The Official Scottish Rugby Thread

[Dogbert]

The whole media thing frustrates the hell out of me. We, Scotland, are the 5th best country in the world at a major international sport and there is close to zero in the papers and especially on TV. Even talk shows and suchlike on BBC Scotland never have rugby players on.

I don’t know who is to blame, just a general malaise or the SRU for not getting the message out there and pushing for top players to be more visible on main stream media.

But should we care what page of the papers that paragraph of Rugby is reported on.

Football will always be the be all & end all for Sports reporting , certainly in Scotland (as compared to say Wales) - the numbers of people who play , watch , support , have their kids participate in , in Scotland will always eclipse Rugby.

I have got to the stage where it doesn't bother me anymore - we love a very much minority sport , nothing wrong with that.

The growth of digital media has pretty much made MSM redundant as far as rugby in Scotland is concerned..

[clydecloggie]

Squidge confirming on Twitter he won't do a Scotland v Wales match video, as all of his time was taken up by the Ireland v France one.

Instead there will be a Scotland deep dive at the end of the 6N.

[clydecloggie]

Cam Redpath playing for Bath this weekend so not in the Scotland 23 or travelling reserves.

Anyone expecting any changes from the Wales game?

[S/Lt_Phillips]

Cam Redpath playing for Bath this weekend so not in the Scotland 23 or travelling reserves.

Anyone expecting any changes from the Wales game?

I've not seen anything on Hogg's fitness - anyone else heard?

If he's fit, I can't see Townsend dropping him, even though I thought BK was excellent at 15 against Wales.

There might be some rotation in the front row? But apart from that I don't expect any changes. But what do I know.

[Tichtheid]

Cam Redpath playing for Bath this weekend so not in the Scotland 23 or travelling reserves.

Anyone expecting any changes from the Wales game?

Mainly in terms of fitness - there were some concerns about Hoggy and Crosbie, if both are out then Kinghorn will start at fullback and I'm not sure what that does to the bench. If Crosbie is out then I expect Watson to go straight back in.
I thought previously that we'd go for a 6:2 split for this, with Skinner on the bench along with Gray jnr.

[charltom]

Indeed.

Scotland team to face France in the Guinness Six Nations on Sunday 26 February at Stade de France, Paris, kick-off 3pm GMT, live on ITV Sport:

15. Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs) 98 caps
14. Kyle Steyn (Glasgow Warriors) 7 caps
13. Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors) 33 caps
12. Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors) 13 caps
11. Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby) 25 caps

10. Finn Russell (Racing 92) 67 caps
9. Ben White (London Irish) 11 caps

1. Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby) 18 caps
2. George Turner (Glasgow Warriors) 32 caps
3. Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) 55 caps
4. Richie Gray (Glasgow Warriors) 71 caps
5. Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby) – Vice-Captain – 61caps
6. Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh Rugby) – Captain – 38 caps
7. Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby) 54 caps
8. Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) 30 caps

Replacements

16. Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors) 59 caps
17. Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow Warriors) 27 caps
18. WP Nel (Edinburgh Rugby) 52 caps
19. Jonny Gray (Exeter Chiefs) 74 caps
20. Sam Skinner (Edinburgh Rugby) 23 caps
21. Jack Dempsey (Glasgow Warriors) 6 caps
22. Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) 58 caps
23. Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh Rugby) 40 caps

[charltom]

Not at all sure Luke deserves to drop out, but it's hard to complain about the reintroduction of Mish.

[clydecloggie]

Interesting team.

6/2 split on the bench courtesy of Swiss army knife Blair Kinghorn covering all the backs positions.

I hope Hamish Watson convincingly shook off the rust in his one Edinburgh appearance because he will need to be at his absolute best.

Price over Horne suggests Toonie isn't expecting to need any madness at the death. This looks like it was designed to go to-to-toe for 80 minutes with the match hinging on small victories rather than running an exhausted opponent off their feet in the last quarter.

[charltom]

I hadn't even noticed Price over Horne. I hope it's the result of a great showing in training...

[KingBlairhorn]

The whole media thing frustrates the hell out of me. We, Scotland, are the 5th best country in the world at a major international sport and there is close to zero in the papers and especially on TV. Even talk shows and suchlike on BBC Scotland never have rugby players on.

I don’t know who is to blame, just a general malaise or the SRU for not getting the message out there and pushing for top players to be more visible on main stream media.

But should we care what page of the papers that paragraph of Rugby is reported on.

Football will always be the be all & end all for Sports reporting , certainly in Scotland (as compared to say Wales) - the numbers of people who play , watch , support , have their kids participate in , in Scotland will always eclipse Rugby.

I have got to the stage where it doesn't bother me anymore - we love a very much minority sport , nothing wrong with that.

The growth of digital media has pretty much made MSM redundant as far as rugby in Scotland is concerned..

I wouldn't worry about the newspapers, print media is more or less dead anyway. I don't know a single person in my age bracket or younger (let's say 40 and under) who regularly buys one, and I know of dozens who never buy one. Even my own father and uncles who were daily consumers of newspapers seldom buy one now other than hyper-local ones. Depressingly that particular cohort get a large proportion of their 'news' from Facebook, given the amount of propaganda circulated there that is concerning - but is also an opportunity. If I were the SRU or World Rugby more generally, I would be investing heavily in digital media. Loads of skills reels / highlights reels of top moments etc. freely circulating and access for fair use digital artists/content makers (Squidge Rugby, Graeme Love etc.) to make additional high quality material. Scottish football is also in the dark ages when it comes to digital content so there is a real chance to steal a march on them and increase the profile of rugby immeasurably in this country. The way the likes of the NFL and NBA bend over backwards to make content available is a lesson on how it should be done. I've actually been really disappointed in that regard with the URC RocNation partnership which I thought would bring that competition in the 21st Century with for instance collective marketing and branding etc. but has so far apparently brought very little. Perhaps the Blazers behind the scene are the reason for that, blocking any attempts made.

[westport]

Not at all sure Luke deserves to drop out, but it's hard to complain about the reintroduction of Mish.

I agree with you all the way and hope that Mish is back to his normal destructive best.

Also great to see little posh boy on the bench.

[dpedin]

Not at all sure Luke deserves to drop out, but it's hard to complain about the reintroduction of Mish.

Crosbie was carrying an injury after the Welsh game so perhaps a prudent decision to rest him and bring Watson in? Otherwise I am happy with the team and the 6-2 split but we all know, as sure as eggs are eggs, that being Scotland we will end up with 3 injuries in the backs and George Turner will end up on the wing ... again!

[KingBlairhorn]

One of the most satisfying recent (relatively) changes in team selections is the strength of the bench. I would have been happy if any one of them, with possibly a slight caveat on Bhatti and Nel (and for Nel only due to his age, not his ability), had started. No real drop off in quality at all IMO.

[Yr Alban]

Not sure whether Crosbie is injured or dropped. Watched Toony’s interview and he doesn’t say. Harsh on the guy if it’s the latter, he hasn’t done much wrong in the first two games.

[Slick]

Not sure whether Crosbie is injured or dropped. Watched Toony’s interview and he doesn’t say. Harsh on the guy if it’s the latter, he hasn’t done much wrong in the first two games.

I thought he was injured and unlikely to be fit for this week. Could have made that up but I was assuming he wasn't going to be there

[KingBlairhorn]

Not sure whether Crosbie is injured or dropped. Watched Toony’s interview and he doesn’t say. Harsh on the guy if it’s the latter, he hasn’t done much wrong in the first two games.

I thought he was injured and unlikely to be fit for this week. Could have made that up but I was assuming he wasn't going to be there

He was confirmed as having hurt his shoulder against Wales. No idea if it's an active 'injury' but I'd be unsurprised if he hadn't been able to train for several days and that more or less puts you out the 23 unless you are a guaranteed starter.

[westport]

Good to see Rambo is back in full training with Edinburgh

[clydecloggie]

One of the most satisfying recent (relatively) changes in team selections is the strength of the bench. I would have been happy if any one of them, with possibly a slight caveat on Bhatti and Nel (and for Nel only due to his age, not his ability), had started. No real drop off in quality at all IMO.

Bhatti has done really well as a sub so far, I'd have no issues with him starting if Schoeman got injured. We also have Sutherland as 3rd in line, a Test Lion. By Scottish standards, that's ridiculous strength-in-depth.

[Slick]

OK, I'm going to break cover.

I've got a really good feeling about this game...

[Slick]

The whole media thing frustrates the hell out of me. We, Scotland, are the 5th best country in the world at a major international sport and there is close to zero in the papers and especially on TV. Even talk shows and suchlike on BBC Scotland never have rugby players on.

I don’t know who is to blame, just a general malaise or the SRU for not getting the message out there and pushing for top players to be more visible on main stream media.

But should we care what page of the papers that paragraph of Rugby is reported on.

Football will always be the be all & end all for Sports reporting , certainly in Scotland (as compared to say Wales) - the numbers of people who play , watch , support , have their kids participate in , in Scotland will always eclipse Rugby.

I have got to the stage where it doesn't bother me anymore - we love a very much minority sport , nothing wrong with that.

The growth of digital media has pretty much made MSM redundant as far as rugby in Scotland is concerned..

Yes, I agree with a lot of that and I'm more than happy to be, and remain, a minority sport. It's just a bit frustrating that we have a sport that should not be competing at the top level, but does, and as a country we should celebrate that a bit more.

[S/Lt_Phillips]

Not sure whether Crosbie is injured or dropped. Watched Toony’s interview and he doesn’t say. Harsh on the guy if it’s the latter, he hasn’t done much wrong in the first two games.

I thought he was injured and unlikely to be fit for this week. Could have made that up but I was assuming he wasn't going to be there

He was confirmed as having hurt his shoulder against Wales. No idea if it's an active 'injury' but I'd be unsurprised if he hadn't been able to train for several days and that more or less puts you out the 23 unless you are a guaranteed starter.

Shame for Crosbie, he's been good so far. Hope Mish is back up to speed. However, what Mish is best known for is jackling & pinball-style ball-carrying, which we haven't seen much of from Crosbie at 7 in the 2 games so far, even though he's an effective ball carrier. So, does this mean a change of tactics for the back row? Is this a good thing, or not? Or will Mish be told to play the way Crosbie was playing?

[charltom]

OK, I'm going to break cover.

I've got a really good feeling about this game...

Ditto - it's not like France have been playing well - but I won't voice it...

[KingBlairhorn]

One of the most satisfying recent (relatively) changes in team selections is the strength of the bench. I would have been happy if any one of them, with possibly a slight caveat on Bhatti and Nel (and for Nel only due to his age, not his ability), had started. No real drop off in quality at all IMO.

Bhatti has done really well as a sub so far, I'd have no issues with him starting if Schoeman got injured. We also have Sutherland as 3rd in line, a Test Lion. By Scottish standards, that's ridiculous strength-in-depth.

I definitely don't have any concerns about Bhatti but I also definitely don't think he is as good as Schoeman or peak level Sutherland. He's very good, but there is a slight quality drop to him.

[Biffer]

I thought he was injured and unlikely to be fit for this week. Could have made that up but I was assuming he wasn't going to be there

He was confirmed as having hurt his shoulder against Wales. No idea if it's an active 'injury' but I'd be unsurprised if he hadn't been able to train for several days and that more or less puts you out the 23 unless you are a guaranteed starter.

Shame for Crosbie, he's been good so far. Hope Mish is back up to speed. However, what Mish is best known for is jackling & pinball-style ball-carrying, which we haven't seen much of from Crosbie at 7 in the 2 games so far, even though he's an effective ball carrier. So, does this mean a change of tactics for the back row? Is this a good thing, or not? Or will Mish be told to play the way Crosbie was playing?

You might argue Mish's best feature over the last fwew years is only missing what, one tackle at international level in the last 15 games or something ridiculous like that? Which absolutely ties in to the tactics of the last two games.

[S/Lt_Phillips]

He was confirmed as having hurt his shoulder against Wales. No idea if it's an active 'injury' but I'd be unsurprised if he hadn't been able to train for several days and that more or less puts you out the 23 unless you are a guaranteed starter.

Shame for Crosbie, he's been good so far. Hope Mish is back up to speed. However, what Mish is best known for is jackling & pinball-style ball-carrying, which we haven't seen much of from Crosbie at 7 in the 2 games so far, even though he's an effective ball carrier. So, does this mean a change of tactics for the back row? Is this a good thing, or not? Or will Mish be told to play the way Crosbie was playing?

You might argue Mish's best feature over the last fwew years is only missing what, one tackle at international level in the last 15 games or something ridiculous like that? Which absolutely ties in to the tactics of the last two games.

That is a good point. Ireland's back row kept the French back row pretty quiet, hardly heard Aldritt mentioned at all, so I hope the Scottish back row can be as effective this weekend, and for that Mish will need to be properly match fit and up to speed.

[S/Lt_Phillips]

OK, I'm going to break cover.

I've got a really good feeling about this game...

Ditto - it's not like France have been playing well - but I won't voice it...

I'm with you here. Genuinely don't know which way this will go - there are good reasons why Scotland can live with France (see 2 years ago, and France have not been as good as expected so far this year), but also good reasons why it all might fall apart (see last year). Winnable, but I'm not going to predict a Scotland win.

[robmatic]

Blair to stand down as Edinburgh coach at the end of the season.

Admittedly it's been a difficult second season but I think he's possibly too self-critical at times.

[Biffer]

OK, I'm going to break cover.

I've got a really good feeling about this game...

Ditto - it's not like France have been playing well - but I won't voice it...

I'm with you here. Genuinely don't know which way this will go - there are good reasons why Scotland can live with France (see 2 years ago, and France have not been as good as expected so far this year), but also good reasons why it all might fall apart (see last year). Winnable, but I'm not going to predict a Scotland win.

This could be a general description of Scottish rugby at any point in my lifetime tbh.

[KingBlairhorn]

Blair to stand down as Edinburgh coach at the end of the season.

Admittedly it's been a difficult second season but I think he's possibly too self-critical at times.

For once, I hope the SRU keep him in the system. It won't be the usual shuffle of the deckchairs, he has genuine skill and needs to be kept.

Edit: for once as in they always do this but on this occasion it is justified

[Slick]

Blair to stand down as Edinburgh coach at the end of the season.

Admittedly it's been a difficult second season but I think he's possibly too self-critical at times.

Really? That seems very odd to me. It hasn't been great recently but I don't think a sackable/walk away scenario

[I like neeps]

Blair to stand down as Edinburgh coach at the end of the season.

Admittedly it's been a difficult second season but I think he's possibly too self-critical at times.

Really? That seems very odd to me. It hasn't been great recently but I don't think a sackable/walk away scenario

Reads like he just didn't really enjoy the stresses and pressures of the job. He's been pretty open about how he doesn't love selection in interviews post matches etc.

I'm disappointed, I thought he was a very high potential coach.

[Biffer]

Blair to stand down as Edinburgh coach at the end of the season.

Admittedly it's been a difficult second season but I think he's possibly too self-critical at times.

Odd if he's done this without knowing exactly where he's going. Options to me would be

1. Attack coach at a big club in France
2. Going somewhere as Toonie's attack coach
3. Scotland attack coach under Big Vern.

[Dogbert]

So - to the big game on Saturday

And the great news Rory is starting in the backrow - good to see him back

A win here ( and an Ulster loss against the Stormers ) would really cement Glasgow's place in the top 4

Glasgow Warriors

15 Josh McKay (25)

14 Cole Forbes (32)
13 Stafford McDowall (Captain) (49)
12 Sam Johnson (99)
11 Elias Caven (0)

10 Tom Jordan (15)
9 Jamie Dobie (44)

1 Nathan McBeth (16)
2 Johnny Matthews (40)
3 Lucio Sordoni (11)
4 Lewis Bean (31)
5 Scott Cummings (96)
6 Ally Miller (13)
7 Rory Darge (22)
8 Sione Vailanu (11)

Substitutes

16 Angus Fraser (1)
17 Allan Dell (0)
18 Simon Berghan (25)
19 JP du Preez (15)
20 Euan Ferrie (8)
21 Thomas Gordon (61)
22 Sean Kennedy (22)
23 Duncan Weir (132)

[Slick]

Blair to stand down as Edinburgh coach at the end of the season.

Admittedly it's been a difficult second season but I think he's possibly too self-critical at times.

Really? That seems very odd to me. It hasn't been great recently but I don't think a sackable/walk away scenario

Reads like he just didn't really enjoy the stresses and pressures of the job. He's been pretty open about how he doesn't love selection in interviews post matches etc.

I'm disappointed, I thought he was a very high potential coach.

Ahh OK. Yes, he hinted at that a few weeks ago in an article I read

[S/Lt_Phillips]

Blair to stand down as Edinburgh coach at the end of the season.

Admittedly it's been a difficult second season but I think he's possibly too self-critical at times.

Odd if he's done this without knowing exactly where he's going. Options to me would be

1. Attack coach at a big club in France
2. Going somewhere as Toonie's attack coach
3. Scotland attack coach under Big Vern.

Are you just teasing us here? Or are there rumours?

[Biffer]

Blair to stand down as Edinburgh coach at the end of the season.

Admittedly it's been a difficult second season but I think he's possibly too self-critical at times.

Odd if he's done this without knowing exactly where he's going. Options to me would be

1. Attack coach at a big club in France
2. Going somewhere as Toonie's attack coach
3. Scotland attack coach under Big Vern.

Are you just teasing us here? Or are there rumours?

I think more fantasies - a few people suggested Cotter coming back after he quit Fiji, but I think he's more likely lined up for a big club job.

[Big D]

Following Townsend?

[S/Lt_Phillips]

Odd if he's done this without knowing exactly where he's going. Options to me would be

1. Attack coach at a big club in France
2. Going somewhere as Toonie's attack coach
3. Scotland attack coach under Big Vern.

Are you just teasing us here? Or are there rumours?

I think more fantasies - a few people suggested Cotter coming back after he quit Fiji, but I think he's more likely lined up for a big club job.

Edinburgh then

[Tichtheid]

That's disappointing, but I guess not really that unexpected. Blair got off to a decent start last season, Kitty McRae moving to Benetton last summer was a huge loss imo.

This is the best Edinburgh squad, and by a mile, that I can remember, a good coach that can get buy-in from the players could finally take us out of the dung heap.

I fucking hope so - I've just signed an 18 month broadband contract that includes Viaplay sports.

[clydecloggie]

So - to the big game on Saturday

And the great news Rory is starting in the backrow - good to see him back

A win here ( and an Ulster loss against the Stormers ) would really cement Glasgow's place in the top 4

Glasgow Warriors

15 Josh McKay (25)

14 Cole Forbes (32)
13 Stafford McDowall (Captain) (49)
12 Sam Johnson (99)
11 Elias Caven (0)

10 Tom Jordan (15)
9 Jamie Dobie (44)

1 Nathan McBeth (16)
2 Johnny Matthews (40)
3 Lucio Sordoni (11)
4 Lewis Bean (31)
5 Scott Cummings (96)
6 Ally Miller (13)
7 Rory Darge (22)
8 Sione Vailanu (11)

Substitutes

16 Angus Fraser (1)
17 Allan Dell (0)
18 Simon Berghan (25)
19 JP du Preez (15)
20 Euan Ferrie (8)
21 Thomas Gordon (61)
22 Sean Kennedy (22)
23 Duncan Weir (132)

That's seriously strong team for a 6N match weekend. I'm slightly bemused by where JP du Preez seems to be in the pecking order - he was quite a big signing but seems to be 4th-5th choice lock. Good to see Allan Dell named on the bench. Hopefully Rory Darge hits the ground running.