The Official Scottish Rugby Thread

[Tichtheid]

Oh, I’m aware of all this. But when we get shite thrown at us, it’s generally for the number of ‘foreign’ born players (happens every RWC) and nobody cares about heritage. Barclay was never described as such as an individual but was certainly included collectively.

Yes but it's generally the Saffer, Kiwi, English etc born, raised and "rugby educated" that draw these articles and then the likes of Barclay is included for completeness. Commentators would talk about Tuilagi being Samoan born and his Samoan heritage. It's not like they completely ignore the other foreign born players when commentating.

It is practically impossible for us to have an exclusively homegrown team but if we had there'd have been very little noise about a Barclay or a Ryan Grant (although he was educated in KL) other than a side note in commentary.

A year or so ago I remember posting we could field a competitive international side who were all at least born in Scotland, if we wished. Probably still can?
Kinghorn; Graham, Jones, McDowall, Patterson; Russell, Horne; Darge, M Fagerson, Ritchie; Cummings, Gilchrist; Sutherland, Turner, Z Fagerson.
Bench would be harder, but doable?

In other news, I just saw the highlights of the game v NZ Maori. That second Horne try is pure filth, and I am absolutely here for it.

Bench - Harrison, Bhatti, ?, Williamson, Crosbie, Hastings, Currie, Dobie
(I'd argue for Currie starting)

Tighthead is a waiting game until we can get OBL and Jamie Stewart up and running at senior level

edit, Murphy Walker is still coming back from injury, he is a possible to make international honours at tighthead and now that I think of it - dog knows why D'Arcy Rae isn't touring for us, he is better than the tightheads who are there.

Glasgow also have Hiddleston who looks the part at hooker. Samuel will be in the mix at lock, Jack Mann and Magus Bradbury for the back row, Ferrie possibly too, along with Gregor Brown who is already in the squad.
Afshar isn't too far away at scrum half. Smith in the back three.
From Edinburgh, Boyle, the aforementioned Bradbury, Glen Young and Ross Thompson could all do a job for Scotland. Freddy Douglas has already won a full cap and he will win many more.

[Big D]

Oh, I’m aware of all this. But when we get shite thrown at us, it’s generally for the number of ‘foreign’ born players (happens every RWC) and nobody cares about heritage. Barclay was never described as such as an individual but was certainly included collectively.

Yes but it's generally the Saffer, Kiwi, English etc born, raised and "rugby educated" that draw these articles and then the likes of Barclay is included for completeness. Commentators would talk about Tuilagi being Samoan born and his Samoan heritage. It's not like they completely ignore the other foreign born players when commentating.

It is practically impossible for us to have an exclusively homegrown team but if we had there'd have been very little noise about a Barclay or a Ryan Grant (although he was educated in KL) other than a side note in commentary.

A year or so ago I remember posting we could field a competitive international side who were all at least born in Scotland, if we wished. Probably still can?
Kinghorn; Graham, Jones, McDowall, Patterson; Russell, Horne; Darge, M Fagerson, Ritchie; Cummings, Gilchrist; Sutherland, Turner, Z Fagerson.
Bench would be harder, but doable?

In other news, I just saw the highlights of the game v NZ Maori. That second Horne try is pure filth, and I am absolutely here for it.

Yeah that's fair. Was more thinking about the big drop off at prop behind Zander really and IMO centre. Currently without Zander our Scots born props are either sadly passed it at top end international level or not ready yet.

Wouldn't call Jones homegrown despite being born here and clearly having a birthright to play for us. All his education and rugby education was done elsewhere.

We understand the reasons why our team has a diverse background and the noise around it doesnt bother me as much as others.

[Yr Alban]

Yes but it's generally the Saffer, Kiwi, English etc born, raised and "rugby educated" that draw these articles and then the likes of Barclay is included for completeness. Commentators would talk about Tuilagi being Samoan born and his Samoan heritage. It's not like they completely ignore the other foreign born players when commentating.

It is practically impossible for us to have an exclusively homegrown team but if we had there'd have been very little noise about a Barclay or a Ryan Grant (although he was educated in KL) other than a side note in commentary.

A year or so ago I remember posting we could field a competitive international side who were all at least born in Scotland, if we wished. Probably still can?
Kinghorn; Graham, Jones, McDowall, Patterson; Russell, Horne; Darge, M Fagerson, Ritchie; Cummings, Gilchrist; Sutherland, Turner, Z Fagerson.
Bench would be harder, but doable?

In other news, I just saw the highlights of the game v NZ Maori. That second Horne try is pure filth, and I am absolutely here for it.

Yeah that's fair. Was more thinking about the big drop off at prop behind Zander really and IMO centre. Currently without Zander our Scots born props are either sadly passed it at top end international level or not ready yet.

Wouldn't call Jones homegrown despite being born here and clearly having a birthright to play for us. All his education and rugby education was done elsewhere.

We understand the reasons why our team has a diverse background and the noise around it doesnt bother me as much as others.

Agreed - Jones is similar to Roebuck, just happened to be Scottish born, but he has chosen to embrace it.

We do understand the reasons. And making a team who were all ‘authentically’ born makes little logical sense, because birthplace doesn’t define a person’s nationality. For instance, Kyle Rowe was born in England, but moved to Scotland aged 8. Oguntibeju came to Scotland from Nigeria age 2. These guys were brought up Scottish.

[Big D]

A year or so ago I remember posting we could field a competitive international side who were all at least born in Scotland, if we wished. Probably still can?
Kinghorn; Graham, Jones, McDowall, Patterson; Russell, Horne; Darge, M Fagerson, Ritchie; Cummings, Gilchrist; Sutherland, Turner, Z Fagerson.
Bench would be harder, but doable?

In other news, I just saw the highlights of the game v NZ Maori. That second Horne try is pure filth, and I am absolutely here for it.

Yeah that's fair. Was more thinking about the big drop off at prop behind Zander really and IMO centre. Currently without Zander our Scots born props are either sadly passed it at top end international level or not ready yet.

Wouldn't call Jones homegrown despite being born here and clearly having a birthright to play for us. All his education and rugby education was done elsewhere.

We understand the reasons why our team has a diverse background and the noise around it doesnt bother me as much as others.

Agreed - Jones is similar to Roebuck, just happened to be Scottish born, but he has chosen to embrace it.

We do understand the reasons. And making a team who were all ‘authentically’ born makes little logical sense, because birthplace doesn’t define a person’s nationality. For instance, Kyle Rowe was born in England, but moved to Scotland aged 8. Oguntibeju came to Scotland from Nigeria age 2. These guys were brought up Scottish.

Agreed. I just ignore the noise now.

[C T]

A few thoughts on our Lions so far:

Zander - Sod it, I'm still counting him. Such a shame, feel he'd best starting the tests. Also would have been interesting to see a Genge/Z Fagerson front row
Schooo - Think he's played very well but likely still probably 3rd choice
Cummings - Playing himself into contention to feature, perhaps from the bench
White - GP nailed on starter, unlikely to get ahead of Mitchell for bench
Russell - Nailed on
Tuipilotu - Should start, but reckon they'll go Aki
Jones - Should start, but reckon they'll go Ringrose
IrnDhu - Not buying all the hyper-hate, but reckon he's 4th choice. Interestingly, can't help but feel Darcy might have shone a bit more
Kinghorn - Nailed on

On the centre partnership, gut feel is Aki/Ringrose for the 1st test but maybe a chance of Huwipilotu on the 2nd & 3rd test.

[Jock42]

Australia beat Fiji 21-18 at home in Newcastle.

I think we can expect a tough game next week against the Fijians.

Fiji were poor in the first half hour. Handling was dog shit and their set piece non existent. BBM dropped a ball with 15 to go about 15m out, all he had to do was run over 1 ozzie to score.

[GrahamWa]

A few thoughts on our Lions so far:

Zander - Sod it, I'm still counting him. Such a shame, feel he'd best starting the tests. Also would have been interesting to see a Genge/Z Fagerson front row
Schooo - Think he's played very well but likely still probably 3rd choice
Cummings - Playing himself into contention to feature, perhaps from the bench
White - GP nailed on starter, unlikely to get ahead of Mitchell for bench
Russell - Nailed on
Tuipilotu - Should start, but reckon they'll go Aki
Jones - Should start, but reckon they'll go Ringrose
IrnDhu - Not buying all the hyper-hate, but reckon he's 4th choice. Interestingly, can't help but feel Darcy might have shone a bit more
Kinghorn - Nailed on

On the centre partnership, gut feel is Aki/Ringrose for the 1st test but maybe a chance of Huwipilotu on the 2nd & 3rd test.

Barring injury, if the Lions win the first test there is no chance that the team gets shuffled. It would be like admitting you had made a mistake.

[Yr Alban]

A few thoughts on our Lions so far:

Zander - Sod it, I'm still counting him. Such a shame, feel he'd best starting the tests. Also would have been interesting to see a Genge/Z Fagerson front row
Schooo - Think he's played very well but likely still probably 3rd choice
Cummings - Playing himself into contention to feature, perhaps from the bench
White - GP nailed on starter, unlikely to get ahead of Mitchell for bench
Russell - Nailed on
Tuipilotu - Should start, but reckon they'll go Aki
Jones - Should start, but reckon they'll go Ringrose
IrnDhu - Not buying all the hyper-hate, but reckon he's 4th choice. Interestingly, can't help but feel Darcy might have shone a bit more
Kinghorn - Nailed on

On the centre partnership, gut feel is Aki/Ringrose for the 1st test but maybe a chance of Huwipilotu on the 2nd & 3rd test.

Difficult to say as I’m largely working from match reports, but I get the impression that Huwipilotu have played better on tour than Aki in particular. I suspect that if Aki and Ringrose are selected to start, it’s because Farrell is reaching for the familiar rather than going with form.

[Soapy]

A few thoughts on our Lions so far:

Zander - Sod it, I'm still counting him. Such a shame, feel he'd best starting the tests. Also would have been interesting to see a Genge/Z Fagerson front row
Schooo - Think he's played very well but likely still probably 3rd choice
Cummings - Playing himself into contention to feature, perhaps from the bench
White - GP nailed on starter, unlikely to get ahead of Mitchell for bench
Russell - Nailed on
Tuipilotu - Should start, but reckon they'll go Aki
Jones - Should start, but reckon they'll go Ringrose
IrnDhu - Not buying all the hyper-hate, but reckon he's 4th choice. Interestingly, can't help but feel Darcy might have shone a bit more
Kinghorn - Nailed on

On the centre partnership, gut feel is Aki/Ringrose for the 1st test but maybe a chance of Huwipilotu on the 2nd & 3rd test.

Difficult to say as I’m largely working from match reports, but I get the impression that Huwipilotu have played better on tour than Aki in particular. I suspect that if Aki and Ringrose are selected to start, it’s because Farrell is reaching for the familiar rather than going with form.

My impression is that as the pressure mounts, Farrell is showing limitations to caoch beyond the structured and familiar and is going to increasingly fall back on his established comfort blankets (Owen, Johnny, Bundee, Jamison, etc). Frankly, to date, the Lions have been a mess and the forwards in particular have been dross.

[Slick]

A few thoughts on our Lions so far:

Zander - Sod it, I'm still counting him. Such a shame, feel he'd best starting the tests. Also would have been interesting to see a Genge/Z Fagerson front row
Schooo - Think he's played very well but likely still probably 3rd choice
Cummings - Playing himself into contention to feature, perhaps from the bench
White - GP nailed on starter, unlikely to get ahead of Mitchell for bench
Russell - Nailed on
Tuipilotu - Should start, but reckon they'll go Aki
Jones - Should start, but reckon they'll go Ringrose
IrnDhu - Not buying all the hyper-hate, but reckon he's 4th choice. Interestingly, can't help but feel Darcy might have shone a bit more
Kinghorn - Nailed on

On the centre partnership, gut feel is Aki/Ringrose for the 1st test but maybe a chance of Huwipilotu on the 2nd & 3rd test.

Can see him still picking Keenan

[Yr Alban]

A few thoughts on our Lions so far:

Zander - Sod it, I'm still counting him. Such a shame, feel he'd best starting the tests. Also would have been interesting to see a Genge/Z Fagerson front row
Schooo - Think he's played very well but likely still probably 3rd choice
Cummings - Playing himself into contention to feature, perhaps from the bench
White - GP nailed on starter, unlikely to get ahead of Mitchell for bench
Russell - Nailed on
Tuipilotu - Should start, but reckon they'll go Aki
Jones - Should start, but reckon they'll go Ringrose
IrnDhu - Not buying all the hyper-hate, but reckon he's 4th choice. Interestingly, can't help but feel Darcy might have shone a bit more
Kinghorn - Nailed on

On the centre partnership, gut feel is Aki/Ringrose for the 1st test but maybe a chance of Huwipilotu on the 2nd & 3rd test.

Can see him still picking Keenan

By all accounts Keenan had a mare v NSW. Not that that means Farrell won’t pick him anyway.

[TartanBear]

AF is there to win games. Russell is nailed on. Can’t see him breaking up the excellent Irish and Scottish centres. Most likely to start the Irish in the first test because he knows them. If they win the first two, I think the Scots will feature in the third. If they lose the first, maybe they start the second. Kinghorn will also be in the starting squad for at least one test. Bench for the first? Can’t see a Scot forward in the test squad, barring injury to a prop or second row. White may make the bench for the third test if Lions are 2:0.

Duhan shouldn’t be near the test squad on current form. Schmit is too clever a coach not to manipulate his frailties.