Nicola Sturgeon said she's confident the Scottish rugby squad is united in its opposition to racism after some players failed to "take a knee" before Saturday's historic win at Twickenham.
The gesture has become a symbol of the Black Lives Matter movement and has been observed before every Scottish Premiership football match this season.
Gregor Townsend's rugby side pulled off a stunning victory in their Six Nations opener at the weekend to ensure the Calcutta Cup returned to Murrayfield. But there was controversy after the match after just four of the starting 15 players opted to kneel before kick-off in London.
The head coach insisted on Sunday that he "100 per cent" backed his players after several were criticised.
Speaking at her regular media briefing today, Sturgeon as asked if she was disappointed by the players who remained standing.
She said: "I have no doubt everybody in the Scottish rugby squad is absolutely firm in their opposition to and complete condemnation of racism."
In a statement, the Scottish Rugby Union said: "Scottish Rugby fully supports rugby’s on-going work to end discrimination and racism in our sport.
"This commitment has been expressed with a moment of reflection before every international match since the summer of 2020 and our players are free to demonstrate their support for this important issue in the way they see fit."
Asked if taking the knee was discussed pre-match, Townsend told the BBC: "No. We had been told there was a few things before the game, rightly commemorating those who have died during the pandemic.
"There was a few former England international players that had died over the past few weeks so that was happening before the game.
"There was a minutes applause for Sir Captain Tom as well, and obviously the recognition about stamping out racism in sport which has taken place in games previously in the season
"That was part of it. We obviously stand against any racism or discrimination in sport."
Townsend stated it's down to each individual Scotland player to decide if they want to take the knee.
He added: "Yes, 100 per cent. We back our players in that."
