Scotland squad for the 6 Nations

First topic message reminder :

Scotland squad for training camp in Glasgow (January 20-23) ahead of RBS 6 Nations Championship:

Backs: Peter Murchie*, Stuart Hogg, Sean Maitland*, Tommy Seymour*, Sean Lamont (all Glasgow Warriors), Tim Visser (Edinburgh Rugby), Max Evans (Castres), Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby), Alex Dunbar* Peter Horne*, Duncan Weir, Ruaridh Jackson (all Glasgow Warriors), Tom Heathcote (Bath Rugby), Henry Pyrgos, Sean Kennedy* (both Glasgow Warriors) and Greig Laidlaw (Edinburgh Rugby).

Forwards: Alasdair Dickinson (Sale Sharks), Ryan Grant, Dougie Hall, Pat MacArthur* (all Glasgow Warriors), Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby), Euan Murray (Worcester Warriors), Geoff Cross (Edinburgh Rugby), Moray Low, Alastair Kellock (both Glasgow Warriors), Richie Gray (Sale Sharks), Jim Hamilton (Gloucester), Grant Gilchrist* (Edinburgh Rugby), Kelly Brown (Saracens), Robert Harley, Ryan Wilson* (both Glasgow Warriors), Johnnie Beattie (Montpellier), David Denton (Edinburgh Rugby), Richie Vernon (Sale Sharks), Chris Fusaro* (Glasgow Warriors).

* = Uncapped.

Invited to be with the squad as they recover from injury: Chris Cusiter, John Barclay and Jon Welsh (all Glasgow Warriors) Nick De Luca and Ross Rennie (both Edinburgh Rugby) and Scott Lawson (London Irish).

Note to editors: Alasdair Strokosch (Perpignan) will miss the camp for family reasons as his wife is expecting their second child.

George Carlin wrote:This page is blank.

Intentionally?

Jeez like I said this is becoming like the Sermon on the mound!

It's like an Irish whinge thread and a Wales Vs England bickering thread all rolled into one!

Hello? Is there anybody there?

funnyExiledScot wrote:I'm not sure comparing our current squad against prior squads tells us much. More instructive comparing us against the likely England XV:

Marler vs Grant - even Marler is TERRIBLE - Grant by a mile

Hartley vs MacArthur or Ford - EVEN Ford better in loose and breakdown - Hatley better in throwing

Murray vs Cole - England

Launchbury vs Gray or Hamilton - even

Parling vs Kellock - England

Wood vs Brown - Brown Brown - form 6 in the country just now - as long as he stays at 6

Robshaw vs Fusaro or Denton - England

Morgan vs Beattie or Denton - Scotland

Youngs vs Pyrgos or Laidlaw - England

Farrell vs Laidlaw or Jackson - England

Brown or Foden vs Visser - England (due to Visser's defensive frailty)

Barritt vs Scott - even

Tuilagi vs Lamont - England

Ashton vs Mailtland - even

Goode or Brown vs Hogg - England

I make that 9 England, 1 Scotland and 5 even.

I don't think it'll be a heavy loss, but I do think we'll lose, I reckon by roughly 10 points.

That's my head speaking.

My heart predicts a Maitland hat-trick on debut, Jackson's coming of age at 10, Euan Murray's total and utter destruction of Joe Marler and his stupid hair and Danny 'white boots' Care coming on after 60 minutes and throwing the mother of all intercept passes to Richie Gray and the big man, hair flowing in the wind like the God of all things, strides in untouched from his own half - Courtney Lawes trailing helplessly in his wake - for the score that brings up the Scotland half century of points, and their biggest win over England.......

I few I would disagree with from above (see red), although I think on paper it is England's to lose.

TJ wrote:Hello? Is there anybody there?

lostinwales wrote:

George Carlin wrote:This page is blank.

Intentionally?

Of course. That's 13 pages now.

Risky, whilst I can understand your position regarding Grant and Brown, based on performances this season Hartley and Youngs are both comfortably ahead of Ford and MacArthur.

In the case of Ford, I'd trade him immediately for Hartley or Youngs. As an Edinburgh fan, I can't emphasise enough just how disappointing Ross Ford has been this season, particularly after his heroic efforts last season.

Contributing an extra post towards the magic 14...

A bit disappointed that neither Grove nor Tonks made the squad, whilst Max Evans did. Vernon possibly not the best but then I wouldn't say no to playing him at centre. I've seen the video of Richie Gray learning to kick from Weir, so perhaps he could do a job at stand off? I think we could really turn heads at the 6n playing like that! Instead of having a tall guy as line out jumper, we could have a really light guy like Laidlaw and get Beattie and Hamilton to throw him into the air. In fact, why not bring Lee Jones back into the squad for that role?

Back to reality, I'd like to see the team playing heads up rugby and enjoying it. Reckon we should keep Broon as captain but wouldn't have any issue with either Hamilton or Laidlaw taking the responsibility. A good performance against England and I'd be satisfied, score 2 or 3 tries and I'd be very happy, win and I'd have to check that I am not dreaming. Some divine intervention wouldn't go amiss, I think we deserve it for all the times we've accepted Reverend Murray's Sunday sojourns to hunker down in a pew!

Most of all, I want 80 minutes without any monumental willy-ups, no de-luca style brainfarts, no cheap yellow cards (at least earn it by scrapping and get one of theirs off too. Tuilagi perhaps?) and no shoddy kicking away of the ball whenever we get it!

highland_scot wrote:Instead of having a tall guy as line out jumper, we could have a really light guy like Laidlaw and get Beattie and Hamilton to throw him into the air. In fact, why not bring Lee Jones back into the squad for that role?

It would not work coz the forwards would refuse to catch Jones as he seems to refuse to catch the ball

Did anyone here see Jeremy Guscott suggesting playing Visser at 13? Good thing Robinson is gone, he'd probably have tried it!

The captaincy really does now need to stick with Brown. There's no-one else with leadership capability guaranteed to start.

The suggestions above of Hamilton and Laidlaw are all good and well, but we don't know how the move to France will affect Hamilton, whether he'll be ditched by Ryan to accommodate whatever it is that Kellock does, and now that Johnson has said that he sees Laidlaw as a 9, how will that work when Cusiter returns to fitness (a better 9 in my view).

One thing that will no doubt throw everything up in the air is injuries this weekend. Neither Scots side has anything to play for other than pride, but it's when players go in without fully committing that injuries occur. Selections for the weekend will be interesting.

highland_scot wrote:Did anyone here see Jeremy Guscott suggesting playing Visser at 13? Good thing Robinson is gone, he'd probably have tried it!

I didn't see that. Remarkable if true. He can't catch and he can't tackle, he's the ultimate "Forrest Gump" player - give him the ball on a plate and he'll speed off into the distance at pace, but don't ask him to take a tricky pass or kick a ball, and for heaven's sake don't ask him to tackle.

That is honestly the most stupid suggestion I've heard - including playing Vernon at 12.

funnyExiledScot wrote:

highland_scot wrote:Did anyone here see Jeremy Guscott suggesting playing Visser at 13? Good thing Robinson is gone, he'd probably have tried it!

I didn't see that. Remarkable if true. He can't catch and he can't tackle, he's the ultimate "Forrest Gump" player - give him the ball on a plate and he'll speed off into the distance at pace, but don't ask him to take a tricky pass or kick a ball, and for heaven's sake don't ask him to tackle.

That is honestly the most stupid suggestion I've heard - including playing Vernon at 12.

Ah, it's on his BBC q&a column. It is almost as if he was told he had to write something about Scotland and couldn't be bothered researching the options at 13 so plucked out the idea of playing Visser at 13 with Evans on the wing. Heaven help us!

There we have it, my opinion. It may be slightly biased but I honestly believe that our pack is stronger, if I were Johnson I'd get the team really fired up and determined and play Weir and Laidlaw together. Then I'd get the forwards to stay out of most opposition rucks until they have a vulnerable one and hit it with numbers. Then Laidlaw and Weir can smash it downfield, our wingers are faster. Play Lamont and Dunbar in the centre to outdo them defensively and Hogg at fifteen to offer variety but also to use his new found punting prowess.
My plan is to effectively kill the game and draw on passion and strong defence and boring tactics, later in the ghame if appropriate bring on Jackson and Scott and open up the game. I'd like to see how the likes of Tuilagi, Goode, Morgan and Launchbury get when there's 65 minutes on the clock and they've been frustrated and tormented. I'd also pick Ryan Grant as captain, he's been fantastic every time he's played for Scotland.
My team would be:
1. Grant - Strong in the loose. Possible Lions contender?
2. Ford - On form one of the top British hookers, nothing going to fire him up more than England
3. Murray - Destructive scrummager, may be able to get under Marler's skin
4. Gray - A fantastic player
5. Hamilton - He's tough, strong and difficult to move
6. Brown - One of the best players in the squad
7. Fusaro/ Denton - We need a genuine openside but the thought of Denton and Beattie playing together is pretty frightening
8. Beattie - appears to be back on form
9. Laidlaw - Suits my kicking plan
10. Weir - Same as Laidlaw
11. Visser - He's got to chase the kicks and hopefully learn to defend
12. Dunbar - He's strong and will gain ground as well as strong defensively
13. Lamont - If you're going to play a game based on defence and passion there's no one better
14. Maitland - Strong runner and good finisher
15. Hogg - He offers the ability to get something from nothing and has a powerful boot

For the Italy game I'd bring in Matt Scott and tell Dunbar and Lamont in advance and tell them that who makes way will be decided on their performances against England, I'd do the same with Denton and Beattie and bring Fusaro in.

There it is, my master plan to beat England.

I too am an fan of Ryan Grant, but let's see how he gets on against Dan Cole. Huge test for him, and I wouldn't want him as captain in case he struggles.

Although the problems came on the tighthead side against Ulster, the Glasgow front row didn't have much fun on Friday.

He's a long way of the Lions I'm afraid. I'm a big fan, but I can't hand on heart say I wouldn't rather have Corbisiero, Sheridan, Healy, James, Court or Jenkins playing for the Lions.

If he can handle Dan Cole and Andreas Lo Cicero in the first couple of games, and continue to play well in the loose, then he may become a dark horse for the Lions, but it's a big if.

I'm afraid I'm too much a form selector to consider Weir or Dunbar (at 12) against England.

funnyExiledScot wrote:I too am an fan of Ryan Grant, but let's see how he gets on against Dan Cole. Huge test for him, and I wouldn't want him as captain in case he struggles.

Although the problems came on the tighthead side against Ulster, the Glasgow front row didn't have much fun on Friday.

He's a long way of the Lions I'm afraid. I'm a big fan, but I can't hand on heart say I wouldn't rather have Corbisiero, Sheridan, Healy, James, Court or Jenkins playing for the Lions.

If he can handle Dan Cole and Andreas Lo Cicero in the first couple of games, and continue to play well in the loose, then he may become a dark horse for the Lions, but it's a big if.

I'm afraid I'm too much a form selector to consider Weir or Dunbar (at 12) against England.

You'd rather have this guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moi0NJ1JyMk than Ryan Grant! Dunbar and weir are just there to do a job in that team, tackle, kick and pop pass for Weir and Tackle and crash for Dunbar, bring Scott and Jackson on for the last 20 to open it up.

Funny moment on Twitter earlier when Max Evans fianceé tweeted that he'd been taking her female multivitamins... Oh dear....

On England vs Scotland

(Bold is my pick for best, if both then even)


1. Corbisero vs Grant - Grant has been one of the few shining lights in the past year for Scotland, does everything a prop need to, and then some in the loose. Corbisero is good, but I don't think he's come on as well this season as he did last.

2. Hartley vs McArthur - Hartley is good. Thug and a half at times but does what he does well. Ford is out of form and coming back from injury and as much as Doug Hall is playing well, Pat Mc is the future and has been pretty explosive from the bench in the last few games.

3. Cole vs Murray - The Rev is playing well and did a number on his opposition in the autumn. Unfortunately so did Dan Cole who has been one of the best THs in the NH this season.

4. Launchbury vs Gray - Young and upcoming Launchbury came into the England team in the AIs and impressed, but Richie Gray is becoming a talismanic figure for Scotland and defies his club form to bring his best to the Scottish setup.

5. Parling vs Hamilton - The big Glaws lock has been better than ever this season, losing none of his nasty in cleaning up his disciplinary record. Parling has become a key member of the Tigers and England setup now but still has something to prove

6. Wood vs Brown - Tom Wood was MOTM vs the All Blacks and rightly so, but the following week he was shown how to play by Ulster's young pretender, Iain Henderson... Kelly Brown has been in fine form for the Sarries, and should retain the captaincy

7. Robshaw vs Fusaro - Chris Fusaro has never made a full Scottish international appearance, but if he remains fit then his first cap should come against the Auld Enemy. He has been in good form, keeping international teammate John Barclay out of the Glasgow side. Robshaw is a consistent performer for Quins and seems to be finally growing into the England Captaincy

8. Morgan vs Beattie- Ben Morgan came into the England squad last year and has battled to keep the 8 shirt away from Tiger's Thomas Waldrom and will be facing stiff competition from Saint's Clarke also. Johnnie Beattie left Firhill over the summer in a cloud of discontent, but has thrived on the French Riviera and hopefully will bring his form to the Scottish scene

9. Youngs vs Laidlaw - Ben Youngs is coming back into form after injury and looks to be one of the contenders for the Lions tour. Laidlaw has been primarily used as a 10 by Scotland but with the retirement of Blair and the continued injury woes of Cusiter we will see him tog out at 9.

10. Farrell vs Jackson - Owen Farrell has grown into a solid, if unspectacular fly-half with a propensity to be metronomic with the boot. Ruairidh Jackson is the opposite. Great with ball in hand and enough flair to set any backline free, he struggles with goalkicking at times, however he seems to be back in the flow at the minute...

11. Brown vs Visser - Visser is the Pro12's try scoring sensation who can't defend... Mike Brown is a full back with pace to burn and a nose for the line... Great match up!

12. Barritt vs Scott - Two brieze blocks of men, with Barritt a key lynchpin in the Sarries and England defence, but not the most creative of players, and Scott one of the few Edinburgh players to have improved their stock this season

13. Tuilagi vs Dunbar - Tuilagi is a big threat and has torn defences apart with his strength and speed. Alex Dunbar will need to have one of the best debuts as a centre to cope with him

14. Ashton vs Maitland - The former Crusader has had a good start to his Glasgow career and deserves his call up to the Scottish squad. Ashton is a proven attacker who still runs fantastic support lines

15. Goode vs Hogg - Alex Goode was a standout in the AIs for England and adds an extra dimension to their attack. Hogg was a revelation last year and need to rediscover his form

4 to Scotland
5 to England
6 Even

For me the key difference in the teams right now is not the quality of the players - England may be better by a bit - but rather the mental preparedness. Lancaster has turned a shambles into a team and they are playing with confidence and unity. Robinson was unable to do the same. Can Johnson do this? we can only wait and see but at this level and with the teams close on skills the mental side will be key.

I just wish we had a Will Genia and a slightly better FH, then we would be seriously competitive in my opinion. As it stands at the moment I really do think England will expose the lack of quality in those positions. They have so many good 9/10's at the moment, so I am expecting them to use that to their advantage against us. Hopefully we can apply pressure else where and keep England off the scoreboard. Regardless, its going to be a very interesting game.

UlstermaninGlasgow wrote:Funny moment on Twitter earlier when Max Evans fianceé tweeted that he'd been taking her female multivitamins... Oh dear....

Haha, so if he throws any hissy fits and runs off the field we can assume thats the cause?

With Nick de Luca now injured who would be your pick for the Scottish number 13 jersey? JL9
I'd be tempted to put Tim Visser in at 13 and gets Max Evans back on the wing, where he played for French side Castres at the weekend. - JG

I'd be tempted to say Jerry has been on the wacky backy!

This is the same guscott who said that richie gray wouldn't make an impact on tje international scene and resembled bambi on ice.

Guscott is conclusive proof that you can be a great player and still know nothing about the game.

He's probably on the payroll of the RFU and trying to play to play to the notorious maverick Scott Johnson who will feel outdone and inadequate about someone having a stranger idea than him, in retaliation he'll pick Lee Jones, Dan Parks, Al Dickinson and Kyle Traynor, put Kelly Brown at seven, Nathan Hines at six, John Barclay at 8, Rory Lawson at nine, Sean Lamont at 12, Max Evans at thirteen, and Nikki Walker on the other wing.
Actually no, only a complete and utter imbecile would do any of those things...

God are we nearly at page 14 ?

Maybe not ......

funnyExiledScot wrote:I too am an fan of Ryan Grant, but let's see how he gets on against Dan Cole. Huge test for him, and I wouldn't want him as captain in case he struggles.

Although the problems came on the tighthead side against Ulster, the Glasgow front row didn't have much fun on Friday.

He's a long way of the Lions I'm afraid. I'm a big fan, but I can't hand on heart say I wouldn't rather have Corbisiero, Sheridan, Healy, James, Court or Jenkins playing for the Lions.

If he can handle Dan Cole and Andreas Lo Cicero in the first couple of games, and continue to play well in the loose, then he may become a dark horse for the Lions, but it's a big if.

Agree with this. Grant is much too low key and unfashionable to be considered for the Lions, to say nothing of the fact that his emergence onto the international scene has been relatively recent. Against Cole, we'll be able to see how far he's come. He gives away a full stone to Cole but his technique is excellent and he's seen off some big South Sea Islanders in recent campaigns.

Healy, Corbs and then Court are the form loosies at the moment.

Our comfort with Grant should be that he's clearly streets ahead of anything else we've got at the moment.

can't be far away!

So if we could bring back a player or two from the past who would you want? John Jeffries for me

funnyExiledScot wrote:This is the same guscott who said that richie gray wouldn't make an impact on tje international scene and resembled bambi on ice.

Guscott is conclusive proof that you can be a great player and still know nothing about the game be a breathtakingly large tool.

Harsh but fair, FES. Harsh but fair.

JJ or Finlay Calder for me

TJ wrote:So if we could bring back a player or two from the past who would you want? John Jeffries for me

If I didn't know you as a man of impeccable morals, hygeine and integrity TJ, I would suggest that you are inventing off-point and spurious posts to push us to page 14.

George Carlin wrote:

TJ wrote:So if we could bring back a player or two from the past who would you want? John Jeffries for me

If I didn't know you as a man of impeccable morals, hygeine and integrity TJ, I would suggest that you are inventing off-point and spurious posts to push us to page 14.

If that is what is happening I am appalled at how standards have slipped, I blame the lack of National Service and general decline of cheery working class types willing to contract pneumoconiosis for 1/2 penny an hour. By the way do any of our MFL posters play for Trinity? I understand we are hosting them on their Easter tour. Let me know and we can organise a quiet pint, followed by several noisy ones .

George Carlin wrote:

TJ wrote:So if we could bring back a player or two from the past who would you want? John Jeffries for me

If I didn't know you as a man of impeccable morals, hygeine and integrity TJ, I would suggest that you are inventing off-point and spurious posts to push us to page 14.

Who me?

TJ wrote:

George Carlin wrote:

TJ wrote:So if we could bring back a player or two from the past who would you want? John Jeffries for me

If I didn't know you as a man of impeccable morals, hygeine and integrity TJ, I would suggest that you are inventing off-point and spurious posts to push us to page 14.

Who me?

Never!

John Rutherford

123456789 wrote:He's probably on the payroll of the RFU and trying to play to play to the notorious maverick Scott Johnson who will feel outdone and inadequate about someone having a stranger idea than him, in retaliation he'll pick Lee Jones, Dan Parks, Al Dickinson and Kyle Traynor, put Kelly Brown at seven, Nathan Hines at six, John Barclay at 8, Rory Lawson at nine, Sean Lamont at 12, Max Evans at thirteen, and Nikki Walker on the other wing.
Actually no, only a complete and utter imbecile would do any of those things...

Ha ha - post of the day, if you ask me!

Great work chaps we've overtaken the England V Wales bickering thread. First we will beat them on the forums before routing them on the pitch!

With a bit of practice we'll be as genial, quippy and generally incomprehensible to all non-local (in the League of Gentlemen sense) posters as some of the marathon Irish threads are.

You're my wife now...

Some good articles in the Hootsman this morning - worth a read

Although they did ruin Edinburgh’s big announcement today of their 3rd strip for the Sarries game by printing a picture of Denton wearing it!

Some players from the past that we could do with now for particular problem positions; 10: John Rutherford , 9: Gary Armstrong, 3: Iain Milne, 2: Colin Deans

1. Ian McLauchlan too, to be fair.

RDW_Scotland wrote:Although they did ruin Edinburgh’s big announcement today of their 3rd strip for the Sarries game by printing a picture of Denton wearing it!

http://www.edinburghrugby.org/news/edinburgh-news/4633-colours-will-be-all-white-on-the-night

I think it looks quite good actually. Stade Francais-esque.

Yeah I quite like it - shame it won't be for sale.

I've always wondered what's the point of having a home strip which is black with red in it, and an away strip which is red with black in it?? Something like this was bound to happen!

beshocked wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:Although they did ruin Edinburgh’s big announcement today of their 3rd strip for the Sarries game by printing a picture of Denton wearing it!

http://www.edinburghrugby.org/news/edinburgh-news/4633-colours-will-be-all-white-on-the-night

I think it looks quite good actually. Stade Francais-esque.

Given Edinburgh's Heineken cup performances this season I'd have thought they'd have gone for something more like this http://www.daydreamersfancydress.co.uk/acatalog/mrs-clown-costume-1479-fancy-dress.html

RDW_Scotland wrote:Yeah I quite like it - shame it won't be for sale.

I've always wondered what's the point of having a home strip which is black with red in it, and an away strip which is red with black in it?? Something like this was bound to happen!

True. Especially as quite a few sides play predominantly in black - Saracens,Edinburgh,Toulon,Ospreys and Toulouse.

Glove39 we'll see. I hope Edinburgh don't pull off a huge upset. Not got to be complacent.

This could be an omen. Weve never played well in red away strips, they are cursed. Last time we wore a white away strip we pulled off a massive robbery against the galacticos.

BELIEVE.

How strong a side do you think you'll put out?

There's a week's break before the 6N so there's no real need to rest players, so I'd like to think we'd put a strong side out. You never know what the SRU orders will be with certain players though.

Anyone fancy doing a match thread?? (something I've asked quite a lot recently cause I can never be bothered/ have lost all motivation for Edinburgh games!)