The Official Scottish Rugby Thread

[Yr Alban]

Saw Duhan went off with an injury. Did it look like a bad yin?

It did, he was limping heavily on an ankle

Well, at least he could weight bear. Should have enough recovery time for the Lions (can’t see him not being picked if fit)

[Slick]

Tim Visser in court on a domestic abuse charge.

Ex-Scotland rugby star in court accused of domestic abuse

https://www.thetimes.com/article/b41eee ... 0f0e787838

[dpedin]

Saw Duhan went off with an injury. Did it look like a bad yin?

It did, he was limping heavily on an ankle

Well, at least he could weight bear. Should have enough recovery time for the Lions (can’t see him not being picked if fit)

I'm not sure we get much out of VdM in these games against the likes of Dragons. He does seem a little disinterested and we rarely get the ball to him out wide anyway so he just wanders about to little effect at times. He raises his game when playing for Scotland or in big games that matter. However I am impressed with McCann every time I see him, he reminds me a little of Kyle Rowe at Glasgow, grateful for his chance, gives 100% every time and does all the basics well. I dont think we lost anything when VdM went off inured. Having said all that I would have VdM in my Lions selection every day of the week, he will rise to the occasion!

[Biffer]

It did, he was limping heavily on an ankle

Well, at least he could weight bear. Should have enough recovery time for the Lions (can’t see him not being picked if fit)

I'm not sure we get much out of VdM in these games against the likes of Dragons. He does seem a little disinterested and we rarely get the ball to him out wide anyway so he just wanders about to little effect at times. He raises his game when playing for Scotland or in big games that matter. However I am impressed with McCann every time I see him, he reminds me a little of Kyle Rowe at Glasgow, grateful for his chance, gives 100% every time and does all the basics well. I dont think we lost anything when VdM went off inured. Having said all that I would have VdM in my Lions selection every day of the week, he will rise to the occasion!

Except VdM got injured on a fast aggressive run, trying to stay on his feet and brush an extra couple of people off.

[robmatic]

He looked pretty decent for the u20s. What I don't understand is that Glasgow have had some injury challenges in the back 3 in the last 2 years. I seem to recall a winger going to SA & starting who wasn't even in the squad. It would seem a prime opportunity to start this lad. I wonder if Franco is better at developing prospects in the forwards than prospects in the backs?

Jessie J got it all wrong - it is all about the money (money , money )

Glasgow, ( along with Edinburgh ) are being forced to reduce squad sizes, if you have a back three of McKay, Smith , Steyn , Rowe, Cancelliere - all pretty much first team starters , along with Cordero & Trotter as back up - and throw into the mix Jamie Dobie, who also needs gametime - trying to get meaningful gametime for Caqusau is almost impossible.

Saints will be able to offer a better financial settlement than Glasgow ever will for Caqusau . Jordan / Mann are perfect examples - players who Franco wanted to keep, but who were on fairly limited salaries , and when their current contract expired, Glasgow simply did not have the cash in the current climate.

As far as I am aware both Cancelliere , and Cordero will be OOC in the summer , and if rumours are to be believed both will be let go, McKay is also OOC , and again they would need to use the cash to keep McKay.

The more pressing need to Glasgow is to find a decent 10 to replace Jordan, and they don't grow on trees

Yeah, rumour is that the Argentinians aren’t being offered new contracts, but McKay is.

Don’t think there’s an issue with Franco developing backs, beyond him typically having only two backs on the bench meaning that opportunities are necessarily really limited.

Having a 6-2 split on the bench for every single game is absolutely Franco's choice though and it does result in fewer opportunities for young backs. That is a trade-off that he is happy making.

[clydecloggie]

Tim Visser in court on a domestic abuse charge.

Ex-Scotland rugby star in court accused of domestic abuse

https://www.thetimes.com/article/b41eee ... 0f0e787838

It's well known he's a wrong 'un (an arrogant twat, essentially), but I'm still surprised he's potentially from the Hogg branch of wrongunism.

[Jock42]

Tim Visser in court on a domestic abuse charge.

Ex-Scotland rugby star in court accused of domestic abuse

https://www.thetimes.com/article/b41eee ... 0f0e787838

It's well known he's a wrong 'un (an arrogant twat, essentially), but I'm still surprised he's potentially from the Hogg branch of wrongunism.

First I've heard of him being a dick

[KingBlairhorn]

Tim Visser in court on a domestic abuse charge.

Ex-Scotland rugby star in court accused of domestic abuse

https://www.thetimes.com/article/b41eee ... 0f0e787838

It's well known he's a wrong 'un (an arrogant twat, essentially), but I'm still surprised he's potentially from the Hogg branch of wrongunism.

First I've heard of him being a dick

I’ve never heard anything like that either. A bit smarmy but that doesn’t make him a wrong’un.

In other news, but gusty in Glasgow. Apparently they are evacuating one of the temporary stands and delaying KO.

[Jock42]

Lions tighthead is old school

[Biffer]

Lions tighthead is old school

Thought you were talking about Fagerson there

[KingBlairhorn]

Good to see Glasgow put up a big lead here as I have a sneaky feeling the second half might see the one-way traffic reverse.

[dkm57]

Windy as F but good performance by Warriors hope they have enough of a lead in the conditions. Hastings 100% in these conditions is impressive.

[KingBlairhorn]

Some of the warriors passing in that game was simply joyous.

[SomersetJock]

Some of the warriors passing in that game was simply joyous.

I had to check that I hadn’t accidentally hit a setting to make the app play at 1.5 speed at one stage. Some of the passing and interplay was more like something in a movie or highlights reel than real time.

[Slick]

A joy to see Finn having the haters spluttering again this morning

[Slick]

Tim Visser in court on a domestic abuse charge.

Ex-Scotland rugby star in court accused of domestic abuse

https://www.thetimes.com/article/b41eee ... 0f0e787838

It's well known he's a wrong 'un (an arrogant twat, essentially), but I'm still surprised he's potentially from the Hogg branch of wrongunism.

I got to know him a little bit, enough to stop and have a chat, when he was doing up a property at the end of our street. He was nice enough with a slight hint of knob. I guess his match day event side hustle is over now

[Dogbert]

Some of the warriors passing in that game was simply joyous.

I had to check that I hadn’t accidentally hit a setting to make the app play at 1.5 speed at one stage. Some of the passing and interplay was more like something in a movie or highlights reel than real time.

Playing the Lions ,whose away form is abysmal , in those conditions last night paints a false impression.

Not one of the Glasgow pack last night would have made it onto the Edinburgh team that beat Dragons on Friday.

The Glasgow starting scrum was put under pressure , and a more meticulous referee might have punished them more severely. The line out didn't function particularly well under either Hooker - even though the gusty nature of the wind hindered throwing - but then why try to throw long.

Hastings had his best game since coming back to Glasgow, but that is not a high bar - after a first sticky 10 minutes , he had a solid game, didn't try anything 'flashy' ( good) , but there is a question mark over whether he is the 10 that Glasgow need. With Weir out for the rest of the season , we need both Hastings and Jordan to remain fit, and past experience would suggest that this is unlikely.

Glasgow will be certainly weakened next season with the loss of Jordan, Venter and Mann, all of whom break the gain line consistently.

[robmatic]

With Weir out for the rest of the season , we need both Hastings and Jordan to remain fit, and past experience would suggest that this is unlikely.

Weir has been poor every time I have seen him play recently, but this might be a problem as I am not sure Hastings is even fully fit right now.

What happened to Richie Simpson? He looked decent for the u20s a couple of seasons ago but is he not even in the Glasgow squad any more?

[Dogbert]

With Weir out for the rest of the season , we need both Hastings and Jordan to remain fit, and past experience would suggest that this is unlikely.

Weir has been poor every time I have seen him play recently, but this might be a problem as I am not sure Hastings is even fully fit right now.

What happened to Richie Simpson? He looked decent for the u20s a couple of seasons ago but is he not even in the Glasgow squad any more?

Simpson is currently injured.

Hastings is physically fit, but looks to have lost a bit of bulk ( Franco is very conservative for only putting fit players out - see how much time Vialanu /Du Preez and Murphy Walker have been given) whether Hastings is mentally & match fit is another matter, and only getting a run of matches will help- but he needs to remain fit.

We are now getting to the pointy end of the season , and the league is all pretty tight so every point counts. Hastings was poor against Munster , Weir better but still not great - but I suspect if Hastings had remained at 10 against Munster, Glasgow would have lost the game.

[Tichtheid]

I'm catching up with the Toulouse game from yesterday, the coms guy has just said that Blair Kinghorn carried for more metres this year than anyone in the whole history of the Six Nations.

[Slick]

I'm catching up with the Toulouse game from yesterday, the coms guy has just said that Blair Kinghorn carried for more metres this year than anyone in the whole history of the Six Nations.

Coincidently I saw today that he was miles ahead in this years 6N, but that is a ridiculous stat!

[KingBlairhorn]

Some of the warriors passing in that game was simply joyous.

I had to check that I hadn’t accidentally hit a setting to make the app play at 1.5 speed at one stage. Some of the passing and interplay was more like something in a movie or highlights reel than real time.

Playing the Lions ,whose away form is abysmal , in those conditions last night paints a false impression.

Not one of the Glasgow pack last night would have made it onto the Edinburgh team that beat Dragons on Friday.

The Glasgow starting scrum was put under pressure , and a more meticulous referee might have punished them more severely. The line out didn't function particularly well under either Hooker - even though the gusty nature of the wind hindered throwing - but then why try to throw long.

Hastings had his best game since coming back to Glasgow, but that is not a high bar - after a first sticky 10 minutes , he had a solid game, didn't try anything 'flashy' ( good) , but there is a question mark over whether he is the 10 that Glasgow need. With Weir out for the rest of the season , we need both Hastings and Jordan to remain fit, and past experience would suggest that this is unlikely.

Glasgow will be certainly weakened next season with the loss of Jordan, Venter and Mann, all of whom break the gain line consistently.

I think your glass is a bit too far towards the half-empty side.

Firstly, the passing was quick, accurate and most importantly made on the point of contact. That is hard to pull off in non-contact training, to pull it off in poor match conditions and to do so consistently remains a good sign that the Warriors are clicking into gear.

In terms of the pack my view was more mixed, I thought Talakai was poor, I didn't think Stewart offered much and Du Preez was poor into contact. I thought McBeth had the better of his opposite man in the scrum though, borne out by the uptick when Zander came on, and I thought Brown was good in the boiler house - very abrasive into contact. Vailanu had decent spells but knocked-on quite a few times.

Hastings I thought challenged the line well at times which kept the rush honest and he put through runners on several of the clean breaks (notably the Steyn break on a gorgeous angle in the first half). His passing was largely crisp and he played a few decent kicks including a lovely 50-22 (a few howlers too). I would say that was a mixed but largely competent performance which is good for a guy coming back from (yet another) injury. I agree with the sentiment that Glasgow need either Jordan or a much better Hastings to challenge for the championship again though.

I agree with the point on the bulk being lost next year - I presume Glasgow have someone coming in. Maybe they will take an Edinburgh back row again (Boyle, Crosbie, Muncaster, McConnell) and turn him into a worldy in 5 games. Perhaps Reuban Logan or Alex Masibaka?

[westport]

Edinburgh Rugby has issued the following squad update ahead of Friday’s EPCR Challenge Cup Round of 16 tie with Emirates Lions at Hive Stadium (4 April, kick-off 8pm).

Duhan van der Merwe (ankle) – Awaiting results of MRI scan.

Marshall Sykes (foot) – Awaiting results of MRI scan.

Ben Muncaster (concussion) – Progressing through return to play protocols. Expected back next week.

Ben Healy (knee) – Back fit and available for selection

Harry Paterson (hamstring) – Back fit and available for selection

Emiliano Boffelli (hamstring) – Back in training. Remains week to week.

Mark Bennett (quad) – Out until mid-April.

Matt Scott (neck) – Out until late April.

Jamie Hodgson (tricep) – Out until late April.

Luke Crosbie (pec) – Out until June.

Tom Dodd (shoulder) – Out until June.

Lewis Wells (ankle) – Out until May.

Connor Boyle (knee) – Expected back in September.

[Tichtheid]

Edinburgh Rugby has issued the following squad update ahead of Friday’s EPCR Challenge Cup Round of 16 tie with Emirates Lions at Hive Stadium (4 April, kick-off 8pm).

Duhan van der Merwe (ankle) – Awaiting results of MRI scan.

Marshall Sykes (foot) – Awaiting results of MRI scan.

Ben Muncaster (concussion) – Progressing through return to play protocols. Expected back next week.

Ben Healy (knee) – Back fit and available for selection

Harry Paterson (hamstring) – Back fit and available for selection

Emiliano Boffelli (hamstring) – Back in training. Remains week to week.

Mark Bennett (quad) – Out until mid-April.

Matt Scott (neck) – Out until late April.

Jamie Hodgson (tricep) – Out until late April.

Luke Crosbie (pec) – Out until June.

Tom Dodd (shoulder) – Out until June.

Lewis Wells (ankle) – Out until May.

Connor Boyle (knee) – Expected back in September.

No mention of Paul Hill which must mean he's fit, I hope

[dpedin]

Edinburgh Rugby has issued the following squad update ahead of Friday’s EPCR Challenge Cup Round of 16 tie with Emirates Lions at Hive Stadium (4 April, kick-off 8pm).

Duhan van der Merwe (ankle) – Awaiting results of MRI scan.

Marshall Sykes (foot) – Awaiting results of MRI scan.

Ben Muncaster (concussion) – Progressing through return to play protocols. Expected back next week.

Ben Healy (knee) – Back fit and available for selection

Harry Paterson (hamstring) – Back fit and available for selection

Emiliano Boffelli (hamstring) – Back in training. Remains week to week.

Mark Bennett (quad) – Out until mid-April.

Matt Scott (neck) – Out until late April.

Jamie Hodgson (tricep) – Out until late April.

Luke Crosbie (pec) – Out until June.

Tom Dodd (shoulder) – Out until June.

Lewis Wells (ankle) – Out until May.

Connor Boyle (knee) – Expected back in September.

No mention of Paul Hill which must mean he's fit, I hope

A few guys I would have as first choices or on the bench on that list!

[KingBlairhorn]

Bloody hell, Finn Russell has signed for Edinburgh next season. Didn't see that coming.

[Biffer]

Bloody hell, Finn Russell has signed for Edinburgh next season. Didn't see that coming.

Nearly

[KingBlairhorn]

Bloody hell, Finn Russell has signed for Edinburgh next season. Didn't see that coming.

Nearly

[Slick]

Bloody hell, Finn Russell has signed for Edinburgh next season. Didn't see that coming.

Nearly

Yes, nearly.

[SaintK]

Bloody hell, Finn Russell has signed for Edinburgh next season. Didn't see that coming.

Just think of how many other players they would have to cut to even begin to match his Bath salary

[Yr Alban]

Bloody hell, Finn Russell has signed for Edinburgh next season. Didn't see that coming.

You had me there. Was completely astonished for about 3 seconds and then I remembered

[KingBlairhorn]

Haha, sorry everyone, I couldn't resist.

[Big D]

Bloody hell, Finn Russell has signed for Edinburgh next season. Didn't see that coming.

Just think of how many other players they would have to cut to even begin to match his Bath salary

Nah with the Saudi world cup bid inevitably seeing the SRU sell 49% of Edinburgh and Glasgow to PIF there will be plenty of money to go around.

[Big D]

Duhan would be fit to return during May and Sykes end of May.

Not ideal for Edinburgh but both will be fit for their summer tours.

[GrahamWa]

Duhan would be fit to return during May and Sykes end of May.

Not ideal for Edinburgh but both will be fit for their summer tours.

The cynical side of me says, good on Duhi living on current value rather than having to turn up for Chumps Cup and fighting for a playoff humping in Dublin.

[Tichtheid]

I keep getting "articles" on Facebook from various sources seemingly wanting van der Merwe to be injured out of the Lions tour, one is called Rugby Addicts, another is Ruck and there was one which I can't recall the name.

I know it's clickbait, but it's pretty low at the same time imo.

[Slick]

I keep getting "articles" on Facebook from various sources seemingly wanting van der Merwe to be injured out of the Lions tour, one is called Rugby Addicts, another is Ruck and there was one which I can't recall the name.

I know it's clickbait, but it's pretty low at the same time imo.

That's awful.

May be everyone is just a bit protective of their players but some of our lot really do seem to attract some uninformed vitriol - Finn being the main one f course, but also VdM, Darcy and Jones.

[Big D]

I keep getting "articles" on Facebook from various sources seemingly wanting van der Merwe to be injured out of the Lions tour, one is called Rugby Addicts, another is Ruck and there was one which I can't recall the name.

I know it's clickbait, but it's pretty low at the same time imo.

That's awful.

May be everyone is just a bit protective of their players but some of our lot really do seem to attract some uninformed vitriol - Finn being the main one f course, but also VdM, Darcy and Jones.

There is no subtlety in online/social media anymore. For example, we don't every consider that a player may be asked to play a certain way or style for country v club or to what the Lions will play.

Any discourse over Russell and Jones for the Lions is mental. They are nailed on to go if fit.

[dkm57]

The vids I've watched doing the Lions match 1 squads seem pretty set starting backline of
Dickson-Park,
Russel
Tuipulotu/Aki
Jones/Henshaw
VdM
Kinghorn/Keenan
Lowe/Kinghorn

Zander is the only one starting in the Pack.

Any way weeks to go and only Andy Farrell is picking the team. It'll be really interesting to see what the full touring squad is.

[Tichtheid]

The vids I've watched doing the Lions match 1 squads seem pretty set starting backline of
Dickson-Park,
Russel
Tuipulotu/Aki
Jones/Henshaw
VdM
Kinghorn/Keenan
Lowe/Kinghorn

Zander is the only one starting in the Pack.

Any way weeks to go and only Andy Farrell is picking the team. It'll be really interesting to see what the full touring squad is.

Soz, I'm confused as to what you mean by "Lions match 1 squads" - do you mean team for the first test?

Incidentally, Kinghorn tops a lot of 6N charts - most carries, most offloads, most line breaks, most metres carried, most metres gained.

Jamie Ritchie had most breakdown steals, Rory Darge had most clean outs. Scotland had the quickest ruck ball and Rory Darge topped the attacking ruck arrivals with Z Fagerson in 2nd equal with Itoje, Gilchrist in 4th, Matt Fagerson in 6th