Scotland Fans' 2014 6N of hell Post-mortem

First topic message reminder :

EDIT March 18th post-Scotland's capitulation to Wales

So, it's the end of the six nations. I have to say the intention of this early prediction thread was to calm all suppositions that Scotland might be anywhere near a threat this year. I have maintained that things look better with Cotter coming in (and hopefully not having to resort to 5th/6th choice wings, though that couldn't have been predicted).

Someone pointed out that in this last game if Wales had received the red card the scoreline would not have been the same in reverse. In fact I would be very worried that we still would have lost. To me it feels like it was an excuse to put the heads down/give Johnson the farewell he deserves.

Personally, I am lost for words. Not really sure where to go from here.

Anyone?

***

EDIT March 8th post-Scotland's capitulation to France.

Come hither one and all and we shall drink our sorrows away...

***
EDIT February 8th post-Scotland's capitulation to England & Ireland

I was right all along.

***

I got this in early because I did not want to see anybody from any nation suggest for any minute that Scotland has a chance of doing anything other than :

a) Cleaning their dirties in a smeg [White Wash]
b) Making lots of soup this winter [wooden spoon]
c) Scraping a win against Italy , in the dying seconds after a urine poor performance , which still might result in "b)" anyway.

No they did not beat Ireland.  
No they did not beat England.
No they did not beat France.  
No they did not beat Wales.  

They might *look* like they are going to win to any outsiders no privy to the Scotland set up, but I guarantee you no sensible Scottish fan will be expecting anything but a, b & c this season.

Why?

• We have an interim coach (for over a year!!!)who is more worried about what he says on camera than apparently coaching a sensible game plan
  
• Our breakdown is awful
  
• We have the psychological hardness of my nan - you don't know my nan but that's not good
  
• Our best players are either never played in position, not allowed to play in the XXIII at all, or are just awful at the moment. Not making the injury excuse because frankly it doesn't apply with exception of 2 key players that might be back in time. Happens in every squad
  
• etc, etc (feel free to add to this list)
  

So look, when we are compiling our 6N predictions this year, can we just for once all agree on something?

1. AN Other
2. AN Other
3. AN Other
4. AN Other
5. Maybe Scotland
6. Probably Scotland

Anyone mentions "dark horses" and "Scotland" in the same sentence without a negation clause in there somewhere (and you KNOW what I mean) I am getting our the knuckle dusters    

The pack seemed to act like one combined unit - if one person did something they all did. It is brilliant to watch! A hundred miles an hour compared to the modern game.

Ah, good old fashioned rucking.

you had two choices. Take a shoeing for the team or move out the way.

Imagine how sore Ritchie McCaw would be if rucking was still allowed these days!

tigertattie wrote:Ah, good old fashioned rucking.

you had two choices.  Take a shoeing for the team or move out the way.

Imagine how sore Ritchie McCaw would be if rucking was still allowed these days!

Talking of the good old days, I was thinking watching the 6 nations games that come the 55th minute the games get really disjointed due to all the substitutions etc. I would love to see the rule brought back where you could only make a sub if a player was injured.
Would put more emphasis on fitness and skills as the last 20 minutes the games would really break up instead of the boring rugby there is just now where it is just bashing it up with giants!

Also I would love to see them bring back the rule where an attacking team can kick to the corner from a penalty and take the line out where the ball lands. So if it landed 1 yard out from the try line that is where the line out is taken. Might encourage more teams to go for 5 points instead of shots at goal.

Yeah - wooden Ford spoon

Tweeters, help me to get #lackingclue trending on twitter. We need to get our voices heard that the blazer brigade are ruining Scottish rugby.

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:Tweeters, help me to get #lackingclue trending on twitter. We need to get our voices heard that the blazer brigade are ruining Scottish rugby.

Just posted......could be a good trend......even better come Saturday night.

We could look really stupid after the game if we win though...

I have absolutely no notion of what the scoreline at the weekend is going to be.

A number of players cannot possibly be as bad as they were against Ireland and a lot of young players who have a point to prove are back (Ickle Jon, Scott, Seymour, Fozzy). Add to that a very accurate couple of goalkickers and who the feck knows.

Either England's pack will steamroller us the entire game and it will be a cricket score or the game will be broken up and loose and we should see some genuinely exciting running from Scotland.

England's pack looks formidable, England's backline frankly looks as fragmented and (relatively) unexciting as I've seen in a few years now.

Still think Effie will be changing the name of the thread come Sunday.

.... and the chances of that happening are .....nil.

George....I reckon it will pretty much follow the same pattern as last year's match apart from the breakdown.

The set piece is where we'll lose it........badly.

Tattie Scones RRN wrote:George....I reckon it will pretty much follow the same pattern as last year's match apart from the breakdown.

The set piece is where we'll lose it........badly.

Sadly I agree. It will be 8 Farrell penalties to 2 from Laidlaw.

RDW_Scotland wrote:We could look really stupid after the game if we win though...

I could live with that.

funnyExiledScot wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:We could look really stupid after the game if we win though...

I could live with that.

so could I.

I joined in on #lackingclue   

It's tempting to change this thread name now ... but I will be patient.

Fortunately our game is on second on Saturday and as such a lightweight I can be reasonably unconscious by the time it begins.

Effie,
this works :-
take some porridge around 1200 hrs then a nice cup of tea, 2 paracetomol a hot water bottle go to bed and wake up on Sunday and the badness will be all gone !

George Carlin wrote:I have absolutely no notion of what the scoreline at the weekend is going to be.

A number of players cannot possibly be as bad as they were against Ireland and a lot of young players who have a point to prove are back (Ickle Jon, Scott, Seymour, Fozzy). Add to that a very accurate couple of goalkickers and who the feck knows.

Either England's pack will steamroller us the entire game and it will be a cricket score or the game will be broken up and loose and we should see some genuinely exciting running from Scotland.

England's pack looks formidable, England's backline frankly looks as fragmented and (relatively) unexciting as I've seen in a few years now.

Still think Effie will be changing the name of the thread come Sunday.

Surely we don't look more unexciting than last year's match?!

I love the #lackingclue

the only issue is the blazers at the SRU won't see it, they still use chalk and slate and think twitter is only something a wee birdie does

I joined the #lackingclue bandwagon too, kind've like shouting insults at a brick wall I feel - entirely pointless but still makes you feel less frustrated   

Every time a point is scored against us tomorrow - provided I am still sober enough to remember and provided we are not ahead by more than 3 points at the time - the hashtag is going out. Let's all do that.

Where did that banging yer head off a brick wall emoticon go?

The 5pm kick-off is a saving grace. Gives a whole 5 hours of respectable drinking time in order to ensure the whole sorry affair is forgotten.

I'll be in a dark place if our first lineout ends up in the hands of the English, or Hamilton concedes a silly penalty.

The first half could be bad, my biggest worry is the last 10 though.

If Kearney can waltz through tackles like a ghost imagine what a fresh Ben Morgan will do.

It could be absolutle carnage on Saturday night.

I have a bold strategy. Every time we have a lineout in the opposition 22 we should just accept the inevitable and form a defensive line.

cakeordeath wrote:I have a bold strategy. Every time we have a lineout in the opposition 22 we should just accept the inevitable and form a defensive line on our own 22.

Fixed that for you, cakey

Radge,

I will say one thing - if Johnny Gray is on the pitch (and he will replace Hamilton at some stage- pse God make it after 2 or 3 mins) he will stop everyone who comes his way. Unlike Big Jim The Enforcer - what a laugh (if you didn't cry)

Can we re-name this thread now.

I genuinely do not recall watching a Scotland side play, where everyone seemed disinterested in anything else other than keeping the score down. Felt a bit sick, to be honest. I cannot help but shake the feeling that we're making everyone look better than they are.

I'm pretty miserable after that Tbh!

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:Scotland only redeeming factors in the match were Fusaro ,  Denton and Dunbar.

As for the rest,  a disgrace to the shirt.

Over 17 missed tackles and Ford and Hamilton couldn't run a tap never mind a line out.

A shambolic rout.

Full credit to England,  the most difficult thing they had to content with was the pitch.

Please join in the Twitter rebellion and help us get #lackingclue to trend.

I'm not wanting to repeat myself. The performance told me one thing. No one has any hunger.

Undoubtedly the Murrayfield pitch saved us from utter annihilation.

It's just appalling that professional players cannot seem to rouse themselves and are content to reel off the same po-faced platitudes about 'going forward' and 'the final pass being lacking' in press conferences. One thing is for sure - professionals should have professional pride and this shower doesn't.

Everyone just seems content to wait for Cotter to turn up.

Was unfortunate enough to be at the game today. So depressing watching us crab across the field side to side then boot the ball away. Dont think we got into England's 22 at all. Utterly gash.

Only highlight was that kilted streaker at the end! How good was his sidestep!? Wrong footed several of the stewards!

When was that? I'd left to the pub with 7 mins to go...

Ahhh, should have hung on a few minutes more. Happens about the 78th minute. Got the biggest cheer of the night!

Yeah the streaker did a Lou and ran right over the top of one of the stewards. Definitely loudest cheer of the day.

Ran over the top of a steward? He must have shown more physically and athleticism than most of the Scotland team then.

Very disappointing game today. Not really any positives to take from it at all.
The players are going to take a lot of blame for it but I actually am beginning to feel sorry for them.

Was lucky enough to get a tour of the scotland changing room and tunnel area just before the game and bumped into sean Maitland, Hugo Southwell and ruraidh Jackson. All three were great guys and spoke to them for a good few mins. The impression they gave was that the players have lost confidence since Johnson took over and don't believe in the tactics or the way they are being managed. Was speaking to al kellock and chris Paterson later in the day and both said similar things aswell ad really emphasised that they couldn't wait for cotter to arrive. Seems like it is pretty unhappy behind the scenes.

Yeah, probably beat more defenders and made more metres than any of our backs! He was worthy of the standing ovation he received!

Majestic83 wrote:Yeah the streaker did a Lou and ran right over the top of one of the stewards. Definitely loudest cheer of the day.

That should have been did a lomu

Hallo all, long time reader and great lover of 606v2, just felt the need to get involved and post here after the game today. I'm usually a pretty positive type (even with regards to the Scottish rugby team!) but today was just awful. I've been witness to some horrendous scottish performances over the years (68-10 vs SA springs to mind), but this was the most depressing one for me. Just insipid in every area of the pitch. Simple skills not being executed time and time again. I lost count of the number of times that Scottish players took the ball standing still and were tackled behind the gainline. Why on earth can professional rugby players not take the ball whilst running with pace?! And it's probably best not to mention the lineout...

I could go through the team individually and talk about changes that could be made for next week but I feel like I would be naive to think that 2-3 different players can improve that performance to a degree that will make us competitive against the better teams. The players are all putting in effort but they just looked like their confidence was shot after 30 minutes. But how can that be improved whilst they are playing the way they are?

Anyway apologies for the rant, but I'm frustrated as I think there is a decent team in there - certainly better than the performances of the past two weeks.

One last thing. I thought it was disgraceful that Johnson took off Ford 1 minute into the 2nd half. To my mind he should NEVER have been starting this game, and after his performance in the first half he certainly needed to be subbed. But to take him off like that in front of the crowd was humiliating for him. What was the point of sending him back out there? He looked despondent coming off the pitch and even got an ironic cheer. If Johnson's way of building confidence involves dropping your captain completely out of the 23 and doing that to Ford then the sooner Cotter comes in the better.  

Sorry folks...I kinda half defended Johnson a few days ago.  Didn't say he was good but said he ain't all that much worse than the other coaches that have come and gone in Scotland in recent years.

Hmm... he's useless.  The poor players just didn't seem to have anything to cling to as a gameplan to even keep their confidence levels up.  They seemed to be just a team of 15 individuals trying to freelance their way through 80 minutes... with no coaching tiller at all.

Taking nothing away from England who did the ruthless work, and incessantly paced work, to kill off Scotland...but looking at Johnson smiling hopelessly above in his box................ sad sight.

SecretFly wrote:Sorry folks...I kinda half defended Johnson a few days ago.  Didn't say he was good but said he ain't all that much worse than the other coaches that have come and gone in Scotland in recent years.

Hmm... he's useless.  The poor players just didn't seem to have anything to cling to as a gameplan to even keep their confidence levels up.  They seemed to be just a team of 15 individuals trying to freelance their way through 80 minutes... with no coaching tiller at all.

Taking nothing away from England who did the ruthless work, and incessantly paced work, to kill off Scotland...but looking at Johnson smiling hopelessly above in his box................ sad sight.

I would now put Johnson on par with matt Williams! He may have good aspects in his coaching but he certainly isn't head coach material. Should be no where near director of rugby either.

Johnson pse, pse feck off now if you have any self respect

Wouldn't it have been more sensible to have put Solomons into the head coach role saying he's turned Edinburgh around?

If we can't get telfer or Peter wright or my next door neighbours dog to look after Scotland until the coming of cotter, then solomons should become infirm coach with toonie doing the backs.

Yes. Well done Johnson you Frak useless, loser Muppet. Go now and take feckin humty Muppet Humphreys with you and man sausage head Ross Diddy Ford with you

I really feel for Ford. Like Parks 2 years ago, it's not like he's picking himself...

blindsided wrote:Hallo all, long time reader and great lover of 606v2, just felt the need to get involved and post here after the game today. I'm usually a pretty positive type (even with regards to the Scottish rugby team!) but today was just awful. I've been witness to some horrendous scottish performances over the years (68-10 vs SA springs to mind), but this was the most depressing one for me. Just insipid in every area of the pitch. Simple skills not being executed time and time again. I lost count of the number of times that Scottish players took the ball standing still and were tackled behind the gainline. Why on earth can professional rugby players not take the ball whilst running with pace?! And it's probably best not to mention the lineout...

I could go through the team individually and talk about changes that could be made for next week but I feel like I would be naive to think that 2-3 different players can improve that performance to a degree that will make us competitive against the better teams. The players are all putting in effort but they just looked like their confidence was shot after 30 minutes. But how can that be improved whilst they are playing the way they are?

Anyway apologies for the rant, but I'm frustrated as I think there is a decent team in there - certainly better than the performances of the past two weeks.

One last thing. I thought it was disgraceful that Johnson took off Ford 1 minute into the 2nd half. To my mind he should NEVER have been starting this game, and after his performance in the first half he certainly needed to be subbed. But to take him off like that in front of the crowd was humiliating for him. What was the point of sending him back out there? He looked despondent coming off the pitch and even got an ironic cheer. If Johnson's way of building confidence involves dropping your captain completely out of the 23 and doing that to Ford then the sooner Cotter comes in the better.  

Welcome Blindsided. A very genteel and accurate rant for your first post.   

And voila. Had I had my laptop at half time I would have done it then.

Interesting to hear about that Maj, that everyone seems unhappy with Johnson and just waiting for Cotter to come. If that's the case they should just rebel and do their own thing - go rogue in the matches and maybe we would see a decent side for once. Sometimes I feel sides are coached out of their talent a la Maitland, Evans (who burst onto the scene if I recall), Gray, Ford who used to be good ...

Since this is a support group..

My name is RDW, and I have a problem - I am a Scotland rugby fan.   

Well that was a terrible performance yesterday. For the first time ever I left the match early (granted only 1min before the end), there seemed to be no passion, no desire or fight in the team. I don't mind losing, given it happens a lot, but when the side look like they don't care, that hurts. Johnson and co. need to be replaced. The man does not deserve to be made DoR of Scottish rugby.

My name is TJ and I am a Scotland rugby fan