The Official Scottish Rugby Thread

[Yr Alban]

It's not, is it...

No. Had a quick look, and Jonny May scored 6 as recently as 2019. All-time record is 8, though that was pre-6N.

Regarding Duhan, he isn’t the greatest passer, but BOD’s comments are so determined to focus on a small weakness and ignore what he does bring to the team that they just look foolish. I don’t recall Lomu being a great passer either. Did anyone care?

Not sure Lomu is the best comparison point...

Jonny May is a good one. He never passes, his rugby understanding is limited and his basic skills are poor. Runs really fast and scores tries though. George North is another - big and fast, limited player. Jacob Stockdale - the list goes on.

One thing about big wingers though is their longevity isn't so good for whatever reason.

I think it’s a reasonable comparison. Lomu was a huge lump of a man who was also rapid as hell, and really hard for the opposition to stop. Not saying Duhan is as good as he was, but they are similar types of player. As you go on to say, there are plenty of celebrated wingers who can’t pass.

Wingers as a position tend to have a bit of a limited shelf life. The ABs seem to go through a set every couple of years. I guess it’s the position where it becomes most obvious if you lose a yard of pace.

[dpedin]

Duhan van der Merwe gained 515 metres for the @lionsofficial in 2021, 205 more than 2nd placed Josh Adams (310); he also topped the charts for defenders beaten (36), clean breaks (12), post-contact metres (267) and came in second for tries (5). TBF he played a lot of games but still impressive.

[I like neeps]

No. Had a quick look, and Jonny May scored 6 as recently as 2019. All-time record is 8, though that was pre-6N.

Regarding Duhan, he isn’t the greatest passer, but BOD’s comments are so determined to focus on a small weakness and ignore what he does bring to the team that they just look foolish. I don’t recall Lomu being a great passer either. Did anyone care?

Not sure Lomu is the best comparison point...

Jonny May is a good one. He never passes, his rugby understanding is limited and his basic skills are poor. Runs really fast and scores tries though. George North is another - big and fast, limited player. Jacob Stockdale - the list goes on.

One thing about big wingers though is their longevity isn't so good for whatever reason.

I think it’s a reasonable comparison. Lomu was a huge lump of a man who was also rapid as hell, and really hard for the opposition to stop. Not saying Duhan is as good as he was, but they are similar types of player. As you go on to say, there are plenty of celebrated wingers who can’t pass.

Wingers as a position tend to have a bit of a limited shelf life. The ABs seem to go through a set every couple of years. I guess it’s the position where it becomes most obvious if you lose a yard of pace.

Aye but Lomu is considered one of the greats. I don't think Duhan will hit those heights. Savea might be a better comparison.

I think that's correct - if you rely 100% on just being bigger and faster than everyone when you no longer are what have you got?

[Big D]

No. Had a quick look, and Jonny May scored 6 as recently as 2019. All-time record is 8, though that was pre-6N.

Regarding Duhan, he isn’t the greatest passer, but BOD’s comments are so determined to focus on a small weakness and ignore what he does bring to the team that they just look foolish. I don’t recall Lomu being a great passer either. Did anyone care?

Not sure Lomu is the best comparison point...

Jonny May is a good one. He never passes, his rugby understanding is limited and his basic skills are poor. Runs really fast and scores tries though. George North is another - big and fast, limited player. Jacob Stockdale - the list goes on.

One thing about big wingers though is their longevity isn't so good for whatever reason.

I think it’s a reasonable comparison. Lomu was a huge lump of a man who was also rapid as hell, and really hard for the opposition to stop. Not saying Duhan is as good as he was, but they are similar types of player. As you go on to say, there are plenty of celebrated wingers who can’t pass.

Wingers as a position tend to have a bit of a limited shelf life. The ABs seem to go through a set every couple of years. I guess it’s the position where it becomes most obvious if you lose a yard of pace.

Lomu isn't a reasonable comparison. He changed the game. He was the first real big winger of the modern era. If he was about now he would have to have adapted his game or others would have passed him by. The same as it did for Savea and the reason that Stockdale needs to adapt or will be a fringe international player at best.

No one is writing him off or asking him to become competent enough at ball handling to play international 13 to a good standard like North or Nadolo cab or weaken his game. Learning to pass every now and then and spot a two on one and take it will enhance his game.

[Begbie]

Interesting interview with Mike Blair.

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/rugby-un ... ge-3344812

[Biffer]

Interesting interview with Mike Blair.

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/rugby-un ... ge-3344812

Yeah, I can see the need for a breakdown coach in particular. Not sure what Lawrie covers, if he coaches scrum or lineout or both, maul coaching etc. Also depends what areas Blair is taking for himself, whether he covers all of the attack or concentrates on coaching the halfbacks - the latter might be a very good idea if a good attack coach is available.

And the Scotsman is a truly terrible website.

[robmatic]

Interesting interview with Mike Blair.

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/rugby-un ... ge-3344812

Yeah, I can see the need for a breakdown coach in particular. Not sure what Lawrie covers, if he coaches scrum or lineout or both, maul coaching etc. Also depends what areas Blair is taking for himself, whether he covers all of the attack or concentrates on coaching the halfbacks - the latter might be a very good idea if a good attack coach is available.

And the Scotsman is a truly terrible website.

I think Cockerill was doing a lot of the breakdown coaching previously so that would make sense.

[Jock42]

Interesting interview with Mike Blair.

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/rugby-un ... ge-3344812

It's good to hear that he intends to play a more expansive game. It's what we all thought but confirmation is good.

[Biffer]

Just bought a ticket for Boroughmuir tonight in the Super6.

Real live rugby. Can’t wait.

[Jock42]

Nae danger is he 20

[Tichtheid]

Nae danger is he 20

Lockdown hasnae been easy right enough.

[Biffer]

That’s WP Nel with a beard, surely.

[KingBlairhorn]

Interesting interview with Mike Blair.

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/rugby-un ... ge-3344812

Yeah, I can see the need for a breakdown coach in particular. Not sure what Lawrie covers, if he coaches scrum or lineout or both, maul coaching etc. Also depends what areas Blair is taking for himself, whether he covers all of the attack or concentrates on coaching the halfbacks - the latter might be a very good idea if a good attack coach is available.

And the Scotsman is a truly terrible website.

I think Cockerill was doing a lot of the breakdown coaching previously so that would make sense.

Is Kitty keeping the defence position? It always seemed a bit odd to me that he switched from attack coach at Falcons / coaching an attacking sevens team to defence coach at Edinburgh.

[Chrysoprase]

Nae danger is he 20

Lockdown hasnae been easy right enough.

Especially when you consider he's a winger

[Jock42]

Is Van Niekerk (sp?) contracted to one of the pro sides?

[Slick]

Lomond McPherson seems a decent Scottish name!

[Jock42]

Aye, no denying his heritage.

Boroughmuirs try the best of the lot so far.

[Slick]

Aye, no denying his heritage.

Boroughmuirs try the best of the lot so far.

Pretty impressed with the speed and accuracy of a lot of the play

[Tichtheid]

Aye, no denying his heritage.

Boroughmuirs try the best of the lot so far.

I’m no so sure, it was a piece of individual brilliance from Barretto (sp?)
The ‘Sonians tries came from good pressure and phase building.

Boroghmuir look to be up against it up front

[Biffer]

That was good to watch (and even better to be at a game!).

A few players that stood out, ‘muir no 8 is fun to watch, and I thought the Watsons no 10 looks a decent player, even though he looks like he’s made of pipe cleaners. A year in the gym to put a bit of muscle on and he’d be a prospect - 22 years old, South African born but scots qualified. Frost wick looked far superior to the SH they had on in the first half too.

[Slick]

That was good to watch (and even better to be at a game!).

A few players that stood out, ‘muir no 8 is fun to watch, and I thought the Watsons no 10 looks a decent player, even though he looks like he’s made of pipe cleaners. A year in the gym to put a bit of muscle on and he’d be a prospect - 22 years old, South African born but scots qualified. Frost wick looked far superior to the SH they had on in the first half too.

Glad you had a good night. Going to Accies tomorrow to watch the pre season game and very much looking forward to it

[KingBlairhorn]

Lomond McPherson seems a decent Scottish name!

Played u20s a couple of years ago, good player IMO

[KingBlairhorn]

Is Van Niekerk (sp?) contracted to one of the pro sides?

Don’t think so. He played U20 for Scotland too, wasn’t hugely impressed tbh.

[Jock42]

Is Van Niekerk (sp?) contracted to one of the pro sides?

Don’t think so. He played U20 for Scotland too, wasn’t hugely impressed tbh.

Thats probably how I know his name then.

[Jock42]

How likely is Boffelli to get some game time during the RC?

[Slick]

Absolutely brilliant to watch some live rugby today with a beer.

[walletoraccess]

I was at Melrose today to watch Southern Knights V Ayrshire Bulls - I concur great to watch live rugby with a beer

Christian Townsend is some prospect - he played for Melrose pre pandemic & has taken the step up in his stride.
I think he will be better than his dad

He is IMO better than chamberlain who got 20-30 minutes for heriots last week

[I like neeps]

I was at Melrose today to watch Southern Knights V Ayrshire Bulls - I concur great to watch live rugby with a beer

Christian Townsend is some prospect - he played for Melrose pre pandemic & has taken the step up in his stride.
I think he will be better than his dad

He is IMO better than chamberlain who got 20-30 minutes for heriots last week

We'll see how he goes and it's good he's playing well for the Bulls as he looked poor for the under20s. But Chamberlain to his credit has played well at pro level and was a better player for the under 20s also - albeit it in more favourable circumstance.

[Kiwias]

What about rumours that Fin Russell is close to heading to Japan?

[Biffer]

What about rumours that Fin Russell is close to heading to Japan?

He signed a three year deal last summer. Rumoured to be £850k a year. So I doubt it.

It’s Cheka trying to get some publicity around his new role.

[I like neeps]

What about rumours that Fin Russell is close to heading to Japan?

He signed a three year deal last summer. Rumoured to be £850k a year. So I doubt it.

It’s Cheka trying to get some publicity around his new role.

Rumours are they want to buy him out of the contract and make him the world's highest paid player.

Good luck to him making all that money. As a Scotland fan and a man who wants to visit La Defense I hope no.

[KingBlairhorn]

I was at Melrose today to watch Southern Knights V Ayrshire Bulls - I concur great to watch live rugby with a beer

Christian Townsend is some prospect - he played for Melrose pre pandemic & has taken the step up in his stride.
I think he will be better than his dad

He is IMO better than chamberlain who got 20-30 minutes for heriots last week

We'll see how he goes and it's good he's playing well for the Bulls as he looked poor for the under20s. But Chamberlain to his credit has played well at pro level and was a better player for the under 20s also - albeit it in more favourable circumstance.

Remember Townsend was an underage player this year where Chamberlain wasn’t last year. To compare the two you’ll really have to wait until the next u20 6N early next year and see how he gets on. With a season of Super6 behind him I expect he’ll be a different player.

[Yr Alban]

What about rumours that Fin Russell is close to heading to Japan?

He signed a three year deal last summer. Rumoured to be £850k a year. So I doubt it.

It’s Cheka trying to get some publicity around his new role.

Rumours are they want to buy him out of the contract and make him the world's highest paid player.

Good luck to him making all that money. As a Scotland fan and a man who wants to visit La Defense I hope no.

Who knows what he’ll do? But I sort of doubt it. Under his laugh-it-off exterior I reckon Finn is driven as hell. He’ll think he has unfinished business with Scotland, that the team have it in them to be real contenders for the next few years, and that he has every chance of being starting Lions 10 come the next tour, when he’ll be 32. I doubt he’d risk any of that by moving to Japan so early.

[Biffer]

He signed a three year deal last summer. Rumoured to be £850k a year. So I doubt it.

It’s Cheka trying to get some publicity around his new role.

Rumours are they want to buy him out of the contract and make him the world's highest paid player.

Good luck to him making all that money. As a Scotland fan and a man who wants to visit La Defense I hope no.

Who knows what he’ll do? But I sort of doubt it. Under his laugh-it-off exterior I reckon Finn is driven as hell. He’ll think he has unfinished business with Scotland, that the team have it in them to be real contenders for the next few years, and that he has every chance of being starting Lions 10 come the next tour, when he’ll be 32. I doubt he’d risk any of that by moving to Japan so early.

Exactly. It’s classic Cheika ‘look how ambitious we are, look look, we’re after the best in the world, LOOK AT ME LOOK AT MEEEEEEEE’.

[I like neeps]

He signed a three year deal last summer. Rumoured to be £850k a year. So I doubt it.

It’s Cheka trying to get some publicity around his new role.

Rumours are they want to buy him out of the contract and make him the world's highest paid player.

Good luck to him making all that money. As a Scotland fan and a man who wants to visit La Defense I hope no.

Who knows what he’ll do? But I sort of doubt it. Under his laugh-it-off exterior I reckon Finn is driven as hell. He’ll think he has unfinished business with Scotland, that the team have it in them to be real contenders for the next few years, and that he has every chance of being starting Lions 10 come the next tour, when he’ll be 32. I doubt he’d risk any of that by moving to Japan so early.

Moving to Japan wouldn't end his international ambitions though. I guess the season dates would be a pain but we'd still pick him I think.

[Tichtheid]

I can't help but feel that Finn, and Scotland, would be better off with him staying in France, just for the level of rugby and he must also harbour ambitions of winning the Top 14 and the Heineken Cup.
There is time enough later to go and play in Japan if that is what he wants, Russell is 8 years younger than Sexton and Sexton has only just in the last couple of years seen age catch him up.

[Big D]

What about rumours that Fin Russell is close to heading to Japan?

He signed a three year deal last summer. Rumoured to be £850k a year. So I doubt it.

It’s Cheka trying to get some publicity around his new role.

Rumours are they want to buy him out of the contract and make him the world's highest paid player.

Good luck to him making all that money. As a Scotland fan and a man who wants to visit La Defense I hope no.

It wouldn't surprise me either way. IIRC when Finn took that bad facial knock in the Proxx semi he admitted it changed his outlook on the game., I suspect he'll be long gone before he gets to Sextons age and he may as well make the most money he can.

Wouldn't hold it against him if it did happen. I suspect it will happen, it is just a case of when.

[Begbie]

Rumours are they want to buy him out of the contract and make him the world's highest paid player.

Good luck to him making all that money. As a Scotland fan and a man who wants to visit La Defense I hope no.

Who knows what he’ll do? But I sort of doubt it. Under his laugh-it-off exterior I reckon Finn is driven as hell. He’ll think he has unfinished business with Scotland, that the team have it in them to be real contenders for the next few years, and that he has every chance of being starting Lions 10 come the next tour, when he’ll be 32. I doubt he’d risk any of that by moving to Japan so early.

Moving to Japan wouldn't end his international ambitions though. I guess the season dates would be a pain but we'd still pick him I think.

Yeah, I've seen it suggested it would be a "sabbatical" and the Japanese season is quite short, so he would still be available for Scotland. No idea how accurate that is though.

Will be interesting to see if moves like this become more common and we see a shift in players putting club and ££ before international ambitions. A bit like football.

[weegie01]

Lomond McPherson seems a decent Scottish name!

His mum is Italian.

[Big D]

Yeah, I've seen it suggested it would be a "sabbatical" and the Japanese season is quite short, so he would still be available for Scotland. No idea how accurate that is though.

Will be interesting to see if moves like this become more common and we see a shift in players putting club and ££ before international ambitions. A bit like football.

It wouldn't be the case of putting ££ before the international game in terms of greed as per footballers, it would be making sure they get out fair compensation for what they put in. Finn Russell thanks to a rugby injury was left needing oxygen due to the facial injuries he had. After 2 world cups, 1.1 Lions tours and 56 test caps he has done more than his fair share of time on the international scene if he wanted to ensure he and his family had enough money through to be comfortable and set up for the long haul through maximising his career then I think that would be fair enough.

Rugby and its rulers put players through the ringer. Finding ways for bigger and stronger players to have an impact on the pitch for longer.World rugby continue to pay lip service to concussions and plenty of guys are still going to have long term issues well after they are finished. These issues could drive players to getting as much as they can as quickly as they can and leaving with all their bits and brains working. I don't think I could blame anyone for cashing out as soon as they feel they have done enough in their career.