The Official Scottish Rugby Thread

[KingBlairhorn]

I only saw the second half, horrendous conditions but an excellent win.

In other news, watching the Glasgow game and Ross Thompson appears to have shat himself

[Slick]

I haven’t seen it yet, but ya fuckin dancer!

Your boy did well

[Slick]

I said it on the women’s rugby thread but have to say I really enjoyed the day out today despite the result.

It’s almost like a completely different sport. I thought there would be a lot more crossover from the men’s support but completely different and a really friendly, and family friendly, atmosphere with both teams being appreciated by everyone and great interaction between supporters.

The rugby was quite mechanical but good skills and some big hits. Best bit was the rugby was completely lacking in any cynicism and able to flow.

Genuinely really enjoyed it and will definitely be back. Kids loved it as well

[Big D]

I haven’t seen it yet, but ya fuckin dancer!

Forwards gutted it out at tines against a fierce set piece.

A few bits of naive rugby like trying to run from a scrum on thr edge of own 22 etc. But deserved win through taking the chances when they came.

Huge win.

[KingBlairhorn]

Glasgow going to turn a regulation BP win into a loss here. Brainless.

[Tichtheid]

that was a dreadful second half from Glasgow

Shame they didnae play like that against us

[Slick]

Glasgow going to turn a regulation BP win into a loss here. Brainless.

Just finished watching it, dreadful stuff, they should have walked that. Ref seemed to get caught up in the whole atmosphere of the Cardiff comeback, but still.

The two best strips in the league though.

[Tichtheid]

Glasgow going to turn a regulation BP win into a loss here. Brainless.

Just finished watching it, dreadful stuff, they should have walked that. Ref seemed to get caught up in the whole atmosphere of the Cardiff comeback, but still.

The two best strips in the league though.

hrrrmmm, I know there will be accusations of bias, and if I'm being honest I wasn't keen on the move from Black and Red, I really like Embra's Navy/Orange options, especially the orange.

[Slick]

Glasgow going to turn a regulation BP win into a loss here. Brainless.

Just finished watching it, dreadful stuff, they should have walked that. Ref seemed to get caught up in the whole atmosphere of the Cardiff comeback, but still.

The two best strips in the league though.

hrrrmmm, I know there will be accusations of bias, and if I'm being honest I wasn't keen on the move from Black and Red, I really like Embra's Navy/Orange options, especially the orange.

No, I agree, it has definitely grown on me.

But I just look so good in light blue and white

[Tichtheid]

Just finished watching it, dreadful stuff, they should have walked that. Ref seemed to get caught up in the whole atmosphere of the Cardiff comeback, but still.

The two best strips in the league though.

hrrrmmm, I know there will be accusations of bias, and if I'm being honest I wasn't keen on the move from Black and Red, I really like Embra's Navy/Orange options, especially the orange.

No, I agree, it has definitely grown on me.

But I just look so good in light blue and white

You wear ski-wear a lot?

[Slick]

hrrrmmm, I know there will be accusations of bias, and if I'm being honest I wasn't keen on the move from Black and Red, I really like Embra's Navy/Orange options, especially the orange.

No, I agree, it has definitely grown on me.

But I just look so good in light blue and white

You wear ski-wear a lot?

That and 80’s lingerie

[Tichtheid]

No, I agree, it has definitely grown on me.

But I just look so good in light blue and white

You wear ski-wear a lot?

That and 80’s lingerie

It must be getting a bit threadbare by now.

[robmatic]

Glasgow going to turn a regulation BP win into a loss here. Brainless.

Just finished watching it, dreadful stuff, they should have walked that. Ref seemed to get caught up in the whole atmosphere of the Cardiff comeback, but still.

The two best strips in the league though.

hrrrmmm, I know there will be accusations of bias, and if I'm being honest I wasn't keen on the move from Black and Red, I really like Embra's Navy/Orange options, especially the orange.

The orange one this season is smart. I was also not too enthused about the change, but after getting used to the idea I think it's also good for the club's identity to not be black-with-trimmings like so many other teams.

[robmatic]

Glasgow going to turn a regulation BP win into a loss here. Brainless.

It's amazing how they can go from looking great in every aspect of the game to total collapse.

[Big D]

Definitely change in tone with the media, specifically the Mail guys (Robertson and Palmer) around Hogg this week. Seems like there is a feeling he is being set up as a bit of a fall guy.

[I like neeps]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ad03 ... 446524515b

Good article from Mark Palmer in the Times. It is starting to read as Townsend scapegoating some players. I agree with him the SRU need to be honest with the fans for once. For a national body they treat us with distain.

[Yr Alban]

Definitely change in tone with the media, specifically the Mail guys (Robertson and Palmer) around Hogg this week. Seems like there is a feeling he is being set up as a bit of a fall guy.

I’m actually of the opinion that this episode might (eventually) be a good thing for Hogg. I know he wants to be captain, and I don’t think he’s a bad one, but I don’t think the additional responsibility is good for his game. If he were relieved of the job, he might be able to relax a bit and stop trying to make things happen on his own. I still think the butchered try v Ireland owed more to his trying to brute-force things than going for glory.

[I like neeps]

Definitely change in tone with the media, specifically the Mail guys (Robertson and Palmer) around Hogg this week. Seems like there is a feeling he is being set up as a bit of a fall guy.

I’m actually of the opinion that this episode might (eventually) be a good thing for Hogg. I know he wants to be captain, and I don’t think he’s a bad one, but I don’t think the additional responsibility is good for his game. If he were relieved of the job, he might be able to relax a bit and stop trying to make things happen on his own. I still think the butchered try v Ireland owed more to his trying to brute-force things than going for glory.

I don't know. Maybe it would help his form. But I don't like the optics of our best player over the last 20 years having the captain stripped for an event that nobody really knows what hapoened. Don't think it's fair on him. If he relinquishes the captain for form reasons fair enough.

[weegie01]

Definitely change in tone with the media, specifically the Mail guys (Robertson and Palmer) around Hogg this week. Seems like there is a feeling he is being set up as a bit of a fall guy.

Rob Baxter has come out and said it was a misunderstanding deriving from some ambiguity in the rules / players code. He has explicitly said there was no breach of team rules and a mountain is being made out of a molehill.

[Big D]

Definitely change in tone with the media, specifically the Mail guys (Robertson and Palmer) around Hogg this week. Seems like there is a feeling he is being set up as a bit of a fall guy.

Rob Baxter has come out and said it was a misunderstanding deriving from some ambiguity in the rules / players code. He has explicitly said there was no breach of team rules and a mountain is being made out of a molehill.

I think the Glasgow attack coach coming out is more interesting. Baxter can say what he wants really and would/should always look to protect his player. The Glasgow coach saying the same lends a lot more weight to that given he is an employee of thr SRU.

The questions are now around why the SRU have bungled this as a PR exercise and if they are briefing against Hogg (as they did with Russell) why are they doing so? To protect Townsend? Because they got behind on a PR issue?

[Jock42]

Definitely change in tone with the media, specifically the Mail guys (Robertson and Palmer) around Hogg this week. Seems like there is a feeling he is being set up as a bit of a fall guy.

Rob Baxter has come out and said it was a misunderstanding deriving from some ambiguity in the rules / players code. He has explicitly said there was no breach of team rules and a mountain is being made out of a molehill.

I think the Glasgow attack coach coming out is more interesting. Baxter can say what he wants really and would/should always look to protect his player. The Glasgow coach saying the same lends a lot more weight to that given he is an employee of thr SRU.

The questions are now around why the SRU have bungled this as a PR exercise and if they are briefing against Hogg (as they did with Russell) why are they doing so? To protect Townsend? Because they got behind on a PR issue?

What's he said?

[Big D]

Rob Baxter has come out and said it was a misunderstanding deriving from some ambiguity in the rules / players code. He has explicitly said there was no breach of team rules and a mountain is being made out of a molehill.

I think the Glasgow attack coach coming out is more interesting. Baxter can say what he wants really and would/should always look to protect his player. The Glasgow coach saying the same lends a lot more weight to that given he is an employee of thr SRU.

The questions are now around why the SRU have bungled this as a PR exercise and if they are briefing against Hogg (as they did with Russell) why are they doing so? To protect Townsend? Because they got behind on a PR issue?

What's he said?

 “The lads certainly didn’t think they were doing anything which was overly outside the rules,” he said. “But I’m not sure how it escalated.”

That suggests at the very least the players think any reaction was over the top. Hard for us to judge because we probably won't get the whole story.

[Jock42]

Cheers. Yeah obviously it's still hard to judge but as you say ots not a great look for Townsend that another SRU coach has stood by the players.

[I like neeps]

Definitely change in tone with the media, specifically the Mail guys (Robertson and Palmer) around Hogg this week. Seems like there is a feeling he is being set up as a bit of a fall guy.

Rob Baxter has come out and said it was a misunderstanding deriving from some ambiguity in the rules / players code. He has explicitly said there was no breach of team rules and a mountain is being made out of a molehill.

I think the Glasgow attack coach coming out is more interesting. Baxter can say what he wants really and would/should always look to protect his player. The Glasgow coach saying the same lends a lot more weight to that given he is an employee of thr SRU.

The questions are now around why the SRU have bungled this as a PR exercise and if they are briefing against Hogg (as they did with Russell) why are they doing so? To protect Townsend? Because they got behind on a PR issue?

Depends who leaked it. Could very well have been Townsend who had some whisper in Andy Burke's ear. Get your excuse in pre match and change the conversation from "maybe Townsend isn't the man" to "players are ill-disciplined, change the captain".

In the briefings Vs Russell we were pretty quickly told what happened and some not so nice rumours. But we just haven't even come close to an official story.

[Tichtheid]

Gilcho, Rambo, WP Nel and Wee Darcy have flown out to South Africa to join the Embra squad.

I wonder if any of them will feature on Saturday? It's a long flight to watch a game of rugby, otoh they will be needed in the run in, we've got four home games on the trot when the team get back, Pau in the cup, Zebra, Ulster and the Weedge in the league.

Nel has always benefited from playing as much rugby as possible, I'd fire him straight in, Cherry does enough with his darts to keep the jersey for me, McInally to sub. If Gilcho is up for it then we play our best team every week now, including Graham, who would be the only change in the backline.

Having said that, I though Vellacott took a huge risk with that pass to Kinghorn, that might cause him to sit this weekend out, or at least move to sub.

[robmatic]

Gilcho, Rambo, WP Nel and Wee Darcy have flown out to South Africa to join the Embra squad.

I wonder if any of them will feature on Saturday? It's a long flight to watch a game of rugby, otoh they will be needed in the run in, we've got four home games on the trot when the team get back, Pau in the cup, Zebra, Ulster and the Weedge in the league.

Nel has always benefited from playing as much rugby as possible, I'd fire him straight in, Cherry does enough with his darts to keep the jersey for me, McInally to sub. If Gilcho is up for it then we play our best team every week now, including Graham, who would be the only change in the backline.

Having said that, I though Vellacott took a huge risk with that pass to Kinghorn, that might cause him to sit this weekend out, or at least move to sub.

They'll surely all be in the starting line up, not much point them going otherwise.

I suspect we'll be resting a few against Pau, we're already guaranteed qualification and a home draw from what I can tell. And we've brought three more Super 6 players into the European squad for the game.

[Big D]

Gilcho, Rambo, WP Nel and Wee Darcy have flown out to South Africa to join the Embra squad.

I wonder if any of them will feature on Saturday? It's a long flight to watch a game of rugby, otoh they will be needed in the run in, we've got four home games on the trot when the team get back, Pau in the cup, Zebra, Ulster and the Weedge in the league.

Nel has always benefited from playing as much rugby as possible, I'd fire him straight in, Cherry does enough with his darts to keep the jersey for me, McInally to sub. If Gilcho is up for it then we play our best team every week now, including Graham, who would be the only change in the backline.

Having said that, I though Vellacott took a huge risk with that pass to Kinghorn, that might cause him to sit this weekend out, or at least move to sub.

They need to play if they are out there IMO.

I think at times Vellacott showed why he hasn't seen more game time at international level. There were 3 or 4 really questionable decisions given the conditions and game situation. That pass and then trying to run it from a set scrum on the edge of his own 22 for example.

[Biffer]

Gilcho, Rambo, WP Nel and Wee Darcy have flown out to South Africa to join the Embra squad.

I wonder if any of them will feature on Saturday? It's a long flight to watch a game of rugby, otoh they will be needed in the run in, we've got four home games on the trot when the team get back, Pau in the cup, Zebra, Ulster and the Weedge in the league.

Nel has always benefited from playing as much rugby as possible, I'd fire him straight in, Cherry does enough with his darts to keep the jersey for me, McInally to sub. If Gilcho is up for it then we play our best team every week now, including Graham, who would be the only change in the backline.

Having said that, I though Vellacott took a huge risk with that pass to Kinghorn, that might cause him to sit this weekend out, or at least move to sub.

They'll surely all be in the starting line up, not much point them going otherwise.

I suspect we'll be resting a few against Pau, we're already guaranteed qualification and a home draw from what I can tell. And we've brought three more Super 6 players into the European squad for the game.

We're not quite guaranteed but it'd be an odd set of results that eliminated us. a win against Pau will likely get us a home tie against Castre. Glasgow away to Gloucester assuming the cherry and white beat the Dragons and Toulon beat Biarritz.

[robmatic]

Gilcho, Rambo, WP Nel and Wee Darcy have flown out to South Africa to join the Embra squad.

I wonder if any of them will feature on Saturday? It's a long flight to watch a game of rugby, otoh they will be needed in the run in, we've got four home games on the trot when the team get back, Pau in the cup, Zebra, Ulster and the Weedge in the league.

Nel has always benefited from playing as much rugby as possible, I'd fire him straight in, Cherry does enough with his darts to keep the jersey for me, McInally to sub. If Gilcho is up for it then we play our best team every week now, including Graham, who would be the only change in the backline.

Having said that, I though Vellacott took a huge risk with that pass to Kinghorn, that might cause him to sit this weekend out, or at least move to sub.

They'll surely all be in the starting line up, not much point them going otherwise.

I suspect we'll be resting a few against Pau, we're already guaranteed qualification and a home draw from what I can tell. And we've brought three more Super 6 players into the European squad for the game.

We're not quite guaranteed but it'd be an odd set of results that eliminated us. a win against Pau will likely get us a home tie against Castre. Glasgow away to Gloucester assuming the cherry and white beat the Dragons and Toulon beat Biarritz.

Surely we will at worst be the highest ranked 4th place?

[Big D]

MFagerson has had an operation on an arm fracture (above his plate) and Rob Harley to leave at the end of the season.

[robmatic]

MFagerson has had an operation on an arm fracture (above his plate) and Rob Harley to leave at the end of the season.

End of an era with Harley going. Wonder where he's off to?

[clydecloggie]

MFagerson has had an operation on an arm fracture (above his plate) and Rob Harley to leave at the end of the season.

End of an era with Harley going. Wonder where he's off to?

Odd that he's not retiring. On his way to do a Swinson in the Premiership?

[Biffer]

MFagerson has had an operation on an arm fracture (above his plate) and Rob Harley to leave at the end of the season.

End of an era with Harley going. Wonder where he's off to?

Odd that he's not retiring. On his way to do a Swinson in the Premiership?

Or maybe a few years in the south of France, low end T14 or a bigger club in ProD2

[Slick]

End of an era with Harley going. Wonder where he's off to?

Odd that he's not retiring. On his way to do a Swinson in the Premiership?

Or maybe a few years in the south of France, low end T14 or a bigger club in ProD2

Sounds like he is a bit of a Francophile so wouldn't be surprised

[Big D]

MFagerson has had an operation on an arm fracture (above his plate) and Rob Harley to leave at the end of the season.

End of an era with Harley going. Wonder where he's off to?

Odd that he's not retiring. On his way to do a Swinson in the Premiership?

Great servant but I think he's not at the level now. Something like a player/coach role somewhere may be next up. Feels like he's an old almost 32 year old.

[Jock42]

Heard a lot of chat about him

[Slick]

Need to get him a cap sharpish!

[Tichtheid]

Need to get him a cap sharpish!

There will be pressure on him to commit to England and if he is smart/well advised he will play his cards close to his chest until he sees which way the wind blows as far as England selection goes. That is unless he is fully committed like Euan Ashman.

He's ten months younger than Muncaster, Rudi Brown is 18, Muncaster is 20, Darge and Boyle are 22, Christie is 23, Fagerson 23, Crosbie 24, Bayliss 24, Ritchie 25, Bradbury is 26 and that's before you get to the old stagers like Watson, Haining, perhaps Dempsey (who I wouldn't like to see in a Scotland shirt, but that is another story)

Of course there is always room for one more, but it's an area of strength for us.

What we need is props.

[robmatic]

Heard a lot of chat about him

He definitely looked a player for the u20s and it helps that he's a big unit. Shouldn't be long before he steps up to senior rugby.

[Biffer]

Heard a lot of chat about him

He definitely looked a player for the u20s and it helps that he's a big unit. Shouldn't be long before he steps up to senior rugby.

With him, Muncaster and Rudi Brown coming through to pros we should have some decent options at eight in a few years.