The Official Scottish Rugby Thread

[Jock42]

Here's this hope again.

[Jock42]

Huge effort there. Proper shift in mentality in the last month. I've been highly critical of them so fucking hats off to you lads.

[Big D]

Did well to dig that out.

Bonnie try by Shiel.

[Tichtheid]

Has Schoeman always had such a bad cauliflower ear? Looks absolutely brutal.

I was spared that, I never got a coulie lug, but Schoey's is on his "outside ear" - if anything a loosehead should get it on their right ear, not their left. It looks like it needs drained of fluid.

[Tichtheid]

I've been watching the game on catch up. Two things - Watson is the form backrow player in Scotland right now, he kept us in the game with his defence.

Chico's try made me furious - how many more could he have scored like that if he'd been given a run over the plodders brought in for the last seven years or more? He should be Scotland's starting scrum half by now, not a bit part player looking to pick up a few minutes here and there.

[KingBlairhorn]

I've been watching the game on catch up. Two things - Watson is the form backrow player in Scotland right now, he kept us in the game with his defence.

Chico's try made me furious - how many more could he have scored like that if he'd been given a run over the plodders brought in for the last seven years or more? He should be Scotland's starting scrum half by now, not a bit part player looking to pick up a few minutes here and there.

I’ve been told by people who know much better than me that he has always had that in his game, but his box kicking is wildly inconsistent, his pass off the base is 6 out of 10 and he can’t manage a game.

[Tichtheid]

I've been watching the game on catch up. Two things - Watson is the form backrow player in Scotland right now, he kept us in the game with his defence.

Chico's try made me furious - how many more could he have scored like that if he'd been given a run over the plodders brought in for the last seven years or more? He should be Scotland's starting scrum half by now, not a bit part player looking to pick up a few minutes here and there.

I’ve been told by people who know much better than me that he has always had that in his game, but his box kicking is wildly inconsistent, his pass off the base is 6 out of 10 and he can’t manage a game.

I can’t really comment on the game management thing as it’s something that is more apparent when you play with someone, but Shirely that is something that comes with experience?
I don’t agree on his pass, it has real zip and accuracy.
The erratic box kicking hasn’t stopped George Horne.

Shiel had his legs taken from under him by Cockerill, you could see him wanting to run but checking himself before hoofing the pill skywards for no one to chase.

[Tichtheid]

Voting open for The Caulie Lug

Venter got my vote

https://edinburghrugby.org/news-and-fea ... -vote-now/

[Jock42]

Goosen.

[KingBlairhorn]

Boyle, Dodd and Crosbie have all signed extensions. A bit disappointing to see Boyle is only a year whereas the other two are for two years. Disappointed because he hasn’t really kicked on (albeit he’s been injured a lot this year) like I thought he would.

Matt Scott is also retiring at the end of the season. Not really a surprise. When he joined for the 3rd time I thought he might get to 100 appearances to become a proper legend, but he’s still one of the best to wear the shirt.

[robmatic]

Boyle, Dodd and Crosbie have all signed extensions. A bit disappointing to see Boyle is only a year whereas the other two are for two years. Disappointed because he hasn’t really kicked on (albeit he’s been injured a lot this year) like I thought he would.

Matt Scott is also retiring at the end of the season. Not really a surprise. When he joined for the 3rd time I thought he might get to 100 appearances to become a proper legend, but he’s still one of the best to wear the shirt.

Boyle is presumably only a year because of the nature of his injury. I hope he does come back strong though because I always thought he looked decent when he actually had his opportunities.

[Big D]

Boyle, Dodd and Crosbie have all signed extensions. A bit disappointing to see Boyle is only a year whereas the other two are for two years. Disappointed because he hasn’t really kicked on (albeit he’s been injured a lot this year) like I thought he would.

Matt Scott is also retiring at the end of the season. Not really a surprise. When he joined for the 3rd time I thought he might get to 100 appearances to become a proper legend, but he’s still one of the best to wear the shirt.

I know I am a grumpy bugger when it comes to Edinburgh and youth players in the back row, but there are three very talented academy back row players coming through and there is no space being made for them and hard to see what the planning is.

Ritchie is gone, but I wouldn't put it past Everitt starting Richardson at 6 at times.

Why has Dodd been given a two year deal? He isn't a bad player but is there any reason McConnell or young Currie couldn't fill the 300 minutes a season that Dodd has provided the last two years?

[Tichtheid]

Boyle, Dodd and Crosbie have all signed extensions. A bit disappointing to see Boyle is only a year whereas the other two are for two years. Disappointed because he hasn’t really kicked on (albeit he’s been injured a lot this year) like I thought he would.

Matt Scott is also retiring at the end of the season. Not really a surprise. When he joined for the 3rd time I thought he might get to 100 appearances to become a proper legend, but he’s still one of the best to wear the shirt.

I know I am a grumpy bigger when it comes to Edinburgh and youth players in the back row, but there are three very talented academy back row players coming through and there is no space being made for them and hard to see what the planning is.

Ritchie is gone, but I wouldn't put it past Everitt starting Richardson at 6 at times.

Why has Dodd been given a two year deal? He isn't a bad player but is there any reason McConnell or young Currie couldn't fill the 300 minutes a season that Dodd has provided the last two years?

Embra have 8 back row players for next season plus academy, same as this, with Douglas taking the senior squad position left by Ritchie. All of them bar Bradbury have been injured at some point iirc, it's the nature of the sport and back row in particular. Bradbury missed a couple of games through a ban.

There will be ample opportunity to play all of the young guys, whether or not Everitt will take them is another matter.

[Tichtheid]

Piers O'Conor to Embra

https://edinburghrugby.org/news-and-fea ... vKzQLFR68Q

Edinburgh Rugby Head Coach Sean Everitt added: “Piers is exactly the type of quality operator we look for in a non-Scottish qualified signing. He’s an excellent player with the ability to cover multiple positions across the backline, which is hugely valuable for us in managing the demands of a long season.
“His arrival complements the recent re-signing/signing of exciting young Scottish backs like Harry Paterson, Jack Brown and Malelili Satala, and his experience and leadership will be invaluable in helping to get the very best out of other younger players coming through our academy system such as Lewis Wells, Findlay Thomson and Finlay Doyle. Piers isn’t here to block anyone’s progress; instead, we see him as a catalyst who will further improve those around him.
“His consistent performances and impressive statistics speak for themselves, and his experience and leadership qualities will be a significant asset to our squad both on and off the field. We can’t wait to welcome him to the club this summer.”

Hmmm, with Matt Scott retiring, Boff unlikely to get another contract, I wonder if Mark Bennett will still be around next year?

[westport]

Hollie Davidson to take charge of European Challenge Cup Final.
“European rugby is the pinnacle of the professional game and to be named as the Challenge Cup final referee is something that I never thought was possible when I was starting out."

[Tichtheid]

Hollie Davidson to take charge of European Challenge Cup Final.
“European rugby is the pinnacle of the professional game and to be named as the Challenge Cup final referee is something that I never thought was possible when I was starting out."

Excellent,

[Biffer]

Hollie Davidson to take charge of European Challenge Cup Final.
“European rugby is the pinnacle of the professional game and to be named as the Challenge Cup final referee is something that I never thought was possible when I was starting out."

Well done her.

Now, get her a feckin 6Ns game next year!

[robmatic]

Boyle, Dodd and Crosbie have all signed extensions. A bit disappointing to see Boyle is only a year whereas the other two are for two years. Disappointed because he hasn’t really kicked on (albeit he’s been injured a lot this year) like I thought he would.

Matt Scott is also retiring at the end of the season. Not really a surprise. When he joined for the 3rd time I thought he might get to 100 appearances to become a proper legend, but he’s still one of the best to wear the shirt.

I know I am a grumpy bigger when it comes to Edinburgh and youth players in the back row, but there are three very talented academy back row players coming through and there is no space being made for them and hard to see what the planning is.

Ritchie is gone, but I wouldn't put it past Everitt starting Richardson at 6 at times.

Why has Dodd been given a two year deal? He isn't a bad player but is there any reason McConnell or young Currie couldn't fill the 300 minutes a season that Dodd has provided the last two years?

Embra have 8 back row players for next season plus academy, same as this, with Douglas taking the senior squad position left by Ritchie. All of them bar Bradbury have been injured at some point iirc, it's the nature of the sport and back row in particular. Bradbury missed a couple of games through a ban.

There will be ample opportunity to play all of the young guys, whether or not Everitt will take them is another matter.

Numbers-wise that seems about right and the profile of the group is probably more strategic than it has been in the past. We have Watson, Bradbury, Crosbie, and Muncaster as the senior pros and with the inevitable injuries and rest protocols, Everitt won't really have any choice about playing the young guys.

[Big D]

Boyle, Dodd and Crosbie have all signed extensions. A bit disappointing to see Boyle is only a year whereas the other two are for two years. Disappointed because he hasn’t really kicked on (albeit he’s been injured a lot this year) like I thought he would.

Matt Scott is also retiring at the end of the season. Not really a surprise. When he joined for the 3rd time I thought he might get to 100 appearances to become a proper legend, but he’s still one of the best to wear the shirt.

I know I am a grumpy bigger when it comes to Edinburgh and youth players in the back row, but there are three very talented academy back row players coming through and there is no space being made for them and hard to see what the planning is.

Ritchie is gone, but I wouldn't put it past Everitt starting Richardson at 6 at times.

Why has Dodd been given a two year deal? He isn't a bad player but is there any reason McConnell or young Currie couldn't fill the 300 minutes a season that Dodd has provided the last two years?

Embra have 8 back row players for next season plus academy, same as this, with Douglas taking the senior squad position left by Ritchie. All of them bar Bradbury have been injured at some point iirc, it's the nature of the sport and back row in particular. Bradbury missed a couple of games through a ban.

There will be ample opportunity to play all of the young guys, whether or not Everitt will take them is another matter.

There are the same number of back rows and Douglas, Currie and McConnell have < 5 games worth of playing time combined for Edinburgh this year even with all the injuries to them and others it really isn't a lot. When adding Dodd, that is four of 11/12 back rowers who have played less than 650min of rugby. It shouldn't just be a case of Douglas getting more game time, they all should be getting more.

The younger guys need a lot more rugby to have an opportunity to develop into the players they potentially can be. We've seen Muncaster thrive with more game time, no reason the others wont particularly the one that is possibly a generation Scottish talent.

You're right that there is the opportunity but Everitt has done nothing to merit supporters trusting him.

[Simian]

Hollie Davidson to take charge of European Challenge Cup Final.
“European rugby is the pinnacle of the professional game and to be named as the Challenge Cup final referee is something that I never thought was possible when I was starting out."

Well done her.

Now, get her a feckin 6Ns game next year!

Absolutely!

[Biffer]

Hollie Davidson to take charge of European Challenge Cup Final.
“European rugby is the pinnacle of the professional game and to be named as the Challenge Cup final referee is something that I never thought was possible when I was starting out."

Well done her.

Now, get her a feckin 6Ns game next year!

Absolutely!

She absiolutely should be the first woman to ref a game at the RWC. If she's not on the panel for 2027, that's a massive red mark for World Rugby. In order to get on that panel, she needs to ref 6Ns games in 2026 and 2027.

[Lobby]

Hollie Davidson to take charge of European Challenge Cup Final.
“European rugby is the pinnacle of the professional game and to be named as the Challenge Cup final referee is something that I never thought was possible when I was starting out."

Excellent,

Bets on Torq's head exploding the minute she awards a penalty against Lyon?

[westport]

Jamie Ritchie, Mark Bennett, Dave Cherry, Matt Scott, Jamie Hodgson, Ali Price, Emiliano Boffelli, Robin Hislop, Javan Sebastian, Jake Henry, Nathan Sweeney and Jack Hocking will all move on at the end of the current campaign.

[Biffer]

Surprised about Sebastian tbh, not as if we’re loaded at THP. Hopefully means game time for Blyth Lafferty though.

[Tichtheid]

Surprised about Sebastian tbh, not as if we’re loaded at THP. Hopefully means game time for Blyth Lafferty though.

That was exactly what I was going to say.

Williams has another year on his contract, otherwise I would have taken Sebastian over him. At some point Everitt is going to have to put his trust in OBL. If he'd been playing pro rugby these last few months it would have really helped Scotland in the upcoming junior world championships

[Slick]

Well done her.

Now, get her a feckin 6Ns game next year!

Absolutely!

She absiolutely should be the first woman to ref a game at the RWC. If she's not on the panel for 2027, that's a massive red mark for World Rugby. In order to get on that panel, she needs to ref 6Ns games in 2026 and 2027.

Yup, she’s head and shoulders above all the other female refs as well as being a top 10 ref overall.

I guess that someone of her standard must be in the same programme as the male refs?

[Simian]

Jamie Ritchie, Mark Bennett, Dave Cherry, Matt Scott, Jamie Hodgson, Ali Price, Emiliano Boffelli, Robin Hislop, Javan Sebastian, Jake Henry, Nathan Sweeney and Jack Hocking will all move on at the end of the current campaign.

Have they said where Sebastian is going?

[Tichtheid]

Jamie Ritchie, Mark Bennett, Dave Cherry, Matt Scott, Jamie Hodgson, Ali Price, Emiliano Boffelli, Robin Hislop, Javan Sebastian, Jake Henry, Nathan Sweeney and Jack Hocking will all move on at the end of the current campaign.

Have they said where Sebastian is going?

They haven't. There are only one or two with a club confirmed as yet

https://edinburghrugby.org/news-and-fea ... announced/

[Yr Alban]

Apparently Mosese Tuipulotu needs knee surgery. Would post a link, but the site has about a million ads and that was about all the information available.

[Tichtheid]

Ritchie on the bench, none of the young guys are listed in the 23, bar Harrison I suppose but if Cherry were fit...

[I like neeps]

Ritchie on the bench, none of the young guys are listed in the 23, bar Harrison I suppose but if Cherry were fit...

Must win game for Edinburgh and Everitt does make it more risky to play Douglas.

[Dogbert]

Charlie Savala to Warriors

Scottish-qualified utility back Charlie Savala has become the second new addition to the Glasgow Warriors squad ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, after the 25-year-old agreed to make the switch to Scotstoun from English champions Northampton Saints.

Looks like a replacement for TJ

His main attraction appears to be that he is Scottish Qualified.

Be interesting to see what he can bring to Scotstoun, still relatively young at 25

[Tichtheid]

Must win game for Edinburgh and Everitt does make it more risky to play Douglas.

Yup, if only he'd had lots of opportunities up to now he might be pushing for a starting place, as it is we'll go into next season without Ritchie and maybe Boyle still recovering and McConnell and Douglas will still be wet behind the ears without game time.

I'm going to wager that Douglas will get more time on the park for Scotland over the summer than in recent games for Edinburgh.

[Big D]

Ritchie on the bench, none of the young guys are listed in the 23, bar Harrison I suppose but if Cherry were fit...

Must win game for Edinburgh and Everitt does make it more risky to play Douglas.

Making the playoffs shouldn't save him.

[Oxbow]

Charlie Savala to Warriors

Scottish-qualified utility back Charlie Savala has become the second new addition to the Glasgow Warriors squad ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, after the 25-year-old agreed to make the switch to Scotstoun from English champions Northampton Saints.

Looks like a replacement for TJ

His main attraction appears to be that he is Scottish Qualified.

Be interesting to see what he can bring to Scotstoun, still relatively young at 25

Slightly odd signing, he hasn't had that much game time at Saints and when he has played he's looked okay rather than terrific. I don't think he was getting that much game time at Edinburgh before Saints signed him was he? I hope he goes well anyway.

[robmatic]

Ritchie on the bench, none of the young guys are listed in the 23, bar Harrison I suppose but if Cherry were fit...

Must win game for Edinburgh and Everitt does make it more risky to play Douglas.

Making the playoffs shouldn't save him.

I think he will probably be safe given the improvements since Christmas. I wouldn't have predicted this 6 months ago - and it shouldn't be the case when you look at the league positions - but the mood around Edinburgh seems a lot more positive than the one around Glasgow at the moment. Something seems off at that end of the M8.

[robmatic]

Charlie Savala to Warriors

Scottish-qualified utility back Charlie Savala has become the second new addition to the Glasgow Warriors squad ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, after the 25-year-old agreed to make the switch to Scotstoun from English champions Northampton Saints.

Looks like a replacement for TJ

His main attraction appears to be that he is Scottish Qualified.

Be interesting to see what he can bring to Scotstoun, still relatively young at 25

Slightly odd signing, he hasn't had that much game time at Saints and when he has played he's looked okay rather than terrific. I don't think he was getting that much game time at Edinburgh before Saints signed him was he? I hope he goes well anyway.

I was wondering if he had improved since he left Edinburgh...

[Biffer]

Keep away from Glasgow on Saturday. Orange order march in the morning, Glasgow fans celebrating winning the title in the afternoon.

Can't see any problem with that.

[SaintK]

Charlie Savala to Warriors

Scottish-qualified utility back Charlie Savala has become the second new addition to the Glasgow Warriors squad ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, after the 25-year-old agreed to make the switch to Scotstoun from English champions Northampton Saints.

Looks like a replacement for TJ

His main attraction appears to be that he is Scottish Qualified.

Be interesting to see what he can bring to Scotstoun, still relatively young at 25

Slightly odd signing, he hasn't had that much game time at Saints and when he has played he's looked okay rather than terrific. I don't think he was getting that much game time at Edinburgh before Saints signed him was he? I hope he goes well anyway.

I was wondering if he had improved since he left Edinburgh...

Very military medium at best in the few matches he started

[topofthemoon]

Must win game for Edinburgh and Everitt does make it more risky to play Douglas.

Yup, if only he'd had lots of opportunities up to now he might be pushing for a starting place, as it is we'll go into next season without Ritchie and maybe Boyle still recovering and McConnell and Douglas will still be wet behind the ears without game time.

I'm going to wager that Douglas will get more time on the park for Scotland over the summer than in recent games for Edinburgh.

Big call to be made on where Douglas plays his rugby this summer. Personal development is probably better served being away with the full Scotland team - although I think Darge and Ritchie will tour which might limit his opportunities.

He could probably make a bigger difference to the u20s as they look to avoid relegation. Skipper and pretty much a guarantee of at least 4/5 turnovers a game would be massive for the placing games and potential relegation playoff.

Tough decision for the coaches.