Scotland Summer Tour, Game 1: USA v Scotland, 7 June

United States of America v Scotland
Saturday 7 June, 19:30 local  
BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, Texas

[TV to be confirmed]

Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (France)
Assistant referees: Francesco Pastrana (Argentina), Chris Assmus (Canada)
TMO: Alan Hosie (Scotland)

A. Teams:

I. US Eagles

1. Olive Kilifi - OPSB
2. Phil Thiel - Life University
3. Eric Fry - Newcastle Falcons
4. Louis Stanfill - OPSB
5. Hayden Smith - Saracens
6. Todd Clever (c) - NTT Shining Arcs
7. Scott LaValla - Stade Français
8. Cameron Dolan - Northampton Saints
9. Mike Petri - NYAC
10. Shalom Suniula - Belmont Shore
11. Luke Hume - RC Narbonne
12. Andrew Suniula - London Wasps
13. Seamus Kelly - California Golden Bears
14. Blaine Scully - Leicester Tigers
15. Chris Wyles - Saracens

16. Tom Coolican - Richmond
17. Nick Wallace - James Bay
18. Titi Lamositele - Saracens
19. Tai Tuisamoa - London Welsh
20. Danny Barrett - USA Eagles Sevens
21. Folau Niua - Glasgow Warrior
22. Chad London - Glendale Raptors
23. Tim Maupin - University of Utah

II. Scotland

15 Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors), 20 caps; 4 tries, 20 points
14 Sean Maitland (Glasgow Warriors), 9 caps; 1 try, 5 points
13 Sean Lamont (Glasgow Warriors), 86 caps; 60 points
12 Duncan Taylor (Saracens), 10 caps
11 Tim Visser (Edinburgh Rugby), 12 caps; 30 points
10 Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors), uncapped
9 Greig Laidlaw (C) (Gloucester), 29 caps; 3 tries, 242 points

1 Gordon Reid (Glasgow Warriors), uncapped
2 Scott Lawson (Newcastle Falcons), 43 caps; 2 tries, 10 points
3 Geoff Cross (London Irish), 28 caps; 1 try, 5 points
4 Richie Gray (Castres), 37 caps; 1 try, 5 points
5 Jim Hamilton (Montpellier), 55 caps; 1 try, 5 points
6 Alasdair Strokosch (Perpignan), 38 caps; 2 tries, 10 points
7 Blair Cowan (London Irish), uncapped
8 Johnnie Beattie (Montpellier), 30 caps; 3 tries, 15 points

16 Pat MacArthur (Glasgow Warriors), 4 caps
17 Alex Allan (Glasgow Warriors), uncapped
18 Moray Low (Exeter Chiefs), 26 caps
19 Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby), 4 caps
20 Kieran Low (London Irish), 1 cap
21 Grayson Hart (Edinburgh Rugby), uncapped
22 Ruaridh Jackson (London Wasps), 23 caps; 18 points
23 Max Evans (Castres), 42 caps; 3 tries, 15 points

B. Form - head to head:

(includes Scotland A games)

4 Played 4
0 Won 4
4 Lost 0

C. Form - recent

2010 Autumn Internationals
Scotland A 25 - 0 US Eagles

2003 IRB Rugby World Cup, Australia
US Eagles 15-39 Scotland

Those pictures....   

Well done on another great piece of work

You think any of the TV companies in the UK will pick this up? Or is it another dodgey Internet feed?

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:You think any of the TV companies in the UK will pick this up? Or is it another dodgey Internet feed?

It's live on the Daily Record site

The one thing I really want from this game is to see players playing in position.

I'm just glad that the wing match up isn't going to be Carlin "10.18" Isles v Sean "57.65" Lamont.

cakeordeath wrote:The one thing I really want from this game is to see players playing in position.

Seconded. A clear, simple, well-thought out game-plan with players picked where they should be.

Basically, as little influence from SJ as possible.

Has the squad not changed around from the OP? If not, do we only have one fit SH?

Scotland team (sponsor RBS) v USA
BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas
Saturday 7 June, (kick-off 7.30pm, local time, 1.30am BST)



15 Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors), 20 caps; 4 tries, 20 points



14 Sean Maitland (Glasgow Warriors), 9 caps; 1 try, 5 points

13 Sean Lamont (Glasgow Warriors), 86 caps; 60 points

12 Duncan Taylor (Saracens), 10 caps

11 Tim Visser (Edinburgh Rugby), 12 caps; 30 points



10 Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors), uncapped

9 Greig Laidlaw (C) (Gloucester), 29 caps; 3 tries, 242 points



1 Gordon Reid (Glasgow Warriors), uncapped

2 Scott Lawson (Newcastle Falcons), 43 caps; 2 tries, 10 points

3 Geoff Cross (London Irish), 28 caps; 1 try, 5 points

4 Richie Gray (Castres), 37 caps; 1 try, 5 points

5 Jim Hamilton (Montpellier), 55 caps; 1 try, 5 points

6 Alasdair Strokosch (Perpignan), 38 caps; 2 tries, 10 points

7 Blair Cowan (London Irish), uncapped

8 Johnnie Beattie (Montpellier), 30 caps; 3 tries, 15 points



Substitutes

16 Pat MacArthur (Glasgow Warriors), 4 caps

17 Alex Allan (Glasgow Warriors), uncapped

18 Moray Low (Exeter Chiefs), 26 caps

19 Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby), 4 caps

20 Kieran Low (London Irish), 1 cap

21 Grayson Hart (Edinburgh Rugby), uncapped

22 Ruaridh Jackson (London Wasps), 23 caps; 18 points

23 Max Evans (Castres), 42 caps; 3 tries, 15 points

Anyway this will be on TV?

Praise be! After all the guff spouted by SJ, here from Cotter on Cowan:

"We're looking for a genuine seven who gives us options, so I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do on the paddock after playing well for Scotland A earlier this year."

Picking form players in position? It will never catch on!

SirBurger wrote:Anyway this will be on TV?

Nope, unless you live in the US in which case it's on Universal.
Otherwise for us non yanks, it's being live streamed on the Daily Record site, kick off 01:30! Look forward to seeing everyone on here

As for the team, a 7 playing 7, what is this madness! Vern must have Scott Johnson tied up in a backroom somewhere.
Thrilled for Russell & Reid, hope all goes well.

Things that excite me:

Our most exciting back 3
Seeing how Reid, Russell and Cowan get on
A 7 playing at 7
Exciting young bench
The see-through dress Rhianna wore recently (seriously - check it out!)

Things that don't excite me:

That centre combo. Understandable why they were picked, but I hope it doesn't stop our back 3 seeing some ball.

I'm also assuming Laidlaw will be taking kicks - taking a lot of pressure off Russell

Really pleased for Cowan...just about to google search that RDW  !

You won't be disappointed!

Best not at work or on the bus though...

When are the Eagles actually naming their team? Can't find it anywhere.

Cowan has a serious chance to be the bolter on this tour, if he plays as well as he does for LI then I think he could very well be the first choice 7 going in to the Autumn Internationals and beyond, he's a bigger more physical player than Fusaro and Rennie and apparently very swift in open play. Interesting that Alex Allan could get a cap despite virtually no pro club game time, bit like Fraser Brown last summer.
Shame that BT Sport couldn't get some match coverage together for this to mark the new sponsorship deal, would have been an ideal way to launch it.

Looking forward to seeing Blair Cowan play, mentioned him on here about 3 years ago when he was at the pirates. Great player, v physical but knows his way to the try line. Think he was top try scorer in the championship when he was at the pirates. Was a number 8 normally but converted to 7 with London Irish.
Think Cowan could well play himself into the World Cup squad next year, possibly not as first choice 7 but for his ability to play all three back row positions very well.

RDW_Scotland wrote:You won't be disappointed!

Best not at work or on the bus though...

Blimey...

demosthenes wrote:Praise be!  After all the guff spouted by SJ, here from Cotter on Cowan:

"We're looking for a genuine seven who gives us options, so I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do on the paddock after playing well for Scotland A earlier this year."

Picking form players in position?  It will never catch on!

Thought his line before was equally telling ''Finally, injuries to Ross Rennie and John Barclay give Blair a chance to compete for the back-row jersey. He's an out and out number seven, he's quick on his feet, can carry, and is quick over the ball'' - glad Rennie and Barclay are in front of mind too.

cakeordeath wrote:

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:You think any of the TV companies in the UK will pick this up? Or is it another dodgey Internet feed?

It's live on the Daily Record site

Have to say this has to be the first time ive seen the dr go anywhere near rugby.

Good on them !

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scotland-v-usa-live-exclusive-3647598

Do my eyes deceive me? Is that a backrow with a specialist 6, 7 & 8? How refreshing to look at a Scotland team selection and not grimace in frustration!

Schlong at 13 is never going to be a long term thing, but with Dunbar and Scott out I can see why he is there, although I would still have gone with Bennett. Other than that I am very happy with the team, nice balance to the back row, our most potent back three and a young promising 10 given a chance to run the show.

SirBurger wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:You won't be disappointed!

Best not at work or on the bus though...

Blimey...

You're welcome!   

RDW_Scotland wrote:

SirBurger wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:You won't be disappointed!

Best not at work or on the bus though...

Blimey...

You're welcome!   

Yeah, smile all you like RDW, but now I'm banned from the Uni library.
How was I to know my computer was linked up to the overhead projector..?

 

I miss Uni Library shenanigans - nothing like changing the home screen of your pal's computer to a picture of some boobs while he's away at the toilet!

  

I particularly liked turning the desktop upside down or sideways as few people knew how to reverse it.

Or doing that taking a print screen setting it as desktop background then disconnecting both mouse and keyboard. Layers of confusion!

What a change this is, for the last wee while when a Scotland side has been announced we’ve torn it to pieces, but so far the mood here is very positive.

A coach picking players in their correct position (with the exception of Schlong but we’re a bit light here).

Overall pretty happy with that side and it’s good to hear that Cotter is working the players hard, they’re going to need to be very physical against the USA.

Not going to watch this live as my daughter will be getting me up at 6 the next morning, but it could be some quality father daughter time, huddled round the laptop.

RE the team, I echo everyone's sentiment - it's a sensible team and you can see what he's doing. With 3 uncapped players and 2 off the bench, including a 10 and 12 with just 10 caps between them you can see why Bennett has been overlooked for Schlong here, who won't do us any harm, especially against the Eagles I suspect.

It's amazing how simple it seems to not select like a muppet when finally somebody just does so. That teamsheet alone comforts me enough to say it'll be most likely a win - if it was a Scott Johnson clowncar special, I wouldn't have been so certain.

Let's remember honeymoon and all that too so we could see a 20+ winning margin if they score early.

Any idea who's going to run the defensive line? I remember Morrison used to do it so assumed that Scott took it over but frankly I stopped paying very much attention in the past year or two to the details, as it doesn't matter much when you're getting tanked every game.

I will be suicidally around for this one so see y'all Sunday morning.

How do people think we'll do in this game? I think we need to raise our expectations a bit here (very risky I know!).

For all the talk of the strengths of USA, you just need to look at the squad list above to see that the majority come from teams you've never even heard of, and hardly any play top flight European rugby.

Yes they will be very good athletes and will have some big guys, but we really need to be winning by 15-20 points at least against teams like this.

As usual with Scotland I'd be happy with a win of any kind, but I really want to be seeing more against these kind of teams.

1. Olive Kilifi - OPSB
2. Phil Thiel - Life University
3. Eric Fry - Newcastle Falcons
4. Louis Stanfill - OPSB
5. Hayden Smith - Saracens
6. Todd Clever (c) - NTT Shining Arcs
7. Scott LaValla - Stade Français
8. Cameron Dolan - Northampton Saints
9. Mike Petri - NYAC
10. Shalom Suniula - Belmont Shore
11. Luke Hume - RC Narbonne
12. Andrew Suniula - London Wasps
13. Seamus Kelly - California Golden Bears
14. Blaine Scully - Leicester Tigers
15. Chris Wyles - Saracens

Replacements
16. Tom Coolican - Richmond
17. Nick Wallace - James Bay
18. Titi Lamositele - Saracens
19. Tai Tuisamoa - London Welsh
20. Danny Barrett - USA Eagles Sevens
21. Folau Niua - Glasgow Warrior
22. Chad London - Glendale Raptors
23. Tim Maupin - University of Utah

RDW_Scotland wrote:How do people think we'll do in this game? I think we need to raise our expectations a bit here (very risky I know!).

For all the talk of the strengths of USA, you just need to look at the squad list above to see that the majority come from teams you've never even heard of, and hardly any play top flight European rugby.

Yes they will be very good athletes and will have some big guys, but we really need to be winning by 15-20 points at least against teams like this.

As usual with Scotland I'd be happy with a win of any kind, but I really want to be seeing more against these kind of teams.

The team we've selected should be 30 points better than the US one, never mind 15 or 20. Most of the US guys don't play in a proper professional league. The real leveler will be the heat. We should be expecting a comfortable win, not hoping for edge past the,

RDW_Scotland wrote:Things that excite me:

I'm also assuming Laidlaw will be taking kicks - taking a lot of pressure off Russell

Its an odd one this! Laidlaw normally kicks for Scotland but was rather poor inthe 6ns (granted conditions were not great hlaf the time)

However, Russell has been kicking great for Glasgow and was composed as could be when kicking (from the tee) in the Rabo final! Would not letting him take the kicks bump his confidence? Also, one eye on the future, getting another established kicker would mean that Laidlaw would not be ale to justify selection for his kicking and would need to up his game or see another 9 take his place!

bit of a conundrum!!!

I am really looking forward to this 9/10 combo Laidlaw really needs to speed up his service though.

I think it will be close- USA are no chumps. Scotland by 14 in the end.

tigertattie wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:Things that excite me:

I'm also assuming Laidlaw will be taking kicks - taking a lot of pressure off Russell

Its an odd one this! Laidlaw normally kicks for Scotland but was rather poor inthe 6ns (granted conditions were not great hlaf the time)

However, Russell has been kicking great for Glasgow and was composed as could be when kicking (from the tee) in the Rabo final! Would not letting him take the kicks bump his confidence? Also, one eye on the future, getting another established kicker would mean that Laidlaw would not be ale to justify selection for his kicking and would need to up his game or see another 9 take his place!

bit of a conundrum!!!

Laidlaw does need to offer more than his place kicking to justify selection at 9 going forwards, don't think he will be considered at 10 now with Russell, Heathcote, Weir and Jackson ( also Tonks) as alternatives and Cusiter is surely ahead of him as the form 9 and Hart seems to be coming up fast as well.

It's Russell's first cap and he's only 21 - Laidlaw should take kicks

Really looking forward to this game - very interesting team, with no expectations upon it. How wonderful. Blair Cowan is getting talked up quite a lot so I'm really looking forward to seeing him as I don't think that Rennie will feature for Scotland again and John Barclay needs the competition.

All of the new caps deserve their chance - especially Reid and Russell - both could be international class in their positions.

What a shame the bloody thing is on at 4.30 am over here.

RDW_Scotland wrote:It's Russell's first cap and he's only 21 - Laidlaw should take kicks

Probably the wisest choice, Russell can always take over if Laidlaw doesn't kick well and Hogg is there for the long range potshots if required.

Happy with some specialists, especially at 7. I really thought we were past Lamont at 13 though.....

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:Happy with some specialists, especially at 7. I really thought we were past Lamont at 13 though.....

Perhaps the potential combo of Bennett and Taylor was a little too raw for Cotter's taste in his first game?

MacKnocked-on wrote:

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:Happy with some specialists, especially at 7. I really thought we were past Lamont at 13 though.....

Perhaps the potential combo of Bennett and Taylor was a little too raw for Cotter's taste in his first game?

Possibly, but we have been trying to hammer Sean Lamont into the 13 position for the last 3 years. It doesn't work. I would rather try something new than persevere with something that doesn't work.

MacKnocked-on wrote:

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:Happy with some specialists, especially at 7. I really thought we were past Lamont at 13 though.....

Perhaps the potential combo of Bennett and Taylor was a little too raw for Cotter's taste in his first game?

That's the explanation that makes most sense to me. Hopefully Bennett picks up a cap vs Canada and plays some part in the other games.

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:

MacKnocked-on wrote:

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:Happy with some specialists, especially at 7. I really thought we were past Lamont at 13 though.....

Perhaps the potential combo of Bennett and Taylor was a little too raw for Cotter's taste in his first game?

Possibly, but we have been trying to hammer Sean Lamont into the 13 position for the last 3 years. It doesn't work. I would rather try something new than persevere with something that doesn't work.

Actually, he only played there in the 2013 6N because we had literally no other options, apart from a very green Dunbar.

I would loved to hear the conversation when Cotter explained to Johnson that it was important to pick a genuine openside, just poor Scott crying and screaming after being told that Ryan Wilson was not a genuine 7.

123456789 wrote:I would loved to hear the conversation when Cotter explained to Johnson that it was important to pick a genuine openside, just poor Scott crying and screaming after being told that Ryan Wilson was not a genuine 7.

Or a 6, either!

alive555 wrote:

cakeordeath wrote:

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:You think any of the TV companies in the UK will pick this up? Or is it another dodgey Internet feed?

It's live on the Daily Record site

Have to say this has to be the first time ive seen the dr go anywhere near rugby.

Good on them !

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scotland-v-usa-live-exclusive-3647598

Just as an aside, has anyone watched an event streamed on the Daily Record site. Do they use flash, or some Poopie technology like Moonlight.

Canada game getting shown live on BT Sports next Saturday, 7pm kick off.

cakeordeath wrote:

alive555 wrote:

cakeordeath wrote:

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:You think any of the TV companies in the UK will pick this up? Or is it another dodgey Internet feed?

It's live on the Daily Record site

Have to say this has to be the first time ive seen the dr go anywhere near rugby.

Good on them !

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scotland-v-usa-live-exclusive-3647598

Just as an aside, has anyone watched an event streamed on the Daily Record site. Do they use flash, or some Poopie technology like Moonlight.

Someone said that they have done this previously for a football game and it was a terrible stream with lots of technical issues.

Bodes well...

cakeordeath wrote:

alive555 wrote:

cakeordeath wrote:

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:You think any of the TV companies in the UK will pick this up? Or is it another dodgey Internet feed?

It's live on the Daily Record site

Have to say this has to be the first time ive seen the dr go anywhere near rugby.

Good on them !

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scotland-v-usa-live-exclusive-3647598

Just as an aside, has anyone watched an event streamed on the Daily Record site. Do they use flash, or some Poopie technology like Moonlight.

A recent Scotland Football friendly was on it recently and it was a shambles by all accounts. Don't know the technology behind it but for lots of people it was unwatchable. Hopefully they have learned from that and with less stress I would imagine with demand this might be a bit better.

I am planning on watching it in the morning, so hopefully the recorded game should run ok.