Buildup: Scotland vs South Africa

First topic message reminder :

Based on Today.s performance who would you pick to play South Africa.
I'd go for:
15. Hogg
14. Evans
13. Dunbar
12. scott
11. Visser
10. Jackson
9. Blair
8. Denton
7. Rennie (Barclay if he's not fit)
6. Brown
5. Hamilton
4. Gray
3. Murray
2. Ford
1. Grant

RDW, worse than that, our desire to kick possession away was particularly keen on turnover ball - sinful

The lack of trust in the backs has been symptomatic of scottish rugby for years. No problem spreading it wide in the middle of the field (though rarely with any forward running), but as soon as we get into the 22, the forwards just hog it, and inevitably either knock on or get turned over. South Africa are the absolute last team in the world we should be doing that against. I have to remind myself that Visser was in fact playing, but then again, the same goes for JPP and Hoo-Ha. Never tested them once, because the ball never got wide (with space) once.

Is it because our wingers arent getting the ball in space that means we arent going wide, or is it because we arent going wide that our wingers arent getting space? In the Dan Parks era, they would get plenty of space, because they were so far behind the advantage line. Now it seems were getting too little space, I was at a bad angle to comment on how deep or flat we were standing, but no one was taking the ball at any pace, which usually suggests too flat.

Strangely in hindsight, this was probably a game where someone like Mcinally wouldve been handy, a shoulder runner that looks to be pop passed into gaps by the player hes running off. Springboks cover defence was barely tested today.

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:It's not the time to focus on players, even tho there were several weak performances today. Instead, all I'll say is that our tactics were thoroughly naive - no idea who gave the players the idea that they could take SA on at their own game, but what a complete and totally obvious misjudgement. Something is simply very wrong inside the Scotland camp, and needs to be looked at urgently

One word - Robinson. he is the problem

Questions over Kelly Browns capaincy aswell. The past two weeks have seen bad options being taken when awarded penalties. If your 5 metres out, with a flaky lineout, just tap and go! I dont understand why you would waste valuable time when playing catch up on setting up a lineout at the same longitude that may hand possesion right back. Last week there were points where a kick at goal was in order and we kicked for touch. A bit dissapointed with that.

Imperialbigdave wrote:Questions over Kelly Browns capaincy aswell. The past two weeks have seen bad options being taken when awarded penalties. If your 5 metres out, with a flaky lineout, just tap and go! I dont understand why you would waste valuable time when playing catch up on setting up a lineout at the same longitude that may hand possesion right back. Last week there were points where a kick at goal was in order and we kicked for touch. A bit dissapointed with that.

I think major questions need to be asked over Brown's suitability as captain. At 10-21 with 15 minutes on the clock, I think almost any tried-and-tested captain would have pointed to the posts before they could even say 'points'. Fair enough, Kelly couldn't have known how dominant we'd be in the last quarter and I'm sure the 'boks would have upped their game if we came within a score. Given that Brown is a regular for Sarries, I'm surprised he went for line-out after line-out, seeing as the 'boks had had the edge there. Our trick of throwing the ball over the top to the openside is hardlyba surprise any more and seems to be a means to take the pressure off of Ford.

Grim day at Murrayfield.
But there was one positive I could take from it. Seeing George Clancy getting smashed was worth the price of admission on its own.

I think you're all being so negative. The first SA try was in my opinion a result of Clancy not being consistent, as was pointed out by BBC pundits, which was a great shame. The Scottish strategy was high risk yes, but after working the first time you would expect a ref to be consistent which he was not.

Clancy also gave warning about discipline in the first half and then went on to allow SA to give away penalty after penalty (many of which were just ridiculously obvious) in the final 30 mins with a yellow finally being shown at 76 minute mark which really made an example of SA

Our Scrum was very competitive in my opinion. I thought we were going to be slaughtered by SA but we put up a bloody good effort, especially in 2nd half.

We also put SA under a lot of pressure in 2nd half and were very unlucky not to get a try. Perhaps it was actually a day for kicking penalties rather than going for the try but I don't blame Scotland for having a go.

However, lineout was a bad option instead of tap and go and that was what ruined our try scoring chance in 2nd half. We had so much momentum and going for the line out killed it. Line out used to be impeccable but it has been very shakey this year.

As for the kicking, I think most kicks were actually very sensible and we were unlucky not to get a try from a few of them. We can't just keep playing the same old through the hands, pick and drive crap. I am a big fan of grubber kicks, cross field kicks and chip and chases and they should be a part of Scotland's game plan, especially with fast players like Visser, Hogg and most likely Maitland by the 6N.

Also, has no one noticed how few knock ons Scotland have done lately!?! There were a few at the end of the 2nd half but everyone was knackered by then. This used to be a huge problem in Scotland's game and has be dramatically reduced thanks to AR.

I am sad we lost, but the intensity in 2nd half was great from Scotland and SA had a cracking game in defence. How many teams manage to dominate SA for pretty much an entire half of rugby? We have a good balance of forwards and backs at the moment and as Pygros showed today, some talented youngsters!

Also, did anyone notice how much better we start to play when the game begins to open up? Scotland are no longer a pick and drive team, we want open, fast running rugby! That makes me really happy and I hope this continues.

Lots to be positive about!

Yep, lucky, lucky, shyte SA

Nobody's taking anything away from your boys Biltong - it was a very good, professional performance and your young team is now starting to take shape.

I do miss P Divvy's bizarre selections helping us out, obviously. Meyer is really polite, low key and contrite in interviews too. Again, I miss Punchy P Div's post match sledging of the press.

Our first half was extremely poor. Bad decision making and gave away a whole host of stupid penalties. Their first try came from us giving them field position by stupidly tackling the man in the air at the lineout. Their second was a silly interception when there was no pressure to throw that pass. We also missed alot of first up tackles, and handed them momentum on a plate. Worst first half performance in ages, and laidlaw missing that kick in tje first half really cost us, as i'm sure brown would have kicked points in the second half had we been closer.

There were some positives. Second half was good, we were the better side in the last 30 minutes and finished strongly. Pyrgos was excellent coming on and the scrum went really well. I also thought ryan grant was excellent in the loose. Bad decisions cost us in the second half, but frankly we lost tje game in the first, when sa bullied us, we kicked the ball away far too often and gave away silly penalties.

We must now beat tonga, and ar needs to make some changes to the team. Pyrgos and jackson should start the game, and i'd like to see seymour on the wing in place of lamont, with perhaps lamont moving to 13, or dunbar getting a cap.

It's not the decision to do the chip kicks that annoyed me, it was the execution. In both instances the backs were sitting deep so weren't expecting it - there was no chance they'd ever get to the kick. Lack of communication or ability to read the game.

Compare it to Australia who had 3 kicks work out - they were flat on the gain line and were expecting the kick

Lads - I hate to come back to this, but aren't we really saying that the problem here is the coaching?

Apart from the usual posters who always believe Robinson is the basterd lovechild of Joseph Frizel and Myra Hindley and should be fired from a cannon across Princes St Gardens, what do the more moderates here think should be the sanction if we have yet another poor Six Nations? I think that we need at least three wins at home and two good performances on the road for him to keep his job.

I think it's purely psychological now, I don't think we have the right prematch talk if I'm honest. What I'd like to see is "We played crap last week, yes we scored tries but shipping 51 points is unacceptable, we want to bounce back this week and win against what will be a tough SA side" not "We can beat South Africa" as if its something we've never done before. The result was a physical battering and a Scotland that looked like it was choking and giving away panic penalties. Perhaps a change in head coach would benefit the players before the 6 nations, but really the whole mindset of the squad needs to be changed. I think this isn't just a problem in Scotland, it's with all NH teams (with the exception perhaps of France who thrive on pressure and are always expected to win by themselves). What Scotland needs is a strong kick up the backside in terms of motivation, right now I feel like half the team feel sorry for themselves, more fresh blood is needed in my opinion, I definitely feel we should have seymour on the bench at least next week. Let's give these young players something to cheer about before they get stuck in the same psychological rut.

Don't forget the momentum from winning. It'd have been more ideal to have Tonga first up, get a win under the belt and then go into the matches against SA and NZ with some confidence and belief. NZ first up followed by SA is one tough schedule. Not saying Tonga first up would've been different (after all it didn't work for England) but one can never underestimate the momentum you can gain from winning. Let's see how Scotland perform now against Tonga before we judge Scotland too harshly.

Whilst Robinson's selecton and tactics havent been good enough over a long period of time this is now compounded by having a new defensive coach, with no international coaching experience, and our defence has been very, very passive both this week and last.
Also, I think it is now becoming clear that whilst Laidlaw has an excellent rugby brain he is what he is: an excellent but small scrum half playing out of position. Teams will continue to target our 10 channel because it is such an easy way to make ground.
I can see us being competitive at home this year in the 6N but on the road England and especailly France could be very, very messy.
Will Robinson ever be sacked? I doubt it as the SRU appear to have put all their eggs in the bath man's basket, and we will contnue on a journey of incremantal decline over the next three years.

I was pretty happy with Laidlaw's defence yesterday - he went in low and always brought his man down, which is a lot more than you can say from some other players.

He's never going to dominate in defence but he usually gets his man down and never shirks from a challenge, unlike a certain Mr Parks!

Scotsman this morning suggesting that Matt Scott could be our answer at stand off. He has played their all his career up to professional level and is only 22, but I think he is doing a great job at 12 just now and if he moved, who would play 12?? We have Dunbar and......

9. Cusiter/Laidlaw
10. Scott
11. Visser
12. Dunbar
13. Hogg*
14. Maitland
15. Ramont/Tonks

Seen worse. If Scott at 10 is a serious option, then he needs to sulk until Bradley gives him some time there.

Shouldn't be too hard given that Laidlaw can slip back into 9 and they can play as alternative first receivers.

It's true though - SA targeted Laidlaw's channel - it's a definitely a weakness and I dread Nyanga, Picamole and Oudragou charging down it in the spring.

*I have intentionally not angered FES by suggesting the Messiah at 13.

6N

5/5 = Radge, Carlin, ASBO and 21st Schizo are all spotted kissing Robinson's chrome dome in the streets of Edinburgh swearing they will never again doubt his ways. SRU rename Murrayfield "Robbofield"

4/5 = AR stays till end of contract, maybe has it extended

3/5 = A good result for Scottish rugby, AR stays

2/5 = Better but not great, AR stays but he's on a knive edge

1/5 = AR will be gone unless the team we beat is the team of the tournament and we play some very positive rugby throughout the tournament.

0/5 = AR will be gone regardless of how we played.

Were missing Meatball remember I hope he is back to fitness with a few games under his belt for the 6N.

George Carlin wrote:Lads - I hate to come back to this, but aren't we really saying that the problem here is the coaching?

Apart from the usual posters who always believe Robinson is the basterd lovechild of Joseph Frizel and Myra Hindley and should be fired from a cannon across Princes St Gardens, what do the more moderates here think should be the sanction if we have yet another poor Six Nations? I think that we need at least three wins at home and two good performances on the road for him to keep his job.

Ok, I probably fall into the former category, but I'll try and give a balanced opinion - at international level, Robinson has had chance after chance after opportunity with both England and Scotland and has been found wanting - poor selection, misplaced loyalty, naive tactics. That is not to say that the players should not bear some of the responsibility, but he's now over-stayed his welcome by a papering over the cracks summer tour and an insipid pair of AIs.

bsando wrote:6N

5/5 = Radge, Carlin, ASBO and 21st Schizo are all spotted kissing Robinson's chrome dome in the streets of Edinburgh swearing they will never again doubt his ways. SRU rename Murrayfield "Robbofield"

4/5 = AR stays till end of contract, maybe has it extended

3/5 = A good result for Scottish rugby, AR stays

2/5 = Better but not great, AR stays but he's on a knive edge

1/5 = AR will be gone unless the team we beat is the team of the tournament and we play some very positive rugby throughout the tournament.

0/5 = AR will be gone regardless of how we played.

Sadly 0 or 1 the most likely outcomes, even with Maitland to come in. Coaching woes have been dealt with elsewhere so I'm not re-hashing that again, but our midfield remains an issue - individually Scott seems ok, but 10 & 13 are problems - love wee Greig's courage and brain, but we're not having him do the right things and other teams can get good fast ball by sending big runners down his channel tying in our loosies - de Luca, oh dear - does he have any defenders left? Let's hope that Joe Ansbro recovers, else Dunbar or Bennett turn out to be the real deal; at flyhalf, think we need one of Meatball, Rhubarb or Leonard to come thru - may as well give them game time now, we're defo out of the top 8 for ranking

I've still got a lot of faith that Weir can do a job.

On the plus side:

1. Grant and Murray are surely now locked in as starters in what is at worst a dependable front row and at best one to be feared. When is Big Mike Cusack going to stop being a Yorkshireman and start being a Scot?

2. Gray and Hamilton, with Kellock as an impact sub is a genuinely international class lock pairing.

3. Denton, Brown and either Rennie or Barclay is a set of loosies as good as anything in the NH except for France.

4. Maitland, Hogg and Visser is an attacking back 3 that we have been waiting a long time for.

The problem remains in the centres. Surely to feic between Bennett, Ansbro, Dunbar, Horne and Scott we can get a partnership that both works and can thrive?

Bsando has it right - Andy Robinson should go if he cannot get at least 2 wins. If he cannot, then he surely has no mandate to say that he is needed to help bring the team forward any more. He isn't helping the side any more - you'd have to say that without demonstrating consistent improvement (3 wins or more), he's holding them back.

We need a Super 15 or Top 14 coach that is used to winning and has a strong coaching team to bring with him to help make it happen. Contrary to popular belief, I think that there are a lot of coaches who would be interested in making the step up to a national side - Jamie Joseph from the Highlanders, Allister Coetzee at the Stormers or Ewen McKenzie or Jim McKay from the Reds - they would all be good options.

The SRU have done well with the teams but now they need to spend money on this. It's the sad truth of it.

George Carlin wrote:I've still got a lot of faith that Weir can do a job.

On the plus side:

1. Grant and Murray are surely now locked in as starters in what is at worst a dependable front row and at best one to be feared. When is Big Mike Cusack going to stop being a Yorkshireman and start being a Scot?

2. Gray and Hamilton, with Kellock as an impact sub is a genuinely international class lock pairing.

3. Denton, Brown and either Rennie or Barclay is a set of loosies as good as anything in the NH except for France.

4. Maitland, Hogg and Visser is an attacking back 3 that we have been waiting a long time for.

The problem remains in the centres. Surely to feic between Bennett, Ansbro, Dunbar, Horne and Scott we can get a partnership that both works and can thrive?

Bsando has it right - Andy Robinson should go if he cannot get at least 2 wins. If he cannot, then he surely has no mandate to say that he is needed to help bring the team forward any more. He isn't helping the side any more - you'd have to say that without demonstrating consistent improvement (3 wins or more), he's holding them back.

We need a Super 15 or Top 14 coach that is used to winning and has a strong coaching team to bring with him to help make it happen. Contrary to popular belief, I think that there are a lot of coaches who would be interested in making the step up to a national side - Jamie Joseph from the Highlanders, Allister Coetzee at the Stormers or Ewen McKenzie or Jim McKay from the Reds - they would all be good options.

The SRU have done well with the teams but now they need to spend money on this. It's the sad truth of it.

Allister Coetzee is a too conservative. Hes got a team that can slog it out in the league better than anyone, but when it comes to big pressure games, theres never a plan B and they always lose. If the super 15 was won purely on the league standings, Stormers shouldve won it the past 3 odd years, but they have no answer to sides that dont get dragged into penalty fests. Maybe its just me, but thats not what I want in a national coach.

edit: Joseph on the other hand is exactly what we need, a guy who has identified how to turn a historically weak team into one that id wager will be title contenders this season. Even with many of the same players who a few seasons ago were considered to be making up the numbers.

Having just watched the match don`t really know what to say Boks won they probably did`nt deserve to on the overall run of play.Cheating All Blacks? if thats true they`ve been giving the Boks lessons there breakdown was cynical in sealing off.
The Boks lineout was immense there trademark rolling maul well executed at times.Scrums were a mess several collapses [deliberate,]Scotland came to life
when the game was lost.
There decision making appalling at least relatively simple penalty kicks turned down.The difference between victory and defeat on the second half display Scotland deserved to win BUT?
Far too many penalties conceded by both sides ,too much aerial ping pong,two soft tries conceded by Scotland.
What on earth were they thinking for the first? the tactic was obvious,instead of contesting it they just stood off.
As for the Boks it was a win and on the strength of the first half display maybe deserved.
Typical Bok display no attempt to move the ball,straight up the middle not much
point having a creative 10.
If he uses the same game plan as his predecessor ,I like Lambie but his display was indifferent.But at least he kicked most of his goals.
Overall one of those games neither side deserved to win.

Nice to see you find watching Scotland as depressing as the rest of us, Alan.

What we'd give for a bit of Calder, Jeffrey and Whyte in the side now.

Positives for Scotland?

Pyrgos looked sharp and keen, Laidlaw seems to be playing back into a bit of form and has clearly worked on his tackling. Targeted by SA. did get the ball wide but never really created any space nor broke the SA defence.

Pack looks pretty sound

Captain? i still think Brown is the best we have. Bad decision to got for the lineout - shuld have been a tap. He can be forgiven a few mistakes

Stats make interesting reading - all the tackles SA had to make however we didn't get much return for that and missed tackles and turnovers killed us

Robinson still must carry the can tho as the team are still nowhere near their potential

Scott Johnstone's impact will be intersting to watch as the 6N's unfolds. Apparently he was a rather, how shall i phrase it? a "disruptive" influence both as a Wales and Ospreys coach. If we continue to lose 6N's matches will he begin to get inside the head of the players and turn them against Robbo?
It is likely to be a more intersting tournament off the pitch than on it for Scottish fans!

Who thought appointing Johnson was a good idea? Absolutely barking idea.

TJ wrote:Who thought appointing Johnson was a good idea? Absolutely barking idea.

This is the SRU we're talking about. Forward-thinking and prudence aren't exactly their strong points.

coach at the ospreys who are renowned for being good attackers. With a guy like Robinson keeping his neck reeled in, on paper it looked like a great idea.

TJ wrote:Who thought appointing Johnson was a good idea? Absolutely barking idea.

Should've listened to our Welsh cousins - they warned us off, pointed out he was simply dreadful - can't say I'm impressed so far. As for Matt Taylor, ok, I get that defensive systems can take time to gel, but we've gone from being reasonably defensively strong (Steadman on board vs England), defensively missing (Steadman informed he's been fired - Ireland and Italy), defensively robust (nobody coaching defense against Australia in the rain) to defensively impotent (against NZ we need to shut down space/against SA we need to make the first time tackles - Taylor) - jury is very much out imo

The worst part of the weekend is that Mike Blair now takes his place in the Scottish Hall of Lame, a special place reserved for players who have gifted crucial tries to the opposition. Notable members include, Chris Cusier, Phil Godman & Dan Parks.

GLove39 wrote:The worst part of the weekend is that Mike Blair now takes his place in the Scottish Hall of Lame, a special place reserved for players who have gifted crucial tries to the opposition. Notable members include, Chris Cusier, Phil Godman & Dan Parks.

Now, now! Gavin Hastings's missed penalty and Kenny Logan's goal kicking - costing us a win at Twickenham and the Grand Slam in 1999 - are a greater sin than anything that the names above did. I think most fans are hoping that Blair, Cusiter and Lawson will be gradually phased out over the next few years, although it's quite tricky given the effect the SRU's farcical, signing policy has had on Edinburgh. Perhaps Pyrgos will continue to shock us all by actually playing well. I'm hoping that he does seeing as Matawalu and Rees are probably going to feature in Edinburgh and Glasgow's squads for the remainder of the season.

Imperialbigdave wrote:

George Carlin wrote:I've still got a lot of faith that Weir can do a job.

On the plus side:

1. Grant and Murray are surely now locked in as starters in what is at worst a dependable front row and at best one to be feared. When is Big Mike Cusack going to stop being a Yorkshireman and start being a Scot?

2. Gray and Hamilton, with Kellock as an impact sub is a genuinely international class lock pairing.

3. Denton, Brown and either Rennie or Barclay is a set of loosies as good as anything in the NH except for France.

4. Maitland, Hogg and Visser is an attacking back 3 that we have been waiting a long time for.

The problem remains in the centres. Surely to feic between Bennett, Ansbro, Dunbar, Horne and Scott we can get a partnership that both works and can thrive?

Bsando has it right - Andy Robinson should go if he cannot get at least 2 wins. If he cannot, then he surely has no mandate to say that he is needed to help bring the team forward any more. He isn't helping the side any more - you'd have to say that without demonstrating consistent improvement (3 wins or more), he's holding them back.

We need a Super 15 or Top 14 coach that is used to winning and has a strong coaching team to bring with him to help make it happen. Contrary to popular belief, I think that there are a lot of coaches who would be interested in making the step up to a national side - Jamie Joseph from the Highlanders, Allister Coetzee at the Stormers or Ewen McKenzie or Jim McKay from the Reds - they would all be good options.

The SRU have done well with the teams but now they need to spend money on this. It's the sad truth of it.

Allister Coetzee is a too conservative. Hes got a team that can slog it out in the league better than anyone, but when it comes to big pressure games, theres never a plan B and they always lose. If the super 15 was won purely on the league standings, Stormers shouldve won it the past 3 odd years, but they have no answer to sides that dont get dragged into penalty fests. Maybe its just me, but thats not what I want in a national coach.

edit: Joseph on the other hand is exactly what we need, a guy who has identified how to turn a historically weak team into one that id wager will be title contenders this season. Even with many of the same players who a few seasons ago were considered to be making up the numbers.

Well Allister did just win the Currie Cup for the WP for the first time in 11 years. And it was only this year that they were on top of the log with a relatively young team, the year prior to that they were 2nd on the overall log.

Very true, FerN.

Incidentally, I have started a new thread for the next game in Scotland's honkingly poor season: https://www.606v2.com/t37400-scotland-v-tonga-build-up-banter-and-match-day-thread

It was an unusual game on Saturday.

Scotland made too many mistakes and missed too many tackles. I have said previously that when you make so many mistakes in a test match, especially against Top tier opposition, how can you expect to win?

Clancy did us no favours. He only seemed to referee one team in the 1st half, and his refereeing of the maul was inconsistent and unclear. However Clancy didn't make us fall off tackles, throw intercept passes, botch our line out and make poor decisions with regards to penalties.

I take comfort from the fact some of our guys looked good. Denton, Prygos, Kellock (who I thought was excellent when he came on for Gray).

Ford butchered one lineout by throwing it squint, it's a pain to see linouts gowing pear shaped in the red zone but his throwing was accurate when it needed to be for Prygos try. IMO his work in the scrum and in the loose has redeemed him for his squint line out.

I'm at a loss to see what Barclay or Brown did though, both had quite games as did Scott and NDL.

I would expect Robinson to give Horne and Dunbar a crack at the Tongans wether or not Scott and NDL did play well so I look forward to see what they can do.

In conclusion, we played well in the 2nd half but still made too many errors. SA were just too strong.

Radge, I enjoyed the way Scotland played in the second half. Well let me be more clear, enjoyed wasn't the right word, I worried when they started playing like that.

SA just sat back and defended. They have done this too often and their reliance on their defence is going to bite them.

Why did we loose on Sat?

Was it the Ref? No

was it the SA "cheating"? No

was it the way we played tge game? Yes

We got involved in an arm wrestle with SA. That was the daftest tactic you could employ against these boys.

We've been harping on about our elusive and speedy back of Hogg and Visser but throughout the game we stuck the ball up the jumper and went lokoing for contact everytime. How many times did Visser get the ball in his hands in space? When hogg got the ball, did he look for a gap or look to pass to someone in space? No. he either kicked the ball straight back at the bokke or he ran intot he first SA player he could see.

Rugby is a simple game. What we want to be doing is 6 or 7 phases of forwards picking and going, sucking in the opposition defenders, then putting the ball quickly through the hands to put players into space.

What we did on Sat was for the forwards to hit it up dozens of times until they eventually ran out of puff or dropped the ball.

Why? Is this what Robinson wants? If so he needs sacked as my mum could have come up with a better tactic than that! If it is not what he wants then the players who are doing this need dropped and players who will follow a game plan brought in instead!

I'm getting fed up of all these false dawns. How can the SRU target a GS or a WC win when we cannot execute a game plan? If Wales manage to win one of thier next 2 games. Scotland will finish outside the top 8 and its back to looking at a first round exit at the next WC

You are all about Fourie Bill. Must be frustrating that he cut his int career short to head off to japan.

Sorry guns, made the comment on the wrong thread and deleted it, but yes, very sad to see a prodigious talent like that walk away from the Bok jersey.

Tiger

The probelm is out backs are still poor. Every time we got to the backs, they shipped it across and made very little progress - in fact mostly were send backwards.

There is no guile in how we use the ball in the backs - and it reminds me of very poor school yard rugby

NDL has his usual brain fart, but at least it was not a yellow for once. But how he keeps his place is a mystery as he is god darn aweful for scotland (although he did suprise the missis once (once mind) but beating a defender)

Thought Pyros (sp) played well when he came on

Lots of positives to take out (of the second half)

Pack performed very well - Dominated the SA pack. Made good yards and played fast pick and go

Front Row - good - Grant is a keeper

Kellock played well - Hamilton still needs to makde more yards with his size

Back row played well - although did not play the ref well enough with the SA slowing down (Should have been a yellow card 20 mins before, but Clancy bottled it)

12 - 13 STILL our problem though

Id disagree about Scott, he was nothing flashy, but then when you look at the tactics employed perhaps that was to be expected. He made his tackles on a vastly experienced opposite man, snaffled up spilled ball on multiple occasions and made yards in traffic.

What really worries me though is his interview in the scotsman yesterday where he mentions that the coaching team are deploying him as a crash ball at the moment. He doesnt sound too pleased about it either. Utter bonkers and no wonder were not getting the best out of him if its true.

Good point about Scott - he's a ball playing 12 but sounds like he's being asked to be a battering ram. Not the best!

I really do like that we are trying to play a psotive game and actually go to win.

I think it is a little too early to start doubting Brown as captian though. Yes, maybe he should have gone for penatlies, but we are fired up and playing better that we have for a while - which I think is aprt of his influence

regarding 12- 13 - is it again the coaching letting us down then?

Who's fault is that - can we turn it around

I took more positives from this game that negatives, so I am a slightly happy Scotsman

I don't think it is just our centre pairing that's cause for concern, we should be looking at the entire midfield with fresh eyes - 10-12-13

How will we get time to try out the combos though?:

Meatball - Scott - Dunbar

Meatball - Horne - Dunbar

Meatball - Scott - Hogg

Meatball - Scott - Bennett

Rhubarb - Scott - Dunbar

Rhubarb - Scott - Hogg

Laidlaw - Scott - DeBrainfart - this is not the way ahead necessarily

The players and the tactics have to be right, pointless playing the right combo with the wrong gameplan.

If you have a distributing 12, whats the point in asking him to just crash it up? The entire backline needs to be cdrilled into working the space so that they have time on the ball. They can do for their clubs, they damn well have the ability to do for their country.

Imperialbigdave wrote:The players and the tactics have to be right, pointless playing the right combo with the wrong gameplan.

If you have a distributing 12, whats the point in asking him to just crash it up? The entire backline needs to be cdrilled into working the space so that they have time on the ball. They can do for their clubs, they damn well have the ability to do for their country.

Totally agree, yet that would appear to be what is being asked of our distributing IC, Matt Scott, if the interview in the paper is accurate!! Johnson (and Robinson) should answer that shocker

My preference, for the 6N, would be a 9-10-12-13 combination of Laidlawm Weir, Scott and Dunbar.

Laidlaw's footballing instincts and abilities are too precious for us to pass up, and we need to put him back into his preferred position.

Weir is our most balanced 10 - absolutely dead-eyed from the tee, a siege gun boot, a decent range of tactical kicking and he can operate as a running 10 if the team he plays with is set up to do so (see Scotland A vs the Saxons earlier this year).

Scott is what we've been looking for at 12 for a long, long time. Big enough to stay strong defensively, and a very classy distributor. Still a bit green, so he needs as many caps as possible. All this nonsense about using him on the crash should be booted into touch.

Dunbar is a solid prospect at 13 or 12. Strong in the tackle and with ball in hand, always seems to make ground and passes fairly well. Not just a crash ball centre. I'm done with NDL at international level. Just not good enough. Dunbar may be pushed aside by Bennett in the long run, or Ansbro when he's back fit, but he's a better bet than NDL at the moment.