Jon Welsh

I see from the BBC pages that he has just signed a new 2 year deal with the Weeg. It looks like Glasgow have a lot of good players tied up in reasonable length contracts - the third seeds to avoid in next year's HC, I think

More good news on the signing front for The Warriors

Super player, still quite young, so hopefully more to come (injury-permitting)

His ability to now play both sides is coming along nicely. Invaluable skill these days.

We all remember with great fondness the memories of Dickinson having a crack at tighthead in a Scotland jersey.....

Can't believe how good Glasgow's strength in depth in the fat boy department is.

LH - Grant, Low, Reid
TH - Cusack, Kalman, Welsh

5 out of 6 props Scots qualified, Cusack will be next year. None of them young pups - all seasoned pros

Compare it to Edinburgh:

LH - Yapp, Chunk, Hislop
TH - Cross, Nel, Niven, Allen

4 out of 7 Scots qualified, one retired, half of them under 24.

Not really comparable!

Saying that I am really excited about Alex Allan - MOTM in the Scotland club international and is a big, strong lad. He's going on the McPhail scholarship too so will learn a lot in NZ.

RDW_Scotland wrote:Can't believe how good Glasgow's strength in depth in the fat boy department is.

LH - Grant, Low, Reid
TH - Cusack, Kalman, Welsh

5 out of 6 props Scots qualified, Cusack will be next year. None of them young pups - all seasoned pros

Compare it to Edinburgh:

LH - Yapp, Chunk, Hislop
TH - Cross, Nel, Niven, Allen

4 out of 7 Scots qualified, one retired, half of them under 24.

Not really comparable!

Saying that I am really excited about Alex Allan - MOTM in the Scotland club international and is a big, strong lad. He's going on the McPhail scholarship too so will learn a lot in NZ.

Yes! We are totally the fattest!

Ignore RDW, GC. He pounces around in the backs, making sure his highlights are looking good so can't appreciate the pure athleticism of us forwards

RDW in large girl's shirt shocker. Well, I never.

I would have had him down with Radge as a good, honest prop.

There are many inaccuracies in the last 2 posts:

1 – I do not have highlights, never have. Forwards are just jealous because backs are far better looking, funny, intelligent and more successful with the ladies.

2 – the words ‘athleticism’ and ‘forwards’ cannot be combined when talking about Scottish low level amateur rugby. Acceptable combinations with the word ‘forwards’ can include ‘unfit’, ‘lazy, ‘psychotic’, ‘unskilled’ and ‘those bloody…’

3 – What forwards class as ‘poncing around in the backs’ is actually what us backs like to call running good angles, slick handling and flowing moves to score under the posts. Forwards don’t understand this as they spend most their time up someone else’s arse or with their face in a puddle.

Typical girly back. Point 3 above could be summarised in 2 instead of 200 words - fannying around.
Never slag off forwards, RDW. We can do quite remarkable things. In fact, I vaguely remember us losing one against the head when on the scrummaging machine

RDW_Scotland wrote:

3 – What forwards class as ‘poncing around in the backs’ is actually what us backs like to call running good angles, slick handling and flowing moves to score under the posts. Forwards don’t understand this as they spend most their time up someone else’s arse or with their face in a puddle.

So you have been hiding this sort of skill while all the while Scotland have been vomitting up the likes of Morrison and Henderson all the while mr RDW_Scotland has been hiding his mercurial talents for "running good angles, his slick handling and flowing moves to score under the posts"?

I had my chance to reprsesnt Scotland when I went to a Scotland training camp when I was 21, I came across a young Alan Jacobson who challenged me to a eating contest and a downing contest. The winner would get the Scotland call up. I was thouroughly 2nd best that day.

As for the back's being better with the ladies.... that's a lie, forwards always do better in that department. I always heard the backs were better with the laddies

That first paragraph is a typical example of forwards illiteracy radge!

InjuredYetAgain wrote: In fact, I vaguely remember us losing one against the head when on the scrummaging machine

Love it.

Good banter lads!

Imperialbigdave wrote:That first paragraph is a typical example of forwards illiteracy radge!

hey I use my words good!

Go easy on him IBG – we know tightheads are a bit slow, you set your grammatical standards too high. To be honest I’m impressed if a tighthead knows which end of a pen is the writing end!

So that's where I have been going wrong all these years! In truth my hand writing is shockingly bad. My nephew has better hand writing than I do.

As for Welsh he is a cracking player and has been indicated already he has a rare ability to play either side of the scrum. I dabbled a bit at Loosie in my time but can't say I liked it much. I also played hooker for the 3rds once upon a time.

If you thought Ford's lineout darts were pish, he had nothing on me. I couldnae hit a barn door with a blunderbuss when it came to lineout throwing.

RDW_Scotland wrote:

InjuredYetAgain wrote: In fact, I vaguely remember us losing one against the head when on the scrummaging machine

Love it.

Good banter lads!

It's true. Ask your dad if he remembers a hooker called David Pack. He mistimed his strike one practice scrum and the ball went flying away from us at a serious rate of knots. Still, at least it replicated what tended to happen to us in the game itself!

How are we supposed to teach props how to learn how to read if they can't even hold the pen?

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:So that's where I have been going wrong all these years! In truth my hand writing is shockingly bad. My nephew has better hand writing than I do.

As for Welsh he is a cracking player and has been indicated already he has a rare ability to play either side of the scrum. I dabbled a bit at Loosie in my time but can't say I liked it much. I also played hooker for the 3rds once upon a time.

If you thought Ford's lineout darts were pish, he had nothing on me. I couldnae hit a barn door with a blunderbuss when it came to lineout throwing.

Is there really much difference between TH and LH? Genuine question - I played anywhere in the back 5 of the pack but what went on in front of me was a mystery although I did know that if my prop disappeared over my shoulder at scrum time, we were in for a(nother) long afternoon

I personally can’t think what the difference could be – both get felt up by the 2nd rows and have to push a bit, how hard can it be!

The roles and required techniques for the two props are different IYA. In very very basic terms, you want your tighthead to be holding the scrum steady, and your loosehead attacking the opposition tighthead and stopping him from doing so.

RDW_Scotland wrote:I personally can’t think what the difference could be – both get felt up by the 2nd rows and have to push a bit, how hard can it be!

"Girly back in failing to understand what goes on in the pack' shocker!!!

I can see the newspaper headline now!

If the article is aimed at the backs, put it next to the gossip column and just before the fashion section - that way every back will see it

How are we supposed to teach props how to learn how to read if they can't even hold the pen?

Well as a tighthead your job is more of an offensive role on the hooker trying to destabalize the scrum between 2 & 1. Whereas a Loosie you are trying to force the tighthead to pop up or get their body into such a position as to stop them attacking the hooker and generating momentum to force them and the scrum back.

As a tighthead you get more oomph from the 2nd row since your head is between the opposition Loosie and the Hooker. Tightheads tend to be a bit stronger than Looseheads, I was tall for a Tighthead at 6"1, however to be that tall on the loosehead side you need to have Cian Healy or Jenkins levels of Strength to try and contain the tighthead.

Loosies like Domingo, Mighty Mouse and Tam Smith are short enough to negate the Tightheads strength and undermine their leverage.

When I got shifted to loosehead I was neither strong enough to overcome the tighthead or short enough to negate their base of power and hence got manshamed.

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:Well as a tighthead your job is more of an offensive role on the hooker trying to destabalize the scrum between 2 & 1. Whereas a Loosie you are trying to force the tighthead to pop up or get their body into such a position as to stop them attacking the hooker and generating momentum to force them and the scrum back.

As a tighthead you get more oomph from the 2nd row since your head is between the opposition Loosie and the Hooker. Tightheads tend to be a bit stronger than Looseheads, I was tall for a Tighthead at 6"1, however to be that tall on the loosehead side you need to have Cian Healy or Jenkins levels of Strength to try and contain the tighthead.

Loosies like Domingo, Mighty Mouse and Tam Smith are short enough to negate the Tightheads strength and undermine their leverage.

When I got shifted to loosehead I was neither strong enough to overcome the tighthead or short enough to negate their base of power and hence got manshamed.

All of that can be shortened down to " you need to push a lot....."

I may be bad with words, but I'm good with maths.

Think of scrum work in the same way as Trigonometry, driving at angle "X" creates pressure on axis "Y", blah blah blah.

I appreciate that as backs, your school classes revolved around home economics, 18th century romantic fiction, modern dance, flower arranging or male fashion.

While you were doing that us forwards were sticking in at Engineering, Maths and Physics to learn how best to muller our opposite numbers

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:

While you were doing that us forwards were sticking in at Engineering, Maths and Physics to learn how best to muller our opposite numbers

How come I ended up working as a Civil Engineer then?

Your metrosexual good looks.

Imperialbigdave wrote:How are we supposed to teach props how to learn how to read if they can't even hold the pen?

Do you need a pen to read?

He's got you there IBD...

My grandad claimed he needed a particular pair of glasses to help him listen to the radio. I was 10, so I just accepted this without question.

funnyExiledScot wrote:

Imperialbigdave wrote:How are we supposed to teach props how to learn how to read if they can't even hold the pen?

Do you need a pen to read?

....No! I...just...er...its a trick question! And im glad to say that you passed fes. Everyone else should be ashamed of themselves.

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:
I appreciate that as backs, your school classes revolved around home homo economics, 18th century romantic fiction, modern dance, flower arranging or male fashion

Corrected that for you, Radge

Pinched this from the Forum on the Glasgow unoffy site:

GLASGOW PLAYER CONTRACTS

Ofa Fainga'anuku, short term

2013

John Barclay, 1 year deal, 2013
Scott Wight, 2 year deal, 2013
Taylor Paris, 1 year deal, 2013
Graeme Morrison, 2 year deal, 2013

2014

Gordon Reid, 2 year deal, 2014
Ryan Grant, 2 year deal, 2014
Moray Low, 2 year deal, 2014
Ed Kalman, 2 year deal, 2014
Dougie Hall, 2 year deal, 2014
Finlay Gillies, 2 year deal, 2014
Robert Harley, 2 year deal, 2014
Tim Swinson, 2 year deal, 2014
James Eddie, 2 year deal, 2014
Chris Fusaro, 2 year deal, 2014
Ryan Wilson, 3 year deal, 2014
Henry Pyrgos, 2 year deal, 2014
Duncan Weir, 2 year deal, 2014
Ruaridh Jackson, 2 year deal, 2014
Byron McGuigan, 2 year deal, 2014
Alex Dunbar, 2 year deal, 2014
Mark Bennett, loan deal, 2014
Rory Lamont, 3 year deal, 2014

2015

Jon Welsh, 2 year deal, 2015
Al Kellock, 3 year deal with a 2 year option, 2015 to 2017
Tom Ryder, 2 year deal, 2015
Josh Strauss, 3 year deal, 2015
Nikola Matawalu, 3 year deal, 2015
Chris Cusiter, 3 year deal, 2015
Sean Lamont, 3 year deal, 2015
Peter Horne, 3 year deal, 2015
Sean Maitland, 3 year deal, 2015
Stuart Hogg, 4 year deal, 2015
Tommy Seymour, 3 year deal, 2015
Peter Murchie, 3 year deal, 2015
DTH van der Merwe, 2 year deal, 2015

2016

Michael Cusack, 3 year deal, 2016
Pat MacArthur, 3 year deal, 2016
Richie Vernon, 3 year deal, 2016

Elite Development Players

Adam Ashe
Nick Campbell
Bruce Dick
Jonny Gray
George Hunter
James Johnstone
Murray McConnell
Finn Russell
Fergus Scott
Callum Templeton
Fraser Thomson

Fantastic that so many key players are contracted until 2015 and 2016. Glasgow really have their house in order, and although Toonie is confounding expectations and doing a fine job, alot of credit must go to previous management for building such solid foundations.

Lessons for Edinburgh to follow.

Apparently the Big Fella has nice cuticles too!