Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

by maestegmafia Sat 08 Jun 2013, 1:13 pm

First topic message reminder :

Scotland: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Tom Heathcote, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Kelly Brown, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Alastair Kellock, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.

Replacements: 16 Stevie Lawrie, 17 Moray Low, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Jim Hamilton, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Peter Horne, 23 Duncan Taylor.

Samoa: 15 James Sooialo, 14 Alapati Leiua, 13 Paul Williams (c), 12 Jonny Leota, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Tusiata Pisi, 9 Jeremy Sua, 8 Taiasina Tuifua, 7 Jack Lam, 6 Ofisa Treviranus, 5 Daniel Leo, 4 Teofilo Paulo, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Wayne Ole Avei, 1 Logovii Mulipola.

Replacements: 16 Maatulimanu Leiataua, 17 Sakaria Taulafo, 18 James Johnston, 19 Faatiga Lemalu, 20 Junior Poluleuligaga, 21 Brando Vaaulu, 22 Seilala Mapusua, 23 Alafoti Faosiliva

by Axeman Mon 10 Jun 2013, 10:24 am

Having had the rest of the weekend to congitate, kick the cat, consider and digest the thing that really disappointed me was the complete juxtaposition of that Scotland performance and the performances of Glasgow this season.

Glasgow brought intensity, commitment and a fair amount of precision. This seemed absent on Saturday.

Our handling and passing was woeful. The poor tackling I can just about accept but it was the catalogue of other errors that killed us.

Consider that Scotland performance and that of the Reds against the lions where they played with pace, ambition and intensity.

by RuggerRadge2611 Mon 10 Jun 2013, 10:37 am

RDW_Scotland wrote:
One of the problems is there guys are just gym strong – the Samoans are naturally powerful.

That is a really good point. We need more Farmer types rather than gym monkeys.

The Samoans are always full of big units. To be fair the Bokke are normally pretty big in the forwards but they won't bring anywhere near the physicality in the backs that we saw on Saturday.

by **RDW** Mon 10 Jun 2013, 10:40 am

Anyone see the Bocks under 20s yesterday?? Their forwards looked bigger and older than our International forwards!

by R!skysports Mon 10 Jun 2013, 11:00 am

Axeman wrote:Having had the rest of the weekend to congitate, kick the cat, consider and digest the thing that really disappointed me was the complete juxtaposition of that Scotland performance and the performances of Glasgow this season.

Glasgow brought intensity, commitment and a fair amount of precision. This seemed absent on Saturday.

Our handling and passing was woeful. The poor tackling I can just about accept but it was the catalogue of other errors that killed us.

Consider that Scotland performance and that of the Reds against the lions where they played with pace, ambition and intensity.

juxtaposition?

Now that is a word that is not normally brought out when talking rugby.... Next time I meet you it is a beer fine for u Hug

I think that you have some valid points. We do not seem to be able to bring the structured free flowing game that Glasgow brought this year and Edinburgh did the year before.

We seem to lack basic handling skills, which is a shock

Maybe we just have to get them to sleep with their balls

by R!skysports Mon 10 Jun 2013, 11:02 am

tigertattie wrote:if you cannot put the tackles in, its going to be a job to stop teams scoring.

I don't care if it is your first cap. Age does not come into it. At senior level, if you cannot tackles, you need to have a look at yourself!

True, but if the first cap is a 20 stone winger who runs over forwards for fun day in day out, then you can excuse it to a degree

It is a learning curve, and these guys have just played probably the most physical side in the world

Lets not all throw the baby out with the bath water

by **RDW** Mon 10 Jun 2013, 11:04 am

Riskysports wrote:
Axeman wrote:Having had the rest of the weekend to congitate, kick the cat, consider and digest the thing that really disappointed me was the complete juxtaposition of that Scotland performance and the performances of Glasgow this season.

Glasgow brought intensity, commitment and a fair amount of precision. This seemed absent on Saturday.

Our handling and passing was woeful. The poor tackling I can just about accept but it was the catalogue of other errors that killed us.

Consider that Scotland performance and that of the Reds against the lions where they played with pace, ambition and intensity.

juxtaposition?

He's new to these boards, he's not yet learnt to use small words for our front row brethren! Run

by ultra Mon 10 Jun 2013, 1:47 pm

Riskysports wrote:
tigertattie wrote:if you cannot put the tackles in, its going to be a job to stop teams scoring.

I don't care if it is your first cap. Age does not come into it. At senior level, if you cannot tackles, you need to have a look at yourself!

True, but if the first cap is a 20 stone winger who runs over forwards for fun day in day out, then you can excuse it to a degree

It is a learning curve, and these guys have just played probably the most physical side in the world

Lets not all throw the baby out with the bath water

Throwing the baby out with the bath water was a saying stemmed in the middle ages, the man of the house would have his yearly bath first, followed by sons, then wife then daughters....the baby would be last and the water would be so dirty by this point it was worried you wouldn't be able to see little baby in the black muck and would throw him/her out when disposing of the water! In fairness I think that's what's happening here, we're missing the baby in the bath - Samoa looked good. They're probably on a par with a full strength Scotland and this Scotland side was missing some key players. No doubt the toughest game of all the home nation sides playing over the weekend....

by RuggerRadge2611 Mon 10 Jun 2013, 1:49 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:
Riskysports wrote:
Axeman wrote:Having had the rest of the weekend to congitate, kick the cat, consider and digest the thing that really disappointed me was the complete juxtaposition of that Scotland performance and the performances of Glasgow this season.

Glasgow brought intensity, commitment and a fair amount of precision. This seemed absent on Saturday.

Our handling and passing was woeful. The poor tackling I can just about accept but it was the catalogue of other errors that killed us.

Consider that Scotland performance and that of the Reds against the lions where they played with pace, ambition and intensity.

juxtaposition?

He's new to these boards, he's not yet learnt to use small words for our front row brethren!

Jeez you couldn't resist a cheap shot!

by R!skysports Mon 10 Jun 2013, 1:52 pm

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:
Riskysports wrote:
Axeman wrote:Having had the rest of the weekend to congitate, kick the cat, consider and digest the thing that really disappointed me was the complete juxtaposition of that Scotland performance and the performances of Glasgow this season.

Glasgow brought intensity, commitment and a fair amount of precision. This seemed absent on Saturday.

Our handling and passing was woeful. The poor tackling I can just about accept but it was the catalogue of other errors that killed us.

Consider that Scotland performance and that of the Reds against the lions where they played with pace, ambition and intensity.

juxtaposition?

He's new to these boards, he's not yet learnt to use small words for our front row ~~brethren!~~ Not sure they with understand that - maybe change to 'Blokes'

Jeez you couldn't resist a cheap shot!

by **RDW** Mon 10 Jun 2013, 1:52 pm

Easy target! Wink

by R!skysports Mon 10 Jun 2013, 1:53 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:~~Easy~~ Slow target!

Fixed that for you

by **RDW** Mon 10 Jun 2013, 1:55 pm

Riskysports wrote:
RuggerRadge2611 wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:
Riskysports wrote:
Axeman wrote:Having had the rest of the weekend to congitate, kick the cat, consider and digest the thing that really disappointed me was the complete juxtaposition of that Scotland performance and the performances of Glasgow this season.

Glasgow brought intensity, commitment and a fair amount of precision. This seemed absent on Saturday.

Our handling and passing was woeful. The poor tackling I can just about accept but it was the catalogue of other errors that killed us.

Consider that Scotland performance and that of the Reds against the lions where they played with pace, ambition and intensity.

juxtaposition?

He's new to these boards, he's not yet learnt to use small words for our front row ~~brethren!~~ Not sure they with understand that - maybe change to 'Blokes'

Jeez you couldn't resist a cheap shot!

Touché risky!

Oh wait I've done it again....

by R!skysports Mon 10 Jun 2013, 1:57 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:
Riskysports wrote:
RuggerRadge2611 wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:
Riskysports wrote:
Axeman wrote:Having had the rest of the weekend to congitate, kick the cat, consider and digest the thing that really disappointed me was the complete juxtaposition of that Scotland performance and the performances of Glasgow this season.

Glasgow brought intensity, commitment and a fair amount of precision. This seemed absent on Saturday.

Our handling and passing was woeful. The poor tackling I can just about accept but it was the catalogue of other errors that killed us.

Consider that Scotland performance and that of the Reds against the lions where they played with pace, ambition and intensity.

juxtaposition?

He's new to these boards, he's not yet learnt to use small words for our front row ~~brethren!~~ Not sure they with understand that - maybe change to 'Blokes'

Jeez you couldn't resist a cheap shot!

Touché risky!

Oh wait I've done it again....

They are going to think you want to Touch them French style Shocked

by funnyExiledScot Mon 10 Jun 2013, 1:58 pm

I think we can give some latitude to players making their debuts, but let's not let them off too easy. The important thing is that they learn from these mistakes, and they made plenty of them.

Alex Dunbar didn't get across nearly fast enough to cover that winger, and gave him too much space on the outside. A club level Dunbar's pace may have been enough, but in international rugby these wingers can really shift, and you just can't leave that much room. He'll learn from that hopefully.

Similarly Horne. I have a lot of sympathy for the situation he was put in, and there was no-one close looking to back him up. He put his shoulder in but just got bowled over by a huge player at speed. He needed to chop Tuilagi down at the legs, but instead went in with the shoulder. Not many wingers in the world of similar dimensions, so hopefully Horne can keep his chin up this week.

Visser on the other hand was conspicuous by his absense in defence. Whilst I don't blame him for failing to register a single positive contribution in attack (the service from Laidlaw rendered it highly unlikely the ball would reach the Scottish wingers), his defensive contribution was utterly pathetic. How many times would he simply run around his man, shepherding him forward towards the Scottish line. Sure, he covered back a couple of times, but he really didn't fancy the head-on tackling at all. Lucky not to be hauled off Charlie Hodgson style in the first half. Shirked his duties.

by tigertattie Mon 10 Jun 2013, 2:53 pm

could the scottish wingers of choice be Shlong and Maitland?

Could we actually be thinking that Visser is starting to be more harm than good?

Imagine a player with the try scoring abilities of Visser with the defensive capabilities, commitment, passion, enthusiasim and cheer leading abilities of Shlong!

by Manky-Flanker Mon 10 Jun 2013, 3:09 pm

Horne's tackle was one that will haunt him for a while. His body position was all wrong at the point of contact. His body needed to be straight and rigid at that point. Back straight, power coming from the legs, pushing into the contact - like a tent peg in the ground. As it was, he was off balance and folded. At least he got his head on the correct side. Whistle

by AirHOrse Mon 10 Jun 2013, 5:14 pm

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:Am I the only one who didn't think it was all doom and gloom? We had a lot of new starters and Samoa looked dangerous from the first whistle. Losing MacArthur early doors and Brown at half time really knocked the stuffing out of us and despite that we still got our noses ahead.

We fell off some tackles and from memory wrecked a really good try scoring chance but apart from that it wasn't that bad.

Surprised how solid our Scrum looked actually.

I agree to a certain extent, we had a lot of new starts and I really don't think an on form Samoan side was really the best team for them to take on like that, they were like rabbits in the headlights as they came at them!

I thought that after an appalling first 20 minutes we started to look much more composed and played more the kind of game we wanted and I would've expected from them. Kept them much more where we wanted them, but suffered for lack of experience.

It fell apart again at the end though, the tackling was truly dire. I mean I can understand the odd few, especially with an experienced side, but some of the Samoans were slipping through three efforts before hitting the try line... Made me very sad!

Strokosch was brilliant, normally I'm not his biggest fan, but he was great on Saturday!

I hope Samoa go through to play SA just now mind you, because I really want to see that game!

by funnyExiledScot Mon 10 Jun 2013, 5:47 pm

I think we're all agreed on Strokosch, played like he really wants that 6 jersey next season and be involved in the World Cup. All credit to him. Many will have wanted Rob Harley to be involved rather than Strokosch, but he put in a performance that certainly keeps Harley at bay for now.

by R!skysports Mon 10 Jun 2013, 5:51 pm

funnyExiledScot wrote:I think we're all agreed on Strokosch, played like he really wants that 6 jersey next season and be involved in the World Cup. All credit to him. Many will have wanted Rob Harley to be involved rather than Strokosch, but he put in a performance that certainly keeps Harley at bay for now.

+1 He was certainly back to his best and if he can keep that going, Brown may stay at 7 for a while

by **George Carlin** Mon 10 Jun 2013, 6:12 pm

I still haven't watched the game yet - work is mental busy.

Are we panicking? Should we be? We don't have that many away with the Lions. I found myself intuitively agreeing with Blair that structure is strength and that rustiness would affect a side relying on these systems much more than a side like Samoa which can lean more heavily on its natural athleticism and freestyle footballing skills. But is that really all there is to it?

I don't want to get all Corporal Jones about it, though. I realise we edged in front and its hardly a disgrace to lose to a side ranked higher than you in the world. Can't find a baseline for how worried I should be. I honestly thought we would win the first one.

Yours,
Confused in Abu Dhabi

by funnyExiledScot Mon 10 Jun 2013, 6:45 pm

I don't think panic is the right reaction - more extreme disappointment. When you finally get to see several players and combinations you've wanted to see play in an international jersey, and they collectively and individually fail to perform, then it's disappointing.

We've always known our depth isn't great, but to see players fail to perform to the level we know them capable is the worst part for me.

We've got to sort the defensive systems and intensity against South Africa, then look to beat Italy in the 3rd place playoff (I think that's the system anyway). Missing one of one tackles needs to end now. South Africa will put 100 points past us if we drop so much ball and miss as many tackles as we did against Samoa.

Again, there's no panic. This is an inexperienced side on the whole and a bunch of key players are missing. But even with those things considered, the performance against Samoa wasn't in any way acceptable.

by Allty Mon 10 Jun 2013, 7:00 pm

Scott J is doing well I see Very Happy

by fa0019 Mon 10 Jun 2013, 7:13 pm

The lack of intensity was very worrying... When you play teams like Samoa you have to be committed and put yourself on the line... We were just rolling through the motions, arrogantly believing that our assumed superior professionalism will bring us through.

SA will put us to the sword if we do not simply throw ourselves at them.

Skills ain't the problem... The mid 90s team was not vintage like they were say 5 years before but they were ferocious and they batted well above their skill level. We have the players, what we need is the commitment, half these players are simply too comfortable picking up their Scotland caps and thinking they've done ok.

by GLove39 Mon 10 Jun 2013, 8:25 pm

Both MacArthur and Cross will fly home tomorrow. No decision has yet been taken on a replacement for either... Kelly Brown went for a scan in Nelspruit this afternoon on his ankle injury and further assessment will be required on the flanker.

Scotland’s medical team also continued to treat the three other frontline casualties from the Samoa match – No 8 Johnnie Beattie (shoulder), and stand-off Tom Heathcote and centre Alex Dunbar (concussion).

As a consequence of the injuries the Scotland team to face the Springboks – which was due to be announced tomorrow – will now be named on Thursday

So team to be delayed as we count the walking wounded. Bit concerned that it's Monday night already and no word of any replacements being flown out. Going to be cutting it very fine if we're to parachute in extra front row and backrow cover.

by bsando Mon 10 Jun 2013, 8:37 pm

Just watched the game, been away all weekend.

Spirited performance by a team comprising of a lot of young/new players. Looking at it from a positive frame of mind, I think that the team looked like a team that were much more composed than previous teams and had more tricks up their sleeves. I loved the use of the driving maul and the scrum was also very good too. Sadly the passing was a bit off and some defence was questionable. But Samoa are just ridiculously huge, so would be unfair to give new guys a lot of stick for missed tackles against likes of Tuilagi etc.

Overall, a great first game for a new generation of players, but a sad result. I suspect they'll lose to SA and hopefully get a win against Italy, but it is clear that this tour is being aimed towards bringing on the younger generation of players. I am very happy and not too disappointed by the loss. Scotland put up a good fight and played very positively at times. The accuracy wasn't there though and thats what lost them the game really.

Players who impressed me most were Heathcote, Taylor, Dunbar and Lawrie who all had a good game. Tonks could have done better but displayed some moments of very good play.

by funnyExiledScot Mon 10 Jun 2013, 8:56 pm

bsando wrote:Just watched the game, been away all weekend.

Spirited performance by a team comprising of a lot of young/new players. Looking at it from a positive frame of mind, I think that the team looked like a team that were much more composed than previous teams and had more tricks up their sleeves. I loved the use of the driving maul and the scrum was also very good too. Sadly the passing was a bit off and some defence was questionable. But Samoa are just ridiculously huge, so would be unfair to give new guys a lot of stick for missed tackles against likes of Tuilagi etc.

Overall, a great first game for a new generation of players, but a sad result. I suspect they'll lose to SA and hopefully get a win against Italy, but it is clear that this tour is being aimed towards bringing on the younger generation of players. I am very happy and not too disappointed by the loss. Scotland put up a good fight and played very positively at times. The accuracy wasn't there though and thats what lost them the game really.

Players who impressed me most were Heathcote, Taylor, Dunbar and Lawrie who all had a good game. Tonks could have done better but displayed some moments of very good play.

I like your optimism, but I just can't agree with the points highlighted in bold. The performance in the first half, particularly the first 25 minutes, was neither spirited nor putting up a fight. It was total surrender. Some of the yardage made by the Samoans was ridiculous - it was as if the Scots were playing touch rugby and expecting the Samoans to just stop!

I don't think Dunbar was impressive on debut at all. I think people are seeing what they want to see here. Had NDL put in the same performance he'd be hammered on these boards. I can give allowances to players on debut, but including a generous allowance in that regard, Dunbar won't be particularly pleased with his performance. He can do so much better, and to say that was an impressive shift does him no credit at all. Dickinson and Strokosch were our best players. Of the debutants, I agree that Heathcote showed promise (nothing more), and Taylor did nothing wrong when coming on. Lawire was generally solid, apart from one lineout (in which he was quite unlucky really, as the Samoans didn't jump and although the throw wasn't straight, it in fact favoured the Samoans - often that's ignored by the officials).

by bsando Tue 11 Jun 2013, 12:22 am

funnyExiledScot wrote:
bsando wrote:Just watched the game, been away all weekend.

Spirited performance by a team comprising of a lot of young/new players. Looking at it from a positive frame of mind, I think that the team looked like a team that were much more composed than previous teams and had more tricks up their sleeves. I loved the use of the driving maul and the scrum was also very good too. Sadly the passing was a bit off and some defence was questionable. But Samoa are just ridiculously huge, so would be unfair to give new guys a lot of stick for missed tackles against likes of Tuilagi etc.

Overall, a great first game for a new generation of players, but a sad result. I suspect they'll lose to SA and hopefully get a win against Italy, but it is clear that this tour is being aimed towards bringing on the younger generation of players. I am very happy and not too disappointed by the loss. Scotland put up a good fight and played very positively at times. The accuracy wasn't there though and thats what lost them the game really.

Players who impressed me most were Heathcote, Taylor, Dunbar and Lawrie who all had a good game. Tonks could have done better but displayed some moments of very good play.

I like your optimism, but I just can't agree with the points highlighted in bold. The performance in the first half, particularly the first 25 minutes, was neither spirited nor putting up a fight. It was total surrender. Some of the yardage made by the Samoans was ridiculous - it was as if the Scots were playing touch rugby and expecting the Samoans to just stop!

I don't think Dunbar was impressive on debut at all. I think people are seeing what they want to see here. Had NDL put in the same performance he'd be hammered on these boards. I can give allowances to players on debut, but including a generous allowance in that regard, Dunbar won't be particularly pleased with his performance. He can do so much better, and to say that was an impressive shift does him no credit at all. Dickinson and Strokosch were our best players. Of the debutants, I agree that Heathcote showed promise (nothing more), and Taylor did nothing wrong when coming on. Lawire was generally solid, apart from one lineout (in which he was quite unlucky really, as the Samoans didn't jump and although the throw wasn't straight, it in fact favoured the Samoans - often that's ignored by the officials).

Oh i thought Dunbar had a really good game, maybe I was mixing him up with Scott, they look pretty similar. Yeah for sure, the game was essentially a shambles and if this were a more serious match, say world cup 2015 for example, I would be raging. But I'm just trying to take positives from the match. First and foremost, seeing lots of new caps is brilliant. I think some of those players being placed in the test team to face Australia this autumn could really work well. Quite interested to see how they get on against SA, a side who are more well rounded. Samoa seem to just be brute force, in all areas of the game. They were giving away penalties for shoulder charging mainly due to being so huge and unable to close their arms around the player haha. Sean Lamont summed it up pretty well i think, saying Scotland were bullied. It was a tough game for the newbies and SA is going to be even more so, but hopefully it will be a valuable lesson for the new caps.

I'm mainly happy, because the result means jack in the grand scheme of things and the phases of play and mixture of play is much more diverse these days. Laidlaw really impressed me at times, he controls a game very well when he's at his best and I think since his swap to 9, he has improved gradually. I agree with you about Heathcote, I think he showed promise but needs to adapt to the international stage/Scottish team. He is definitely a work in progress i'd say, but one who could be good for Scottish rugby. Not convinced with Horne at 10, I'd rather he were at centre, 12 preferably.

I think the team will play better vs SA, hopefully they'll feel more prepared and function as a unit better. It was all a bit rusty and disjointed at times vs Samoa. I they lose, they'll have Italy to play which will be a great test as well.

by **RDW** Tue 11 Jun 2013, 9:05 am

Allan Massie summed it up well in the Hootsman this morning (as always) – well worth a read.

There are definitely positives to take away from it – to go from being 14-3 down after 12 minutes to score 14 unanswered points and lead 17-14 is promising. However that was totally ruined by giving them a penalty straight away from the restart after the try. Massie summed it up well – if we had just coped with that restart and got the ball back in the half there is every chance we could have gained another penalty and started building our lead. Instead we messed up the restart (how often have we said that??) and coughed up points and momentum straight away.

Fine margins in international rugby – if we had just caught that restart and dealt with it things might have been very different and we would have been praising the team for a spirited fight back to grind out a win. That’s a big ‘if’ though….

by **NeilyBroon** Tue 11 Jun 2013, 9:10 am

Apparently we're trying to poach more NZers now. I guess we are at present missing an openside, but when our players are fit I'm generally quite happy with that area already...

Anyone know anything about John Hardie?

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/8778699/Scotland-targeting-Highlanders-flanker-Hardie

by **RDW** Tue 11 Jun 2013, 9:23 am

Never heard of him but that’s not a surprise as my SH rugby knowledge isn’t great. However if he’s starting every game for the Highlanders he must be fairly decent – could do a job for Glasgow at 7 for sure.

Nothing like the Kiwis to get carried away with themselves – 2015 world cup then 2017 Lions tour to NZ?? Steady now!

Now while Sean Lineen is at it can he find Edinburgh a bruising 6/8, strong running centre, rapid big winger and superstar stand off??

by **George Carlin** Tue 11 Jun 2013, 10:01 am

Hmm- Highlanders have only won twice this season and are bottom of the S15 roster so I would take a quote like "I'm looking forward to the next couple of years with the Highlanders" with a pinch of salt.

Apparently he has consistently topped tackle counts and meters run stats so it's looking entirely possible that he's one of the best players in what has to go down as a urine poor year for the franchise.

He's going to be 25 in a couple of months though, so even if he did qualify for Scotland, I'm not sure that we'd get his best years from him. That said, Strauss will be late 20s too by the time he's SQ and I'm excited about the prospect already.

by R!skysports Tue 11 Jun 2013, 10:03 am

George Carlin wrote:Hmm- Highlanders have only won twice this season and are bottom of the S15 roster so I would take a quote like "I'm looking forward to the next couple of years with the Highlanders" with a pinch of salt.

Apparently he has consistently topped tackle counts and meters run stats so it's looking entirely possible that he's one of the best players in what has to go down as a urine poor year for the franchise.

He's going to be 25 in a couple of months though, so even if he did qualify for Scotland, I'm not sure that we'd get his best years from him. That said, Strauss will be late 20s too by the time he's SQ and I'm excited about the prospect already.

He qualifies through family, so I assume does not need to wait 3 years

by funnyExiledScot Tue 11 Jun 2013, 10:27 am

RDW_Scotland wrote:There are definitely positives to take away from it – to go from being 14-3 down after 12 minutes to score 14 unanswered points and lead 17-14 is promising. However that was totally ruined by giving them a penalty straight away from the restart after the try. Massie summed it up well – if we had just coped with that restart and got the ball back in the half there is every chance we could have gained another penalty and started building our lead. Instead we messed up the restart (how often have we said that??) and coughed up points and momentum straight away.

Fine margins in international rugby – if we had just caught that restart and dealt with it things might have been very different and we would have been praising the team for a spirited fight back to grind out a win. That’s a big ‘if’ though….

I completely agree with this, and for those who are pointing to inexperience being the reason for defeat here, the culprit on this occasion in giving away the silly penalty was Al Kellock (the second time in the game he gave away a silly shot at goal).

We MUST sort out our restarts. It's been an achilles heel for years now. Edinburgh suffer the same issue coincidentally.

by **George Carlin** Tue 11 Jun 2013, 1:25 pm

Riskysports wrote:
George Carlin wrote:Hmm- Highlanders have only won twice this season and are bottom of the S15 roster so I would take a quote like "I'm looking forward to the next couple of years with the Highlanders" with a pinch of salt.

Apparently he has consistently topped tackle counts and meters run stats so it's looking entirely possible that he's one of the best players in what has to go down as a urine poor year for the franchise.

He's going to be 25 in a couple of months though, so even if he did qualify for Scotland, I'm not sure that we'd get his best years from him. That said, Strauss will be late 20s too by the time he's SQ and I'm excited about the prospect already.

He qualifies through family, so I assume does not need to wait 3 years

It's a fair point.

by **George Carlin** Tue 11 Jun 2013, 1:27 pm

funnyExiledScot wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:There are definitely positives to take away from it – to go from being 14-3 down after 12 minutes to score 14 unanswered points and lead 17-14 is promising. However that was totally ruined by giving them a penalty straight away from the restart after the try. Massie summed it up well – if we had just coped with that restart and got the ball back in the half there is every chance we could have gained another penalty and started building our lead. Instead we messed up the restart (how often have we said that??) and coughed up points and momentum straight away.

Fine margins in international rugby – if we had just caught that restart and dealt with it things might have been very different and we would have been praising the team for a spirited fight back to grind out a win. That’s a big ‘if’ though….

I completely agree with this, and for those who are pointing to inexperience being the reason for defeat here, the culprit on this occasion in giving away the silly penalty was Al Kellock (the second time in the game he gave away a silly shot at goal).

We MUST sort out our restarts. It's been an achilles heel for years now. Edinburgh suffer the same issue coincidentally.

Look, we can't expect things like tall people being able to catch balls that are kicked directly to them. You'll be telling me we need to run with it to the other end of the pitch next. I mean, it's not like we can practice restarts or anything. Oh. Wait.

by funnyExiledScot Tue 11 Jun 2013, 1:48 pm

I find it baffling. I lost count of the number of times Edinburgh would get 3 points only to cough up the ball on the restart and concede a penalty. Nothing frustrates me more in rugby than a restart going into the Edinburgh 22, some plum like Talei catching it and making just enough yardage to take the ball outside the 22, then for Laidlaw to box kick the ball out on the full. If I had £10 for each time and opposition restart ended with an opposition lineout in the Edinburgh 22, I'd be a rich man.

As you say, it's not like they could just practice it and develop a strategy around exiting their own 22.....

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Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards

Re: Scotland vs Samoa...! Just about to start, the hosts the Boks vs Italy to follow afterwards