The Official Scottish Rugby Thread

[KingBlairhorn]

And now Kinghorn is getting a slagging in the press which isn’t fair.

I really hope this idiotic experiment doesn’t ruin him

Rugby journalists are largely idiots.

Personally, I would rather have him have put a few more decent performances at 10 for Edinburgh away in Ireland or South Africa before he's starting there for Scotland, but without Russell or Hastings being available and the Glasgow 10s being in poor form last season he has to play. And there are issues elsewhere in that backline which are entirely optional.

It’s a shame that Fin Smith is keeping his options open (GT was clearly sounding him out, and he hasn’t slammed the door AFAIK) as we could really have done with another fit 10 on the tour to take some of the pressure off BK.

The Fin Smith situation was classic bizarre Townsend. Townsend claimed he wasn't picking Smith as he has things to work on before being good enough and is too young for international level - similar to what he said about Hastings when he was dropped. That would be perfectly understandable if we were in Argentina with peak level Dan Carter or Jonny Sexton, or even a solid professional 10 to be honest, but we have a fullback-cum-wing who has played fewer than 30 professional games at 10 in position backed up by a 21/22 year old out of form 10 with fewer than 40 professional starts. Both, clearly, have things to work on.

Paolo Garbisi has a similar amount of professional rugby and it hasn't done Italy any harm picking him. If Smith is good enough (and compared to the others he evidentially is) then he is old enough. Townsend just comes up with an excuse to match his narrative, nothing seems to be particularly well thought through IMO.

[robmatic]

Or play Hutch at 12.

Biggar was talking up how playing with Hutch at 12 is like having a second 10/playmaker and it really benefits Saints attack.

That would make sense but GT really likes Sam Johnson at 12, even when he is out of form. He'd also have to put an inexperienced Ollie Smith at fullback because he didn't take any more options on tour.

[charltom]

Or play Hutch at 12.

Biggar was talking up how playing with Hutch at 12 is like having a second 10/playmaker and it really benefits Saints attack.

That would make sense but GT really likes Sam Johnson at 12, even when he is out of form. He'd also have to put an inexperienced Ollie Smith at fullback because he didn't take any more options on tour.

Kinghorn?

[robmatic]

Or play Hutch at 12.

Biggar was talking up how playing with Hutch at 12 is like having a second 10/playmaker and it really benefits Saints attack.

That would make sense but GT really likes Sam Johnson at 12, even when he is out of form. He'd also have to put an inexperienced Ollie Smith at fullback because he didn't take any more options on tour.

Kinghorn?

That's crazy talk.

[Slick]

Or play Hutch at 12.

Biggar was talking up how playing with Hutch at 12 is like having a second 10/playmaker and it really benefits Saints attack.

That would make sense but GT really likes Sam Johnson at 12, even when he is out of form. He'd also have to put an inexperienced Ollie Smith at fullback because he didn't take any more options on tour.

Kinghorn?

I’m for Hutch at 10, Johnson 12, Scott 13 and Kinghorn at 15

[KingBlairhorn]

That would make sense but GT really likes Sam Johnson at 12, even when he is out of form. He'd also have to put an inexperienced Ollie Smith at fullback because he didn't take any more options on tour.

Kinghorn?

That's crazy talk.

This feels like a bizarre thing to say about a starting 10, but are Kinghorn's passing and distribution good enough to play as a playmaking 12?

[robmatic]

Kinghorn?

That's crazy talk.

This feels like a bizarre thing to say about a starting 10, but are Kinghorn's passing and distribution good enough to play as a playmaking 12?

I think his defence would be more of an issue at 12.

[dpedin]

I don't get all the flack being thrown Kinghorn's way - he is relatively new playing at 10 this season. For Embra he did really well last season and created more chances than mistakes made. He was a real threat in most games and opened up a lot of defences with his passing and running threat. Of course he still made some mistakes but that's to be expected, he will make more on this trip. This Tour is an ideal opportunity for him to learn and develop his game at a higher level. He has all the attributes to make a very good 10, and in Blair at Embra has an excellent coach to help him, but needs more game time in the position and at a high level to learn and make the position work for him. I feel if we give him a bit of time he will develop as we all hope.

[GrahamWa]

I don't get all the flack being thrown Kinghorn's way - he is relatively new playing at 10 this season. For Embra he did really well last season and created more chances than mistakes made. He was a real threat in most games and opened up a lot of defences with his passing and running threat. Of course he still made some mistakes but that's to be expected, he will make more on this trip. This Tour is an ideal opportunity for him to learn and develop his game at a higher level. He has all the attributes to make a very good 10, and in Blair at Embra has an excellent coach to help him, but needs more game time in the position and at a high level to learn and make the position work for him. I feel if we give him a bit of time he will develop as we all hope.

I agree and I'm far from a big fan of his. Thompson is so far off international level, he sits too deep and is conservatively playing by numbers (as directed by his coaches). Go again with Kinghorn and hopefully the forwards can put a performance together that is more than active bystanders. Gilchrist and Gray are too similar with neither dominant. Hopefully Cummings can start but we need more out of the tour captain.

[mos_eisely_]

There's a certain problem at the moment because with Jones injured, certain positions are pretty much forced by circumstance.

I wonder if we'll see

10. Kinghorn
11. Durham
12. Hutch
13. Bennett
14. Rowe
15. Graham

Which is actually quite an exciting backline, just perhaps not away in Argentina

[robmatic]

I don't get all the flack being thrown Kinghorn's way - he is relatively new playing at 10 this season. For Embra he did really well last season and created more chances than mistakes made. He was a real threat in most games and opened up a lot of defences with his passing and running threat. Of course he still made some mistakes but that's to be expected, he will make more on this trip. This Tour is an ideal opportunity for him to learn and develop his game at a higher level. He has all the attributes to make a very good 10, and in Blair at Embra has an excellent coach to help him, but needs more game time in the position and at a high level to learn and make the position work for him. I feel if we give him a bit of time he will develop as we all hope.

I agree and I'm far from a big fan of his. Thompson is so far off international level, he sits too deep and is conservatively playing by numbers (as directed by his coaches). Go again with Kinghorn and hopefully the forwards can put a performance together that is more than active bystanders. Gilchrist and Gray are too similar with neither dominant. Hopefully Cummings can start but we need more out of the tour captain.

I see there is a bit of a clamour on Twitter for Thompson to start but I don't get it from what I've seen of him for Glasgow recently. As you say, he sits too deep and he needs to iron out some of the errors.

[KingBlairhorn]

I don't get all the flack being thrown Kinghorn's way - he is relatively new playing at 10 this season. For Embra he did really well last season and created more chances than mistakes made. He was a real threat in most games and opened up a lot of defences with his passing and running threat. Of course he still made some mistakes but that's to be expected, he will make more on this trip. This Tour is an ideal opportunity for him to learn and develop his game at a higher level. He has all the attributes to make a very good 10, and in Blair at Embra has an excellent coach to help him, but needs more game time in the position and at a high level to learn and make the position work for him. I feel if we give him a bit of time he will develop as we all hope.

I agree and I'm far from a big fan of his. Thompson is so far off international level, he sits too deep and is conservatively playing by numbers (as directed by his coaches). Go again with Kinghorn and hopefully the forwards can put a performance together that is more than active bystanders. Gilchrist and Gray are too similar with neither dominant. Hopefully Cummings can start but we need more out of the tour captain.

I see there is a bit of a clamour on Twitter for Thompson to start but I don't get it from what I've seen of him for Glasgow recently. As you say, he sits too deep and he needs to iron out some of the errors.

The depth chart at the moment is quite clearly in my mind Finn, Hastings, Kinghorn, Thompson in that order.

[I like neeps]

In Townsend's mind it's clearly Russell Kinghorn Hastings Thompson. And we're yet to see the impact of the latest Russell Townsend spat

[Slick]

I don't get all the flack being thrown Kinghorn's way - he is relatively new playing at 10 this season. For Embra he did really well last season and created more chances than mistakes made. He was a real threat in most games and opened up a lot of defences with his passing and running threat. Of course he still made some mistakes but that's to be expected, he will make more on this trip. This Tour is an ideal opportunity for him to learn and develop his game at a higher level. He has all the attributes to make a very good 10, and in Blair at Embra has an excellent coach to help him, but needs more game time in the position and at a high level to learn and make the position work for him. I feel if we give him a bit of time he will develop as we all hope.

I agree and I'm far from a big fan of his. Thompson is so far off international level, he sits too deep and is conservatively playing by numbers (as directed by his coaches). Go again with Kinghorn and hopefully the forwards can put a performance together that is more than active bystanders. Gilchrist and Gray are too similar with neither dominant. Hopefully Cummings can start but we need more out of the tour captain.

I see there is a bit of a clamour on Twitter for Thompson to start but I don't get it from what I've seen of him for Glasgow recently. As you say, he sits too deep and he needs to iron out some of the errors.

Nah, unfortunately I just can’t see Thompson making the step up

[Dogbert]

I agree and I'm far from a big fan of his. Thompson is so far off international level, he sits too deep and is conservatively playing by numbers (as directed by his coaches). Go again with Kinghorn and hopefully the forwards can put a performance together that is more than active bystanders. Gilchrist and Gray are too similar with neither dominant. Hopefully Cummings can start but we need more out of the tour captain.

I see there is a bit of a clamour on Twitter for Thompson to start but I don't get it from what I've seen of him for Glasgow recently. As you say, he sits too deep and he needs to iron out some of the errors.

Nah, unfortunately I just can’t see Thompson making the step up

After what - an international career of 1 sub against Tonga , and a Scotland 'A' Game

Hes only 23, remember is first Pro start was only in Jan last Year

This is the player who was fantastic in the Under 20 side - If you don't think he has a running game , your wrong - rewatch the highlights.

Just to compare him with BK , I would say Thompson has a much better kicking game from both hand & off the tee, and is a better defender - I remember the 1872 match when Mata targeted Thompson , and Thompson handed him his arse.( won MOM for that perfromance ), and I think he is better passer of the ball . much less prone to some raggedy daisy cutters we see BK chuck around

He doesn't naturally sit too deep , looking back at when he played for Ayr / U20's , -he didn't - If hes sitting too deep now at Glasgow / And Scotland - but he has had bugger all time playing for the full Scottish International team - then perhaps its more of him doing what he has been asked to do by the coaches .

He certainly didn't hit the heights for Glasgow in his second season - but that could be said of most of the Glasgow squad - and being teamed with Sam J , who has had an awful drop off in performance didn't exactly help with producing running Rugby.
His Kicking game however won a lot of Glasgows matches this year.

Oh and his back up at Glasgow have also been dreadful , Most of Scotstoun didn't beleive Miotti actually existed , Weir was Dire , it was a lot to dump on a young player. Danny Wilson managed that badly

Mistakes you say - well yes , but I've never seen him kick a restart straight to touch ,

So far he hasn't eaxctly set the heather alight in full International - but the potential is there - be interesting to see him with a decent 12 ourside of him ( Hutchison / Redpath )

I have high hopes that Pete Horne who coached him at Ayr will have a positive impact now that Pete is back coaching at Glasgow

Can he make the step up internatioanlly- well the jury is still out on that , but that can also be said of BK - and he should be at least afforded the same opportunities - But to writet off an International career after a couple of games makes no sense

[robmatic]

I agree and I'm far from a big fan of his. Thompson is so far off international level, he sits too deep and is conservatively playing by numbers (as directed by his coaches). Go again with Kinghorn and hopefully the forwards can put a performance together that is more than active bystanders. Gilchrist and Gray are too similar with neither dominant. Hopefully Cummings can start but we need more out of the tour captain.

I see there is a bit of a clamour on Twitter for Thompson to start but I don't get it from what I've seen of him for Glasgow recently. As you say, he sits too deep and he needs to iron out some of the errors.

Nah, unfortunately I just can’t see Thompson making the step up

Not on the basis of this season's form, but a new coaching regime at Glasgow could help bring him on.

[Slick]

To both posts, I really hope so.

Absolutely nothing against the lad just haven’t seen very much that makes me think he is an international 10, would love to be wrong and maybe more game time and a new coach will bring him on

[I like neeps]

I see there is a bit of a clamour on Twitter for Thompson to start but I don't get it from what I've seen of him for Glasgow recently. As you say, he sits too deep and he needs to iron out some of the errors.

Nah, unfortunately I just can’t see Thompson making the step up

After what - an international career of 1 sub against Tonga , and a Scotland 'A' Game

Hes only 23, remember is first Pro start was only in Jan last Year

This is the player who was fantastic in the Under 20 side - If you don't think he has a running game , your wrong - rewatch the highlights.

Just to compare him with BK , I would say Thompson has a much better kicking game from both hand & off the tee, and is a better defender - I remember the 1872 match when Mata targeted Thompson , and Thompson handed him his arse.( won MOM for that perfromance ), and I think he is better passer of the ball . much less prone to some raggedy daisy cutters we see BK chuck around

He doesn't naturally sit too deep , looking back at when he played for Ayr / U20's , -he didn't - If hes sitting too deep now at Glasgow / And Scotland - but he has had bugger all time playing for the full Scottish International team - then perhaps its more of him doing what he has been asked to do by the coaches .

He certainly didn't hit the heights for Glasgow in his second season - but that could be said of most of the Glasgow squad - and being teamed with Sam J , who has had an awful drop off in performance didn't exactly help with producing running Rugby.
His Kicking game however won a lot of Glasgows matches this year.

Oh and his back up at Glasgow have also been dreadful , Most of Scotstoun didn't beleive Miotti actually existed , Weir was Dire , it was a lot to dump on a young player. Danny Wilson managed that badly

Mistakes you say - well yes , but I've never seen him kick a restart straight to touch ,

So far he hasn't eaxctly set the heather alight in full International - but the potential is there - be interesting to see him with a decent 12 ourside of him ( Hutchison / Redpath )

I have high hopes that Pete Horne who coached him at Ayr will have a positive impact now that Pete is back coaching at Glasgow

Can he make the step up internatioanlly- well the jury is still out on that , but that can also be said of BK - and he should be at least afforded the same opportunities - But to writet off an International career after a couple of games makes no sense

Kinghorn is an attacking weapon though which Thompson just isn't. If you want functional stand off play you'd look to Thompson who probably is a more reliable passer/kicker/decision maker but he doesn't offer the highs Kinghorn does. He won't make as many breaks, back of the hand offloads, he won't run the switch with Hutchinson, I don't think he's got the bullet flat pass Kinghorn does. He kicks better 8 of 10 times maybe but he doesn't get the what can be incredible kick off heights or booming punts.

Kinghorn is like a budget earlier version of Russell. And one of many things that don't make sense about Townsend's plans (because he's lost right now) is that Townsend is trying to water Russell down and reign in the excesses. But Kinghorn is pure excesses.

[Tichtheid]

iirc Nathan Chamberlain was good at U20s level and the last I heard of him he was on the bench for Watsonians. Fortunes can change so quickly in rugby, it's one of the reasons I really don't like players getting berated online.

Savala is doing well, he turned 22 a couple of months ago and he seems to have the confidence of the coaching staff, his form plus Kinghorn being the guy in possession of the jersey looks to have spurred Jaco van der Walt on too, which is what you want.

In terms the national side, I haven't seen a lot of Hastings this season, but there were obviously a few things to sort out in his game.

Was it significant that the only sub who wasn't used last weekend was Thompson?

[I like neeps]

iirc Nathan Chamberlain was good at U20s level and the last I heard of him he was on the bench for Watsonians. Fortunes can change so quickly in rugby, it's one of the reasons I really don't like players getting berated online.

Savala is doing well, he turned 22 a couple of months ago and he seems to have the confidence of the coaching staff, his form plus Kinghorn being the guy in possession of the jersey looks to have spurred Jaco van der Walt on too, which is what you want.

In terms the national side, I haven't seen a lot of Hastings this season, but there were obviously a few things to sort out in his game.

Was it significant that the only sub who wasn't used last weekend was Thompson?

Yes Townsend clearly doesn't rate Thompson and prefers Kinghorn. That has been obvious since Tonga when Thompson was coming off some good form and Kinghorn had played a handful of pro games at 10.

Hastings (and surely every player) has a lot to work on. But he has shown he is capable of winning and impacting top level six nations games at 10. When Russell threw his toys out the pram Hastings was very good. When Russell got sent off Vs France in Paris Hastings structured the winning attacks and threw the lovely winning pass to vdm. He is clearly a more than capable option.

[dpedin]

I see there is a bit of a clamour on Twitter for Thompson to start but I don't get it from what I've seen of him for Glasgow recently. As you say, he sits too deep and he needs to iron out some of the errors.

Nah, unfortunately I just can’t see Thompson making the step up

After what - an international career of 1 sub against Tonga , and a Scotland 'A' Game

Hes only 23, remember is first Pro start was only in Jan last Year

This is the player who was fantastic in the Under 20 side - If you don't think he has a running game , your wrong - rewatch the highlights.

Just to compare him with BK , I would say Thompson has a much better kicking game from both hand & off the tee, and is a better defender - I remember the 1872 match when Mata targeted Thompson , and Thompson handed him his arse.( won MOM for that perfromance ), and I think he is better passer of the ball . much less prone to some raggedy daisy cutters we see BK chuck around

He doesn't naturally sit too deep , looking back at when he played for Ayr / U20's , -he didn't - If hes sitting too deep now at Glasgow / And Scotland - but he has had bugger all time playing for the full Scottish International team - then perhaps its more of him doing what he has been asked to do by the coaches .

He certainly didn't hit the heights for Glasgow in his second season - but that could be said of most of the Glasgow squad - and being teamed with Sam J , who has had an awful drop off in performance didn't exactly help with producing running Rugby.
His Kicking game however won a lot of Glasgows matches this year.

Oh and his back up at Glasgow have also been dreadful , Most of Scotstoun didn't beleive Miotti actually existed , Weir was Dire , it was a lot to dump on a young player. Danny Wilson managed that badly

Mistakes you say - well yes , but I've never seen him kick a restart straight to touch ,

So far he hasn't eaxctly set the heather alight in full International - but the potential is there - be interesting to see him with a decent 12 ourside of him ( Hutchison / Redpath )

I have high hopes that Pete Horne who coached him at Ayr will have a positive impact now that Pete is back coaching at Glasgow

Can he make the step up internatioanlly- well the jury is still out on that , but that can also be said of BK - and he should be at least afforded the same opportunities - But to writet off an International career after a couple of games makes no sense

I agree about Thompson and my comments about Kinghorn doesn't mean that I don't rate him as well. However he had a bad end to the season in a Weegie team that had all but given up in the fight and behind a pack which seemed to crumble at the first sign pressure. He ended up getting shit ball usually with the opposing 7 at the same time. I agree he has a running game as well as being a fine kicker however he seemed to lose confidence in his game and it would be an awful lot of pressure to put on him to start v Argies given his relative lack of experience. Kinghorn has a lot to learn but has a lot of experience at the top level and appears the more confident and mature individual at the moment. We need Kinghorn to get game time on this Tour, Thomson's time will come. Hopefully a new Weegie coach will bring about an upturn in Thompsons form and confidence.

[Slick]

iirc Nathan Chamberlain was good at U20s level and the last I heard of him he was on the bench for Watsonians. Fortunes can change so quickly in rugby, it's one of the reasons I really don't like players getting berated online.

Savala is doing well, he turned 22 a couple of months ago and he seems to have the confidence of the coaching staff, his form plus Kinghorn being the guy in possession of the jersey looks to have spurred Jaco van der Walt on too, which is what you want.

In terms the national side, I haven't seen a lot of Hastings this season, but there were obviously a few things to sort out in his game.

Was it significant that the only sub who wasn't used last weekend was Thompson?

Yes Townsend clearly doesn't rate Thompson and prefers Kinghorn. That has been obvious since Tonga when Thompson was coming off some good form and Kinghorn had played a handful of pro games at 10.

Hastings (and surely every player) has a lot to work on. But he has shown he is capable of winning and impacting top level six nations games at 10. When Russell threw his toys out the pram Hastings was very good. When Russell got sent off Vs France in Paris Hastings structured the winning attacks and threw the lovely winning pass to vdm. He is clearly a more than capable option.

I think Hastings is our best option at 10 at the moment. I know he had an indifferent start down South but as you say, he has shown up as a top class 10 in very big games again and again. He probably used to try too hard at the start but seems to have reigned that in a bit and also has a locker full of tricks

[robmatic]

So the u20s got horsed by Georgia and continued their long run of defeats. What is the issue? Coaching? Lack of gametime?

[westport]

Edinburgh Rugby is delighted to announce the appointment of Michael Todd as the club’s new Defence Coach.
The highly-regarded specialist joins from Queensland Reds and Australia 'A' and will link up with the team later this month.

[I like neeps]

Scotland team to face Argentina at the Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena, Salta, live on Sky Sports, Saturday 9 July - kick-off 8.10pm BST.

15. Rory Hutchinson - Northampton Saints - 6 caps
14. Darcy Graham - Edinburgh Rugby - 28 caps
13. Mark Bennett - Edinburgh Rugby - 25 caps
12. Sam Johnson - Glasgow Warriors - 25 caps
11. Duhan van der Merwe - Worcester Warriors - 17 caps
10. Blair Kinghorn - Edinburgh Rugby - 32 caps
9. Ben White - London Irish - 5 caps
1. Pierre Schoeman - Edinburgh Rugby - 10 caps
2. Dave Cherry - Edinburgh Rugby - 5 caps
3. Zander Fagerson - Glasgow Warriors - 48 caps
4. Sam Skinner - Edinburgh Rugby - 21 caps
5. Grant Gilchrist - Edinburgh Rugby - (Captain) - 54 caps
6. Rory Darge - Glasgow Warriors - 5 caps
7. Hamish Watson - Edinburgh Rugby (Vice-Captain) - 49 caps
8. Matt Fagerson - Glasgow Warriors - 22 caps

Replacements

16. George Turner - Glasgow Warriors - 26 caps
17. Jamie Bhatti - Glasgow Warriors - 22 caps
18. Javan Sebastian - Scarlets - 2 caps
19. Scott Cummings - Glasgow Warriors - 21 caps
20. Andy Christie - Saracens - 1 cap
21. Ali Price - Glasgow Warriors - 52 caps
22. Ross Thompson - Glasgow Warriors - 1 cap
23. Kyle Rowe - London Irish - uncapped


Sam Johnson?!

Good for Dave Cherry though.

[Slick]

Apathy abounds

[Tichtheid]

Apathy abounds

I've spent the day driving to Bristol and back, with a graduation ceremony thrown in the middle for good measure.

Dog I hate the the M25

Anyway, I don't particularly like having a such a short arse backrow, it limits our lineout, none of them are regular options there. Maybe that is why Cherry gets the nod for his darts.

With two real groundhogs we need them to justify their selection and take Argentina to the cleaners at the breakdown. If they do that and we get some fucking ball, as opposed to last week where we got nowt for the first half and last quarter, we might do well. We showed for a brief spell what that backline can do if we get some quick front foot possession

[Yr Alban]

Finding it difficult to get excited about this. I reckon we are probably losing this series 3-0.

[Scottish Caley Fan]

Really excited to see what Ben White can offer at 9 and tbh, the tour is for giving as many players a chance as possible otherwise we'll never know if their ready for international rugby, we got a glimpse of his capabilities in Feb v England anyway :).

So Hutch at 15 again when nearly EVERY FAN called for him at 15 and what has poor Ollie Smith done to get dropped completely after featuring v Chile!

Kinghorn at 10 OH FFS, this could be a disaster and one where lots of fans start questioning AND doubting whether GT is the man to lead us into next year!

Some plusses though, main one being Rory and Mish and Dave Cherry so I am still backing Gregor (JUST) and probably will for the foreseeable but I can't accept these inept performances and losses, I wouldn't mind inept performances and wins like v Italy!


Always the optimist eh or is it idiot lol, I'll let you peeps decide lol.

[Slick]

Really excited to see what Ben White can offer at 9 and tbh, the tour is for giving as many players a chance as possible otherwise we'll never know if their ready for international rugby, we got a glimpse of his capabilities in Feb v England anyway :).

So Hutch at 15 again when nearly EVERY FAN called for him at 15 and what has poor Ollie Smith done to get dropped completely after featuring v Chile!

Kinghorn at 10 OH FFS, this could be a disaster and one where lots of fans start questioning AND doubting whether GT is the man to lead us into next year!

Some plusses though, main one being Rory and Mish and Dave Cherry so I am still backing Gregor (JUST) and probably will for the foreseeable but I can't accept these inept performances and losses, I wouldn't mind inept performances and wins like v Italy!


Always the optimist eh or is it idiot lol, I'll let you peeps decide lol.

Have to say I’m having my first wavering of support for Toony as well, this just all seems a bit muddled. Think a win might be out of reach but an aggressive, committed performance should be expected.

And, congratulations Tichtheid

[C T]

Really excited to see what Ben White can offer at 9 and tbh, the tour is for giving as many players a chance as possible otherwise we'll never know if their ready for international rugby, we got a glimpse of his capabilities in Feb v England anyway :).

So Hutch at 15 again when nearly EVERY FAN called for him at 15 and what has poor Ollie Smith done to get dropped completely after featuring v Chile!

Kinghorn at 10 OH FFS, this could be a disaster and one where lots of fans start questioning AND doubting whether GT is the man to lead us into next year!

Some plusses though, main one being Rory and Mish and Dave Cherry so I am still backing Gregor (JUST) and probably will for the foreseeable but I can't accept these inept performances and losses, I wouldn't mind inept performances and wins like v Italy!


Always the optimist eh or is it idiot lol, I'll let you peeps decide lol.

Have to say I’m having my first wavering of support for Toony as well, this just all seems a bit muddled. Think a win might be out of reach but an aggressive, committed performance should be expected.

And, congratulations Tichtheid

Me too.

I continue to be a big fan of Toonie, although I do think he was put into the role too quickly. He seems to take a very measured approach, studying/learning and not always just from rugby circles.

Watching the recent Lions documentary from the 21 tour, a lot of the speeches/sessions from the coaches just seemed to be swearing sessions, to show passion. When Toonie spoke it was more measured with more point to it. Personally I like that. Maybe I'm letting my own preference of coaching styles cloud things.

But the performances just are not coming out. I can take a loss, but when it seems to be that we've been beaten by the team who just want it more then that hurts. I hate to say it, but Wales repeatedly show this and we repeatedly do not.

Then you have the odd selections.

I think he's a great coach. In fairness he is a successful coach. If he leaves after the world cup I think he might well get the Scotland job again at some point in the future. I don't think that right now he's getting the most out of the players, that's a huge concern.

[Yr Alban]

But the performances just are not coming out. I can take a loss, but when it seems to be that we've been beaten by the team who just want it more then that hurts. I hate to say it, but Wales repeatedly show this and we repeatedly do not.

This is what really frustrates me. Wales don’t have better players than us, but they do have self-belief and a will to win that we just don’t. I have no idea why this is, but it is maddening to say the least.

[I like neeps]

But the performances just are not coming out. I can take a loss, but when it seems to be that we've been beaten by the team who just want it more then that hurts. I hate to say it, but Wales repeatedly show this and we repeatedly do not.

This is what really frustrates me. Wales don’t have better players than us, but they do have self-belief and a will to win that we just don’t. I have no idea why this is, but it is maddening to say the least.

I think Wales do have better players than us otherwise they wouldn't win every year.

The last two times we've played Wales the team was ill-disciplined, lacked focus, generally lacked intensity. And that's too often the case for Scotland and that's coaching.

Maybe toonie's measured approached quoted above needs to rah rah fire and brimstone too.

[Yr Alban]

But the performances just are not coming out. I can take a loss, but when it seems to be that we've been beaten by the team who just want it more then that hurts. I hate to say it, but Wales repeatedly show this and we repeatedly do not.

This is what really frustrates me. Wales don’t have better players than us, but they do have self-belief and a will to win that we just don’t. I have no idea why this is, but it is maddening to say the least.

I think Wales do have better players than us otherwise they wouldn't win every year.

The last two times we've played Wales the team was ill-disciplined, lacked focus, generally lacked intensity. And that's too often the case for Scotland and that's coaching.

Maybe toonie's measured approached quoted above needs to rah rah fire and brimstone too.

Then substitute ‘more talented’ for ‘better’ if you prefer. I genuinely don’t think their players are more talented than ours, but their application and their mindset is way ahead of ours.

Anyway, just to make our gradual decline worse, I’ve just seen that Ireland have beaten NZ in NZ. Perhaps it’s time to just give up on rugby altogether as a bad job.

[I like neeps]

This is what really frustrates me. Wales don’t have better players than us, but they do have self-belief and a will to win that we just don’t. I have no idea why this is, but it is maddening to say the least.

I think Wales do have better players than us otherwise they wouldn't win every year.

The last two times we've played Wales the team was ill-disciplined, lacked focus, generally lacked intensity. And that's too often the case for Scotland and that's coaching.

Maybe toonie's measured approached quoted above needs to rah rah fire and brimstone too.

Then substitute ‘more talented’ for ‘better’ if you prefer. I genuinely don’t think their players are more talented than ours, but their application and their mindset is way ahead of ours.

Anyway, just to make our gradual decline worse, I’ve just seen that Ireland have beaten NZ in NZ. Perhaps it’s time to just give up on rugby altogether as a bad job.

Talent is such a negligible term though. They're better players. They've just beaten SA in SA.

[Slick]

Fuck fuck fuck. Moved to a new property today on holiday in France. No Canal + and the WiFi has just packed up!!!

Any in game updates much appreciated!

[Yr Alban]

I think Wales do have better players than us otherwise they wouldn't win every year.

The last two times we've played Wales the team was ill-disciplined, lacked focus, generally lacked intensity. And that's too often the case for Scotland and that's coaching.

Maybe toonie's measured approached quoted above needs to rah rah fire and brimstone too.

Then substitute ‘more talented’ for ‘better’ if you prefer. I genuinely don’t think their players are more talented than ours, but their application and their mindset is way ahead of ours.

Anyway, just to make our gradual decline worse, I’ve just seen that Ireland have beaten NZ in NZ. Perhaps it’s time to just give up on rugby altogether as a bad job.

Talent is such a negligible term though. They're better players. They've just beaten SA in SA.

Oh, FFS. Suit yourself. I’m too fecking depressed to argue.

[Biffer]

I think Wales do have better players than us otherwise they wouldn't win every year.

The last two times we've played Wales the team was ill-disciplined, lacked focus, generally lacked intensity. And that's too often the case for Scotland and that's coaching.

Maybe toonie's measured approached quoted above needs to rah rah fire and brimstone too.

Then substitute ‘more talented’ for ‘better’ if you prefer. I genuinely don’t think their players are more talented than ours, but their application and their mindset is way ahead of ours.

Anyway, just to make our gradual decline worse, I’ve just seen that Ireland have beaten NZ in NZ. Perhaps it’s time to just give up on rugby altogether as a bad job.

Talent is such a negligible term though. They're better players. They've just beaten SA in SA.

And 'better' is so obviously clearly defined

[And 1 guest]

Well hoggs hair looks good even if the team doesn't

[ASMO]

Well hoggs hair looks good even if the team doesn't

It looks a bit like a combover truth be told.