. Meanwhile, the French teams are four rounds into their season already - with mixed fortunes for the Scots currently plying their trades there.

The likes of Finn Russell, Tom Jordan, Ben White and Huw Jones all featured for their respective sides over the weekend. Here is a round-up of all the Scotland rugby stars who were in action across England and France:

Fergus Burke helps Saracens secure narrow win over Leicester Tigers as Finn Russell’s Bath begin new season with a win

Finn Russell's Bath kicked off their new PREM season with a win away to Harlequins (Pic: Getty)placeholder image
Finn Russell's Bath kicked off their new PREM season with a win away to Harlequins (Pic: Getty) | Getty Images

Leicester Tigers vs Saracens was undoubtedly the game of the opening round as the 2026/27 PREM season got underway at the weekend. A back and forth contest eventually ended with the visitors leaving Welford Road with all five points following a 40-38 victory.

Scotland fly-half Fergus Burke kicked five out of six conversions for Sarries to help them secure that result. Lock Cameron Henderson played the full match for Tigers, while prop Will Hurd started for the hosts and was replaced in the 62nd minute.

Finn Russell’s Bath also got their league season off to a winning start by beating Harlequins 33-17 at Twickenham Stoop on Friday night. The fly-half kicked four out of five conversions for his side.

Flanker Josh Bayliss played the full match for the visitors and centre Cameron Redpath replaced Ollie Lawrence in the 58th minute. Former Scotland under-20 winger Cameron Anderson started on the wing for Quins.

The other Friday night game in England saw reigning champions Northampton Saints begin their title defence with a 59-26 win at home to Newcastle Red Bulls. Rory Hutchinson played the full match at 13 for the hosts, while Chris Harris was across the park from him the Bulls’ 12 jersey and prop Elliot Millar Mills managed 55 minutes for the visitors.

The other English top-flight match featuring Scotland internationals came from the CorpAcq Stadium, where Sale Sharks were beaten 24-34 by Bristol Bears on Saturday. Tom Jordan played the entire match at full-back for the visitors, while winger Arron Reed started for Sharks and scrum-half Gus Warr was an unused replacement.

Former Edinburgh fly-half Ben Healy kicks 50 meter penalty on La Rochelle debut

Over in France, there was a debut for former Edinburgh fly-half Ben Healy as La Rochelle were beaten 39-17 at Pau. The Scotland cap marked the occasion by successfully kicking an early penalty from just inside his own half, but it was far from enough as his side were well beaten.

Elsewhere, Jonny Gray started for USA Perpignan and lasted 45 minutes as they pulled off an impressive upset defeat at home to his old side Bordeaux Bègles, beating the Champions Cup holders 38-25. Fellow lock Ewan Johnson played 36 minutes off the bench for Bayonne as they beat Racing 92, winning 20-17 away from home.

Toulon picked up their first league victory of the season, having lost their opening three matches, by beating Vannes 28-10 at home. Huw Jones and Ben White both started for the hosts before being replaced in the second half by French internationals Baptiste Serin and Gaël Fickou.

Finally, the game of the weekend in the latest round of Top 14 fixtures - a repeat of last season’s Grand Final - saw reigning champions Toulouse beat Challenge Cup holders Montpellier 40-18. There was no Blair Kinghorn in the line-up for the hosts but the visitors had Adam Hastings playing the whole match at fly-half where he kicked one penalty and missed three conversions.

Scrum-half Ali Price started for Montpellier and was replaced in the 53rd minute, while former Scotland captain Stuart Hogg came off the bench in the 62nd minute for the away team.

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