Scotland Post Match thread

[123456789]

Positives:
We have a back-three that can score from anywhere
Matt Scott showed he's an international class centre (still question marks over his defence)
Laidlaw showed bits of class and will improve throughout the competition
Beattie's back
Ford was very good when he came on
We appear to be more patient in the opposition 22

Negatives:
Jackson wasn't very good
Lamont isn't a 13
Inconsistent scrummaging
Our defence stands off too much meaning teams like England and New Zealand and England make ground with apparent ease

For next week:
Need to be more aggressive
Maybe Cairns or Grove should be promoted
I'd stay with the same team except I'd start Denton, Ford, Weir and Grove

The question is, was it better to see Scotland weaker in defence but have a far greater attacking threat or better to see Scotland strong defensively but blunt in attack?

[UlstermaninGlasgow]

I disagree about Ford, wasn't convinced again by his lineouts. Doug Hall had a very good game in the loose and w/ lineouts but shown up in the scrum. To be honest I think McArthur deserves his shot vs Italy.

I think Jackson's 'poor game' came from the English linespeed which was ferocious and their disruption at the ruck which meant Ruairidh was taking ball and getting man at the same time.

Agree Lamont was poor, Alex Grove deserves a call up. Dozer Kellybrows and Jr to start at back row.

And an actual loosehead on the bench please? Welshy made it through 78 minutes on Friday night and I'd expect him and Muzza to be the bench options next week.

[GLove39]

Thanks for stating this thread.

Can't see how swapping Grove for Shalmont would weaken us in defence and would hopefully make us more fluid in attack. Big question marks at 10. Unimpressed by Jackson, but I guess a player needs time to bed down & be confident. On that subject, surely Hogg should take punts to touch from pens? Some of Jackson's efforts were rather feeble.

One big positive was the way Visser has tightened up his defence, and kicked ad chased well.

[123456789]

I thought Ford was very good, he stopped a certain try and then won a penalty, not back to his best yet but I was impressed.
I agree about the loosehead and I reckon if we'd had Rennie or Barclay, maybe even Fusaro, the game would have been different

That said, Italy aren't the same threat attacking wise and have an inferior defence so we should win next week comfortably seeing as it is at Murrayfield

I think one of the main problems at the moment is that Scotland are operating a drift defence which allows the opposition to come onto them and needs maximum concentration at all times from everyone whereas a blitz defence is more combative and aggressive and allows for big hits which raise morale. Also a blitz defence means that the stronger tacklers can go looking for tackles and the weaker ones are less likely to be exposed.

[RuggerRadge2611]

England just too strong. More to follow when I'm not typing on an iPad

[EST]

I agree numbers, regarding our defensive system; we are far to passive when defending, allowing teams such as England to keep grinding away, building momentum. Allied to that, numerous times players stepped out of the line, leaving space on the outside.

Overall, a pretty mixed bag. Some good counterattacking, but we were second best physically, nullifying our back play.

For next week: Press the opposition in defence, get up for the fight physically, look to commit a few more bodies to the breakdown and try and play some rugby on the front foot.

[UlstermaninGlasgow]

I'm not so sure about Italy not offering an attacking threat. Scotland have been caught out before with that! Benvenuti, Masi and Venditti are classy attackers.

Agree the blitz was the way to stop England today, but you have to look at what Ireland did to Wales today or the 'A' team did to the Saxons last night and see that controlling the breakdown is key. Need Fusaro back for next week or start McArthur and Grove who can act as auxillary flankers like Best and BOD.

[IanBru]

I've often said before how much I like Sean Lamont - in terms of personality, commitment, professionalism and sheer graft, he is your model Scotland internationalist.

However, when you have a back three which is as potent as ours could be, you need an outside centre whose mindset on receiving the ball isn't 70/30 in favour of taking the ball into contact. At the very least he needs to draw his man and release the winger outside him, but Lamont doesn't even try to pass. He just tries to hand-off his opposite, then passes inside to the supporting runner. All well and good, but it sucks up the momentum that the attack line has developed to that point.

If Lamont has to play, put him on the wing where his strength is maximised and his poor passing is minimised.

[allyt2k]

Jackson couldn't do much we had very little ball to do anything with, with what little ball we did have at least we now have players who can make things happen. Biggest problem we have is we need a seven Brown/Beattie and Denton is to much of the same, personally I would have Roddy in there against Italy if Fusaro is still out.

Don't like moving players around in positions but I wouldn't mind Hogg at 13 Tonks at 15 and Lamont on the bench.

[Imperialbigdave]

Two big things stuck out today; Line speed and ball retention.

Firstly, Line speed. This is surely the fundamental aspect of a good defence. Yet twice in the past 3 months we have seen Scotland go out and play with all the line speed of a lethargic tortoise. Not only does slow line speed give guys like farrell enough time to look like a good distributor, but it invites the attack into specific points. This isnt down to any one player, the whoile team needs to wake up and get out of the blocks quicker. Youngs's crabbing at the base of the ruck shouldve nulified englands attack providing we took advantage of it by rushing up at an apporpriate speed. As it happened we didnt, and suddenly a flaw in a scrumhalfs game went from a hindrence to an advantage for england.

Ball retention. If your coming up against a team that has just come off the back of a win against the all blacks built upon their rucking game, for the love of all that is good and holy, dont send forwards into contact isolated. Do it in Pods. It wasnt that they fundamentaly got outrucked, its that they didnt commit enough men to the rucks. A tactic that has its place against other teams that dont commit to rucks, but not against England. A tactical error from Johnson and Ryan, hopefully they'll recognise this and remedy it.

Other than that, we really missed a dedicated 7 and 13 today. I firmly believe that if Rennie had been on the pitch, england wouldnt have got so much quick ball. Lamont went for the wrong guy in defence 3 times in a row in the opening 20 minutes. Grove for next week please.

Scrum went backwards when Kellock came on, yet Hamilton just doesnt seem to bring his club form to Scotland. Tim Swinson would remedy this I feel. Got that compact body shape for scrummaging, and a workhorse in the loose.

Jackson im afraid to say was not impressive. Weir hasnt exactly filled anyone with confidence this season, but I think hes going to have to start next week. If scotland A hadnt done nothing but defend the second half of last night, I wouldve said Heathcote to come in as his first half was good. Its a shame we dont play the wolfhounds this year, another opportunity and I reckon he couldve forced his way in.

Positives wise, the back three were all very good. Maitland had a solid debut and took his try well, Visser kick chasing was a revelation and critical in getting us out of our own half at times. and Hogg had his best game for Scotland. Brilliant kicking and running. A couple of weak tackles, but he shouldnt have been under the spotlight in defence as much as he was if the line speed and ball retention had been better.

Scott did well considering he got man and ball most times, and Laidlaw orchestrated us very well when we were in possesion. The front row were good, Gray put in a shift in defence, but didnt get much opportunity going forward, Denton mixed the great with the appalling, Brown was playing like a 6, which is great if hes got 6 on his back, so id like to see him move back to his best position as soon as a credible option for the openside is available. Unfortunately our hands are tied by all three being injured in some capacity atm, so well just have to live with it.

Oh, Beattie. I must admit my voice went up about 2 octaves in horror when he was waving the ball about in 1 hand like a mentalist, but its good to have him back. More of the same Johnnie, more of the same!

[Pat_Mustard]

Need some possession if we're going to do anything, so as others have said, no going into contact isolated, and please Fusaro be fit. Any genuine 13 at 13 would be good, grove probably the best, Horne to come in on the bench if fit, MacArthur should be in although it would be harsh to drop Hall. Stick with Jackson for a few games. The more I watch Hamilton the more he resembles a donkey, should have knocked Twelvetrees back on his try but was looking the wrong way! Swinson probably the one to go for although can't see it happening since he wasn't in the initial squad. So basically I agree with everyone else but I'd say possession is the main priority

[RuggerRadge2611]

Rolland was beans too. Just sayin'

One of his strangest calls was when Denton stripped the ball from Barrett I think, the ball was spilled forwards. Rolland said "ripped out by blue play on!".

Second half, same thing Haskell stripped Scott... "knock on scrum down, white ball"

Granted Scotland struggled with the English physicality, which surprised me, buy Rolland wasn't interested in giving us any if the 50-50 calls.

[Imperialbigdave]

Rolland was beans too. Just sayin'

One of his strangest calls was when Denton stripped the ball from Barrett I think, the ball was spilled forwards. Rolland said "ripped out by blue play on!".

Second half, same thing Haskell stripped Scott... "knock on scrum down, white ball"

Granted Scotland struggled with the English physicality, which surprised me, buy Rolland wasn't interested in giving us any if the 50-50 calls.

To be honest youve got to expect that, and it wouldnt have changed the result. Plan for a game when calls dont go your way, hope for one where they do.

[George Carlin]

Thanks for starting this thread, Numbers.

I think a lot of it had been said.

Negatives first:

1. Lack of control in phase play: was really quite worrying and I don't understand why we can't seem to recycle with much confidence. When (I think) Ryan Grant was stripped by Youngs who ran 20 yards to set up a try, it was very much the story of our night. This will worry Dean Ryan.

2. Scrum: again, strangely brittle, particularly given that Corbs wasn't even playing. On our own ball, we seemed to be fannying around, shuffling backwards, waiting for Beattie to pick up, therefore squandering any momentum. I wasn't pleased. Hall was good but surely MacArthur deserves his chance now. I don't agree that in having made two straight throws, Ford played well. He was completely anonymous as far as I was aware.

3. Defence: has been pointed out already - why do we neither blitz nor come up flat and quick in sequence? What kind of defensive 'coaching' have we been getting? Other than the completely sh!t kind? I just don't understand why we keep running laterally, nor why England forced more turnovers in the tackle? What's going on?

4 Laidlaw: sorry if this is going against the grain, but I think that his lack of game time as a 9 showed tonight. He did a lot of pointing and shouting but I really thought that the service improved no end when Henry came on. Not sharp enough and he often ignore the overlap.

Positives

1. Gray back: always there on defense to make the big hits, he worked very hard indeed and was a nuisance at the lineout. I was worried that his lethargy for club would carry over - it didn't.

2. Lineout: generally good, as were Hall's arrows. Would love to see MacArthur now. He deserves his chance.

3. Hogg: It wasn't so much his running (we know he can do that) but I thought that his kicking out of hand was also perfectly reasonable. He looked hungry, which was the main thing.

4. Centres: on balance, I consider their collective performance a plus. Scott got an education as to how quick international midfields run but he will have learned a lot from his and was actually lucky not to see yellow for a high tackle.

Conversely, Schlong. I really want to stop hearing from Scots posters on these boards that SLamont must be a 13 because his defence is good and he tries hard. How many more times must it be shown on a rugby field - THAT'S NOT ENOUGH ANY MORE. He does not think quickly enough and with the traffic in midfield now being as sharp and fast as it is, both centres have to be able to distribute - there's no two ways about it. We criticise Barritt for being one dimensional, but his handling is far, far better than Lamont's. I don't give a sh!t if it's unfashionable, we need a footballer like Horne or Dunbar. Also showed how much we need Joe Ansbro.

5. Back three: the irony is absolutely overwhelming. After season upon season of me dreading the ball making it to 11, 14 and 15, it seemed as though using those guys was the only way we will beat anyone in this tournament. Hogg looked great with front foot ball, Visser's kick chase will cause anyone problems and Maitland looked hungry in attack and aggressive in defence.

All in all - 5/10. Scott Johnson has some work to do. We are capable of beating both Italy and Wales but we need a vastly improved forward platform to do it.

[123456789]

I just don't see the point in persevering with Jackson when he simply isn't good enough, Weir is a better player and despite his poor form I think we should start putting partnerships in place now in time for 2015. By then I think it will be Laidlaw and Weir, with Kennedy and Heathcote on the Bench, maybe Hidalgo Clyne and Tommy Allan will be in with a shout by then too, I think we should put Weir in for his first start because Jackson underperformed and in some ways didn't suit the gameplan which seemed to be to play the game in the right areas of the pitch, which you can't do with a flimsy kicker.

I'd like to see:
1. Grant - Played well today, if he carries on he could easily find himself on the Lions tour behind Healy
2. Ford - Pretty non-existent in attack but his lineouts were good and his defence and breakdown work was impressive
3. Murray - Decent scrummager, but starting to feel he's the best of an average bunch
4. Gray - Didn't stand out today but tackled constantly and I think he may have been overall the best lock on the pitch
5. Gilchrist - Hamilton wasn't great today and Kellock doesn't offer much, time to look to the future and start building partnerships
6. Brown - Very good today and lead the team very well
7. Fusaro - We really lacked a fetcher and his passion and drive could be really helpful against Italy
8. Beattie - Classy player capable of moments of magic
9. Laidlaw - Thought he was good today if a little rusty, he will improve throughout the tournament
10. Weir - Maybe off form but he is a much better all round player than Jackson who showed today that he's not an international fly-half
11. Visser - A real threat at all times, arguably marked out of the game today but that allowed Maitland to thrive
12. Scott - I thought he was very impressive in attack if a little weak in defence
13. Dunbar - I would have gone for Grove but he's not in the squad, Dunbar's offloading game could allow our back-three to thrive
14. Maitland - He looked a class player and seems to be able to execute skills in a way that our other players often struggle
15. Hogg - Our best player today and arguably the stand-out performer of all the British full-backs

16. Welsh - Lasted most of the A game and we need a genuine loosehead replacement
17. Hall - Played well today but I think Ford is the better player overall
18. Low - the second best of an average bunch
19. Swinson - Played well for the A team
20. Denton - Played well today and would add some dynamism when he comes on
21. Pyrgos - Didn't see much of him today and there are no other options
22. Heathcote - Played well for the A team
23. Horne - Cover's 11-15

[Imperialbigdave]

GC, Id disagree about Pyrgos's service. Straight away when he came on Jackson was plucking balls off his bootlaces and above his head. Laidlaw wasnt that slow, and to be fair the quality of ball he was getting presented with from the rucks was poor when you compared it to the clean recycling youngs got.

[captain carrantuohil]

Think that there were a number of Scots who looked the part today, notably the back three, Scott and Beattie.

Are we not in danger of overpraising Gray for his performance today, however? Yes, he put in a defensive shift, as did a number of his colleagues. In attack, though, he was anonymous, gave away at least one silly penalty and hurled a ludicrous pass from acting scrum half.

He's set the bar awfully high since he emerged on the scene, but I'm not sure that he lived up to his usual all-round high standards today. Certainly can't imagine how he could have been marked ahead of either of England's locks for this match.

[lostinwales]

Gray also looked good because he overshadowed his 2nd row partner so much. The main thing I remember about Hamilton is pushing Ashton and calling him a wa.....

[Imperialbigdave]

and hurled a ludicrous pass from acting scrum half.

twas Denton

[captain carrantuohil]

My mistake, Dave. Caught behind someone about Gray's height, I was, and could only see the shock of fair hair. My overall point stands, however!

[RDW]

Right here's my view:

Negatives

We lost at least 9 out of 10 contacts, whether in attack or defence. The entire team was second best physically.

Our rucks were a mess whereas they got quick, easy ball

Our defencive line speed, positioning and overall system was amature. No blitz, hanging off deep, poor drift, no alignment with individuals going up on their own and leaving gaps. Who is our defencive coach??

Our first up tackling is still under 9 girls team level poor

Other than 2 counter attacks, we offered no threat in attack whatsoever.

We still panic when we get in the opposition 22. STOP DOING STUPID GRUBBER KICKS FROM FIRST PHASE WHEN WE'RE IN THEIR 22 , GIVING POSESSION BACK TO THE OPPOSITION EASILY WHEN A GRUBBER KICK WAS NEVER GOING TO WORK BECAUSE THE BACKS WERE LINED UP DEEP AND THEIR FULL BACK WAS COVERING EASILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, but that was the most irritating thing of the whole game as far as I was concerned.

Sean Lamont is not a 13. Get Dunbar or Grove in there soon please.

Jim Hamilton didn't do much other than push people about.

Jackson was average, but we need better than that.

What has happened to Denton????

Positives

Stuart Hogg!

Maitland looks very comfortable at this level

Matt Scott is learning every game and is worth persevering with. Not as dominant in defence but carried well all day and made some good half breaks against an aggressive defence.

Kelly Brown had some good turnovers.

Gray had a very strong game in defence - loads of tackles and was one of the few that physically coped with them.

That's kind of it!

[RDW]

Oh final point - I was shouting at the ref as much as anyone but I am struggling to remember the last game where the ref was on our side, so it surely just can't be the ref.

We surely can't have bad luck with refs every game we play so the team are obviously doing something very wrong to give away so many penalties, every game we play for Scotland that I can remember in the past season or so.

[RDW]

Oh one final thing - once again we didn't commit enough players to rucks when pounding at their line, and once again got turned over for holding on.

Forwards - don;t stand our in the backline waiting for the wonder pass, hit the bloody rucks!!!!!!!!

[lostinwales]

Most of the penalties I saw were of the not releasing kind - and they went both ways and looked fairly clear.

[123456789]

I think the thing we're missing is the aggressive defence we had when Robinson first came in which should have been built on, much like when Lancaster first came in, unfortunately it never happened and over time the players lost faith in him and lost passion and drive. Now we have an attack and no defence, and to be fair we didn't spend much time in their 22, the first try showed composure and patience but Jackson's kick smacked of someone who realised he'd been poor and wanted to do something special.
I'm not sure if it's the new defence coach because Glasgow's defence seems to be good or whether it's a Johnson thing but it needs to change.
On the basis of today Beattie, Gray, Brown, Hogg and Maitland are very much in with a shout of a Lions spot and Grant, Denton, Visser and Scott are outsiders. If Ford and Rennie can get back to their best then they're in with a shout although that means I've listed 11 players who are contenders which I think is far too many. I think we'll have four or five, eight at the most.

Oh final point - I was shouting at the ref as much as anyone but I am struggling to remember the last game where the ref was on our side, so it surely just can't be the ref.

Two of England's tries came from forward passes, I think that it is probably because Rolland's a jessy and it was at twickenham, so he chickened out of any big decisions. Other decisions like giving a penalty when Gray tripped on his way into a ruck annoyed me as well, but still I doubt we would have won the game, as long as we don't get a complete and utter arse next week it will be fine.

[RDW]

Oh this is my final final point tonight!

We had no cohesion in attack - it was people taking it up on their own with no intelligent plan . Scott, Beattie, Brown, Visser - each person would take it up on their own and we'd struggle to win the rucks.

So to summaries - terrible defence, no plan in attack, happy days!

[TJ1]

Oh one final thing - once again we didn't commit enough players to rucks when pounding at their line, and once again got turned over for holding on.

Forwards - don;t stand our in the backline waiting for the wonder pass, hit the bloody rucks!!!!!!!!

This for me is crucial both in attack and defence. I thought Gray for example in defence missed several chances to counter ruck to often England were given uncontested ball after an initial good tackle.

The result was England got good quick ball and Scotland slower ball.

[123456789]

I think a lot of this was due to our lack of a cohesive defensive system or a fetcher. I think our first try was good and our secon try was fantastic, if England did that to us we'd never hear the end of it and if it was the French we'd be praising their flair. I think it was great and it includes nearly our entire I thought are attack was generally good but I think England's defence and Jackson deficiencies stifled our attack.

[tigertattie]

We lost that fans because we were bossed by England.

Our tackling was down right shocking. At this level, missing so many first tackles is inexcusable. At the breakdown we were brushed out the way too easily. We did very little counter rucking. Our scrum was ineffective.

All in all our forwards were just not hard enough. How often have our forwards done the business but the backs were letting us down? Today it was the other way round.

Dean Ryan needs to sort our forwards out for the next game or we should just send him back to tv land right away.

We also need our backs to use a plan when they get the ball. Each player suffered white line fever even though they were in their own 22. You cannot just leg it off into the distance with no support. If we don't have the players who see you are going to go and support you, play the simple game and run to your support.

It's not all doom and gloom yet. But we need to bounce back well next week or we could be in for another long competition

[Imperialbigdave]

Glad to see that Johnson has recognised the failures we all noticed in post match interviews. Hopefully it will be something different that loses the game next week, although Cusiter and Godman arent around to gift 3 early tries, so who knows...

[sensisball]

Scott Johnson has little chance of getting the Scotland job long term, so he has nothing to lose in terms of his selection for Italy.

First of all i think we are all, at last, finally agreed that Lamont isnt a centre? Arent we? Please, please, please can we have Grove at 13 for next week? he isnt the flashest, biggest or quickest outside centre in world rugby but he is a centre. This means he can defend and pass effectively in his specialist position. He had a great game against the Saxons on Friday.
Lamont looked lost at sea on several occasions today, rushing out of the line and left grasping at thin air. His passing is simply not anywhere near international standards.

He is however a strong defensive winger, something that cannot be said of Visser. Sure he can tackle a man standing still or push him into touch but take a head on tackle? No chance, just ask Ben Morgan. Italy have a very astute coach and a decent kicking game, we cannot afford his defensive frailties.

Now the big one: Jackson had a shocker, no kicking game, no running threat and average distribution. Yes he was under pressure a fair bit but never looked composed throughout. Heathcote spent a good deal of Friday night on the back foot but had a fantastic game with the boot and got the back line going as well. He totally outplayed the much vaunted Ford, all done in appalling weather conditions. If we are to have any variety to our play then Heathcote should start.

back row. Denton was a mixed bag, carried well at times, had a crazy pass as well. Beattie had some good flashes but his impact was not constant,much like his old man. Dents and Beattie are similar in the they prefer to be going forward. With Strokosch likely to be missing and without a fit Rennie, Barclay or Fusaro then the ginger tackle machine that is Rob Harley should start. Yes, he isnt a 7 but neither is Brown. His work rate and strength of tackle will be vital in stopping italy's go forward, also a great lineout option. It also allows Brown to move back to his best position.

here's my team for italy
1.Grant
2. McArthur
3. Murray
4. Gray
5. Kellock
6.Brown
7. Harley
8. Beattie
9. Laidlaw
10. Heathcote
11. S Lamont
12. Scott
13. Grove.
14. Matland
15. Hogg

16. Lawrie
17. Welsh
18. Low
19. Hamilton
20. Denton or Wilson
21. Pyrgos
22. Weir
23. Tonks

Some new faces: Lawrie and Tonks uncapped but they had outstanding matches against England Saxons. If we are to have any chance against a well drilled and increasingly sophisticated Italy, Johnson needs to pick players on form. If he sticks with the Calcutta cup team i fear another white wash is on the cards.

[bsando]

Alright fellow Scotland fans! Here's my opinion on the match. I was extremely drunk when I watched it so I can't really for 100% confirm everything I saw was right. But this was my impression...

1st half. Some nice aggressive rugby, but we seemed to kick the ball away in good areas of the field when applying more pressure would have worked far better.

I tend to agree with GC on Laidlaw, he was totally out classed by his opposite number and his service was slow. Basically my opinion on him per match was pretty spot on if you ask me. He needs more time at 9, excuse the rhyme. And he seemed to kick the ball away a lot, like he does for Edinburgh.

Denton seemed to play quite badly, scrappy passes but one was him playing sh because Laidlaw was either under ruck or too slow to get to break down, so not really his job.

Hall was just the wrong choice at 2. Should have been MacArthur, as I and many others said.

Maitland was brilliant. Hungry for work all match.

2nd half.

England got physical and totally outplayed us as far as I am concerned. Some lovely play by twelve trees and I thought the England 9/10 combo was awesome. Made our 10/9 look awful.

Once again, s**t hits fan and Scotland have no plan b apart from constantly giving the ball back to England so they can attack again and score tries.

I was very upset that Scotland didn't try to play through the hands and just keep possession for a while. It seemed that they'd rather boot it away in an attempt to keep England out of their half, but it didn't work at all. England came back each time with more confidence. As far as I am once rend tactics are completely wrong. Back to the drawing board Johnson!

[Manky-Flanker]

Ultimately Scotland lost the collisions, which is exactly what happened against Tonga. When this starts to happen, everything starts to get more difficult for us and easier for the opposition. Much of what England did well (and we did poorly) stemmed from that fact first and foremost.

What I find most frustrating is there doesn't seem to have been any work done here. If Tonga played us again tomorrow, they would probably win and for the same reasons as they did last time.

Grrr, Hiss, and a little bit of Boo

[mystiroakey]

An honest england view point (and only mine which may be limited- so dont bite me head off )

negatives.

Scotland may have looked ok in attack.. But england played expansive from the off.. So there were holes..

Scotland were never going to have enough possesion or territory to truely trouble England..

Positives.

Scotland havent been a top side for time.. But I think england have gone up 3 levels since last time you played us.. I also believe that scotland have gone up a level as well. You truely looked a side that does have threat(visser and beatie for me are quality players-- that could possibly hit and trouble any team)

You are improving- I like your new manager and i love the fact he isnt spouting rubbish- like our goall is to win the wc in 2015..

I have backed you for a couple of wins this time-and i expect you to get them.. I think you can take positives from this first game.. You didnt make it easy for england at all.. If we didnt have OF- Ironically we may not have been able to play that expansive game - because we wouldnt have had the garanteed 3 points after 3 points on the board!

[Taylorman]

Maitland was brilliant. Hungry for work all match.

I didnt see it that way. I watched him closely enough and I thought he could have done more.

[Manky-Flanker]

Scotland were never going to have enough possesion or territory to truely trouble England..

......Are you Mystic Meg??

[mystiroakey]

Mysti- not mystic!

[R!skysports]

Well been through a few emotions now and felt time to write down some of my thoughts. Firstly

Yesterday should be used at rugby school of why playing players out of position does not work. Breakdown a disgrace - did we EVER compete for the ball.

12 -13 channel, was just that, a channel, the size of the English one between the white cliffs and France. We need a 7 and 13

I was going to start on the positive, but was too depressed to

We were terrible. One of the worse clueless performances iHave seen for a long time. Clueless in attack, school boy in defence.

The score flattered us massively. Two break away tries. England could of have 80 on us yesterday they were that dominate.

Denton is poor. He has terrible hands. It's is not the first time I have seen him throw passed 10 m behind the receiver (10 m for goodness sake). Or drop easy passes to him. A few carriers is not enough

9 -10 are a real worry. Slow, ponderous and clueless.

Murray is a lump and ok in the scrum, but offers nothing else.

Brown is a god darn 6. Simples
Tackles . Can we. Not sure they know how to do first up ones

Breakdown - what breakdown

Ok to the positives

Scrum was ok
Visser only missed a fe tackles and kicked the ball nicely every time he got it
Hogg was very good
Line out was ok
We stopped a few more tries near our line. Or they ran out of breath running at us. Cn not tell
Mainland now has to play for us



Sorry for people to take much positive from that performance, I just do not see it. 78 min defending and two break away tries, is not good

Sorry not all that up beat (maybe the hangover)

[nathan]

I think the thing we're missing is the aggressive defence we had when Robinson first came in which should have been built on, much like when Lancaster first came in, unfortunately it never happened and over time the players lost faith in him and lost passion and drive. Now we have an attack and no defence, and to be fair we didn't spend much time in their 22, the first try showed composure and patience but Jackson's kick smacked of someone who realised he'd been poor and wanted to do something special.
I'm not sure if it's the new defence coach because Glasgow's defence seems to be good or whether it's a Johnson thing but it needs to change.
On the basis of today Beattie, Gray, Brown, Hogg and Maitland are very much in with a shout of a Lions spot and Grant, Denton, Visser and Scott are outsiders. If Ford and Rennie can get back to their best then they're in with a shout although that means I've listed 11 players who are contenders which I think is far too many. I think we'll have four or five, eight at the most.

Oh final point - I was shouting at the ref as much as anyone but I am struggling to remember the last game where the ref was on our side, so it surely just can't be the ref.

Two of England's tries came from forward passes, I think that it is probably because Rolland's a jessy and it was at twickenham, so he chickened out of any big decisions. Other decisions like giving a penalty when Gray tripped on his way into a ruck annoyed me as well, but still I doubt we would have won the game, as long as we don't get a complete and utter arse next week it will be fine.

After watching 36's try from camera above I don't think it was a forward pass. It looks flat.

[21st Century Schizoid Man]

On a train to Stanstead feeling like shieze with a monumental beer head but from my overpriced ticket in the erie of the South stand i managed to observe Scotland players stand around and admire their English opponents for much of the game. We needed Stroker on the pitch to tackle them senseless so that was a big loss. Was Denton actually playing. Laidlaw did well for the first try but faded to obscurity and Pyrgos looked way sharper when he came on. Jackson got repeatedly blootered by the English centres so could do nothing. Hoggy was good. Beattie good Brown did his part. Maitland ok. Gray ok. Grant ok Hall ok The rest were pretty dismal tbh. Think its time up on His Holiness as he was awful yesterday om his 50th.

[bsando]

Maitland was brilliant. Hungry for work all match.

I didnt see it that way. I watched him closely enough and I thought he could have done more.

I just watched 2nd half again. To be fair on Maitland, England had all the ball. But when we did have it I think Maitland did very well on the wing. Perhaps hungry was wrong wording. He did his job well for sure

Notice how good our back 3 look in loose play? I was really impressed, reminded me of Australia the way Scotland counter attacked. But England were fantastic at the breakdown. Really looking forward to Italy game now, on our nice wide pitch at murrayfield.

[George Carlin]

Anyhoo:

1. Grant
2. McArthur
3. Murray
4. Swinson
5. Gray
6. Brown
7. Fusaro (if not fit, Harley)
8. Beattie

9. Laidlaw
10. Heathcote
11. Visser
12. Scott
13. Grove
14. Maitland
15. Hogg

16. Lawrie
17. Welsh
18. Low
19. Kellock
20. Denton
21. Pyrgos
22. Weir
23. Tonks

Thank you please.

Gray bigger than Swinson so should pack down behind Murray.

[funnyExiledScot]

Right, completely agree with Scott Johnson, contact, contact, contact. England had momentum and quick ball, Scotland were passive and accordingly were completely dominated at the breakdown and struggled to get any foothold in the game.

It wasn't all bad, we had three opportunities to attack them and we scored two tries. That's two more tries than we managed to score in an entire tournament a couple of season ago. The back three look good, and I thought Beattie was superb at number 8. I also thought Grant and Gray put in a decent effort. But we have to sort out the breakdown and add some intensity to our game. Brown must be restored to his role at 6, and either Denton or Harley should play 7 (assuming all our opensides are still crocked). My pre-squad team selection was that Tim Swinson should start ahead of Jim Hamilton - I was right. He would have been more suited to this game. I also think Pat McArthur would have been a wise selection at hooker, where his workrate would have helped us. But Italy at Murrayfield is a different animal, and I'd want Jim Hamilton in the side for that contest, where hopefully we can dictate the pace to suit us slightly more.

My ratings for the game:

Hogg - 8 - a fine performance. Excellent kicking game and outstanding on the counter attack. Let's ditch this stupid idea of using him at 13 and just stitch the Glasgow and Scotland 15 jersey onto his back.

Maitland - 7 - didn't do anything wrong, and tidy work for his try (which he could have scored earlier had Hogg given the initial pass) timing his move on the blindside. Should hold down that wing for the foreseeable future.

Lamont - 5 - didn't get into the game. The Scotland midfield didn't function so his only role was really a defensive one, and I felt he struggled to keep up with the pace. Happy to stick with him for the Italy game, but Scotland need to find a way of getting him running onto the ball at pace and punching holes.

Scott - 5 - again, really just a defensive mandate and like Lamont struggled a bit. No decent front foot ball to work with, and accordingly unfair to compare him to Twelvetrees, who was eased comfortably onto the international scene. Like Lamont, I'd stick with him. He can cope with the physical stuff, we just need to see him operate with momentum and front foot ball.

Visser - 5 - he started with his usual tackling robustness, but I can't fault him otherwise for his efforts. Like the other Scotland backs, not really in the game until he could use his pace to chase. Never given space to work with, and was forced to kick on several occassions, which isn't his natural game.

Jackson - 5 - not his day. Unable to exert any influence on the game, and his kicking from hand a poor shadow of Stuart Hogg. I'll stick with him against Italy, Scotland shouldn't take the Bradley approach of just ditching a player after one game, but he needs to be more confident. Not having any decent ball wasn't his fault though. Italy at Murrayfield should afford him more opportunities.

Laidlaw - 6 - big effort. Slightly rusty, and totally outshone by Youngs (which you'd expect given the ball England had), and if this is to be his position, then the SRU need to force Bradley into using him here. As an Edinburgh fan I hate it because Rees is our best 9 and Laidlaw our best 10, but if he's to be an international 9, he needs to be a club 9.

Beattie - 9 - Loved it. Powerful. Skillful. His work at the base of the retreating scrum was of the highest order. Thank goodness he's back.

Brown - 7 - a couple of handy steals and he never stopped working, but all too often he was outnumbered at the ruck and working alone.

Strokosch/Denton - 5 - difficult to mark Strokosch, but I felt Denton was a bit too Hollywood when he came on. Happy to look for the glory stuff, but he was needed in the trenches and was all too often standing in the backs.

Gray - 7 - good lineout work and excellent workrate.

Hamilton - 4 - off the pace on this one. I wanted Swinson against England and I was right. Hamilton will be better suited to playing Italy.

Grant - 6 - beaten at the scrum but not badly. Worked really hard in the loose. Our only realistic option at loosehead for the time being, although Jon Welsh should be on the bench against Italy.

Hall - 6 - marks for effort certainly, and the lineout went ok. Didn't see a noticeable improvement when Ford came on. MacArthur should have started.

Murray - 4 - Like Hamilton, not really in the game at this pace. He's still our best tighthead though. Disappointed that with Hamilton behind him in the scrum he was unable to take out Marler. We'll need him against Lo Cicero at Murrayfield, but I'd like to see Murray Low come on in the closing quarter to bring more workrate onto the pitch.

Subs: nothing doing really. Not much impact. When Denton and Ford came off the bench I had high hopes, but neither altered much, similarly Kellock. Asking too much to turn such a firm tide I think.

We must move on quicly. Johnson has immediately identified the issues. Let's hope he can do enough in a week to sort things out. Not all bad though, some good performances in there and the counter-attacking was top notch.

[George Carlin]

FES - is it really reactionary to suggest changing players when the 'A' side has prevented a number of viable options in our problem positions?

That's an open question, not a loaded one.

[funnyExiledScot]

I wouldn't say "reactionary". Happy to bring in MacArthur and Swinson, frankly both should have started at Twickenham in my view. Whether I'd start Swinson against Italy or have him on the bench, frankly I don't have a strong view. Italy will be more of an arm wrestle, and they will test our muscle up front, so there's a stronger case for starting Hamilton and having Swinson on the bench, whereas I'd have done the opposite against England.

I think we're on the same page regarding openside. If we have a fit one then that player needs to start. If we don't then I think it's between Harley and Denton. Neither ideal to be honest, but we can only go with what we have. Brown must start at 6, and Beattie at 8. That much is clear.

Where I suspect we disagree is immediately switching Jackson for Heathcote. Dan Carter wouldn't have been able to do much at fly half for Scotland yesterday, and Jackson is in the squad based on his Glasgow form. Perhaps Heathcote could come onto the bench, with Weir dropping to Scotland A. Weir needs game time. Jackson wasn't great, but he had nothing to work with, and we've all too often chopped and changed in that key position. Heathcote onto the bench.

Regarding 13, I argued hard for Grove to be in the squad, but clearly Murchie was preferred. Ridiculous decision. Lamont wasn't presented with a single opportunity at 13, frankly we never had the ball, so I don't think ditching him for Grove addresses anything really. Lamont is a very powerful ball carrier, he was the number one ball carrier in the 6 Nations last season, but he can't carry without the ball. I'd give him a chance at Murrayfield.

My XXIII for the Italy game:

1.Grant 2.MacArthur 3.Murray 4.Hamilton 5.Gray 6.Brown 7.Denton 8.Beattie 9.Laidlaw 10.Jackson 11.Visser 12.Scott 13.Lamont 14.Maitland 15.Hogg

16.Welsh 17.Ford 18.Low 19.Swinson 20.Harley 21.Pyrgos 22.Heathcote 23.Grove

If there's fit openside in Scotland, Rennie, Barclay or Fusaro, he starts, and Denton moves to the bench.

As above, happy to switch Hamilton and Swinson, and although I wouldn't, I can see the merits of Grove ahead of Lamont in the starting XV.

My hunch is that we'll be unchanged for the Italy game, perhaps with cover coming in for Strokosch.

[RDW]

My God we are missing Ross Rennie.

[funnyExiledScot]

Completely agree RDW. We sorely missed his mobility and downright nuisance factor yesterday, and against Italy we'll miss his link play and offloading.

Dr James Robson - get him fit now!! If you can't fix Rennie, get us Barclay or Fusaro. We can't operate properly without an openside.

[George Carlin]

In a very quiet way, I actually quite excited about the Italy match as I want to see what we can do with some actual, controlled possession and the chance to put ball through the hand.

Visser's kick chase is going to be worth at least one try in this tournament.

I also believe, in a cycloptic fug, that a win against Wales has to be possible if our forwards can get their act together.

Cannot believe how much our defence has regressed since 2009. On that note, why does Matt Taylor still have a job? What worked for Queensland Reds clearly isn't working for us, Matt.

[RDW]

Stokosh out of the 6N with a broken cheekbone. SURELY Brown must go to 6 now!

[RDW]

Will be interesting to see what he does for next week. Robinson always gave his players a 2nd chance - will Johnson? For me a lot of these players have been failing to perform for years now - they have had plenty of 2nd chances. Hamilton, Strokosh, Murray, Lamont etc have been mainstays in our team for years now and look how we have been peforming.

The good thing now is we do genuinely have option to replace these guys - options that will be chomping at the bit to play. And surely inexperience cannot be an excuse - look how few caps that English team has.

There is a lot of negativity on here, and rightly so, but my negativity does not come because we lost (which wasn't exactly a surprise) but because we didn't nail any of the fundamentals of a performance:

Destroyed in the contact area
Terrible defencive alignment
Clueless in attack

If we were really good in at least 1 of those areas I would be happier, but we did none of them right.

I think the Italy game will be when we really see what this team has - we won't be so much 2nd best in the contact area and will hopefully do better in the set piece, and if the players and coaches realise that SITTING OFF IN DEFENCE AND LETTING THEM RUN AT YOU does not work then we can see what this team is all about.

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