The Official Scottish Rugby Thread

[Biffer]

This was my main worry when he was named in the starting XV. He's a good player, but we can't afford for him to get pinged constantly.

To be fair he was better in the second half but there was less opportunity for him to fuck up due to the change in the nature of the game. I fear he will be a disaster against France and Ireland.

What's everyone's thoughts on the Turner yellow. I wonder what more he could have done to avoid it when North fell to his knees at the point of the tackle. Turner was low enough to hit a standing man around the waist

Yeah it was never a yellow, North suddenly dropped to his knee, had he not Turner makes a legal tackle. A total nonsense what could Turner have done differently? Nothing.

Fagerson has to play as noted above as the depth is so poor. I don't really understand his scrum penalties, the Welsh clearly tried and succeeded in winding him up.

Soft yellow definitely. Particularly when compared to Adams no arms hit on Steyn in the corner.

[Big D]

This playing BK at 10 and on the wing now and then has certainly improved his game.

It's almost like he's a very talented rugby player with pace, vision and hand skills


I know I've been banging on about him for ages, but I don't think he is the finished article by a long shot. I'm happy for him to be the back up ten and fifteen, and 11 and 14 if necessary.

imo, the best thing that can happen for BK, and Edinburgh, is that the injury crisis abates at Edinburgh and Blair gets back to playing ten

I agree with getting him back to 10 for Edinburgh.

It was good to see him making those rapier runs again from fullback, I remember his first year when he did about 2 per match. He worked well with Duhan.

I can't wait for Graham to get back, Steyn had a very solid game - great under the high ball. But Graham has even more xfactor.

Steyn was solid except for on defence where he is missing too many tackles and was possibly the one caught out when it took a frankly magnificent Gray tackle on Cuthbert to prevent a try. Thankfully he hasn't missed one that has cost us yet. But 7 missed tackles (40% of attempted) across two games isn't good enough as we approach the best two teams in the world.

[KingBlairhorn]

Did anyone else notice the lovely moment between Townsend and Mooar btw where Toonie was confused how Steyn got the ball to score his first try and Mooar did a little mime of flipping the ball out the back of his hand. I don’t know why but I really enjoyed that moment!

[Jock42]

I also think he lacks the pace for an international winger.

[KingBlairhorn]

To be fair he was better in the second half but there was less opportunity for him to fuck up due to the change in the nature of the game. I fear he will be a disaster against France and Ireland.

What's everyone's thoughts on the Turner yellow. I wonder what more he could have done to avoid it when North fell to his knees at the point of the tackle. Turner was low enough to hit a standing man around the waist

Yeah it was never a yellow, North suddenly dropped to his knee, had he not Turner makes a legal tackle. A total nonsense what could Turner have done differently? Nothing.

Fagerson has to play as noted above as the depth is so poor. I don't really understand his scrum penalties, the Welsh clearly tried and succeeded in winding him up.

Soft yellow definitely. Particularly when compared to Adams no arms hit on Steyn in the corner.

Yellow was fair I thought. It is farcical that the same punishment is given for that, which was a legitimate tackle attempt that would have been waist to chest height without North dropping and for which first contact was the shoulder as the one in the France Ireland match where there was no attempt to drop and first contact was shoulder to face.

However, we are where we are with the laws and I don’t think Brace was wrong in his interpretation. Barnes probably was wrong but he isn’t helped by the laws forcing him to litigate like he did.

[Yr Alban]

Just watching the game on TV for the first time. Zander Fagerson, as usual, is a bloody penalty magnet. 4 so far in the first half and getting involved in the niggle at every opportunity. He really needs to sort it out.

This was my main worry when he was named in the starting XV. He's a good player, but we can't afford for him to get pinged constantly.

What choice do we have though? Play Zander or else play a 37 year old Nel for 80 minutes or involve journeyman Berghan? He is the only Tier 1 tighthead we have that isn’t going to retire this year.

I agree that he will be the only option next year. But after last week, I’d have started with Nel and brought Zander on from the bench for the last 20-30 minutes. That’s how I’d start against France and Ireland too. Less time for Zander to get wound up and have his brain farts (which he is clearly never going to get under control) but we still get good use of his ability.

Once Nel has retired… I just don’t know.

[Blackmac]

Did anyone else notice the lovely moment between Townsend and Mooar btw where Toonie was confused how Steyn got the ball to score his first try and Mooar did a little mime of flipping the ball out the back of his hand. I don’t know why but I really enjoyed that moment!

Yeah it was very funny.

[Yr Alban]

Yeah it was never a yellow, North suddenly dropped to his knee, had he not Turner makes a legal tackle. A total nonsense what could Turner have done differently? Nothing.

Fagerson has to play as noted above as the depth is so poor. I don't really understand his scrum penalties, the Welsh clearly tried and succeeded in winding him up.

Soft yellow definitely. Particularly when compared to Adams no arms hit on Steyn in the corner.

Yellow was fair I thought. It is farcical that the same punishment is given for that, which was a legitimate tackle attempt that would have been waist to chest height without North dropping and for which first contact was the shoulder as the one in the France Ireland match where there was no attempt to drop and first contact was shoulder to face.

However, we are where we are with the laws and I don’t think Brace was wrong in his interpretation. Barnes probably was wrong but he isn’t helped by the laws forcing him to litigate like he did.

Weird. I’ve just watched a video of the French one on Twitter about 12 times, and reached the opposite conclusion - that the first contact was shoulder to shoulder, not to head. The head snaps back due to the whiplash effect, but he didn’t make direct contact. Not for me anyway.

The concern is that this is now a total lottery in every game. I absolutely recognise that there is a need to protect players from head injuries, but now if any contact is made with the head, even if it’s accidental, even if the initial contact was to the shoulder, roll the dice. Could be a penalty. Could be a yellow. Could be a red. Turner could have been sent off - it would have been very harsh, but we’ve seen players sent off for similar, and we would have lost the game. Just as we did when Zander was sent off for a debatable incident.

[Blackmac]

Woodward might be an old bore but he is spot on about the shit behaviour at the games. The amount of 'fans' , mainly youngsters, arriving 5 minutes into the game is outrageous. One group of 4 girls and two lads, dressed to the nines, arrived 5 minutes in and went into a few rows in front of us. The girls then proceeded to stand and have a blether until the chorus of abuse shamed them in to sitting down.
One lad in our row left 4 times by the 50th minute to get food and drink for his pals. On his final return I blocked him briefly and whispered "that will be the last fucking time I stand up for you". That seemed to settle him down.
Most bizarre was the group of Welsh lads sitting beside us. Arrived a few minutes late but seemed to enjoy the game. After the second Scottish try they got up, politely offered their congratulations and said, "games over, we are off to the pub". All the way from Wales for 55 minutes of rugby. They should have just got pissed at home.

[Big D]

I see Crobie rattled off 12 tackles in 35min on the pitch. Not sure why we are using him as a 6 but he has been quietly effective in defence.

[KingBlairhorn]

Soft yellow definitely. Particularly when compared to Adams no arms hit on Steyn in the corner.

Yellow was fair I thought. It is farcical that the same punishment is given for that, which was a legitimate tackle attempt that would have been waist to chest height without North dropping and for which first contact was the shoulder as the one in the France Ireland match where there was no attempt to drop and first contact was shoulder to face.

However, we are where we are with the laws and I don’t think Brace was wrong in his interpretation. Barnes probably was wrong but he isn’t helped by the laws forcing him to litigate like he did.

Weird. I’ve just watched a video of the French one on Twitter about 12 times, and reached the opposite conclusion - that the first contact was shoulder to shoulder, not to head. The head snaps back due to the whiplash effect, but he didn’t make direct contact. Not for me anyway.

The concern is that this is now a total lottery in every game. I absolutely recognise that there is a need to protect players from head injuries, but now if any contact is made with the head, even if it’s accidental, even if the initial contact was to the shoulder, roll the dice. Could be a penalty. Could be a yellow. Could be a red. Turner could have been sent off - it would have been very harsh, but we’ve seen players sent off for similar, and we would have lost the game. Just as we did when Zander was sent off for a debatable incident.

And there is the great difficulty of the current obsession (across all sports) in total accuracy in officiating. It’s not possible as there will always be some interpretation. I’m as guilty as anyone of being pissed at a poor ref decision but I do also understand it’s a thankless task. I’d happily guess there were millions of French fans quite sure the right decision was made there and millions of Irish who think the opposite. The Lowe try exactly the same but with roles reversed. You’ll always have plenty who think the decision was wrong whatever it was.

[Slick]

Well that was fun. Great day out ending with a long discussion with Toony and Jamie Roberts at 1am!

Anyway, thought it was quite a subdued atmosphere at the game with the players and crowd just a bit nervous, but Scotland just stuck to the plan and came good - a very big step forward. I actually spent a few minutes just watching what was happening off the ball and it was quite incredible really, constant motion of players swapping places, moving wide, coming back in, the Welsh defence were just tied up in knots, very impressive.

We did spend a lot of time in our own 22 though which will be a very big issue against Ireland as they won’t leave without points.

Finn was marvellous, BK very good, IrnDu just scared the shit out them every time he got near the ball. I thought Crosbie was really good and Ritchie G commanding.

Have to say, the last thing I expected to see logging in was a discussion about BK playing 10. Fuck me

[Slick]

Woodward might be an old bore but he is spot on about the shit behaviour at the games. The amount of 'fans' , mainly youngsters, arriving 5 minutes into the game is outrageous. One group of 4 girls and two lads, dressed to the nines, arrived 5 minutes in and went into a few rows in front of us. The girls then proceeded to stand and have a blether until the chorus of abuse shamed them in to sitting down.
One lad in our row left 4 times by the 50th minute to get food and drink for his pals. On his final return I blocked him briefly and whispered "that will be the last fucking time I stand up for you". That seemed to settle him down.
Most bizarre was the group of Welsh lads sitting beside us. Arrived a few minutes late but seemed to enjoy the game. After the second Scottish try they got up, politely offered their congratulations and said, "games over, we are off to the pub". All the way from Wales for 55 minutes of rugby. They should have just got pissed at home.

Yeah, there was a fair bit of anger in our bit at folk getting up and down, I must have stood up 10 times in each half and got increasingly belligerent about it

[Big D]

I rarely agree with the offside line but how in the world is Garay a 7 and GG a 9 for yesterday?

[Simian]

I see Crobie rattled off 12 tackles in 35min on the pitch. Not sure why we are using him as a 6 but he has been quietly effective in defence.

Yeah, it is odd we’re not seeing him carry at all, but that seems clearly tactical, rather than any reflection on him. He’s been excellent in both games now, imo.

[Simian]

Woodward might be an old bore but he is spot on about the shit behaviour at the games. The amount of 'fans' , mainly youngsters, arriving 5 minutes into the game is outrageous. One group of 4 girls and two lads, dressed to the nines, arrived 5 minutes in and went into a few rows in front of us. The girls then proceeded to stand and have a blether until the chorus of abuse shamed them in to sitting down.
One lad in our row left 4 times by the 50th minute to get food and drink for his pals. On his final return I blocked him briefly and whispered "that will be the last fucking time I stand up for you". That seemed to settle him down.
Most bizarre was the group of Welsh lads sitting beside us. Arrived a few minutes late but seemed to enjoy the game. After the second Scottish try they got up, politely offered their congratulations and said, "games over, we are off to the pub". All the way from Wales for 55 minutes of rugby. They should have just got pissed at home.

Yeah, there was a fair bit of anger in our bit at folk getting up and down, I must have stood up 10 times in each half and got increasingly belligerent about it

I’ve stopped going to international games completely now because exactly this issue means I get way more enjoyment watching it on the telly. It had got to the stage, for me, where the constant interruptions made it almost impossible to get properly absorbed in the game :/

[I like neeps]

I see Crobie rattled off 12 tackles in 35min on the pitch. Not sure why we are using him as a 6 but he has been quietly effective in defence.

Yeah, it is odd we’re not seeing him carry at all, but that seems clearly tactical, rather than any reflection on him. He’s been excellent in both games now, imo.

He did carry once I remember and was too high which resulted in a maul turnover.

Did he get injured and that's why he was subbed early? Watching Reffell I can see why Watson could be brought back sooner.

[KingBlairhorn]

I see Crobie rattled off 12 tackles in 35min on the pitch. Not sure why we are using him as a 6 but he has been quietly effective in defence.

Yeah, it is odd we’re not seeing him carry at all, but that seems clearly tactical, rather than any reflection on him. He’s been excellent in both games now, imo.

He did carry once I remember and was too high which resulted in a maul turnover.

Did he get injured and that's why he was subbed early? Watching Reffell I can see why Watson could be brought back sooner.

Yes, a shoulder injury.

[Punter15]

Woodward might be an old bore but he is spot on about the shit behaviour at the games. The amount of 'fans' , mainly youngsters, arriving 5 minutes into the game is outrageous. One group of 4 girls and two lads, dressed to the nines, arrived 5 minutes in and went into a few rows in front of us. The girls then proceeded to stand and have a blether until the chorus of abuse shamed them in to sitting down.
One lad in our row left 4 times by the 50th minute to get food and drink for his pals. On his final return I blocked him briefly and whispered "that will be the last fucking time I stand up for you". That seemed to settle him down.
Most bizarre was the group of Welsh lads sitting beside us. Arrived a few minutes late but seemed to enjoy the game. After the second Scottish try they got up, politely offered their congratulations and said, "games over, we are off to the pub". All the way from Wales for 55 minutes of rugby. They should have just got pissed at home.

Had exactly the same at the AIs, sat next to two girls who spent the entire time on Instagram while the blokes with were up and down every 5 minutes for more food and drink. Too many people there as a social rather than a sporting event, just to be able to brag on it.

[Paddington Bear]

Woodward might be an old bore but he is spot on about the shit behaviour at the games. The amount of 'fans' , mainly youngsters, arriving 5 minutes into the game is outrageous. One group of 4 girls and two lads, dressed to the nines, arrived 5 minutes in and went into a few rows in front of us. The girls then proceeded to stand and have a blether until the chorus of abuse shamed them in to sitting down.
One lad in our row left 4 times by the 50th minute to get food and drink for his pals. On his final return I blocked him briefly and whispered "that will be the last fucking time I stand up for you". That seemed to settle him down.
Most bizarre was the group of Welsh lads sitting beside us. Arrived a few minutes late but seemed to enjoy the game. After the second Scottish try they got up, politely offered their congratulations and said, "games over, we are off to the pub". All the way from Wales for 55 minutes of rugby. They should have just got pissed at home.

Yeah, there was a fair bit of anger in our bit at folk getting up and down, I must have stood up 10 times in each half and got increasingly belligerent about it

Has often been similar at Twickenham but not last week mercifully. IMO it is a consequence of rugby becoming an ‘event’ as much as it is a big game of international sport. People are going as parts of groups/on dates etc as a day out, often not having any interest in the rugby. Of course there’s the obligatory photo shoot as well. How they get tickets and why they’re willing to pay £100 on something that doesn’t interest them I’ve never been quite sure.

Highly controversial but I’d be in favour of closing the bars at kick off and reopening them after the game.

[Simian]

I see Crobie rattled off 12 tackles in 35min on the pitch. Not sure why we are using him as a 6 but he has been quietly effective in defence.

Yeah, it is odd we’re not seeing him carry at all, but that seems clearly tactical, rather than any reflection on him. He’s been excellent in both games now, imo.

He did carry once I remember and was too high which resulted in a maul turnover.

Did he get injured and that's why he was subbed early? Watching Reffell I can see why Watson could be brought back sooner.

I’ve seen reference elsewhere to the comms saying it was an injury substitution, but didn’t catch that myself, tbh. Personally, I’d stick to the same starting back row for the French game (assuming everyone is fit). I think they’ve been superb.

[Simian]

Yeah, it is odd we’re not seeing him carry at all, but that seems clearly tactical, rather than any reflection on him. He’s been excellent in both games now, imo.

He did carry once I remember and was too high which resulted in a maul turnover.

Did he get injured and that's why he was subbed early? Watching Reffell I can see why Watson could be brought back sooner.

Yes, a shoulder injury.

Ah! Cheers

[Slick]

Woodward might be an old bore but he is spot on about the shit behaviour at the games. The amount of 'fans' , mainly youngsters, arriving 5 minutes into the game is outrageous. One group of 4 girls and two lads, dressed to the nines, arrived 5 minutes in and went into a few rows in front of us. The girls then proceeded to stand and have a blether until the chorus of abuse shamed them in to sitting down.
One lad in our row left 4 times by the 50th minute to get food and drink for his pals. On his final return I blocked him briefly and whispered "that will be the last fucking time I stand up for you". That seemed to settle him down.
Most bizarre was the group of Welsh lads sitting beside us. Arrived a few minutes late but seemed to enjoy the game. After the second Scottish try they got up, politely offered their congratulations and said, "games over, we are off to the pub". All the way from Wales for 55 minutes of rugby. They should have just got pissed at home.

Yeah, there was a fair bit of anger in our bit at folk getting up and down, I must have stood up 10 times in each half and got increasingly belligerent about it

Has often been similar at Twickenham but not last week mercifully. IMO it is a consequence of rugby becoming an ‘event’ as much as it is a big game of international sport. People are going as parts of groups/on dates etc as a day out, often not having any interest in the rugby. Of course there’s the obligatory photo shoot as well. How they get tickets and why they’re willing to pay £100 on something that doesn’t interest them I’ve never been quite sure.

Highly controversial but I’d be in favour of closing the bars at kick off and reopening them after the game.

I had a very quiet couple next to me who arrived with 4 tins of Magners each and then got 4 more each at half time! Hell of an effort!

[Slick]

It seemed to me yesterday that the rest of the team are now completely locked in to what Finn will do, just completely trust him to find the magic. Everyone runs their lines knowing he will find them. I’m not sure that’s been the case until recently.

I wonder if there was a bit of animosity in the squad around his behaviour and this new mature Finn, who seems to be getting on really well with Townsend as well, has now got everyone’s 100% trust

[Yr Alban]

It seemed to me yesterday that the rest of the team are now completely locked in to what Finn will do, just completely trust him to find the magic. Everyone runs their lines knowing he will find them. I’m not sure that’s been the case until recently.

I wonder if there was a bit of animosity in the squad around his behaviour and this new mature Finn, who seems to be getting on really well with Townsend as well, has now got everyone’s 100% trust

We are playing with confidence, and the difference it makes it just astonishing. We’ve got used to a team that didn’t really believe in itself. I think this one does.

[Paddington Bear]

Yeah, there was a fair bit of anger in our bit at folk getting up and down, I must have stood up 10 times in each half and got increasingly belligerent about it

Has often been similar at Twickenham but not last week mercifully. IMO it is a consequence of rugby becoming an ‘event’ as much as it is a big game of international sport. People are going as parts of groups/on dates etc as a day out, often not having any interest in the rugby. Of course there’s the obligatory photo shoot as well. How they get tickets and why they’re willing to pay £100 on something that doesn’t interest them I’ve never been quite sure.

Highly controversial but I’d be in favour of closing the bars at kick off and reopening them after the game.

I had a very quiet couple next to me who arrived with 4 tins of Magners each and then got 4 more each at half time! Hell of an effort!

So much sugar.

That screams they had to google the final score this morning, save yourself a small fortune and do that in a pub surely

[Punter15]

It seemed to me yesterday that the rest of the team are now completely locked in to what Finn will do, just completely trust him to find the magic. Everyone runs their lines knowing he will find them. I’m not sure that’s been the case until recently.

I wonder if there was a bit of animosity in the squad around his behaviour and this new mature Finn, who seems to be getting on really well with Townsend as well, has now got everyone’s 100% trust

We are playing with confidence, and the difference it makes it just astonishing. We’ve got used to a team that didn’t really believe in itself. I think this one does.

Yep, problem wasn’t talent but top two inches - both belief and intelligence. I think JR as captain was the missing piece, a no nonsense hard fucker who isn’t interested in hair replacement and teeth whitening.

[Yr Alban]

It seemed to me yesterday that the rest of the team are now completely locked in to what Finn will do, just completely trust him to find the magic. Everyone runs their lines knowing he will find them. I’m not sure that’s been the case until recently.

I wonder if there was a bit of animosity in the squad around his behaviour and this new mature Finn, who seems to be getting on really well with Townsend as well, has now got everyone’s 100% trust

We are playing with confidence, and the difference it makes it just astonishing. We’ve got used to a team that didn’t really believe in itself. I think this one does.

Yep, problem wasn’t talent but top two inches - both belief and intelligence. I think JR as captain was the missing piece, a no nonsense hard fucker who isn’t interested in hair replacement and teeth whitening.

Bit harsh on Hoggy. But the thing about Hoggy is that his own confidence is fragile. Ritchie doesn’t have that issue.

[Slick]

We are playing with confidence, and the difference it makes it just astonishing. We’ve got used to a team that didn’t really believe in itself. I think this one does.

Yep, problem wasn’t talent but top two inches - both belief and intelligence. I think JR as captain was the missing piece, a no nonsense hard fucker who isn’t interested in hair replacement and teeth whitening.

Bit harsh on Hoggy. But the thing about Hoggy is that his own confidence is fragile. Ritchie doesn’t have that issue.

Also LOVE JR blowing a kiss and waving to his family before he goes smashing

[Big D]

It seemed to me yesterday that the rest of the team are now completely locked in to what Finn will do, just completely trust him to find the magic. Everyone runs their lines knowing he will find them. I’m not sure that’s been the case until recently.

I wonder if there was a bit of animosity in the squad around his behaviour and this new mature Finn, who seems to be getting on really well with Townsend as well, has now got everyone’s 100% trust

We are playing with confidence, and the difference it makes it just astonishing. We’ve got used to a team that didn’t really believe in itself. I think this one does.

Yep, problem wasn’t talent but top two inches - both belief and intelligence. I think JR as captain was the missing piece, a no nonsense hard fucker who isn’t interested in hair replacement and teeth whitening.

Hogg gets some stick considering he captained us to 3 away wins in places we hadn't won away at in forever.

The biggest difference in this 6N is that we have a competent attack coach who can actually put structures in place.

[Slick]

We are playing with confidence, and the difference it makes it just astonishing. We’ve got used to a team that didn’t really believe in itself. I think this one does.

Yep, problem wasn’t talent but top two inches - both belief and intelligence. I think JR as captain was the missing piece, a no nonsense hard fucker who isn’t interested in hair replacement and teeth whitening.

Hogg gets some stick considering he captained us to 3 away wins in places we hadn't won away at in forever.

The biggest difference in this 6N is that we have a competent attack coach who can actually put structures in place.

Agree completely. He was a terrific captain for the time, brought some real passion into the team

[Punter15]

Yep, problem wasn’t talent but top two inches - both belief and intelligence. I think JR as captain was the missing piece, a no nonsense hard fucker who isn’t interested in hair replacement and teeth whitening.

Hogg gets some stick considering he captained us to 3 away wins in places we hadn't won away at in forever.

The biggest difference in this 6N is that we have a competent attack coach who can actually put structures in place.

Agree completely. He was a terrific captain for the time, brought some real passion into the team

Fair enough, mea culpa. Wasn’t meant so much as a dig at Hoggy but just to highlight how much Ritchie brings.

[Yr Alban]

Hogg gets some stick considering he captained us to 3 away wins in places we hadn't won away at in forever.

The biggest difference in this 6N is that we have a competent attack coach who can actually put structures in place.

Agree completely. He was a terrific captain for the time, brought some real passion into the team

Fair enough, mea culpa. Wasn’t meant so much as a dig at Hoggy but just to highlight how much Ritchie brings.

I actually think making Hoggy the captain was cruel. It can’t be easy carrying the hopes of a nation more or less by yourself for as long as he did. If anything he cares too much, and he has often been guilty of trying to force things on the pitch and do everything himself. I’m sure he was over the moon when they made him captain, but I don’t think asking him to take on that added responsibility was fair.

[Jock42]

Agree completely. He was a terrific captain for the time, brought some real passion into the team

Fair enough, mea culpa. Wasn’t meant so much as a dig at Hoggy but just to highlight how much Ritchie brings.

I actually think making Hoggy the captain was cruel. It can’t be easy carrying the hopes of a nation more or less by yourself for as long as he did. If anything he cares too much, and he has often been guilty of trying to force things on the pitch and do everything himself. I’m sure he was over the moon when they made him captain, but I don’t think asking him to take on that added responsibility was fair.

He asked to be made capt from what I remember. Huge respect for that.

[Yr Alban]

Fair enough, mea culpa. Wasn’t meant so much as a dig at Hoggy but just to highlight how much Ritchie brings.

I actually think making Hoggy the captain was cruel. It can’t be easy carrying the hopes of a nation more or less by yourself for as long as he did. If anything he cares too much, and he has often been guilty of trying to force things on the pitch and do everything himself. I’m sure he was over the moon when they made him captain, but I don’t think asking him to take on that added responsibility was fair.

He asked to be made capt from what I remember. Huge respect for that.

Did he? I didn’t remember that, but it’s entirely in character for the man. Like I said, he always did want to do it all himself, and not through arrogance.

[I like neeps]

I actually think making Hoggy the captain was cruel. It can’t be easy carrying the hopes of a nation more or less by yourself for as long as he did. If anything he cares too much, and he has often been guilty of trying to force things on the pitch and do everything himself. I’m sure he was over the moon when they made him captain, but I don’t think asking him to take on that added responsibility was fair.

He asked to be made capt from what I remember. Huge respect for that.

Did he? I didn’t remember that, but it’s entirely in character for the man. Like I said, he always did want to do it all himself, and not through arrogance.

Aye after the world cup he went to Gregor and asked to be made captain. At the time there really weren't the options, I don't think Ritchie was ready. He at the time bad just cemented himself in the team and a few years seasoning was good for him.

[Big D]

I actually think making Hoggy the captain was cruel. It can’t be easy carrying the hopes of a nation more or less by yourself for as long as he did. If anything he cares too much, and he has often been guilty of trying to force things on the pitch and do everything himself. I’m sure he was over the moon when they made him captain, but I don’t think asking him to take on that added responsibility was fair.

He asked to be made capt from what I remember. Huge respect for that.

Did he? I didn’t remember that, but it’s entirely in character for the man. Like I said, he always did want to do it all himself, and not through arrogance.

I think there was a bit of wanting to do it and realising there wasn't an abundance of options.

Hoggs 1st game as skipper had a line up of:
Hogg
Maitland
Jones
Johnson
Hasting
Price
Hailing
Watson
Ritchie
Gray Jnr
Cummings
Fagerson
Brown
Sutherland

Not much captaincy material (at the time ) in there.

The hookers couldn't stay fit or settled. RItchie and Cummings too young at the time. Gray Jnr is never an international captain.

[SomersetJock]

Chuckling to myself about the annoying people you guys had to endure yesterday at Murrayfield, I can’t imagine they were anywhere near as bad as the Scotland hating loud Irishman that me and Yr Alban had the pleasure of listening to for 80 mins yesterday !

[Punter15]

Chuckling to myself about the annoying people you guys had to endure yesterday at Murrayfield, I can’t imagine they were anywhere near as bad as the Scotland hating loud Irishman that me and Yr Alban had the pleasure of listening to for 80 mins yesterday !

That does seem to be all of them at the moment though.

[Yr Alban]

Chuckling to myself about the annoying people you guys had to endure yesterday at Murrayfield, I can’t imagine they were anywhere near as bad as the Scotland hating loud Irishman that me and Yr Alban had the pleasure of listening to for 80 mins yesterday !

That does seem to be all of them at the moment though.

To be fair to him, he mainly wanted us to lose so that we couldn’t win the GS!

We should point out that this was in a pub in Wales. The Welsh folk were actually very decent - about half a dozen shook our hands and offered congratulations afterwards.