Scotland xv vs France

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15. Hogg- played well on his first cap and look very promising, he has to start
14. Jones- Looked good and made some promising breaks
13. De Luca- Bit of a muppet, give him a last international chance outside a decent ball-playing inside centre
12. Scott- Playing well at club, works well with De Luca, will bring something extra
11. Evans- Exciting and unpredictable player, could easily become a lion
10. Laidlaw- scored a try and Scotland's backs did something for a change
9. Blair- fast and snappy player brings fresh impetus. At his best he is world class as is
8. Beattie- Big gamble but if it pays off it could be fantastic
7. Rennie- very good, certain lion, world class as is Barclay on his best form
6. Denton- can lead a generation of wacky haired Scottish forwards with Gray, might be harsh to move him from 8
5. Hamilton- adds considerable bulk
4. Gray- irreplaceable, Scotland's only guaranteed Lions starter with ford
3. Cross- good in the loose, not convinced with his scrumming
2- Ford- world class player, best European hooker
1. Shiells/ Jacobsen- Shiells has proved himself to be solid in the aviva, Jacobsen is a true legend

16. Lawson- there in case ford get's injured
17. Kalman- will do a job
18. Kellock- true leader, solid lineout
19. Barclay- off form but a fantastic player, if we can get him back to his best then we'll have an almighty fight for the 7 shirt
20- Cusiter- tenacious but his passing can be slow and inaccurate
21. Weir- Solid kicker, nailed on starter in two years
22. S/R Lamonts- neither have been fantastic but will add bulk

Not sure Bennett has done anything to merit making the tour, and the squad is on the large side, so I'd probably cut him out. He's got to be playing professional rugby and delivering on the pitch before being picked to represent Scotland For example Alex Grove would be a far more deserving player to tour.

Agreed. Everyone's talking him up but he's done hee haw as a pro rugby player so far.

One for the future but definitely not for the summer tour!

looking to the far future, Tommy Allan looks like he may be an exciting prospect, in fact a lot of our U18s look good! Jamie Farndale too! Also, U20 scrum half Matthew Torrance, plays for Ospreys, also qualifies for Wales but has decided to opt for Scotland U20 because he didn't make Wales, anyone know much about him? He's playing France U20s this Friday

NeilyBroon wrote:looking to the far future, Tommy Allan looks like he may be an exciting prospect, in fact a lot of our U18s look good! Jamie Farndale too! Also, U20 scrum half Matthew Torrance, plays for Ospreys, also qualifies for Wales but has decided to opt for Scotland U20 because he didn't make Wales, anyone know much about him? He's playing France U20s this Friday

Matthew Torrance, also qualifies for Scotland through his father.

http://www.scotlandrugbyteam.org/content/view/2878/2/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/my_club/ospreys/9339770.stm

no no I know he qualifies for Scotland, I just was wondering if anyone knew how good he is!

A very strong try scoring display by Alex Grove tonight for Worcester. He's signed a new contract this week based on becoming one of the best defensive 13s in the Premiership, he played in the overwhelming victory over the Saxons a couple of weeks ago (which led to Hogg's rise to the main team), he played well a couple of years ago in his until now brief Scotland career including the win over Australia, Joe Ansbro is currently injured... On Sunday the Scotland centres are a winger and a player who has really never cut it at international level.
Everyone is rightly calling for Matt Scott to get a game based on current form but I would say we should also be asking why Grove isn't featuring when the facts suggest he should be.

I fear this game could be very damaging for Scotland.Their fragile recovery may well be shattered.France by 15+

My hope is that Ramont is injured early on prompting his Bro to move to wing and then everyone plays well except Morrison who is exiled to France where he convinces Dusatoir and his ilk that rugby is more fun when you're a crap player; then the French find out what he's done and banish him to Wales where he scares the young players away by showing them what rugby does to your hair before travelling east where he very simply kicks every England player in the balls in an attempt to become the "bald braveheart" he then travels accrue the Irish sea where he convinces Kidney to field a "Connacht tribute team" that leaves Italy whom he beggs them not to get worse because that would be embarrassing.

BTW if this happens I'm taking full credit,and you will all invited to my knighthood celebration

Here are the highlights from the Under 20's last night against France:

Scotland under 20s

It isn't the full match but gives an indication on some of these young guys. I thought Leonard had a great game at 10 - kicked well and set up two tries. The left winger looked good too. First time I've seen any of Sam Hydalgo-Clyne and the guy doesn't look like he wants to tackle! Easily fell off a few defenders.

Great effort in defeat from the guys though against a superb looking French side.

Great win from the club side too!

MacKnocked-on wrote:A very strong try scoring display by Alex Grove tonight for Worcester. He's signed a new contract this week based on becoming one of the best defensive 13s in the Premiership, he played in the overwhelming victory over the Saxons a couple of weeks ago (which led to Hogg's rise to the main team), he played well a couple of years ago in his until now brief Scotland career including the win over Australia, Joe Ansbro is currently injured... On Sunday the Scotland centres are a winger and a player who has really never cut it at international level.
Everyone is rightly calling for Matt Scott to get a game based on current form but I would say we should also be asking why Grove isn't featuring when the facts suggest he should be.

I totally agree about Grove. Hes as good as centre as youll find defensively, but offers more in attack than what were playing tommorow. Hes not helped in getting recognition by the fact that he plays in a struggling team, with not much good ball coming his way.

I would like to see him in the Scotland frame again, possibly paired with Ansbro.

Feeling more confident about our pack, the closer we get to the game, even tho I'd still prefer to have Harley in there as a chopper instead of Barclay. But as excited as I am about our halfbacks and Hogg and Jones in the back three, I'm mystified as to what to expect from our backline. There's a stated game plan, but the personnel doesn't really seem ideal for executing it, in my mind. Oh well, come on Scotland!

RDW_Scotland wrote:Here are the highlights from the Under 20's last night against France:

Scotland under 20s

It isn't the full match but gives an indication on some of these young guys. I thought Leonard had a great game at 10 - kicked well and set up two tries. The left winger looked good too. First time I've seen any of Sam Hydalgo-Clyne and the guy doesn't look like he wants to tackle! Easily fell off a few defenders.

Great effort in defeat from the guys though against a superb looking French side.

Great win from the club side too!

Not a bad display from our lads at all - a handful of 17 and 18 year olds in there, and the physical difference showed at times (missed tackles by Hidalgo-Clyne and Russell just the most obvious examples) - difficult to compete at the breakdown and at the set piece when we are giving away such size differences, but definitely more positives (Leonard does look the real deal, young Gray puts himself about like his brother, Robbie Ferguson is quality at OC) than negatives from the performance imo

Good result for the club side though

did anyone see it and is there anyone that is looking good for a step up or is the investment at the regions and the fact they are not in the academies mean that it won't happen

looking at the Irish today I think we are going to have an up hill task, us and Italy again

Can anyone shed any light on why Fraser Thomson has never had a look in by Edinburgh or Glasgow? I just saw that highlights video of him for the first time in a while and it reminded me how good he is at prem1.

I agree with the above sentiments about Alex Grove, I get the feeling he's fallen out of favour with Andy Robinson for some reason and is specifically not getting picked. Maybe reading into it a bit too much but I can't understand what he's doing wrong to warrant not being selected even for the full squad!

Rob Harley had another great match for the Warriors tonight chaps. Also Tom Ryder who was excellent throughout - a game we should really have won with a bit more nous.

I expect both the above and John Welsh to tour with Scotland this summer.