NPR

Dogbert wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2024 1:28 pm

robmatic wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2024 9:38 am

Yr Alban wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2024 8:49 am

I’m torn between ‘should be a good replacement‘ and ‘FFS not another NSQ prop’

Is he definitely NSQ? The signing makes more sense if he has a Scottish granny (or if his birthplace in Germany means an army hospital).

6 caps for England , last one against Canada in 2021 - so NSQ

So more than 3 years have elapsed since his last cap and he can play for Scotland if he is eligible through birthright.

WP calls it a day

https://scottishrugby.org/wp-nel-announ ... umfoHAJ9nr

westport wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2024 8:02 pm WP calls it a day

https://scottishrugby.org/wp-nel-announ ... umfoHAJ9nr

Legend.

westport wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2024 8:02 pm WP calls it a day

https://scottishrugby.org/wp-nel-announ ... umfoHAJ9nr

Brilliant servant to Edinburgh and Scotland.

Edinburgh legend.

Article doesn’t make it clear if it’s immediate or end of the season?

Edit - Edinburgh twitter says end of season.

Biffer wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2024 9:27 pm Edinburgh legend.

Article doesn’t make it clear if it’s immediate or end of the season?

Edit - Edinburgh twitter says end of season.

He had a slightly rocky start to his Embra career, falling foul of a few refs for his technique. However he learnt quickly and became our best ever tight head. It was a shame we rarely saw the front row of Nel - Ford - Dickinson very often for either Embra or Scotland. Easily one of our best ever front rows and could be a match for anyone! Injury meant we didnt see enough of them together, shame!

I feel the WP didn't/doesn't get the recognition from refs as to how good he was/is. He seemed to get pinged when the loose head ran down his side while he was square or the LH had hinged. Probably due to Scotland never being regarded as a strong scrummaging team (even when on occasion we are) and that referees really haven't a clue what is going on in the front row

dpedin wrote: ↑Thu Mar 28, 2024 9:25 am

Biffer wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2024 9:27 pm Edinburgh legend.

Article doesn’t make it clear if it’s immediate or end of the season?

Edit - Edinburgh twitter says end of season.

He had a slightly rocky start to his Embra career, falling foul of a few refs for his technique. However he learnt quickly and became our best ever tight head. It was a shame we rarely saw the front row of Nel - Ford - Dickinson very often for either Embra or Scotland. Easily one of our best ever front rows and could be a match for anyone! Injury meant we didnt see enough of them together, shame!

It also meant we didn't get to bring out the Ford, Dickinson and Nel song often (to the tune of heads shoulders knees and toes).

Sounds increasingly like the SRU should aim to entice him across in two years' time (or sooner). Sounds just what Scotland need.

https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/03/28/how- ... gby-start/

charltom wrote: ↑Fri Mar 29, 2024 10:08 am Sounds increasingly like the SRU should aim to entice him across in two years' time (or sooner). Sounds just what Scotland need.

https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/03/28/how- ... gby-start/

I like where you are coming from but he is well thought of in the higher echelons of NZ rugby and cant see him heading "home" anytime soon

westport wrote: ↑Fri Mar 29, 2024 10:20 am

charltom wrote: ↑Fri Mar 29, 2024 10:08 am Sounds increasingly like the SRU should aim to entice him across in two years' time (or sooner). Sounds just what Scotland need.

https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/03/28/how- ... gby-start/

I like where you are coming from but he is well thought of in the higher echelons of NZ rugby and cant see him heading "home" anytime soon

I can quite imagine. Hence "entice". If it's going to happen, it'll be to lead the Scottish campaign to win the 2027 RWC. After that, it may be a bit harder to persuade him. And he may well be wanted by the ABs thereafter (especially if successful!).

charltom wrote: ↑Fri Mar 29, 2024 11:11 am

westport wrote: ↑Fri Mar 29, 2024 10:20 am

charltom wrote: ↑Fri Mar 29, 2024 10:08 am Sounds increasingly like the SRU should aim to entice him across in two years' time (or sooner). Sounds just what Scotland need.

https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/03/28/how- ... gby-start/

I like where you are coming from but he is well thought of in the higher echelons of NZ rugby and cant see him heading "home" anytime soon

I can quite imagine. Hence "entice". If it's going to happen, it'll be to lead the Scottish campaign to win the 2027 RWC. After that, it may be a bit harder to persuade him. And he may well be wanted by the ABs thereafter (especially if successful!).

Would the ABs want a non-New Zealander as coach?

If Robertson can galvanise the ABs the way he did the Crusaders he'll be in the hot seat for at least two World Cup cycles starting now - he's only 49.

Soapy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 28, 2024 6:29 pm I feel the WP didn't/doesn't get the recognition from refs as to how good he was/is. He seemed to get pinged when the loose head ran down his side while he was square or the LH had hinged. Probably due to Scotland never being regarded as a strong scrummaging team (even when on occasion we are) and that referees really haven't a clue what is going on in the front row

I agree.

I've been struggling with what to say about WP. He was such an important player for us at a time when Euan Murray was coming to the end of his road.

You can see from the recent media how much his time in Scotland means to him, I hope he stays on in a coaching capacity, though Everett said that he hopes to persuade Nel to play another season.

Tight five looks handy

Hollywoodbets Sharks

1. Ox Nche

2. Bongi Mbonambi

3. Vincent Koch

4. Eben Etzebeth

5. Emile van Heerden

6. James Venter

7. Vincent Tshituka

8. Phepsi Buthelezi

9. Jaden Hendrikse

10. Siya Masuka

11. Makazole Mapimpi

12. Francois Venter

13. Lukhanyo Am (c)

14. Werner Kok

15. Aphelele Fassi

Replacements

16. Dan Jooste

17. Ntuthuko Mchunu

18. Hanro Jacobs

19. Corne Rahl

20. Jeandre Labuschagne

21. Cameron Wright

22. Curwin Bosch

23. Ethan Hooker

Glasgow Team for the Scarlets

Fair bit of rotation for the returning Internationals - but that gives more opportunity to players like Hiddleston / Williamson

Parc y Scarlets not always been the best hunting ground for the warriors - but a win tomorrow , and depending on the game tonight , could see the warriors go second in the league

Weather looks reasonable and dry (ish) , which would suit Glasgow

Nice to see Silerton Loon Brown fit again and on the bench - he has had a difficult time of injuries recently

1 Nathan McBeth (34)
2 Gregor Hiddleston (4)
3 Zander Fagerson (139)
4 Max Williamson (10)
5 Scott Cummings (116)
6 Ally Miller (26)
7 Rory Darge (40)
8 Henco Venter (12)

9 George Horne (109)
10 Duncan Weir (145)
11 Sebastian Cancelliere (33)
12 Tom Jordan (40)
13 Stafford McDowall (C) (72)
14 Kyle Rowe (11)
15 Josh McKay (41)

Replacements

16 Johnny Matthews (64)
17 Allan Dell (9)
18 Lucio Sordoni (27)
19 Sintu Manjezi (19)
20 Gregor Brown (15)
21 Thomas Gordon (72)
22 Jamie Dobie (58)
23 Duncan Munn (1)

Unavailable for selection: Jamie Bhatti (foot), Fraser Brown (knee), Richie Gray (bicep), Huw Jones (hand), Jack Mann (ankle), JP du Preez (knee), Ollie Smith (knee), Sione Tuipulotu (knee), Sione Vailanu (knee).

Tichtheid wrote: ↑Fri Mar 29, 2024 12:10 pm Tight five looks handy

Hollywoodbets Sharks

1. Ox Nche

2. Bongi Mbonambi

3. Vincent Koch

4. Eben Etzebeth

5. Emile van Heerden

6. James Venter

7. Vincent Tshituka

8. Phepsi Buthelezi

9. Jaden Hendrikse

10. Siya Masuka

11. Makazole Mapimpi

12. Francois Venter

13. Lukhanyo Am (c)

14. Werner Kok

15. Aphelele Fassi

Replacements

16. Dan Jooste

17. Ntuthuko Mchunu

18. Hanro Jacobs

19. Corne Rahl

20. Jeandre Labuschagne

21. Cameron Wright

22. Curwin Bosch

23. Ethan Hooker

To be honest, I think their whole team looks great on paper.

Match preview for Scarlets v Glasgow:

https://www.scotlandrugbynews.com/analy ... -scarlets/

Couple of really poor missed kicks at goal even allowing for wind and some poor kicking from hand proving costly at the moment for the woman's side.

Great effort from the women’s team tbf. France and England are meant to be head and shoulders above everyone else in the 6Ns, but we competed well, put pressure on them, terrific defence, but just no cutting edge going forward. Progress though and I think you see the benefit of full time professional players and the better level of competition that the Celtic Challenge provides.

Biffer wrote: ↑Sat Mar 30, 2024 4:10 pm Great effort from the women’s team tbf. France and England are meant to be head and shoulders above everyone else in the 6Ns, but we competed well, put pressure on them, terrific defence, but just no cutting edge going forward. Progress though and I think you see the benefit of full time professional players and the better level of competition that the Celtic Challenge provides.

They really struggled against the rush defence of France but were really competitive throughout.

Kicking was generally bloody awful, particularly from the 12 (whose friends were behind us so had to keep my frustration under wraps). Shame the lineout took 30 mins to get going as well.

The players were brilliant after with all the kids and I had a good chat with Emma Wassell who was saying they were all incredibly frustrated but have to bear I mind it was 55-0 last year. Another great day out

Read an interview interview with Danny Wilson yesterday where he seemed to be saying that Glasgow was one of the best funded clubs in Europe. Was quite surprised

Slick wrote: ↑Sat Mar 30, 2024 6:31 pm

Biffer wrote: ↑Sat Mar 30, 2024 4:10 pm Great effort from the women’s team tbf. France and England are meant to be head and shoulders above everyone else in the 6Ns, but we competed well, put pressure on them, terrific defence, but just no cutting edge going forward. Progress though and I think you see the benefit of full time professional players and the better level of competition that the Celtic Challenge provides.

They really struggled against the rush defence of France but were really competitive throughout.

Kicking was generally bloody awful, particularly from the 12 (whose friends were behind us so had to keep my frustration under wraps). Shame the lineout took 30 mins to get going as well.

The players were brilliant after with all the kids and I had a good chat with Emma Wassell who was saying they were all incredibly frustrated but have to bear I mind it was 55-0 last year. Another great day out

Yep, real progress in a very short time. The back three are pretty sensational but the pack still a bit outgunned. A bit shocked at how badly the lineout is functioning this year.

Slick wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 4:42 pm Read an interview interview with Danny Wilson yesterday where he seemed to be saying that Glasgow was one of the best funded clubs in Europe. Was quite surprised

Where was the article?

I'd be very surprised if that were true. I know the Scottish teams pay well, but we we can't keep the likes of Finn, Hoggy, the Grays and now Kinghorn. Neither team has ever signed a current All Black or Springbok or French international for that matter.

Tichtheid wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 6:10 pm

Slick wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 4:42 pm Read an interview interview with Danny Wilson yesterday where he seemed to be saying that Glasgow was one of the best funded clubs in Europe. Was quite surprised

Where was the article?

I'd be very surprised if that were true. I know the Scottish teams pay well, but we we can't keep the likes of Finn, Hoggy, the Grays and now Kinghorn. Neither team has ever signed a current All Black or Springbok or French international for that matter.

The Scottish clubs are probably comparatively well-funded compared to clubs down south but must be nowhere near the big French clubs.

robmatic wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 6:16 pm

Tichtheid wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 6:10 pm

Slick wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 4:42 pm Read an interview interview with Danny Wilson yesterday where he seemed to be saying that Glasgow was one of the best funded clubs in Europe. Was quite surprised

Where was the article?

I'd be very surprised if that were true. I know the Scottish teams pay well, but we we can't keep the likes of Finn, Hoggy, the Grays and now Kinghorn. Neither team has ever signed a current All Black or Springbok or French international for that matter.

The Scottish clubs are probably comparatively well-funded compared to clubs down south but must be nowhere near the big French clubs.

Yeah, probably better than the Welsh, Italians and most of the English, and on a par with the Irish (except Leinster).. But well behind the French.

Also I think they’re well run, comparatively. Particularly vs the Welsh and English.

To be fair there are a couple of English clubs that took a huge hit in the pandemic because they had a bigger dependency on ticket sales - Bristol about 17k, Leicester about 20k, Bath and Glaws both about 14k. They will be fine in the long run, but it will take a few years to stabilise and get rid of the covid loan debt.

Tichtheid wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 6:10 pm

Slick wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 4:42 pm Read an interview interview with Danny Wilson yesterday where he seemed to be saying that Glasgow was one of the best funded clubs in Europe. Was quite surprised

Where was the article?

I'd be very surprised if that were true. I know the Scottish teams pay well, but we we can't keep the likes of Finn, Hoggy, the Grays and now Kinghorn. Neither team has ever signed a current All Black or Springbok or French international for that matter.

Was in the ST.

Also, what is the official capacity of The Hive?

On Saturday it looked like only a few hundred seats short of capacity but the official attendance was 5600 (a record for the women). I thought it was a lot bigger than that

Slick wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 7:00 pm Also, what is the official capacity of The Hive?

On Saturday it looked like only a few hundred seats short of capacity but the official attendance was 5600 (a record for the women). I thought it was a lot bigger than that

7600 or so I think

Jock42 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 7:08 pm

Slick wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 7:00 pm Also, what is the official capacity of The Hive?

On Saturday it looked like only a few hundred seats short of capacity but the official attendance was 5600 (a record for the women). I thought it was a lot bigger than that

7600 or so I think

Cheers. Looked more there then, but I hardly think they would deflate the figures I guess

Slick wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 7:12 pm

Jock42 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 7:08 pm

Slick wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 7:00 pm Also, what is the official capacity of The Hive?

On Saturday it looked like only a few hundred seats short of capacity but the official attendance was 5600 (a record for the women). I thought it was a lot bigger than that

7600 or so I think

Cheers. Looked more there then, but I hardly think they would deflate the figures I guess

I think about 2500 of that is standing.

Cheers Slick The article is here, it isn't paywalled for some reason


Danny Wilson: It ended badly at Glasgow but I have moved on

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/desti ... -z6f36lj3l

A quick look and I can't find anything, so what is wrong with Boffelli?

I went for an MRI at Spire today and met him coming out.

Biffer wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 7:14 pm

Slick wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 7:12 pm

Jock42 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 7:08 pm

7600 or so I think

Cheers. Looked more there then, but I hardly think they would deflate the figures I guess

I think about 2500 of that is standing.

Ahh, that might explain it, didn’t seem to be many standing at all

weegie01 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 8:13 pm A quick look and I can't find anything, so what is wrong with Boffelli?

I went for an MRI at Spire today and met him coming out.

They said he'd had a back spasm. I've had really bad ones that floored me for over a week and left me almost unable to walk for around three weeks.

Tichtheid wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 8:19 pm

weegie01 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 8:13 pm A quick look and I can't find anything, so what is wrong with Boffelli?

I went for an MRI at Spire today and met him coming out.

They said he'd had a back spasm. I've had really bad ones that floored me for over a week and left me almost unable to walk for around three weeks.

I am a martyr to my back so I feel your pain.

Edinburgh Rugby has completed the signing of England international tighthead prop Paul Hill from Northampton Saints on a two-year deal.

An interesting but painful watch on Scotland's failings vs Ireland. I'd interested to hear folks' thoughts.

It does echo thoughts I have had with Scotland but not quite been able to put my finger on. On occasion Schoeman, Z Fagerson, Dempsey and in other games Tuipolotu can have decent carries in the tight, but they are on the odd occasion rather than again and again and again. We seem conscious of our underpowered pack vs Ireland which makes us predictable.

westport wrote: ↑Tue Apr 02, 2024 11:39 am Edinburgh Rugby has completed the signing of England international tighthead prop Paul Hill from Northampton Saints on a two-year deal.

Not Scottish qualified, is Luan de Bruin under contract? Edinburgh's lack of tight head prop development really is beyond a farce.