The Official Scottish Rugby Thread

[Begbie]

Has TotM made the switch? Any word on Frillage?

Big D??

[KingBlairhorn]

The original Bored isn't being shut-down after all so I think a few are waiting to see what happens. It's utterly dead in the OSRT thread over there though. If we all drift back I hope the lurkers that have shown their faces sign up, our numbers are depressingly small at present.

[dkm57]

No chance of me heading back over there, tried and failed for a couple of years so finally settled for just lurking.

[Northern Lights]

I will stay here I reckon. Fresh start and all that, pr had become v stale anyway

[ASMO]

I am going to try to keep things fresh, add new features as we go along, thinking about blog stuff, maybe even some pages devoted to nationalities where they can carve out team based content and share it.

[Jock42]

Sounds good.

I'm sure TotM will be all over that if he made/makes the jump.

[Northern Lights]

Sounds good.

I'm sure TotM will be all over that if he made/makes the jump.

Aye, the rest of us are lazy barstewards

[Caley_Red]

Yeah, I also far prefer it here.

For me, the main thing I get from the bored is news and views on Scottish rugby and that means that the OSRT takes precedence over all other threads. There's far more of us here than on old PR ergo I think this is better. It's one of my few outlets to rugby back home.

One of the other things I enjoy about here is that only a tiny smattering of PR's mongs have moved over and there doesn't seem to be nearly as many of the swarm. Further, the tiny core of ideologues who never posted about rugby and spent all their time on the Brexit and Trump threads appear not to have moved either.

Edit: the other thing is the old PR is moving to social media logins, I understand, and I don't have any social media. Indeed, I detest FB and Twitter.

[Yr Alban]

I like it here, and I like the fact that all the Scots seem to have come here en masse.

[Chrysoprase]

We seem to be second only to the swarm in numbers here. Second to no-one in rugby knowledge and good looks.

[walletoraccess]

Club rugby to start back October possibly on a regional basis

https://www.theoffsideline.com/club-rug ... cba1185463

[Biffer]

We seem to be second only to the swarm in numbers here. Second to no-one in rugby knowledge and good looks.

And raw sexuality. Don’t forget the raw sexuality.

[Slick]

Club rugby to start back October possibly on a regional basis

https://www.theoffsideline.com/club-rug ... cba1185463

Good news. The regional thing makes sense, try and carve out a few regional leagues for one season - there is no way we are going back to anything approaching normal next season.

[KingBlairhorn]

Hamish Bain confirmed at Glasgow. He should, presuming the rugby season actually takes place with some semblance of normality, get a decent amount of game time.

I'm looking forward to seeing a number of younger players make a mark this season at Glasgow, not least McLean, Dobie, McDowall and Bain who should all see decent gametime. At Edinburgh the young boys will probably struggle to make significant gametime with the exception of Chamberlain, however there is a realistic opportunity for Boyle, Darge and Blain all to appear in a fair few games.

[Tattie]

For some unknown reason I was never able to register for PR despite trying a few times. So just ended up lurking for years.

[dkm57]

For some unknown reason I was never able to register for PR despite trying a few times. So just ended up lurking for years.

Same here, reckon they must've thought they already ticked the enough token Scots quota box

[Caley_Red]

For some unknown reason I was never able to register for PR despite trying a few times. So just ended up lurking for years.

Same here, reckon they must've thought they already ticked the enough token Scots quota box

Gatland as admin

[dkm57]

For some unknown reason I was never able to register for PR despite trying a few times. So just ended up lurking for years.

Same here, reckon they must've thought they already ticked the enough token Scots quota box

Gatland as admin

Did cross my mind

[KingBlairhorn]

A bold prediction from Greeg:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/53328809

My own view is we need to concentrate on consolidation as a team who isn't fighting it out for the wooden spoon every other year (which to be fair I think we are well on our way to doing). It's good to be optimistic for sure, but I think going from serial (away) chokers to championship winners is a big leap for a 3 year period. The first big requirement is an away win outside Italy, then its consistently winning 3 games including at least one away, then its still being in the running for a championship by the last gameday, then its challenging for the championship. A 10 to 15 year period to make that transition seems more reasonable and that's if everything goes our way and also assuming our domestic game doesn't disintegrate in the post-COVID world.

[Biffer]

A bold prediction from Greeg:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/53328809

My own view is we need to concentrate on consolidation as a team who isn't fighting it out for the wooden spoon every other year (which to be fair I think we are well on our way to doing). It's good to be optimistic for sure, but I think going from serial (away) chokers to championship winners is a big leap for a 3 year period. The first big requirement is an away win outside Italy, then its consistently winning 3 games including at least one away, then its still being in the running for a championship by the last gameday, then its challenging for the championship. A 10 to 15 year period to make that transition seems more reasonable and that's if everything goes our way and also assuming our domestic game doesn't disintegrate in the post-COVID world.

Point is, one away win is enough to win the championship, and we're close to getting that (France 2017, England 2019, Ireland 2020). Win your home games, win in Rome, and a win away to anyone else puts you in the conversation.

[Slick]

A bold prediction from Greeg:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/53328809

My own view is we need to concentrate on consolidation as a team who isn't fighting it out for the wooden spoon every other year (which to be fair I think we are well on our way to doing). It's good to be optimistic for sure, but I think going from serial (away) chokers to championship winners is a big leap for a 3 year period. The first big requirement is an away win outside Italy, then its consistently winning 3 games including at least one away, then its still being in the running for a championship by the last gameday, then its challenging for the championship. A 10 to 15 year period to make that transition seems more reasonable and that's if everything goes our way and also assuming our domestic game doesn't disintegrate in the post-COVID world.

I think it's a reasonable expectation, but I'd expect to be winning 3/4 games a year well within 10-15 years! We are never going to challenge consistently for the championship really

[Biffer]

A bold prediction from Greeg:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/53328809

My own view is we need to concentrate on consolidation as a team who isn't fighting it out for the wooden spoon every other year (which to be fair I think we are well on our way to doing). It's good to be optimistic for sure, but I think going from serial (away) chokers to championship winners is a big leap for a 3 year period. The first big requirement is an away win outside Italy, then its consistently winning 3 games including at least one away, then its still being in the running for a championship by the last gameday, then its challenging for the championship. A 10 to 15 year period to make that transition seems more reasonable and that's if everything goes our way and also assuming our domestic game doesn't disintegrate in the post-COVID world.

I think it's a reasonable expectation, but I'd expect to be winning 3/4 games a year well within 10-15 years! We are never going to challenge consistently for the championship really

To be fair, I think KB was implying we are already part way through that 10-15 year transition. We've got to the stage where it's no longer a surprise for us to win 2 or 3, we now have to get to the stage where it's a surprise if we only win 1.

[Yr Alban]

A bold prediction from Greeg:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/53328809

My own view is we need to concentrate on consolidation as a team who isn't fighting it out for the wooden spoon every other year (which to be fair I think we are well on our way to doing). It's good to be optimistic for sure, but I think going from serial (away) chokers to championship winners is a big leap for a 3 year period. The first big requirement is an away win outside Italy, then its consistently winning 3 games including at least one away, then its still being in the running for a championship by the last gameday, then its challenging for the championship. A 10 to 15 year period to make that transition seems more reasonable and that's if everything goes our way and also assuming our domestic game doesn't disintegrate in the post-COVID world.

I think it's a reasonable expectation, but I'd expect to be winning 3/4 games a year well within 10-15 years! We are never going to challenge consistently for the championship really

I can totally accept not challenging consistently as long as we do it now and again. Even in our heyday in the 80s and 90s, we had crap years (lost every game the year after the 84 slam, for a start)

[Slick]

A bold prediction from Greeg:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/53328809

My own view is we need to concentrate on consolidation as a team who isn't fighting it out for the wooden spoon every other year (which to be fair I think we are well on our way to doing). It's good to be optimistic for sure, but I think going from serial (away) chokers to championship winners is a big leap for a 3 year period. The first big requirement is an away win outside Italy, then its consistently winning 3 games including at least one away, then its still being in the running for a championship by the last gameday, then its challenging for the championship. A 10 to 15 year period to make that transition seems more reasonable and that's if everything goes our way and also assuming our domestic game doesn't disintegrate in the post-COVID world.

I think it's a reasonable expectation, but I'd expect to be winning 3/4 games a year well within 10-15 years! We are never going to challenge consistently for the championship really

To be fair, I think KB was implying we are already part way through that 10-15 year transition. We've got to the stage where it's no longer a surprise for us to win 2 or 3, we now have to get to the stage where it's a surprise if we only win 1.

Yes, apologies, I thought that was a quote from the article rather than KB's opinion.

[Slick]

A bold prediction from Greeg:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/53328809

My own view is we need to concentrate on consolidation as a team who isn't fighting it out for the wooden spoon every other year (which to be fair I think we are well on our way to doing). It's good to be optimistic for sure, but I think going from serial (away) chokers to championship winners is a big leap for a 3 year period. The first big requirement is an away win outside Italy, then its consistently winning 3 games including at least one away, then its still being in the running for a championship by the last gameday, then its challenging for the championship. A 10 to 15 year period to make that transition seems more reasonable and that's if everything goes our way and also assuming our domestic game doesn't disintegrate in the post-COVID world.

I think it's a reasonable expectation, but I'd expect to be winning 3/4 games a year well within 10-15 years! We are never going to challenge consistently for the championship really

I can totally accept not challenging consistently as long as we do it now and again. Even in our heyday in the 80s and 90s, we had crap years (lost every game the year after the 84 slam, for a start)

Yeah agree with that. The worst thing is never being in the conversation at the start of the tourament, it gets really annoying

[KingBlairhorn]

I think it's a reasonable expectation, but I'd expect to be winning 3/4 games a year well within 10-15 years! We are never going to challenge consistently for the championship really

To be fair, I think KB was implying we are already part way through that 10-15 year transition. We've got to the stage where it's no longer a surprise for us to win 2 or 3, we now have to get to the stage where it's a surprise if we only win 1.

Yes, apologies, I thought that was a quote from the article rather than KB's opinion.

I probably wasn't very clear but Biffer is correct - I meant that we are on our way but to be consistently in the mix at the business end of the tournament is realistically a good few years away yet, even if everything goes our way. I honestly believe we are on the right track and that the quality of players we are now producing is good enough. The challenge will always be depth which is why I agree any success will be sporadic.

[Slick]

To be fair, I think KB was implying we are already part way through that 10-15 year transition. We've got to the stage where it's no longer a surprise for us to win 2 or 3, we now have to get to the stage where it's a surprise if we only win 1.

Yes, apologies, I thought that was a quote from the article rather than KB's opinion.

I probably wasn't very clear but Biffer is correct - I meant that we are on our way but to be consistently in the mix at the business end of the tournament is realistically a good few years away yet, even if everything goes our way. I honestly believe we are on the right track and that the quality of players we are now producing is good enough. The challenge will always be depth which is why I agree any success will be sporadic.

Yup, agree. We have a core of Lions standard players and a very good group of young guys in key positions. My only slight worry is the standard coming through the age groups, there doesnlt seem to be many stand outs, but in fairness I don't follow it that much. I also love that we have some real magic spread around the team with Hoggy, Finn, Graham, Kinghorn etc and are trying to play the open game, it's great to see.

What will be interesting is that I think we have suffered more than most with injuries over the last 3-4 seasons, so will be great after this extended break to have all the first choice together and playing a few games in a row.

[clydecloggie]

We haven't really been wooden spoon contenders for the last few years, so I agree the transition is actually well on its way.

Realistically, Wales are going to hit a lean patch. Their sustained success under Gatland was a minor miracle, it'd be a full sainthood qualifier if Pivac managed to keep going at that level. Unfortunately France seem to be building nicely, but we still have their measure at Murrayfield at least.

I can see us being in the reckoning in a year where we play England and France at home and get results against them, and win away in Cardiff and Rome.

Which goes against the orthodoxy of winning in a triple home game season, but i can't see us winning a championship with away games in Twickenham and Paris.

So here's to Scotland, 2022 Six Nations Winners*.

(* OK ,so we came second in the 7N but the Springboks are in a different league, doesn't really count).

[Biffer]

We haven't really been wooden spoon contenders for the last few years, so I agree the transition is actually well on its way.

Realistically, Wales are going to hit a lean patch. Their sustained success under Gatland was a minor miracle, it'd be a full sainthood qualifier if Pivac managed to keep going at that level. Unfortunately France seem to be building nicely, but we still have their measure at Murrayfield at least.

I can see us being in the reckoning in a year where we play England and France at home and get results against them, and win away in Cardiff and Rome.

Which goes against the orthodoxy of winning in a triple home game season, but i can't see us winning a championship with away games in Twickenham and Paris.

So here's to Scotland, 2022 Six Nations Winners*.

(* OK ,so we came second in the 7N but the Springboks are in a different league, doesn't really count).

I'm really looking forward to the Welsh lean patch. Gatland is the only thing they had going for them, well start to see the impact of their regions being shite before long.

[KingBlairhorn]

We haven't really been wooden spoon contenders for the last few years, so I agree the transition is actually well on its way.

Realistically, Wales are going to hit a lean patch. Their sustained success under Gatland was a minor miracle, it'd be a full sainthood qualifier if Pivac managed to keep going at that level. Unfortunately France seem to be building nicely, but we still have their measure at Murrayfield at least.

I can see us being in the reckoning in a year where we play England and France at home and get results against them, and win away in Cardiff and Rome.

Which goes against the orthodoxy of winning in a triple home game season, but i can't see us winning a championship with away games in Twickenham and Paris.

So here's to Scotland, 2022 Six Nations Winners*.

(* OK ,so we came second in the 7N but the Springboks are in a different league, doesn't really count).

I'm really looking forward to the Welsh lean patch. Gatland is the only thing they had going for them, well start to see the impact of their regions being shite before long.

Haha, as much as I would like to say Gatland was the only thing they had going for them I think that's a stretch. They have had many world class players and, importantly, they have competent depth in every position. While we are always a few injuries away from chucking in a 20 year old with 2 club appearances to his name or a journeyman jobber from the lower reaches of the Premiership, they will always have an at least competent replacement available. I suppose that's the benefit of four pro teams.

[Slick]

We haven't really been wooden spoon contenders for the last few years, so I agree the transition is actually well on its way.

Realistically, Wales are going to hit a lean patch. Their sustained success under Gatland was a minor miracle, it'd be a full sainthood qualifier if Pivac managed to keep going at that level. Unfortunately France seem to be building nicely, but we still have their measure at Murrayfield at least.

I can see us being in the reckoning in a year where we play England and France at home and get results against them, and win away in Cardiff and Rome.

Which goes against the orthodoxy of winning in a triple home game season, but i can't see us winning a championship with away games in Twickenham and Paris.

So here's to Scotland, 2022 Six Nations Winners*.

(* OK ,so we came second in the 7N but the Springboks are in a different league, doesn't really count).

I'm really looking forward to the Welsh lean patch. Gatland is the only thing they had going for them, well start to see the impact of their regions being shite before long.

Haha, as much as I would like to say Gatland was the only thing they had going for them I think that's a stretch. They have had many world class players and, importantly, they have competent depth in every position. While we are always a few injuries away from chucking in a 20 year old with 2 club appearances to his name or a journeyman jobber from the lower reaches of the Premiership, they will always have an at least competent replacement available. I suppose that's the benefit of four pro teams.

I'd rather the Irish had a humbling dive

[clydecloggie]

We haven't really been wooden spoon contenders for the last few years, so I agree the transition is actually well on its way.

Realistically, Wales are going to hit a lean patch. Their sustained success under Gatland was a minor miracle, it'd be a full sainthood qualifier if Pivac managed to keep going at that level. Unfortunately France seem to be building nicely, but we still have their measure at Murrayfield at least.

I can see us being in the reckoning in a year where we play England and France at home and get results against them, and win away in Cardiff and Rome.

Which goes against the orthodoxy of winning in a triple home game season, but i can't see us winning a championship with away games in Twickenham and Paris.

So here's to Scotland, 2022 Six Nations Winners*.

(* OK ,so we came second in the 7N but the Springboks are in a different league, doesn't really count).

I'm really looking forward to the Welsh lean patch. Gatland is the only thing they had going for them, well start to see the impact of their regions being shite before long.

Haha, as much as I would like to say Gatland was the only thing they had going for them I think that's a stretch. They have had many world class players and, importantly, they have competent depth in every position. While we are always a few injuries away from chucking in a 20 year old with 2 club appearances to his name or a journeyman jobber from the lower reaches of the Premiership, they will always have an at least competent replacement available. I suppose that's the benefit of four pro teams.

I think a lot of Welsh players benefited enormously from coming into a winning environment. I honestly don't think, man-for-man, they have that many players that are clearly better than their Scottish counterpart, Alun Wyn Jones, Taulupe Faletau and Jon Davies excepted. Put the others in the Scottish 'wooden spoon avoidance' environment and they...err..wouldn't have been Lions, so to speak.

And similarly, if Stuart McInally or Hamish Watson played for Wales, they would be Lions. and not just because of Gatland bias, but because they would have been proven winners.

[KingBlairhorn]

Yes, apologies, I thought that was a quote from the article rather than KB's opinion.

I probably wasn't very clear but Biffer is correct - I meant that we are on our way but to be consistently in the mix at the business end of the tournament is realistically a good few years away yet, even if everything goes our way. I honestly believe we are on the right track and that the quality of players we are now producing is good enough. The challenge will always be depth which is why I agree any success will be sporadic.

Yup, agree. We have a core of Lions standard players and a very good group of young guys in key positions. My only slight worry is the standard coming through the age groups, there doesnlt seem to be many stand outs, but in fairness I don't follow it that much. I also love that we have some real magic spread around the team with Hoggy, Finn, Graham, Kinghorn etc and are trying to play the open game, it's great to see.

What will be interesting is that I think we have suffered more than most with injuries over the last 3-4 seasons, so will be great after this extended break to have all the first choice together and playing a few games in a row.

There are some really excellent players coming through. This is the year I would have expected a big push from 2018 players (born after 1998, so around 21/22) but that did seem a lean year. Grahamslaw, Darge, Sykes and McDowall are the best in my opinion. I think we will see some of the 2019 team also push through this year including McLean, Blain, Smith, Chamberlain, Boyle and Ashman. That's a prop, a hooker, 2 back rows, a lock, a stand-off, a centre, a wing and 2 fullbacks. Not too shabby for two yeargroups.

[Biffer]

I'm really looking forward to the Welsh lean patch. Gatland is the only thing they had going for them, well start to see the impact of their regions being shite before long.

Haha, as much as I would like to say Gatland was the only thing they had going for them I think that's a stretch. They have had many world class players and, importantly, they have competent depth in every position. While we are always a few injuries away from chucking in a 20 year old with 2 club appearances to his name or a journeyman jobber from the lower reaches of the Premiership, they will always have an at least competent replacement available. I suppose that's the benefit of four pro teams.

I think a lot of Welsh players benefited enormously from coming into a winning environment. I honestly don't think, man-for-man, they have that many players that are clearly better than their Scottish counterpart, Alun Wyn Jones, Taulupe Faletau and Jon Davies excepted. Put the others in the Scottish 'wooden spoon avoidance' environment and they...err..wouldn't have been Lions, so to speak.

And similarly, if Stuart McInally or Hamish Watson played for Wales, they would be Lions. and not just because of Gatland bias, but because they would have been proven winners.

Yeah, when you look at the collection of big useless lunks they’ve had on the other wing from North, a series of dobbers at 6 and a plethora of vaguely adequate locks who looked good next to AWJ, you start to realise they didn’t have as much talent as you might think.

[clydecloggie]

I'm really looking forward to the Welsh lean patch. Gatland is the only thing they had going for them, well start to see the impact of their regions being shite before long.

Haha, as much as I would like to say Gatland was the only thing they had going for them I think that's a stretch. They have had many world class players and, importantly, they have competent depth in every position. While we are always a few injuries away from chucking in a 20 year old with 2 club appearances to his name or a journeyman jobber from the lower reaches of the Premiership, they will always have an at least competent replacement available. I suppose that's the benefit of four pro teams.

I'd rather the Irish had a humbling dive

Aye, wouldn't that be nice. Can't see it happening though, their regional setup (at Leinster in particular) is just so good they'll always have enough good players to be in the 6N top-3.

Let's content ourselves with their customary failure at the World Cup.

[westport]

When is mini Murrayfield expected to be finished? Hoping to check it out when I'm over next Easter.

Update on the new stadium

https://www.edinburghrugby.org/the-club ... -rsCmBdf8s

[Chrysoprase]

When is mini Murrayfield expected to be finished? Hoping to check it out when I'm over next Easter.

Update on the new stadium

https://www.edinburghrugby.org/the-club ... -rsCmBdf8s

I hadn't paid much attention to this before now but had made the assumption that they were actually building a new wee stadium along the lines of Scotstoun. Didn't realise it's all temporary seating. How much is this costing?

[KingBlairhorn]

When is mini Murrayfield expected to be finished? Hoping to check it out when I'm over next Easter.

Update on the new stadium

https://www.edinburghrugby.org/the-club ... -rsCmBdf8s

I hadn't paid much attention to this before now but had made the assumption that they were actually building a new wee stadium along the lines of Scotstoun. Didn't realise it's all temporary seating. How much is this costing?

I'm not sure they've said how much it's costing.

It actually looks more impressive than I thought, it's a pity there are pillars on the stands though and the blue seats are a bit disappointing too. Hopefully they put significant effort into branding it up to make it more Edinburgh.

[Biffer]

Update on the new stadium

https://www.edinburghrugby.org/the-club ... -rsCmBdf8s

I hadn't paid much attention to this before now but had made the assumption that they were actually building a new wee stadium along the lines of Scotstoun. Didn't realise it's all temporary seating. How much is this costing?

I'm not sure they've said how much it's costing.

It actually looks more impressive than I thought, it's a pity there are pillars on the stands though and the blue seats are a bit disappointing too. Hopefully they put significant effort into branding it up to make it more Edinburgh.

Although it's temporary seating, they've built it with the intention of permanence, if that makes sense. New water, new power substation, new artificial pitch, foundations in place and permanent floodlights. Seems the idea is to build piecemeal. Check the setup works for fans and players, have the flexibility to change the setup a bit. Then build a permanent main stand, then add on to that etc. End up over ten years or so building the whole stadium.

[Slick]

Update on the new stadium

https://www.edinburghrugby.org/the-club ... -rsCmBdf8s

I hadn't paid much attention to this before now but had made the assumption that they were actually building a new wee stadium along the lines of Scotstoun. Didn't realise it's all temporary seating. How much is this costing?

I'm not sure they've said how much it's costing.

It actually looks more impressive than I thought, it's a pity there are pillars on the stands though and the blue seats are a bit disappointing too. Hopefully they put significant effort into branding it up to make it more Edinburgh.

Yeah, looks a lot better than I thought