The Official Scottish Rugby Thread

[Slick]

This looks already that we might be on the end of a kicking tonight…. But who knows with this team

I know there is no such thing as a jinx, but they do seem to do better when I don't watch - should I turn it off?

No, we are all in this together!

Edit: I don’t even really like football but I find watching the football team much more stressful than watching rugby

[Begbie]

No sitting aboot, Redpath starts and Russell is on the bench for Bath v Falcons tomorrow.

[topofthemoon]

Tournament preview for WXV 2:

https://www.scottishrugbyblog.co.uk/202 ... t-preview/

Scotland Women kick off their campaign against South Africa at 3.30 today, live streaming on https://rugbypass.tv/home

[Big D]

No sitting aboot, Redpath starts and Russell is on the bench for Bath v Falcons tomorrow.

I suspect it is better especially with 10s moving club to get them in and going then manage through season if needs be.

[Simian]

It will be exciting to see what sort of partnership Redpath and Russell can develop over the season

[Tichtheid]

It will be exciting to see what sort of partnership Redpath and Russell can develop over the season

Tuipulotu was a revelation last season, but I think Redpath also has a lot to offer, it all looks a bit easy when Redpath hits his stride.

[Simian]

It will be exciting to see what sort of partnership Redpath and Russell can develop over the season

Tuipulotu was a revelation last season, but I think Redpath also has a lot to offer, it all looks a bit easy when Redpath hits his stride.

Yeah, I rate Tupolotu but Redpath has always impressed and, like you say, always seems to have a lot of time on the ball. Playing with Finn week in week out will hopefully see him really ratchet up the pressure on Scotland’s current ‘first picks’, which I reckon can only be a good thing!

[TheNatalShark]

Women playing some great stuff in the loose at the moment Vs SA.

Getting folded like deckchairs in the scrum and counting lucky stars SA can't make touch

[Big D]

It will be exciting to see what sort of partnership Redpath and Russell can develop over the season

Tuipulotu was a revelation last season, but I think Redpath also has a lot to offer, it all looks a bit easy when Redpath hits his stride.

I wonder if in time we'll see ST tried at 13 at international level with thr Bath combo inside.

[S/Lt_Phillips]

Winning start for Finn at Bath. Redpath on the score sheet too. Didn't see the game, so don't really know how they played though.

[Biffer]

Winning start for Finn at Bath. Redpath on the score sheet too. Didn't see the game, so don't really know how they played though.

Played 50 minutes

[Slick]

And breath…

[S/Lt_Phillips]

I'm 0 for 2 so far this weekend on my predictions, but not too unhappy about it.

[Slick]

I'm 0 for 2 so far this weekend on my predictions, but not too unhappy about it.

I’m 2/2 and quite pleased

[Deveron Boy]

I'm 0 for 2 so far this weekend on my predictions, but not too unhappy about it.

I’m 2/2 and quite pleased

Ditto and very pleased

[Deveron Boy]

I'm 0 for 2 so far this weekend on my predictions, but not too unhappy about it.

I’m 2/2 and quite pleased

Ditto and very pleased

[S/Lt_Phillips]

I'm 0 for 2 so far this weekend on my predictions, but not too unhappy about it.

I’m 2/2 and quite pleased

Ditto and very pleased

[SomersetJock]

I'm 0 for 2 so far this weekend on my predictions, but not too unhappy about it.

I’m 2/2 and quite pleased

Ditto and very pleased

I’m 2 for 2 as well. And quite chuffed as well about it

Will happily finish the weekend in 3 for 4 though as I have France and England as my other two winners

[Yr Alban]

Well, they say that misery loves company. There won’t be anybody wanting to talk about rugby round here for a while, and with any luck one of my Irish mates will rediscover some humility.

[Slick]

Well, they say that misery loves company. There won’t be anybody wanting to talk about rugby round here for a while, and with any luck one of my Irish mates will rediscover some humility.

These set backs for the opposition must put us as firm favourites for the 6N now

[Yr Alban]

Well, they say that misery loves company. There won’t be anybody wanting to talk about rugby round here for a while, and with any luck one of my Irish mates will rediscover some humility.

These set backs for the opposition must put us as firm favourites for the 6N now

I’ve seen some faintly desperate stats claiming to show that Scotland has ‘won’ the portions of games that Sexton hasn’t played over the last few years. He didn’t feature in the only one we’ve won in recent years. Of course, Sexton has generally only been subbed off once the game is safe, so this is misleading (and also entirely TIC). However, Ireland will be in a transitional phase next year and potentially more vulnerable (though that might mean they go from superb to merely excellent).

[Biffer]

Whilst all that was going on, Spain beat Norway so the football boys have qualified for the European Chamionships.

[Slick]

Tough choices to be made next weekend gentlemen, tough choices

[Jock42]

I'll be supporting England whilst they get pumped. Thankfully Edinburgh in action too prior to that.

[Slick]

I'll be supporting England whilst they get pumped. Thankfully Edinburgh in action too prior to that.

Think I will be as well.

The “anyone but Ireland” mission is accomplished but certainly happy to join the “anyone but SA” bandwagon now

[Biffer]

There obviously needs to be a huge level of support for Boff.

[I like neeps]

No wonder Owens and the Irish got on so well, he doesn't understand the laws regarding supporting your body weight:

[KingBlairhorn]

The big issue with rugby refereeing (in my opinion at least) is the referees have become obsessed with the idea of the spectacle. They always talk about wanting to ensure the game ‘flows’. This is entirely wrong in my view, the job of the referee is to ensure the laws are adhered to and only to ensure the laws are adhered to. Unfortunately focussing on flow means refs are sucked into refereeing momentum, to ensure the flow you will naturally favour the dominant team. On this basis we see smaller teams chances reduced ever further and the fun they are trying so hard to ensure sucked out the game.

[Tichtheid]

The big issue with rugby refereeing (in my opinion at least) is the referees have become obsessed with the idea of the spectacle. They always talk about wanting to ensure the game ‘flows’. This is entirely wrong in my view, the job of the referee is to ensure the laws are adhered to and only to ensure the laws are adhered to. Unfortunately focussing on flow means refs are sucked into refereeing momentum, to ensure the flow you will naturally favour the dominant team. On this basis we see smaller teams chances reduced ever further and the fun they are trying so hard to ensure sucked out the game.

You're right about the refs making sure the game "flows", but it's not really them, it all came from a directive from World Rugby in their charter a few years ago. If I get a minute I'll have a look for it online, but I'm supposed to be up a scaffold at the moment painting sash windows.

The main problem I have with the refs coaching the players at the breakdown is that the players know that can can "legally" slow down the ball, and therefore the attack of the opposition. I remember Sam Warburton saying that as soon as he heard the ref shout "Leave it 7" he knew his work was done, the ball was slow.

edit, here it is, it's in the World Rugby charter for the game, this is in relation to application of the laws

Application

There is an over-riding obligation on the players to observe the laws and to respect the principles of fair play. The laws must be applied in such a way as to ensure that the game is played according to the principles of play. The match officials can achieve this through fairness, consistency, sensitivity and, when appropriate, management. In return, it is the responsibility of coaches, captains and players to respect the authority of the match officials.

[Biffer]

The big issue with rugby refereeing (in my opinion at least) is the referees have become obsessed with the idea of the spectacle. They always talk about wanting to ensure the game ‘flows’. This is entirely wrong in my view, the job of the referee is to ensure the laws are adhered to and only to ensure the laws are adhered to. Unfortunately focussing on flow means refs are sucked into refereeing momentum, to ensure the flow you will naturally favour the dominant team. On this basis we see smaller teams chances reduced ever further and the fun they are trying so hard to ensure sucked out the game.

If they actually wanted the game to flow, they'd enforce the laws in a far more draconian way, particularly offside.

[Simian]

The big issue with rugby refereeing (in my opinion at least) is the referees have become obsessed with the idea of the spectacle. They always talk about wanting to ensure the game ‘flows’. This is entirely wrong in my view, the job of the referee is to ensure the laws are adhered to and only to ensure the laws are adhered to. Unfortunately focussing on flow means refs are sucked into refereeing momentum, to ensure the flow you will naturally favour the dominant team. On this basis we see smaller teams chances reduced ever further and the fun they are trying so hard to ensure sucked out the game.

If they actually wanted the game to flow, they'd enforce the laws in a far more draconian way, particularly offside.

completely agree. a lot of the problems the game has comes directly from refs managing the spectacle, rather than enforcing the laws. The whole idea of guessing at whether or not something has had a material effect on play has caused a heap of problems.

[Slick]

Did anyone notice how many times NZ turned the Ireland team with little kicks over the top. Or how many times the French did it to SA to good effect.

Why the hell were we not doing this in our games? We have probably the best in the world at it and we hardly tried. It’s very frustrating

Re the refs, we’ve just gone down such a rabbit hole with it. There are now so many refs looking at everything that when something isn’t pinged we all feel aggrieved. The only real solution is to back to the ref and two touch judges and not allow replays on the TV. That’s not going to happen so I fear we will just go deeper and deeper into this nonsense

[Biffer]

Did anyone notice how many times NZ turned the Ireland team with little kicks over the top. Or how many times the French did it to SA to good effect.

Why the hell were we not doing this in our games? We have probably the best in the world at it and we hardly tried. It’s very frustrating

Re the refs, we’ve just gone down such a rabbit hole with it. There are now so many refs looking at everything that when something isn’t pinged we all feel aggrieved. The only real solution is to back to the ref and two touch judges and not allow replays on the TV. That’s not going to happen so I fear we will just go deeper and deeper into this nonsense

Fear.

We're frightened of never getting the ball back against these teams when we kick it away. Got to get past that.

[I like neeps]

Did anyone notice how many times NZ turned the Ireland team with little kicks over the top. Or how many times the French did it to SA to good effect.

Why the hell were we not doing this in our games? We have probably the best in the world at it and we hardly tried. It’s very frustrating

Re the refs, we’ve just gone down such a rabbit hole with it. There are now so many refs looking at everything that when something isn’t pinged we all feel aggrieved. The only real solution is to back to the ref and two touch judges and not allow replays on the TV. That’s not going to happen so I fear we will just go deeper and deeper into this nonsense

Fear.

We're frightened of never getting the ball back against these teams when we kick it away. Got to get past that.

I think the fear is that you give Ireland counter attacking ball in a promising position.

[Simian]

Did anyone notice how many times NZ turned the Ireland team with little kicks over the top. Or how many times the French did it to SA to good effect.

Why the hell were we not doing this in our games? We have probably the best in the world at it and we hardly tried. It’s very frustrating

Re the refs, we’ve just gone down such a rabbit hole with it. There are now so many refs looking at everything that when something isn’t pinged we all feel aggrieved. The only real solution is to back to the ref and two touch judges and not allow replays on the TV. That’s not going to happen so I fear we will just go deeper and deeper into this nonsense

Fear.

We're frightened of never getting the ball back against these teams when we kick it away. Got to get past that.

I think the fear is that you give Ireland counter attacking ball in a promising position.

Yeah, I think it’s probably a bit of both. I think against Ireland and SA we didn’t get the balance quite right between the risks of those type of dinks and the potential rewards, which made our midfield pivot plays a lot easier to defend. Dunno if the stats would bear this out, but I thought we mixed it up a bit more in the 6Ns and that had worked well for us.

[Slick]

Did anyone notice how many times NZ turned the Ireland team with little kicks over the top. Or how many times the French did it to SA to good effect.

Why the hell were we not doing this in our games? We have probably the best in the world at it and we hardly tried. It’s very frustrating

Re the refs, we’ve just gone down such a rabbit hole with it. There are now so many refs looking at everything that when something isn’t pinged we all feel aggrieved. The only real solution is to back to the ref and two touch judges and not allow replays on the TV. That’s not going to happen so I fear we will just go deeper and deeper into this nonsense

Fear.

We're frightened of never getting the ball back against these teams when we kick it away. Got to get past that.

I think the fear is that you give Ireland counter attacking ball in a promising position.

Was thinking that as I was typing

[Yr Alban]

Did anyone notice how many times NZ turned the Ireland team with little kicks over the top. Or how many times the French did it to SA to good effect.

Why the hell were we not doing this in our games? We have probably the best in the world at it and we hardly tried. It’s very frustrating

Re the refs, we’ve just gone down such a rabbit hole with it. There are now so many refs looking at everything that when something isn’t pinged we all feel aggrieved. The only real solution is to back to the ref and two touch judges and not allow replays on the TV. That’s not going to happen so I fear we will just go deeper and deeper into this nonsense

Fear.

We're frightened of never getting the ball back against these teams when we kick it away. Got to get past that.

I think the fear is that you give Ireland counter attacking ball in a promising position.

Maybe, but if you do it a few times and catch them unawares, they may become slightly wary of being quite so blatantly offside with their blitz defence. Gary Armstrong used to do this at scrum time. On the opposition put in he’d try to nail the SH as soon as they picked the ball up. He was brilliant at it, and as a psychological tactic it was genius. He only had to catch them once, and after that they would rush every pass.

[Tichtheid]

A social media post from the SRU has just told me that this would have been Bill McLaren's 100th birthday.

I wonder what he would have made of the modern game? I think he would have admired the athleticism and the skills that we see now, I think he would have been very much less than impressed by the cynicism of modern players and coaches.

I met him once, in Dublin, I was there with a team that had a couple of Hawick lads in it who he knew and Bill was very interested in how we got on, where we were all from and what we were up to rugby-wise.

He'd just finished work commenting on Ireland v Scotland and here he was taking great interest in us 20 year olds.

Top man.

[Slick]

I think with the disappointing style of our exit and France getting beat last night I haven’t had time to fully appreciate how funny Ireland going out at another QF is.

Edit: probably not an appropriate post straight after the Bill McLaren one…

[Big D]

Looks like Rory Sutherland will play for Top 14 Oyonnax this season. Must be a a relief to pick up a club. Will be a tough old season but after Worcester went pop it is good he hasn't really had to go without a job at any point.

Three Scots in that squad as he joins 24 year old second row Ewan Johnson and the somehow only 31 year old Luke Hamilton.