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Scotland Post AIs

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alive555
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Post by reallybored Sun 24 Nov 2013, 1:30 pm

First topic message reminder :

So overall a pretty disappointing series for us, performances weren't great and we missed a great opportunity to beat Australia.  But we were short a number of our best players in Rennie, Hogg, Scott & Visser, so some perspective is perhaps needed considering we were playing two of the top sides in the world.

Personnel wise there were some positive performances;

Dickinson & Low both performed, solid back-ups to Grant & Murray
MacArthur and Gilchrist both showed they are more than capable of playing Test level rugby
Jonny Gray looks a gem of a player and it was a shame we didn't see Swinson again
Denton carried willingly and got his hands on the ball but wasn't as effective as hoped
Beattie showed glimpses of his old self, needs a run with out injuries for Montpellier
Laidlaw was poor against SA but has a good game against Oz, and great to see Cusiter back in blue
Weir had a decent run against Oz, definitely has the cojones to play Test matches but needs to settle
Taylor had a tough one against SA but better against Oz, not a long-term 12 option but maybe 13
Seymour looked lively but struggled to find space, decent back-up though
Maitland is a classy player, looked comfortable at 15 but never really broke free in attack

Negatives;

Line-out seems to have imploded under pressure, not sure who's at fault but GET IT SORTED
Directionless in attack, no-ones seems to know what we're trying to do
Territory, pretty much played both games in our own half for 70 minutes and paid the price
Concentration, we switched off once or twice in defence and got punished ruthlessly
Didn't turnover much ball to play off, odd penalty but not many chances to hit on the break
No tries, rarely got into positions to score and when we did the ball was slow and ideas sparse
Didn't get a chance to see Welsh, Harley, Fusaro, Bennett

So Johnson has now had 6 Test matches to look at a lot of players, it's now time to get our perceived strongest XV out and start building some consistency.  I firmly believe at full-strength we have a XV capable of competing with the best but it needs a chance to develop, not getting mixed about every week.

Get the core of our RWC 2015 in place so when Cotter comes in he doesn't have to start from scratch.

1 - Grant
2 - ? (MacArthur or Ford)
3 - Murray
4 - ? (Swinson, Gray or Gilchrist)
5 - ? (Hamilton or Gray)
6 - Brown
7 - Rennie
8 - ? (Beattie or Denton)
9 - Laidlaw
10 - ? (Weir, Jackson or Heathcote)
11 - Visser
12 - Scott
13 - ? (Dunbar, De Luca, Taylor, Grove or Bennett)
14 - Maitland
15 - Hogg

Hooker and lock needed to get sorted out pronto, hardly surprising our line-out has misfired with the constant turnover in those two positions.

Johnson needs to nail his colours to the mast and stick with a fly-half for more than 2 games at a time, personally I'd like to see Weir get the entire 6 Nations to settle and see how he goes.  

Outside centre is the dilemma position; with Scott, Dunbar and Horne we're well stocked at 12, plus Scott looks like he could develop into a very handy player indeed.  Outside is tougher, had we not had injuries to both Scott & Dunbar I'd have been confident Bennett would have played at somepoint.  But would Scott & Dunbar have been considered 1st choice to begin with or is De Luca perceived to be ahead of Dunbar.

Need to start playing with some confidence, we've always had a decent pack but for the 1st time in over a decade we've got some genuinely exciting backs.  But that doesn't mean we should throw it about aimlessly hoping someone will do something good and break a defence.  Play sensible rugby in the right areas, put pressure on the opposition rather than ourselves and the chances will come, our pack is good enough to create opportunities and the backs are good enough to take them.

I'm confident we're heading in the right direction but Johnson can't waste this 6 Nations, Cotter will only have 14/15 Tests before RWC 2015, so he needs the foundations in now.  Set-piece, defence & effective kicking game.

What's everyone elses assessment of where we are right now?

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Post by Guest Wed 27 Nov 2013, 11:29 am

I don't see how anyone can be saying they are ok with the forwards. When is the last time we dominated a breakdown through a match (did we do it V SA in SA this year? That's the only match I didn't watch this year). It's a real problem that started as soon as SJ took the reigns. Remember this year's six nations? I invite you to find a replay if you can and look at our breakdown, it was terrible. Very soft in contact, too many turnovers.

A large amount of our tries in the 6N were scored opportunistically and not from breakdown turnovers either - see for example the Scotland v Italy game in Murrayfield and England v Scotland in Twickenham. Our last try in France came from our 22!! What does that say about our breakdown? It's crap, but our backs were dragging us along.

Now I understand experimenting this AIs but our backs seem to have lost a little oomph unfortunately and what's the result? Yes we showed 'heart' against Japan but not to disrespect Japan (although I am about to disrespect Japan) but we should be putting them away without a problem anyway. Our real test was SA & Aus and in both matches we were clueless. By 50 minutes I knew we had lost the Aus game despite the score - which felt very different to the last two times we played them. SA I felt more comfortable actually until Le Roux's (sp?) genius.

Anyway, point is I cannot wait for Vern Cotter to come in and get our pack being aggressive again. Hamilton is a great example - I want to see everybody playing like him. There's no room for anything else in international rugby - that is how we won our big scalps - heroic defence from backs and forwards and great breakdown work. It's worth mentioning that our best performances are when our backs are also getting involved in the same way - I remember things like Lamont smashing people with the ball and Cusiter defending for his life (and getting injured) to save a try - haven't seen that this autumn to be honest and it's worrying.

I say forget about this 6N - let's try cement a solid XV and some consistency but don't expect anything more than a brown trousers last minute hold off against Italy (I do think we will win, something like 16-19 scoreline with a couple of tries) until the REAL coach comes in.

Ireland away? Forget it.
England at home? Close but no cigar
Italy away? Phew, thank goodness.
France at home? Destroyed in our own back yard
Wales away? Wales finish strongly by completely dismantling our side. Heads down.

Possibility of still getting wooden spoon as I expect Italy to beat at least one team this year.

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Post by R!skysports Wed 27 Nov 2013, 11:45 am

After all the talk and all the games, I have to say I am very dispirited with the Scotland game now.

Previous years we have fluked a win over  one of the big 3 (yes fluked) and we paper over the cracks.

We have Edinburgh doing well in the HC and dine on that for years. We have Glasgow playing well in the league and that means we are dark horses

In all honesty - our international team is rubbish. It has been for 10 years and still is

We play terrible rugby, can not even pass and catch the ball and get smashed across the park.

We do not look like scoring tries, and when we get even slightly close we butcher it

We scored some tries last year, and suddenly everyone does not worry about scoring tries - What the fluff! - Since the 6 nations (first 2 matches), how great is our try scoring record - zero against a weak Australian side and Zero against SA

Our line out is and has been rubbish for a few years (We dine on the one year we had the best stats)

We have no clue who to play in the second row or the back row and shuffle players around.

We have one or two very good players in the backs - but they have yet to prove it consistently over more than a season

Our best players are the injured ones, as when they come back - all will be great - well it never is

Our back line looks clueless (but do not worry our injured ones will save us!)

We came third last year and suddenly we have nothing to worry about... we fluked a win against Ireland to get that - I am not confident we constructed that win

I expect us to be fighting it out with Italy again for the wooden spoon, as I can not see us winning against any of the other teams - they have all progressed and we have stood still


Sorry for the negative, but I see only two positives from this AI

1 we blooded a few players
2 We will not delude ourselves that we are dark horses in the 6 nations


Sorry for the negative rant, but I have spent 10 years making excuses and ignoring the fact that we are the second worst 6 nations team by focuing on tiny slivers of form

Now I am off for a drink

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Post by RDW Wed 27 Nov 2013, 12:14 pm

Riskysports wrote:After all the talk and all the games, I have to say I am very dispirited with the Scotland game now.

Previous years we have fluked a win over  one of the big 3 (yes fluked) and we paper over the cracks.

We have Edinburgh doing well in the HC and dine on that for years. We have Glasgow playing well in the league and that means we are dark horses

In all honesty - our international team is rubbish. It has been for 10 years and still is

We play terrible rugby, can not even pass and catch the ball and get smashed across the park.

We do not look like scoring tries, and when we get even slightly close we butcher it

We scored some tries last year, and suddenly everyone does not worry about scoring tries - What the fluff! - Since the 6 nations (first 2 matches), how great is our try scoring record - zero against a weak Australian side and Zero against SA

Our line out is and has been rubbish for a few years (We dine on the one year we had the best stats)

We have no clue who to play in the second row or the back row and shuffle players around.

We have one or two very good players in the backs - but they have yet to prove it consistently over more than a season

Our best players are the injured ones, as when they come back - all will be great - well it never is

Our back line looks clueless (but do not worry our injured ones will save us!)

We came third last year and suddenly we have nothing to worry about... we fluked a win against Ireland to get that - I am not confident we constructed that win

I expect us to be fighting it out with Italy again for the wooden spoon, as I can not see us winning against any of the other teams - they have all progressed and we have stood still


Sorry for the negative, but I see only two positives from this AI

1 we blooded a few players
2 We will not delude ourselves that we are dark horses in the 6 nations


Sorry for the negative rant, but I have spent 10 years making excuses and ignoring the fact that we are the second worst 6 nations team by focuing on tiny slivers of form

Now I am off for a drink
Sad 

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Post by AsLongAsBut100ofUs Wed 27 Nov 2013, 1:10 pm

Lovely drop of positivity from Risky - chin up everyone

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Post by R!skysports Wed 27 Nov 2013, 1:12 pm

I do try

It just takes longer and longer to get over another disappointing series where we have potential and not yet managed to step forward

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Post by funnyExiledScot Wed 27 Nov 2013, 1:37 pm

Only come back Risky once you've had that drink! Jeez that was depressing!

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Post by tigertattie Wed 27 Nov 2013, 1:48 pm

cider there ya go risky

Now away and cheer the feck up ya dour wee rascal
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Post by R!skysports Wed 27 Nov 2013, 1:52 pm

Ale 

Right, now lets get this party going

top half of the 6 nations table in 2014

Win it (no Grand slam) in 2015

World Cup Final (50/50 chance to win in) in 2015

Go Scotland

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Post by tigertattie Wed 27 Nov 2013, 3:13 pm

isnt that the target set by the SRU?

To be fair, we finished in the top half last year! Why cant we do it again?
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Post by funnyExiledScot Wed 27 Nov 2013, 3:15 pm

Riskysports wrote:Ale 

Right, now lets get this party going

top half of the 6 nations table in 2014

Win it (no Grand slam) in 2015

World Cup Final (50/50 chance to win in) in 2015

Go Scotland
Could anyone actually afford to go? I'd have to relinquish my treasured Edinburgh season ticket to cover the cost of watching Scotland play in the World Cup Final. Tough decision that would be......

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Post by IanBru Wed 27 Nov 2013, 3:19 pm

I see our opening game is mid-week at 2:30pm.

Yup, well done IRB, that's how you guarantee people will watch...

[facepalm]
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Post by R!skysports Wed 27 Nov 2013, 3:22 pm

IanBru wrote:I see our opening game is mid-week at 2:30pm.

Yup, well done IRB, that's how you guarantee people will watch...

[facepalm]
Well the IRB tends to stitch up 3rd world rugby nations

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Post by funnyExiledScot Wed 27 Nov 2013, 3:47 pm

Riskysports wrote:
IanBru wrote:I see our opening game is mid-week at 2:30pm.

Yup, well done IRB, that's how you guarantee people will watch...

[facepalm]
Well the IRB tends to stitch up 3rd world rugby nations
Who are we playing......?

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Post by tigertattie Wed 27 Nov 2013, 4:03 pm

funnyExiledScot wrote:
Riskysports wrote:
IanBru wrote:I see our opening game is mid-week at 2:30pm.

Yup, well done IRB, that's how you guarantee people will watch...

[facepalm]
Well the IRB tends to stitch up 3rd world rugby nations
Who are we playing......?
Some Tier 2 nation
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Post by 21st Century Schizoid Man Wed 27 Nov 2013, 4:13 pm

some Tier2 nation midweek in Gloucester ffs ! ASBO will need to represent us !
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Post by 21st Century Schizoid Man Wed 27 Nov 2013, 4:15 pm

PS Risky has it absolutely spot on !
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Post by tigertattie Wed 27 Nov 2013, 4:32 pm

21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:some Tier2 nation midweek in Gloucester ffs !   ASBO will need to represent us !
He can't. He'll be changed to Holyrood with a "play Mark Bennett or else" banner
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Post by R!skysports Wed 27 Nov 2013, 4:41 pm

tigertattie wrote:
21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:some Tier2 nation midweek in Gloucester ffs !   ASBO will need to represent us !
He can't.  He'll be changed to Holyrood with a "play Mark Bennett or else i will not vote for independence (well my butler won't)" banner
Updated his agenda

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Post by tigertattie Wed 27 Nov 2013, 4:50 pm

Erm, don't want to be pedantic but the indy vote will be done by then!
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Post by AsLongAsBut100ofUs Wed 27 Nov 2013, 4:57 pm

Quite right, tattie, Scotland will be an independent nation then, no longer part of the UK Yahoo

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Post by tigertattie Wed 27 Nov 2013, 5:01 pm

I'll get a row for doing this, but latest polls suggest that the margin of people who will vote no is actually increasing the more Alex Salmond speaks! Folk voting yes has gone down to only 25%

As you can't get him to shut up, its gonna be a resounding no vote next year!
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Post by tigertattie Wed 27 Nov 2013, 5:02 pm

PS, you even getting to vote ASBO? If yer on the voters roll "dannnn saffff" then yer boned lol
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Post by RDW Wed 27 Nov 2013, 5:03 pm

Right I've said it before on here - no independence chat!

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Post by 21st Century Schizoid Man Wed 27 Nov 2013, 8:24 pm

Baws !
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Post by R!skysports Thu 28 Nov 2013, 8:44 am

RDW_Scotland wrote:Right I've said it before on here - no independence chat!
Can we have a dependence chat then :-)

On the wWorld cup, it does seem that the IRB are pricing the tickets to make up for the losses in NZ - sadly I expect that most games will be filled as the UK tends to do sports well - which will 'justify' the high prices

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Post by RDW Thu 28 Nov 2013, 8:50 am

Think the cheapest tickets for the SA and Samoa game in Newcastle are £50, and the ones in Gloucester and Leeds start at £35.

That's the worst seats in the house though - tickets go up a lot if youw ant a decent view!

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Post by AsLongAsBut100ofUs Thu 28 Nov 2013, 9:17 am

Riskysports wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:Right I've said it before on here - no independence chat!
Can we have a dependence chat then :-)

On the wWorld cup, it does seem that the IRB are pricing the tickets to make up for the losses in NZ - sadly I expect that most games will be filled as the UK tends to do sports well - which will 'justify' the high prices
Excellent idea, Risky, one of your best OK I'm in, anyone else?

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Post by tigertattie Thu 28 Nov 2013, 9:33 am

We'll have an indy chat on the "off topic" section of the V2forum boxing 
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Post by TJ Thu 28 Nov 2013, 10:14 am

So how I see it now for the 6N

Pack
Decent scrum - plenty of good second row and back row options. Front row still much work to be done. Seem to be adapting to the new interpretations as well as anyone but please can our hookers hook!
In the loose - the forwards need to rediscover rucking and to get a bit of an edge to their game. I hope they have been stung by the naive and soft play in the AIs and make up for it. Better in the Aus game and need to take a leaf out of Glasgows playbook ( from last year)

Halfbacks - still a worry. Nice to see Cusitor back playing - is he the best and most irritating SH in the NH? but I am also a laidlaw fan - well outplays his size and I love the way he goes after the opposition no 8 to strip the ball. Needs to concentrate on getting the ball moving quickly and stop the lateral runs
Jackson - we know who he is and he is playing as well as I have seen him but I hope we can do better in future. Weir showed good promise in the AIs and could be the man for the 6N. Needs gametime for Glasgow

Backs
We desperately need our injured guys back and on form. Scott in particular was a huge loss. Maintland needs to go back on the wing and we need Hogg back in form and at 15. Seymour had a decent AIs Depth is still lacking. Is Bennett ready? Lamont - thanks mate for all your efforts but surely only a sub in future.

aims - we must do better in the 6N and learn to close out close games. got to be top half.

The future?

We have a lot of young players of great potential. lets get them ready for the WC. Hopefully one of Weir, heathcote, Leonard and Hidalgo-clyne can come good and be the world class 10 we really need. all young and all with great potential

My cup remains half full - although less so than it was.

Scotland to win the 2014 6N? what odds can we get? Its certainly a possibility but england are looking ominously good.

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Post by AsLongAsBut100ofUs Thu 28 Nov 2013, 1:01 pm

TJ, good stuff, great to see folks putting thought into their analysis! Looking at your points one at a time:

TJ wrote:So how I see it now for the 6N

Pack
Decent scrum - plenty of good second row and back row options.  Front row still much work to be done.  Seem to be adapting to the new interpretations as well as anyone but please can our hookers hook!
In the loose - the forwards need to rediscover rucking and to get a bit of an edge to their game.  I hope they have been stung by the naive and soft play in the AIs and make up for it.  Better in the Aus game and need to take a leaf out of Glasgows playbook ( from last year)
I've been very disappointed with our scrummaging recently, we weren't really able to get the upperhand against any of our 3 AI opponents, and I would have expected us to prosper against both Japan and Oz. It does seem to be taking us sometime to come to terms with the new laws, and perhaps that will correct itself in due course. Our lineouts have been poor, and whether the blame lies with Ford, jumpers, the new system put in place by Humphreys (why, the old one worked perfectly well imo), we need to have this area of the game sorted pronto - the lineout is a major attacking platform for all the best teams, and at the moment we are playing without it (which is odd given our strength in depth at lock too). At the breakdown, we badly miss not having a genuine poacher (as well as KB does at this aspect of the game) and an out&out link man - its unfortunate that Fusaro is not deemed of the required standard, that Rennie remains vulnerable to injury and that Barclay was deemed to have had enough game time after 2 AIs. Playing without one of those 3, it seems obvious to me that we lacked balance. That said, Beattie and Denton together (not a pairing that I was in favour of) did well at sharing the carrying duties, but less well in the tackling stakes and rucking than one might have hoped. Overall it seems to me that we have the personnel (front row aside) to have at least parity in forward play - the rest is mental and attitude.

TJ wrote:Halfbacks - still a worry.  Nice to see Cusitor back playing - is he the best and most irritating SH in the NH?  but I am also a laidlaw fan - well outplays his size and I love the way he goes after the opposition no 8 to strip the ball.  Needs to concentrate on getting the ball moving quickly and stop the lateral runs
Jackson - we know who he is and he is playing as well as I have seen him but I hope we can do better in future.  Weir showed good promise in the AIs and could be the man for the 6N.  Needs gametime for Glasgow
If Laidlaw can fix his distribution (speed and accuracy) and we can produce a gameplan that is not so reliant on his box kicking as part of the 'exit strategy', then I believe that he could be the real deal for us at 9, with Cus as more than adequate back-up in the near-term. Longer-term I think we'll need one of the youngsters - Scott Steele, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Sean Kennedy and Ali Price - to come through and take over. Sadly Henry just hasn't got the quality for me. Standoff remains a problem, and I'd really like to see the coaches make a determination on who the chosen flyhalf is, and let's see that player get the full 6Ns come what may. For me, its Weir, but he has his limitations, as does Rhubarb, with Heathcote not really currently on the map due to limited gametime at club level

TJ wrote:Backs
We desperately need our injured guys back and on form.  Scott in particular was a huge loss. Maintland needs to go back on the wing and we need Hogg back in form and at 15.  Seymour had a decent AIs  Depth is still lacking.  Is Bennett ready?  Lamont - thanks mate for all your efforts but surely only a sub in future.
I'm most excited about our outside backs as I have been for years - our wings are strong, Maitland the most rounded of them all, but Visser, Seymour and Lamont (unfairly blamed for Maitland's pass vs Oz) are all decent players, and Hogg is as good a fullback as any in the NH in my view. With Scott, Dunbar, Horne and Bennett to provide the midfield, we've got good distributors, strong and intelligent runners, to provide the back three with decent ball.

TJ wrote:aims - we must do better in the 6N and learn to close out close games.  got to be top half.

The future?

We have a lot of young players of great potential.  lets get them ready for the WC.  Hopefully one of  Weir, heathcote, Leonard and Hidalgo-clyne can come good and be the world class 10 we really need.  all young and all with great potential

My cup remains half full - although less so than it was.

Scotland to win the 2014 6N?  what odds can we get?  Its certainly a possibility but england are looking ominously good.
Realistically, i think we'll do well to take two wins from the 2014 6Ns, and I'd like to see us qualify from our group for the knockout phases at RWC 2015 - I have faith that Cotter can come on board and take this group of players up a notch or two, so on that basis my glass is also half full (and its Risky's round)

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Post by funnyExiledScot Thu 28 Nov 2013, 2:17 pm

What's all this "putting thought into analysis" nonsense? It'll never catch on.

On the scrum half point I'm pretty relaxed. Both Kennedy and Hidalgo-Clyne look very promising in my view, and Laidlaw isn't going anywhere for a while. The box kicking is I think more of a coaching tactic than an essential part of his game. Solomons likes it and I think Laidlaw is taking it from Edinburgh to Scotland.

If you watched South Africa in the AIs, you'll note that Du Preez box kicked pretty much everything within the SA half (albeit that he does it better than anyone else). It's not as in vogue as it was back in 2007, but there are teams (Sarries) and coaches (mainly from South Africa) that swear by it.

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Post by AsLongAsBut100ofUs Thu 28 Nov 2013, 2:58 pm

funnyExiledScot wrote:What's all this "putting thought into analysis" nonsense? It'll never catch on.

On the scrum half point I'm pretty relaxed. Both Kennedy and Hidalgo-Clyne look very promising in my view, and Laidlaw isn't going anywhere for a while. The box kicking is I think more of a coaching tactic than an essential part of his game. Solomons likes it and I think Laidlaw is taking it from Edinburgh to Scotland.

If you watched South Africa in the AIs, you'll note that Du Preez box kicked pretty much everything within the SA half (albeit that he does it better than anyone else). It's not as in vogue as it was back in 2007, but there are teams (Sarries) and coaches (mainly from South Africa) that swear by it.
I know, fES, but I have a funny feeling that, much like the idea of independence (sorry, RDW), it'll catch on OK cake 

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Post by RDW Thu 28 Nov 2013, 2:59 pm

warning 

Any more of that and I'll put you on the V2 naughty step! Very Happy 

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Post by AsLongAsBut100ofUs Thu 28 Nov 2013, 3:15 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:warning 

Any more of that and I'll put you on the V2 naughty step! Very Happy 
Not again!!! Actually, I quite like it there - tis nice and peaceful

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Post by R!skysports Thu 28 Nov 2013, 3:20 pm

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:warning 

Any more of that and I'll put you on the V2 naughty step! Very Happy 
Not again!!!  Actually, I quite like it there - tis nice and peaceful
But the naughty step is a dry zone - no Whisky for u

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Post by TJ Thu 28 Nov 2013, 3:29 pm

Anyone is possession of a half empty glass should be on the naughty step. No dour pessimism here - at least until after the first 6N game cider 

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Post by funnyExiledScot Thu 28 Nov 2013, 3:31 pm

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:
funnyExiledScot wrote:What's all this "putting thought into analysis" nonsense? It'll never catch on.

On the scrum half point I'm pretty relaxed. Both Kennedy and Hidalgo-Clyne look very promising in my view, and Laidlaw isn't going anywhere for a while. The box kicking is I think more of a coaching tactic than an essential part of his game. Solomons likes it and I think Laidlaw is taking it from Edinburgh to Scotland.

If you watched South Africa in the AIs, you'll note that Du Preez box kicked pretty much everything within the SA half (albeit that he does it better than anyone else). It's not as in vogue as it was back in 2007, but there are teams (Sarries) and coaches (mainly from South Africa) that swear by it.
I know, fES, but I have a funny feeling that, much like the idea of independence (sorry, RDW), it'll catch on OKcake 
Have you read the Shyte Paper.....

picard 

I only say that because I want to join ASBO and GreyGhost on the naughty step....

Hug 

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Post by RDW Thu 28 Nov 2013, 3:33 pm

FES - you can both go on the naughty step and have a good old discussion about independence!

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Post by AsLongAsBut100ofUs Thu 28 Nov 2013, 3:42 pm

funnyExiledScot wrote:
AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:
funnyExiledScot wrote:What's all this "putting thought into analysis" nonsense? It'll never catch on.

On the scrum half point I'm pretty relaxed. Both Kennedy and Hidalgo-Clyne look very promising in my view, and Laidlaw isn't going anywhere for a while. The box kicking is I think more of a coaching tactic than an essential part of his game. Solomons likes it and I think Laidlaw is taking it from Edinburgh to Scotland.

If you watched South Africa in the AIs, you'll note that Du Preez box kicked pretty much everything within the SA half (albeit that he does it better than anyone else). It's not as in vogue as it was back in 2007, but there are teams (Sarries) and coaches (mainly from South Africa) that swear by it.
I know, fES, but I have a funny feeling that, much like the idea of independence (sorry, RDW), it'll catch on OKcake 
Have you read the Shyte Paper.....

picard 

I only say that because I want to join ASBO and GreyGhost on the naughty step....

Hug 
I think we'll be okay if we talk in code, fES OK

PS The WP is comparable to NZ in rugby terms - well thought-out, balanced and ultimately victorious! Wink

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Post by funnyExiledScot Thu 28 Nov 2013, 3:47 pm

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:I think we'll be okay if we talk in code, fES OK

PS  The WP is comparable to NZ in rugby terms - well thought-out, balanced and ultimately victorious! Wink
More like NZ in 2007 - flattered to deceive, talked the talk but couldn't walk the walk, looked good from afar but crumbled under scrutiny, fundamentally flawed....

No-one will ever crack this code......

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Post by TJ Thu 28 Nov 2013, 3:59 pm

to go back to the team - leadership is the other issue I meant to mention.

At times in the AIs leadership was lacking so who should be captain? Laidlaw? Brown? A N Other? Shame Kellock is not really a solid bet for a place in the team but he ain't.

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Post by funnyExiledScot Thu 28 Nov 2013, 4:07 pm

I'm not too worried about leadership within the squad. There are some young players in the 1st XV but just because a player is young, doesn't mean that player isn't a leader.

I think both Laidlaw and Weir have leadership qualities, as do Brown and Strokosch (one of them should be picked). I rate Rennie as a leader as well.

Ford has captaincy experience and Ryan Grant is made of stern stuff in the front row. I also think Stuart Hogg is pretty strong as well.

I don't want players picked on "leadership", I want them picked on "ability". Personally I think Kelly Brown is the right choice for the squad through to the World Cup. I name him captain and strap the 6 jersey to his back. If he's injured or rotated, then I'd give the role to Greg Laidlaw.

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Post by TJ Thu 28 Nov 2013, 4:10 pm

funnyExiledScot wrote:Kelly brown I name him captain and strap the 6 jersey to his back. If he's injured or rotated, then I'd give the role to Greg Laidlaw.
Seems fair enough to me.

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Post by tigertattie Thu 28 Nov 2013, 4:34 pm

TJ wrote:
funnyExiledScot wrote:Kelly brown I name him captain and strap the 6 jersey to his back. If he's injured or rotated, then I'd give the role to Greg Laidlaw.
Seems fair enough to me.  
It also makes sense which is why the SRU wont go for it Whistle 
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Post by R!skysports Fri 29 Nov 2013, 9:21 am

Is that Kelly Brown - No 6

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Post by tigertattie Fri 29 Nov 2013, 11:02 am

Riskysports wrote:Is that Kelly Brown - No 6
you saying Kelly Brown is no a 6?
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Post by Guest Fri 29 Nov 2013, 11:28 am

KELLY BROWN - 6 furious furious furious furious furious 

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Post by funnyExiledScot Fri 29 Nov 2013, 12:39 pm

Riskysports wrote:Is that Kelly Brown - No 6
Absolutely - I'm quite keen on this whole specialists playing in specialist positions malarky.

I know our players are all world class (well the Glasgow ones anyway) and each have a skillset enabling them to try their hand at any position on the park, but I still think there's some merit in letting players wear the same jersey at international level as they do week in week out at club level.

There must be a reason why the ABs don't play McCaw at number 8, Read at 7 and Whitelock at 6.

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Post by tigertattie Fri 29 Nov 2013, 12:45 pm

Though I still say we should try Euan Murray on the wing and Ritchie Vernon at 12
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Post by funnyExiledScot Fri 29 Nov 2013, 1:12 pm

tigertattie wrote:Though I still say we should try Euan Murray on the wing and Ritchie Vernon at 12
Wing and a prayer more like.

picard 

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