The Official Scottish Rugby Thread

[Slick]

Schoeman
Rambo
Nel
Cummings/Hodgson
Skinner
Bradbury/Christie
Darge
Fagerson/Bradbury

Price
Russell
Graham
Redpath/Johnson
Bennett
VdM
Hogg

Cherry, Kebble, Berghan, Hodgson/Sykes, Christie/Bayliss, White, Kinghorn, Hutchinson.

Pack, meh, what do I know, but I would like to see Mish and Darge together at some point, so maybe here. Young Fagerson has gone from no one else to pick to a valuable part of the team I think.

Backs, I'm torn between giving Russell another go with a decent 12 (either Johnson or Hutchinson) or getting Hastings straight back in.

I've got a bit of reluctance to chuck Harris under the bus given he is one of the best defenders in world rugby, but.... we probably need to see how we can go without him and Bennett more than deserves his chance.

If Finn starts then Hastings on the bench, if Hastings starts then I suppose Kinghorn.

[Yr Alban]

Schoeman
Rambo
Nel
Cummings/Hodgson
Skinner
Bradbury/Christie
Darge
Fagerson/Bradbury

Price
Russell
Graham
Redpath/Johnson
Bennett
VdM
Hogg

Cherry, Kebble, Berghan, Hodgson/Sykes, Christie/Bayliss, White, Kinghorn, Hutchinson.

Pack, meh, what do I know, but I would like to see Mish and Darge together at some point, so maybe here. Young Fagerson has gone from no one else to pick to a valuable part of the team I think.

Backs, I'm torn between giving Russell another go with a decent 12 (either Johnson or Hutchinson) or getting Hastings straight back in.

I've got a bit of reluctance to chuck Harris under the bus given he is one of the best defenders in world rugby, but.... we probably need to see how we can go without him and Bennett more than deserves his chance.

If Finn starts then Hastings on the bench, if Hastings starts then I suppose Kinghorn.

I don't think it's throwing Harris under the bus to try a different 13 against Italy. No disrespect to the Italians, but they don't carry the same level of threat in attack as our other 6N opponents. I'm wary of playing a weakened team in Rome, but surely this is a game where we could stand to give up a bit of defensive solidity in favour of attacking ability?

[Slick]

Schoeman
Rambo
Nel
Cummings/Hodgson
Skinner
Bradbury/Christie
Darge
Fagerson/Bradbury

Price
Russell
Graham
Redpath/Johnson
Bennett
VdM
Hogg

Cherry, Kebble, Berghan, Hodgson/Sykes, Christie/Bayliss, White, Kinghorn, Hutchinson.

Pack, meh, what do I know, but I would like to see Mish and Darge together at some point, so maybe here. Young Fagerson has gone from no one else to pick to a valuable part of the team I think.

Backs, I'm torn between giving Russell another go with a decent 12 (either Johnson or Hutchinson) or getting Hastings straight back in.

I've got a bit of reluctance to chuck Harris under the bus given he is one of the best defenders in world rugby, but.... we probably need to see how we can go without him and Bennett more than deserves his chance.

If Finn starts then Hastings on the bench, if Hastings starts then I suppose Kinghorn.

I don't think it's throwing Harris under the bus to try a different 13 against Italy. No disrespect to the Italians, but they don't carry the same level of threat in attack as our other 6N opponents. I'm wary of playing a weakened team in Rome, but surely this is a game where we could stand to give up a bit of defensive solidity in favour of attacking ability?

Yes, I agree, against Italy it probably makes sense. However, there is that nagging feeling that the defence side has gone to far and we need a bit more from our inside backs. I still think it has mainly been a 12 issue but Bennett is playing so well he deserves a longer run I think.

[Tichtheid]

Gilchrist has to start in the middle of the pack, he stole one line out, which no other player from either side did and took all his own ball. He gave away one penalty, which I've already discussed and he is a good solid platform for the props in front of him in the scrum.

I think there is room for some change against Italy, but I can't see Cummings being fit, he's not even training yet afaik and I'd like to se Hodgson come in off the bench again, so Skinner and Gilcho in the boiler room.
Darge did enough to keep the jersey, it's now up to Mish to take it back, I'd pick Watson on the pine and start with Darge, Fagerson and Bradbury, if Fagerson isn't fit then Christie with Haining on the bench.

Bennett swapping with Harris seems a good idea and I think, despite my initial doubts, Tuipolotu is getting a hard ride from the blogosphere, he may not be the answer but he wasn't as bad as he's being made out to be.

[Slick]

Gilchrist has to start in the middle of the pack, he stole one line out, which no other player from either side did and took all his own ball. He gave away one penalty, which I've already discussed and he is a good solid platform for the props in front of him in the scrum.

I think there is room for some change against Italy, but I can't see Cummings being fit, he's not even training yet afaik and I'd like to se Hodgson come in off the bench again, so Skinner and Gilcho in the boiler room.
Darge did enough to keep the jersey, it's now up to Mish to take it back, I'd pick Watson on the pine and start with Darge, Fagerson and Bradbury, if Fagerson isn't fit then Christie with Haining on the bench.

Bennett swapping with Harris seems a good idea and I think, despite my initial doubts, Tuipolotu is getting a hard ride from the blogosphere, he may not be the answer but he wasn't as bad as he's being made out to be.

I don't think he has played particularly badly, and certainly does not deserve any shit, but he is not what we need at 12

[Big D]

I've got a bit of reluctance to chuck Harris under the bus given he is one of the best defenders in world rugby, but.... we probably need to see how we can go without him and Bennett more than deserves his chance.

I'm not meaning to throw the centres under the bus, they are not the reason we lost at the weekend, but there are some key concerns that every time I think about it the list gets longer and we have depth in both positions:
- Tuipulotu has no or very limited distribution skills at the top level.
- Harris has very limited handling skills for the top level. Given how good our back 3 is this is an issue.
- Neither has a kicking game. This puts it all on Russell or Hogg.
- Neither of them (or Johnson) are that quick (not slow, just not quick) so don't really threaten an outside break that will stick. In the blown 3 on 2 Harris is put on the outside of the 12 and the 12 gets him reasonably comfortably.
- We aren't good enough to blow 3 on 2s and 4 on 1s and both centres from the weekend did. Partly because they are not the best ball players.

We have Johnson Lang and Hutchinson available for 12, all good ball players and have qualities they can bring, the latter two having played 10. Lang has shown for Edinburgh he can truck it up too if that is what GT wants.

Bennett and Hutchinson whilst clearly not as good as Harris in defence where Harris is truly world class but can bring a dynamic aspect to the attack.

It is easy to get caught up looking to the world cup and think how we can challenge big teams, but we play Ireland in 3 weeks and from a defensive POV they'd be happy to see Tuipolotu and Harris rock up. We have an awful record against Ireland under Townsend and have to try something different.

[Yr Alban]

I've got a bit of reluctance to chuck Harris under the bus given he is one of the best defenders in world rugby, but.... we probably need to see how we can go without him and Bennett more than deserves his chance.

I'm not meaning to throw the centres under the bus, they are not the reason we lost at the weekend, but there are some key concerns that every time I think about it the list gets longer and we have depth in both positions:
- Tuipulotu has no or very limited distribution skills at the top level.
- Harris has very limited handling skills for the top level. Given how good our back 3 is this is an issue.
- Neither has a kicking game. This puts it all on Russell or Hogg.
- Neither of them (or Johnson) are that quick (not slow, just not quick) so don't really threaten an outside break that will stick. In the blown 3 on 2 Harris is put on the outside of the 12 and the 12 gets him reasonably comfortably.
- We aren't good enough to blow 3 on 2s and 4 on 1s and both centres from the weekend did. Partly because they are not the best ball players.

We have Johnson Lang and Hutchinson available for 12, all good ball players and have qualities they can bring, the latter two having played 10. Lang has shown for Edinburgh he can truck it up too if that is what GT wants.

Bennett and Hutchinson whilst clearly not as good as Harris in defence where Harris is truly world class but can bring a dynamic aspect to the attack.

It is easy to get caught up looking to the world cup and think how we can challenge big teama, but we play Ireland in 3 weeks and from a defensive POV they'd ve happy to see Tuipolotu and Harris rock up. We have an awful record against Ireland under Townsend and have to try something different.

Yep, all of that. If we don’t change things up then we have no chance against Ireland now or at the RWC. We know it and they know it. We don’t have the tools to take them on at their own game, so we need to try something different. Ironically, the Italy game would be the ideal time for a bit of Toony tombola, and so I fully expect him to double down and select an unchanged team.

[I like neeps]

I have to say I like Lang more than I thought I would. However for Edinburgh his crash ball isn't effective enough to make me believe he's an international option and his distribution again not sharp enough for an international. Think he's a great option for Edinburgh.

I think Tuipolotu was shown up against France - Vs Danty and Fickou wasn't a fair fight. He did individually play well Vs Wales - we just don't need a crasher as it didn't fit our gameplan and he made metres but our support play didn't get there.

If Townsend wants Redpath - a distributor running 12. Hutchison is the obvious option as stylistically similar.

[Tichtheid]

What's the situation with Fraser Dingwall?

I saw 6 mins highlights of Saints v Exeter and he had a brilliant line break to set up a try, he's impressed me pretty much every full game I've seen him play.

incidentally, Hoggy's stand in a full back showed a fair bit of pace for an early try.

[Big D]

Just seen on twitter that Rob Robertson in the mail has said Duhan needs a wake up call amd called him anonymous so far.

Looking at the stats as i thought that was harsh; DVdM has made 189m of 17 carries (11.1m/carry), Graham 150m off 18 carries (8.3m/carry), Duhan 9 defenders beaten and 4 clean breaks, Darcy 10 and 2. Both have missed a 3rd of tackles, VdM much smaller sample size 4/2 v 13/6. Hardly anonymous. The wings have been fine.

[SaintK]

What's the situation with Fraser Dingwall?

I saw 6 mins highlights of Saints v Exeter and he had a brilliant line break to set up a try, he's impressed me pretty much every full game I've seen him play.

incidentally, Hoggy's stand in a full back showed a fair bit of pace for an early try.

Dingwall has been playing well all season. I'm amazed he hasn't at least made one of Jones's England wider squads. Qualifies for Scotland though his Father. Good leadership qual;ities as well, former England U20 captain and leads Saints when Ludlam is absent

Hodge was Hogg's replacement for Exeter on Sunday, pace to burn but iss thin as a rake!!!

[Uncle fester]

I think an apology is due for giving Matt Williams continued employment in an area related to rugby.
Leinster types to blame.

[Slick]

I have to say I like Lang more than I thought I would. However for Edinburgh his crash ball isn't effective enough to make me believe he's an international option and his distribution again not sharp enough for an international. Think he's a great option for Edinburgh.

I think Tuipolotu was shown up against France - Vs Danty and Fickou wasn't a fair fight. He did individually play well Vs Wales - we just don't need a crasher as it didn't fit our gameplan and he made metres but our support play didn't get there.

If Townsend wants Redpath - a distributor running 12. Hutchison is the obvious option as stylistically similar.

Don't see it with Lang at all if I'm honest.

[Big D]

I have to say I like Lang more than I thought I would. However for Edinburgh his crash ball isn't effective enough to make me believe he's an international option and his distribution again not sharp enough for an international. Think he's a great option for Edinburgh.

I think Tuipolotu was shown up against France - Vs Danty and Fickou wasn't a fair fight. He did individually play well Vs Wales - we just don't need a crasher as it didn't fit our gameplan and he made metres but our support play didn't get there.

If Townsend wants Redpath - a distributor running 12. Hutchison is the obvious option as stylistically similar.

Don't see it with Lang at all if I'm honest.

I'm not his biggest fan, but has a broader range of skills than Tuipolotu and would have them second last and last in the pecking order of those in thr squad.

Laurent posted this on the flake Russell thread.

Actually in one of the FFR youtube channel were you see Shaun Edwards explicitly tell the French to tackle Russel / Hogg (ignore dummies) whatever happens + run Hogg Ragged as the Scotts backs were no threats.

If the opposition are disregarding our centres as a threat we have a problem that must be fixed.

[laurent]

I have to say I like Lang more than I thought I would. However for Edinburgh his crash ball isn't effective enough to make me believe he's an international option and his distribution again not sharp enough for an international. Think he's a great option for Edinburgh.

I think Tuipolotu was shown up against France - Vs Danty and Fickou wasn't a fair fight. He did individually play well Vs Wales - we just don't need a crasher as it didn't fit our gameplan and he made metres but our support play didn't get there.

If Townsend wants Redpath - a distributor running 12. Hutchison is the obvious option as stylistically similar.

Don't see it with Lang at all if I'm honest.

I'm not his biggest fan, but has a broader range of skills than Tuipolotu and would have them second last and last in the pecking order of those in thr squad.

Laurent posted this on the flake Russell thread.

Actually in one of the FFR youtube channel were you see Shaun Edwards explicitly tell the French to tackle Russel / Hogg (ignore dummies) whatever happens + run Hogg Ragged as the Scotts backs were no threats.

If the opposition are disregarding our centres as a threat we have a problem that must be fixed.

That was at half time this may explain the much more aggressive defence in second half that choked Scotland in their own half.

[Slick]

I have to say I like Lang more than I thought I would. However for Edinburgh his crash ball isn't effective enough to make me believe he's an international option and his distribution again not sharp enough for an international. Think he's a great option for Edinburgh.

I think Tuipolotu was shown up against France - Vs Danty and Fickou wasn't a fair fight. He did individually play well Vs Wales - we just don't need a crasher as it didn't fit our gameplan and he made metres but our support play didn't get there.

If Townsend wants Redpath - a distributor running 12. Hutchison is the obvious option as stylistically similar.

Don't see it with Lang at all if I'm honest.

I'm not his biggest fan, but has a broader range of skills than Tuipolotu and would have them second last and last in the pecking order of those in thr squad.

Laurent posted this on the flake Russell thread.

Actually in one of the FFR youtube channel were you see Shaun Edwards explicitly tell the French to tackle Russel / Hogg (ignore dummies) whatever happens + run Hogg Ragged as the Scotts backs were no threats.

If the opposition are disregarding our centres as a threat we have a problem that must be fixed.

I guess that sums up how far the other way we have gone since our Barbarian rugby days. With the number of quality centres at our disposal this should be a fairly easy fix. Does any team, perhaps France, have the depth at centre we have? I don't think so.

[Big D]

Don't see it with Lang at all if I'm honest.

I'm not his biggest fan, but has a broader range of skills than Tuipolotu and would have them second last and last in the pecking order of those in thr squad.

Laurent posted this on the flake Russell thread.

Actually in one of the FFR youtube channel were you see Shaun Edwards explicitly tell the French to tackle Russel / Hogg (ignore dummies) whatever happens + run Hogg Ragged as the Scotts backs were no threats.

If the opposition are disregarding our centres as a threat we have a problem that must be fixed.

That was at half time this may explain the much more aggressive defence in second half that choked Scotland in their own half.

I'm a little surprised that wasn't always the plan.

[Tichtheid]

What's the situation with Fraser Dingwall?

I saw 6 mins highlights of Saints v Exeter and he had a brilliant line break to set up a try, he's impressed me pretty much every full game I've seen him play.

incidentally, Hoggy's stand in a full back showed a fair bit of pace for an early try.

Dingwall has been playing well all season. I'm amazed he hasn't at least made one of Jones's England wider squads. Qualifies for Scotland though his Father. Good leadership qual;ities as well, former England U20 captain and leads Saints when Ludlam is absent

Hodge was Hogg's replacement for Exeter on Sunday, pace to burn but iss thin as a rake!!!

I thought I remembered Dingwall playing for Scotland's 20s, but wiki tells me he captained our U18s side

[Big D]

What's the situation with Fraser Dingwall?

I saw 6 mins highlights of Saints v Exeter and he had a brilliant line break to set up a try, he's impressed me pretty much every full game I've seen him play.

incidentally, Hoggy's stand in a full back showed a fair bit of pace for an early try.

Dingwall has been playing well all season. I'm amazed he hasn't at least made one of Jones's England wider squads. Qualifies for Scotland though his Father. Good leadership qual;ities as well, former England U20 captain and leads Saints when Ludlam is absent

Hodge was Hogg's replacement for Exeter on Sunday, pace to burn but iss thin as a rake!!!

I thought I remembered Dingwall playing for Scotland's 20s, but wiki tells me he captained our U18s side

IIRC he "was poached*" at the same time as Redpath.

We could do worse than picking the Saints centres together.

*I jest, I have no issues with him changing.

[SaintK]

Dingwall has been playing well all season. I'm amazed he hasn't at least made one of Jones's England wider squads. Qualifies for Scotland though his Father. Good leadership qual;ities as well, former England U20 captain and leads Saints when Ludlam is absent

Hodge was Hogg's replacement for Exeter on Sunday, pace to burn but iss thin as a rake!!!

I thought I remembered Dingwall playing for Scotland's 20s, but wiki tells me he captained our U18s side

IIRC he "was poached*" at the same time as Redpath.

We could do worse than picking the Saints centres together.

*I jest, I have no issues with him changing.

They are both excellent playmakers but neither are big bruisers though. Can't see Townsend not picking one biggun in midfield

[Big D]

I thought I remembered Dingwall playing for Scotland's 20s, but wiki tells me he captained our U18s side

IIRC he "was poached*" at the same time as Redpath.

We could do worse than picking the Saints centres together.

*I jest, I have no issues with him changing.

They are both excellent playmakers but neither are big bruisers though. Can't see Townsend not picking one biggun in midfield

That's the thing. We don't have one that is good enough so we need a different approach.

[I like neeps]

Don't see it with Lang at all if I'm honest.

I'm not his biggest fan, but has a broader range of skills than Tuipolotu and would have them second last and last in the pecking order of those in thr squad.

Laurent posted this on the flake Russell thread.

Actually in one of the FFR youtube channel were you see Shaun Edwards explicitly tell the French to tackle Russel / Hogg (ignore dummies) whatever happens + run Hogg Ragged as the Scotts backs were no threats.

If the opposition are disregarding our centres as a threat we have a problem that must be fixed.

I guess that sums up how far the other way we have gone since our Barbarian rugby days. With the number of quality centres at our disposal this should be a fairly easy fix. Does any team, perhaps France, have the depth at centre we have? I don't think so.

I don't think our centres are that good really.

Redpath is always injured.... Do Tuipolotu, Johnson, Harris, Hutchinson, Bennett, Jones, Lang get into the England or Ireland squad? I say no.

[Slick]

I'm not his biggest fan, but has a broader range of skills than Tuipolotu and would have them second last and last in the pecking order of those in thr squad.

Laurent posted this on the flake Russell thread.



If the opposition are disregarding our centres as a threat we have a problem that must be fixed.

I guess that sums up how far the other way we have gone since our Barbarian rugby days. With the number of quality centres at our disposal this should be a fairly easy fix. Does any team, perhaps France, have the depth at centre we have? I don't think so.

I don't think our centres are that good really.

Redpath is always injured.... Do Tuipolotu, Johnson, Harris, Hutchinson, Bennett, Jones, Lang get into the England or Ireland squad? I say no.

Mad post, ban yourself for a week.

[SaintK]

I guess that sums up how far the other way we have gone since our Barbarian rugby days. With the number of quality centres at our disposal this should be a fairly easy fix. Does any team, perhaps France, have the depth at centre we have? I don't think so.

I don't think our centres are that good really.

Redpath is always injured.... Do Tuipolotu, Johnson, Harris, Hutchinson, Bennett, Jones, Lang get into the England or Ireland squad? I say no.

Mad post, ban yourself for a week.

I'd take a couple of those for England. You can keep Lang though if he hasn't improved since his Quins days

[Big D]

I don't think our centres are that good really.

Redpath is always injured.... Do Tuipolotu, Johnson, Harris, Hutchinson, Bennett, Jones, Lang get into the England or Ireland squad? I say no.

Mad post, ban yourself for a week.

I'd take a couple of those for England. You can keep Lang though if he hasn't improved since his Quins days

Can you take Tuipolotu and we'll take Dingwall?

[Yr Alban]

I'm not his biggest fan, but has a broader range of skills than Tuipolotu and would have them second last and last in the pecking order of those in thr squad.

Laurent posted this on the flake Russell thread.



If the opposition are disregarding our centres as a threat we have a problem that must be fixed.

I guess that sums up how far the other way we have gone since our Barbarian rugby days. With the number of quality centres at our disposal this should be a fairly easy fix. Does any team, perhaps France, have the depth at centre we have? I don't think so.

I don't think our centres are that good really.

Redpath is always injured.... Do Tuipolotu, Johnson, Harris, Hutchinson, Bennett, Jones, Lang get into the England or Ireland squad? I say no.

Tuipilotu and Lang, no.
Jones, probably not now, but he was one of the most devastating attackers in the NH a few years ago.
Johnson, again probably not now.
Bennett has just played his first Test in 4 years. He was highly rated prior to that though - did he not win best emerging player at the 2015 RWC?
Harris isn’t a great attacker but we all know how good he is in defence. And he’s a Test Lion. England have fielded worse centres in the recent past.
Hutchinson doesn’t have enough game time at Test level to make a judgement. Neither, to be fair, does Redpath.

[I like neeps]

I don't think our centres are that good really.

Redpath is always injured.... Do Tuipolotu, Johnson, Harris, Hutchinson, Bennett, Jones, Lang get into the England or Ireland squad? I say no.

Mad post, ban yourself for a week.

I'd take a couple of those for England. You can keep Lang though if he hasn't improved since his Quins days

Which ones out of interest?

[SaintK]

Mad post, ban yourself for a week.

I'd take a couple of those for England. You can keep Lang though if he hasn't improved since his Quins days

Which ones out of interest?

Johnson and Bennett. Hutchinson would be on the radar as well.

[Tichtheid]

. You can keep Lang though if he hasn't improved since his Quins days

I was pleasantly surprised when Lang signed for Edinburgh, but not much more than that. However, he's been really good and the Edinburgh midfield of him and Bennett is working really quite well, especially with Kinghorn making the move to ten.

The one caveat is that he seems to be made of glass a little bit.

Oh and another caveat is that Edinburgh have been beating the bottom half of the league quite handily.

[Scottish Caley Fan]

For me, we have to go as strong as possible for Italy with maybe a couple of changes, certainly nothing drastic or too knee jerk etc.

If we want to experim etc then do that in July (especially against Chile) and Autumn, that's what these games are for, not the 6N.

[I like neeps]

For me, we have to go as strong as possible for Italy with maybe a couple of changes, certainly nothing drastic or too knee jerk etc.

If we want to experim etc then do that in July (especially against Chile) and Autumn, that's what these games are for, not the 6N.

It's not an experiment Vs Chile as there's really no chance they can win. It's great to grow the game but really a third string should win handily.

It's not an experiment Vs Italy to drop underperforming players either.

[Slick]

For me, we have to go as strong as possible for Italy with maybe a couple of changes, certainly nothing drastic or too knee jerk etc.

If we want to experim etc then do that in July (especially against Chile) and Autumn, that's what these games are for, not the 6N.

I'd really hope we are past losing to Italy at the moment, it's the last thing I'm holding on to at the moment. However, agree to a point, it's the 6N and we have to put out something approaching our best team, but I'd be quite happy to see the inside backs have a bit of a shake up and see Mish and Darge working together. We should be good enough to deal with tweaks like that.

[Big D]

For me, we have to go as strong as possible for Italy with maybe a couple of changes, certainly nothing drastic or too knee jerk etc.

If we want to experim etc then do that in July (especially against Chile) and Autumn, that's what these games are for, not the 6N.

Townsend blew that idea that the 6N isn't for experimenting last year v Italy.

I don't think it is knee jerk to punish players for poor form or in Fagerson Snrs case a long history of the most stupid penalties he could give away.

[Tichtheid]

Edinburgh Rugby team to face Connacht at DAM Health Stadium in Round 13 of the United Rugby Championship
Friday 4 March (kick-off 7.35pm) – live on Premier Sports

15. Henry Immelman (11)
14. Ramiro Moyano (7)
13. James Lang (11)
12. Chris Dean (113)
11. Emiliano Boffelli (9)
10. Blair Kinghorn (110) VICE-CAPTAIN
9. Henry Pyrgos (60) CAPTAIN

1. Boan Venter (20)
2. Dave Cherry (49) VICE-CAPTAIN
3. Angus Williams (8)
4. Pierce Phillips (5)
5. Glen Young (5)
6. Ben Muncaster (7)
7. Connor Boyle (15)
8. Mesulame Kunavula (19)

Replacements
16. Adam McBurney (5)
17. Harrison Courtney (3)
18. Lee-Roy Atalifo (19)
19. Jamie Campbell*
20. Rudi Brown*
21. Ben Vellacott (12)
22. Jaco van der Walt (79)
23. Matt Currie (8)


Unavailable due to injury: Luan de Bruin, Luke Crosbie, Nick Haining, Damien Hoyland, James Johnstone, Viliame Mata, Jamie Ritchie, Marshall Sykes, Ben Toolis

International selection: Mark Bennett, Magnus Bradbury, Darcy Graham, Grant Gilchrist, Jamie Hodgson, Stuart McInally, WP Nel, Pierre Schoeman, Hamish Watson
*Edinburgh Rugby debut

It's disappointing to see Sykes and Haining join the injury list.

Jamie Campbell and Rudi Brown will be interesting, I can't say I remember them from the Super 6

[I like neeps]

Edinburgh Rugby team to face Connacht at DAM Health Stadium in Round 13 of the United Rugby Championship
Friday 4 March (kick-off 7.35pm) – live on Premier Sports

15. Henry Immelman (11)
14. Ramiro Moyano (7)
13. James Lang (11)
12. Chris Dean (113)
11. Emiliano Boffelli (9)
10. Blair Kinghorn (110) VICE-CAPTAIN
9. Henry Pyrgos (60) CAPTAIN

1. Boan Venter (20)
2. Dave Cherry (49) VICE-CAPTAIN
3. Angus Williams (8)
4. Pierce Phillips (5)
5. Glen Young (5)
6. Ben Muncaster (7)
7. Connor Boyle (15)
8. Mesulame Kunavula (19)

Replacements
16. Adam McBurney (5)
17. Harrison Courtney (3)
18. Lee-Roy Atalifo (19)
19. Jamie Campbell*
20. Rudi Brown*
21. Ben Vellacott (12)
22. Jaco van der Walt (79)
23. Matt Currie (8)


Unavailable due to injury: Luan de Bruin, Luke Crosbie, Nick Haining, Damien Hoyland, James Johnstone, Viliame Mata, Jamie Ritchie, Marshall Sykes, Ben Toolis

International selection: Mark Bennett, Magnus Bradbury, Darcy Graham, Grant Gilchrist, Jamie Hodgson, Stuart McInally, WP Nel, Pierre Schoeman, Hamish Watson
*Edinburgh Rugby debut

It's disappointing to see Sykes and Haining join the injury list.

Jamie Campbell and Rudi Brown will be interesting, I can't say I remember them from the Super 6

Rudi Brown didn't play much if at all for Watsonians (maybe injury related apparently) and Jamie Campbell wasn't in any of the squads which is strange.

[robmatic]

Edinburgh Rugby team to face Connacht at DAM Health Stadium in Round 13 of the United Rugby Championship
Friday 4 March (kick-off 7.35pm) – live on Premier Sports

15. Henry Immelman (11)
14. Ramiro Moyano (7)
13. James Lang (11)
12. Chris Dean (113)
11. Emiliano Boffelli (9)
10. Blair Kinghorn (110) VICE-CAPTAIN
9. Henry Pyrgos (60) CAPTAIN

1. Boan Venter (20)
2. Dave Cherry (49) VICE-CAPTAIN
3. Angus Williams (8)
4. Pierce Phillips (5)
5. Glen Young (5)
6. Ben Muncaster (7)
7. Connor Boyle (15)
8. Mesulame Kunavula (19)

Replacements
16. Adam McBurney (5)
17. Harrison Courtney (3)
18. Lee-Roy Atalifo (19)
19. Jamie Campbell*
20. Rudi Brown*
21. Ben Vellacott (12)
22. Jaco van der Walt (79)
23. Matt Currie (8)


Unavailable due to injury: Luan de Bruin, Luke Crosbie, Nick Haining, Damien Hoyland, James Johnstone, Viliame Mata, Jamie Ritchie, Marshall Sykes, Ben Toolis

International selection: Mark Bennett, Magnus Bradbury, Darcy Graham, Grant Gilchrist, Jamie Hodgson, Stuart McInally, WP Nel, Pierre Schoeman, Hamish Watson
*Edinburgh Rugby debut

It's disappointing to see Sykes and Haining join the injury list.

Jamie Campbell and Rudi Brown will be interesting, I can't say I remember them from the Super 6

Rudi Brown didn't play much if at all for Watsonians (maybe injury related apparently) and Jamie Campbell wasn't in any of the squads which is strange.

Rudi Brown is only 18 and has only just been getting picked up by Scotland u20s this season. Bit of a fast track opportunity for him this weekend!

[Tichtheid]

Rudi Brown is only 18 and has only just been getting picked up by Scotland u20s this season. Bit of a fast track opportunity for him this weekend!

You always have to take these things with a pinch of salt, but the SRU has him at over six four and seventeen stones +.

That is a sizeable lump of a laddie for the back row.

[I like neeps]

Rudi Brown is only 18 and has only just been getting picked up by Scotland u20s this season. Bit of a fast track opportunity for him this weekend!

You always have to take these things with a pinch of salt, but the SRU has him at over six four and seventeen stones +.

That is a sizeable lump of a laddie for the back row.

He was playing for Merchiston's first XV when he was 15 and was big then.

[Jock42]

Craig Chalmers not a fan of the switch.

[KingBlairhorn]

Craig Chalmers is and always has been a zoomer, so I wouldn't read too much into that.