Glasgow and Edinburgh: Ongoing Banter Thread IV

[George Carlin]

First topic message reminder :

Historical Banter:

https://www.606v2.com/t48240-glasgow-and-edinburgh-ongoing-banter-thread
https://www.606v2.com/t51313-glasgow-and-edinburgh-ongoing-banter-thread-ii
https://www.606v2.com/t53119-glasgow-and-edinburgh-ongoing-banter-thread-iii

A new thread for the 2014/5 season.

A. Edinburgh Rugby


1. Coaching Team

Alan Solomons - head coach
Stevie Scott -  assistant coach
Omar Mouneimne - assistant coach

2. Players In

Neil Cochrane from London Wasps
John Andress from Worcester Warriors
Rory Sutherland from Gala RFC
Tom Heathcote from Bath Rugby
Michael Tait from Newcastle Falcons
Fraser McKenzie from Newcastle Falcons
Phil Burleigh from the Highlanders
Anton Bresler from the Sharks
Brett Thompson from USA 7s

3. Players Out

Steven Lawrie retired
Alun Walker released
Alex Allan to Glasgow Warriors
Geoff Cross to London Irish
Lewis Niven released
Sean Cox to London Irish
Robert McAlpine released
Perry Parker to Rotherham Titans
Izak van der Westhuizen released
Ross Rennie to Bristol Rugby
Dimitri Basilaia released
Alex Black released
Greig Laidlaw to Gloucester Rugby
Chris Leck released
Piers Francis released
Gregor Hunter released
Harry Leonard to Leeds Carnegie
Ben Atiga retired
Ben Cairns retired
Nick De Luca to Biarritz Olympique
Lee Jones released
Aleki Lutui to Gloucester Rugby

4. Pre-season Fixtures

Leicester Tigers v Edinburgh
Saturday 23 August, 14:00
Welford Road

Edinburgh v Newcastle Falcons
Friday 29 August, 19:45
Mansfield Park, Hawick

B. Glasgow Warriors


1. Coaching Team

Gregor Townsend – Head Coach
Shade Munro – Forwards Coach
Matt Taylor – Defence Coach

2. Players In

Alex Allan from Edinburgh
Murray McConnell from Ayr RFC
Euan Murray from Worcester Warriors
James Downey from Munster
Rossouw de Klerk from the Cheetahs

3. Players Out

Moray Low to Exeter Chiefs
Chris Cusiter to Sale Sharks
Ruaridh Jackson to London Wasps
Ed Kalman retired
Byron McGuigan released
Finlay Gillies released
Scott Wight to Melrose RFC
Gabriel Ascárate released
Folau Niua released
Carlin Isles to USA 7s

4. Pre-season Fixtures

Glasgow Warriors v Harlequins
Saturday 23 August, 14:30
Scotstoun Stadium

London Scottish v Glasgow Warriors
Saturday 30 August, 15:00
Richmond Athletic Ground

[madmaccas]

I thought Hogg was massively disappointing throughout the tournament. Was really hoping to see him shine but he looks hardwired for 15's.

Like RDW, the only players who impressed me were Jones and Bennett. Thought Vernon did well, but beyond that the team looked for contact far too much (clearly couldn't shake their 15's experience). Grant was pretty shocking, but it's not his fault he's slow as fook.

Truth be told I think we would have done better if we'd stuck with the 7's squad from the Glasgow 7's, Nick De Luca looked far more suited to the abbreviated game. Come the Olympics I think we should stick to full time 7's stars, plus one maybe 2 15's players like Jones/Bennett.

[RDW]

Another point is Ibrox - I thought it was a fantastic venue and if Glasgow needed a bigger stadium for the Pro 12 final that would be top of my list.

The pitch isn't the biggest (the touchline was right on the extent of the grass, and they had fake grass acting as the run off area) and it is a small dead ball area, but it would be big enough.

Even a crowd of 30k or so would create a great atmosphere is it is a very close and enclosed stadium, whereas Parkhead is larger and more cavernous.

Could do with some more food and drink outlets though - ridiculous queues!

[funnyExiledScot]

I only saw the NZ and England games but I thought Bennett was the pick of the Scotland players. Lee Jones did ok but was too often just chucked the ball with 2-3 defenders waiting for him, and expected to work miracles.

Colin Gregor was as poor as I've seen him on a 7's field.

Still, positive to see Bennett full of beans ahead of the coming season. Hopefully we'll see more of him next season.

[AsLongAsBut100ofUs]

Oh that's right, everyone hop on the feicin Messiah bandwagon now!! If you'd only been listening ten years ago when I telt yous all the first time

[Majestic83]

People made it through eventually but were queuing for hours with no bus in site

You chose the wrong park and ride to go to mate, went to the one at Baldinnie Road, 2 minute wait for a bus and in Ibrox 25 mins later, same coming home as well. Was surprised how easy it was as was expecting huge delays.

[RDW]

I didn't use the park and ride - was commenting on what I had seen on Twitter. Eurocentral was pendemonium!

[Majestic83]

I only saw the NZ and England games but I thought Bennett was the pick of the Scotland players. Lee Jones did ok but was too often just chucked the ball with 2-3 defenders waiting for him, and expected to work miracles.

Colin Gregor was as poor as I've seen him on a 7's field.

Still, positive to see Bennett full of beans ahead of the coming season. Hopefully we'll see more of him next season.

Agree, thought Colin Gregor was terrible, he is past it as 7s players now, was poor in defence and missed lots of tackles, wasn't effective in attack and got caught in possesion too often.
The only players who impressed were Mark Bennett, James Johnstone and Lee Jones to an extent. Bennett was excellent in attack and defence and threatened every time with ball in hand and made some huge hits where he was on his feet straight away to turn over.
James Johnstone was similar and thought looked really good with ball in hand.
How he hasn't got a contract over some of the centres at Edinburgh is a disgrace.
Where Scotland went wrong was not having enough pace, Gregor and Wight playing together at half back was poor, both are slow which the oposition exploited alot. Would have been better starting wight and hogg together or hogg and gregor.

Great atmosphere in the stadium though and was great to see some of the lesser teams really enjoy the occasion especially Sri Lanka who at the melbourne games got hammered by everyone and only scored 1 try but now look pretty good against similar oposition and played some of the most entertaining rugby of the weekend.

[Majestic83]

I didn't use the park and ride - was commenting on what I had seen on Twitter.  Eurocentral was pendemonium!

Did you use the train? how was that cause when I was going past the train station it looked heeving there.

Agreed on Ibrox, thought it was a very good venue for rugby and if Glasgow need a bigger venue for games in the futue then I think they have found it.
The playing area wasn't much small than Murrayfield apart from the in goal area and the actual surface looked very good for running rugby.

[funnyExiledScot]

I know - he could have had 50 caps by now if you were in charge! That was back when Salmond wanted to join the Euro it was so long ago.....

Seriously though, Bennett has the pace we need at 13 and whilst the Scott/Dunbar partnership has done little wrong, I think both of those guys are ultimately better suited to slugging it out for the 12 jersey, whereas Bennett is a far more natural option at 13. If we can get Hogg and Bennett attacking the outside channels with either Russell or Jackson at 10 (and Scott at 12), then we'll have a backline.

Also key to this is having a proper openside in place. With attacking backs (rather than big lumps like Morrison, Lamont and Walker) it increases the risk of players getting isolated. That means we need to have forwards who can keep up with play and help secure quick ball. It also means that we need a scrum half with the pace and fitness levels to keep up. No point in putting together some quick attacking backs, and then picking 8 lumps and Greg Laidlaw. The team selection and style of play needs to filter through all 15 players (preferrably all 23).

If Scotland are to make any mark at the next World Cup then Cotter is going to need to be bold. That may well mean we lose some power in the pack and some experienced players along the way, but whilst under Hadden and Robinson playing to our strengths meant picking big forwards and Dan Parks at 10 (a tactic which brought some decent results along the way), I think the players available to Cotter are suited to a different type of game - almost a more traditional Scottish sort of style. Aggressive rucking, quick ball and backs who are willing to have a go. There will no doubt be some painful lessons along the way in transitioning to this style - with the increased rewards the risks are also increased. We'll become easier to pick off as the risk of turnover increases. We were rarely turned over under Robinson because we kept things deliberately tight. Loads of static pick and drives, keep the ball up the jumper and wait for the opposition to infringe. I don't think that plays to our strengths anymore.

[RDW]

I didn't use the park and ride - was commenting on what I had seen on Twitter.  Eurocentral was pendemonium!

Did you use the train? how was that cause when I was going past the train station it looked heeving there.

Agreed on Ibrox, thought it was a very good venue for rugby and if Glasgow need a bigger venue for games in the futue then I think they have found it.
The playing area wasn't much small than Murrayfield apart from the in goal area and the actual surface looked very good for running rugby.

Humongous queues at Queen Street. Despite 100k + bring at hampden and ibrox scotrail thought it would be fine to just have the trains every half hour. Queues stretched well into the car park with people standing in the pishing rain.

Lots of scotrail rage on Twitter last night!

[funnyExiledScot]

Where Scotland went wrong was not having enough pace, Gregor and Wight playing together at half back was poor, both are slow which the oposition exploited alot. Would have been better starting wight and hogg together or hogg and gregor.

Totally agree with this. Wight's distribution was ok, but he doesn't have that burst of speed you need at 7s to expoit gaps. Shuffing the ball sideways doesn't help much of the time, and whilst Jones and Hogg have the pace to burst through gaps, neither have that length of the field gas.

I would have thought either of the two Edinburgh young scrum halves would have been useful here - Hidalgo-Clyne or Kennedy. Both have a sharp turn of speed and a quick pass. Hidalgo-Clyne and Hogg together at half back (for example) would have been a far more threatening combination. In fact you could also have tried Lee Jones and Hogg at half back, and put and out and out speedster out wide (Farndale, Hoyland, Visser or Maitland).

As selected we just didn't have the gas compared to the top sides.

[Majestic83]

Where Scotland went wrong was not having enough pace, Gregor and Wight playing together at half back was poor, both are slow which the oposition exploited alot. Would have been better starting wight and hogg together or hogg and gregor.

Totally agree with this. Wight's distribution was ok, but he doesn't have that burst of speed you need at 7s to expoit gaps. Shuffing the ball sideways doesn't help much of the time, and whilst Jones and Hogg have the pace to burst through gaps, neither have that length of the field gas.

I would have thought either of the two Edinburgh young scrum halves would have been useful here - Hidalgo-Clyne or Kennedy. Both have a sharp turn of speed and a quick pass. Hidalgo-Clyne and Hogg together at half back (for example) would have been a far more threatening combination. In fact you could also have tried Lee Jones and Hogg at half back, and put and out and out speedster out wide (Farndale, Hoyland, Visser or Maitland).

As selected we just didn't have the gas compared to the top sides.

In the game against England they moved Jones to scrum half and it was only at that point they did look a lot more threatning. Jones is very quick over 30-40metres but doesn't have the top end speeed to go 100m like the South African team did. Thought it would have been the perfect occasion for Maitland to play 7s and use his speed but think he couldn't be selected because the rule for commonwealth games is you have to have a passport of the country you represent and he is still on a NZ passport.

[RDW]

I think going forward towards Rio we need to pick the 15 fastest guys we can get that aren't playing with the club teams and turn them into a decent 7a team.

We need speed, not size!

[Majestic83]

I think going forward towards Rio we need to pick the 15 fastest guys we can get that aren't playing with the club teams and turn them into a decent 7a team.

We need speed, not size!

Totally agree, that is what South Africa have done, the guys who played in their backs this weekend are all wingers when they play 15s. Even their forwards a couple of them are outside backs. Think the only guy who regularly plays as a forward was Warren Whitely who is a no8 for the lions but is known for being one of the quickest forwards in super rugby.

[RDW]

I see that John Welsh has been ruled out for several months - perhaps explains the De Klerk signing?

[EWT Spoons]

Gutted about Welsh. Any word on what's wrong?

[RDW]

Shoulder surgery

[funnyExiledScot]

I doubt they'd make a signing such as De Klerk purely due to injury cover, but his signing is certainly timely. He'll slot straight in behind Euan Murray I suspect, and bring some impact when the Rev gets tired.

I really hope Mike Cusack comes back into form. An absolute wrecking ball in the scrum.

[VinceWLB]

It remains to be seen if Cusack does come back if he will be as effective with the rules change, normally i would say he should but Adam Jones who is roughly the same height has failed to adapt to the new rules.

I hope Glasgow don't regret not renewing one of Dr Cross or Moray Low.

[funnyExiledScot]

I think both Glasgow and Edinburgh will harbour regrets over Geoff Cross. SQ, good scrummaging technique (and particularly suited to the new rules) and decent workrate in the loose. At 31 probably has 2-3 seasons ahead of him.

I'm less convinced by Moray Low. The Exeter move will be interesting, as that squad is all about team spirit and work ethic. Low has played some decent one-off games but his conditioning always seems to be up and down. He doesn't seem to have improved since he broke through to good effect under Andy Robinson. Hopefully Baxter will sort him out.

[VinceWLB]

Moray Low was useful enough in the loose and on a good day was the equals of Jon Welsh at scrum time imo, it's inconsistency that was letting him down as well as injuries. His time at Exeter wil surely makes for interesting viewing.

Dr Geoff was always a great technical scrummager, those new rules were made for him you would think... His carries from close quarters always blew me away, as you said potentially a big loss for both Scottish teams...

[madmaccas]

He doesn't seem to have improved since he broke through to good effect under Andy Robinson.

I still think letting Robinson go was one of the biggest mistakes we ever made. Most of the players seemed gutted to see him go. Plus what he did for Edinburgh was amazing, it's been a slow decline since he left.

Ever the optimist ey!

[Majestic83]

He doesn't seem to have improved since he broke through to good effect under Andy Robinson.

I still think letting Robinson go was one of the biggest mistakes we ever made. Most of the players seemed gutted to see him go. Plus what he did for Edinburgh was amazing, it's been a slow decline since he left.

Ever the optimist ey!

Would be great as the forwards coach, far better than the numpty we have just now!

[RDW]

I can't see the coo ever getting back to this best. He's been out a long time now, and was it not a shoulder/neck injury? That's an important part of the body for a prop. Add in this mysterious illness and that fact he's getting on a bit now and it would be an incredible effort from him if he can get back to something approaching his best.

[funnyExiledScot]

He doesn't seem to have improved since he broke through to good effect under Andy Robinson.

I still think letting Robinson go was one of the biggest mistakes we ever made. Most of the players seemed gutted to see him go. Plus what he did for Edinburgh was amazing, it's been a slow decline since he left.

Ever the optimist ey!

Would be great as the forwards coach, far better than the numpty we have just now!

I'd welcome Robinson back in a flash. Not as head coach, dreadful selection instincts, but he'd make a great forwards coach under Vern Cotter or Alan Solomons.

[madmaccas]

He doesn't seem to have improved since he broke through to good effect under Andy Robinson.

I still think letting Robinson go was one of the biggest mistakes we ever made. Most of the players seemed gutted to see him go. Plus what he did for Edinburgh was amazing, it's been a slow decline since he left.

Ever the optimist ey!

Would be great as the forwards coach, far better than the numpty we have just now!

I'd welcome Robinson back in a flash. Not as head coach, dreadful selection instincts, but he'd make a great forwards coach under Vern Cotter or Alan Solomons.

That's true. He did seem good at developing players though. Even Edinburgh's new flay half was a kid he used to train in Bath!

Was a shame the way he was hung out to dry.

Fingers crossed Cotter can develop and select. My only fear with him is that he's only here on a 2 year contract, plus doesn't really know the players. At least Robbo was Edinburgh coach first. Time will tell.

[funnyExiledScot]

I don't fear Cotter's instincts, my biggest issue with the current set-up is that Scott Johnson is still involved, and I hate the idea of Cotter seeking his opinion for anything beyond restaurant recommendations.

Were I a betting man I suspect that ultimately we'll end up with Toonie as Scotland coach in the longer term. Cotter is a big fish and I can see him being poached by another nation - perhaps France will abandon their policy of only having French coaches. The Scotland job feels like a bit of an apprenticeship for him in international rugby, sadly.

Still, we're lucky to have him and hopefully he'll make a splash in time for the World Cup. He's an experienced coach and has worked with some of the best players in the world, also having sustained success at Clermont. He knows how to build a winning team and he knows what it takes to get players working together and for eachother. He'll miss being able to call upon the magic of Fofana and Sivivatu, but hopefully having worked with those players he'll be able to spot the odd rough diamond in Scottish rugby.

I posted yesterday on this, but I do think we need to be bolder generally in our attacking play, and start to give the ball some air. I don't think I can hack another season of stupid team selections and endless (and aimless) box kicks without a chase.

[RDW]

Heard another example of the SRU's terrible handling of our young players while at training last night.

You may remember me posting on here saying that Scotland under 20 lock Andy Cramond (who 2 seasons ago was playing for my club) has been signed to Toulon's academy. Apparently the SRU told him he was too small so wouldn't be given a contract (at 19 years old he's 6ft 5 and 18 stone).

Toulon then came in with an offer, at which point the SRU suddenly decided that they did in fact want to offer him a contract, at which point he roundly told them to bugger off!

[funnyExiledScot]

6ft 5 is relatively short for an international lock these days - about the same height as Swinson - but it's ridiculous that the SRU would turn away a 19 year old on that basis. Equally ridiculous that having made the decision, they would perform a u-turn on the basis that Toulon (probably in possession of less information about the player as the SRU) wanted him.

The only word I can think of to describe the above is "pathetic". Quite right that he should tell them to stuff off as well after all that.

[RDW]

Tim Swinson is 6ft 4 according to his official stats.

I agree that 6ft 5 is a bit short in terms of international locks, but we're talking about an academy player here who still probably has some growing to do!

Even if the SRU had given him a contract first, it would have been tough to turn down the chance to develop in the south of France with Bakkies Botha!

[funnyExiledScot]

That's definitely true - a year or two in the Toulon Academy would be a bit of an eye opener. Still, the SRU made it an extremely easy decision for him.

[VinceWLB]

I don't think Swinson is 6ft 4, Ryder is 6ft 5 and they are about the same height, maybe Swinson a bit taller.

Its the bare minimum though for an international lock, but if Cramond was really 18 stone, this certainly isn't small, especially for a 19 years old   

[RDW]

Would be strange to say he's shorter than he actually is, given those stats normally exaggerate things!

[VinceWLB]

Yeah pretty odd isn't it? These stats were the same when he was at Newcastle, i don't think they bothered too much about updating them.

Edit: on wikipedia Swinson is listed at 6ft5

[RuggerRadge2611]

Heard another example of the SRU's terrible handling of our young players while at training last night.

You may remember me posting on here saying that Scotland under 20 lock Andy Cramond (who 2 seasons ago was playing for my club) has been signed to Toulon's academy.  Apparently the SRU told him he was too small so wouldn't be given a contract (at 19 years old he's 6ft 5 and 18 stone).

Toulon then came in with an offer, at which point the SRU suddenly decided that they did in fact want to offer him a contract, at which point he roundly told them to go away!

This has been going on for years. The SRU will hide it by blaming size but the truth is youth development in Scottish rugby is very insular and very clique ie. As in Cleaky.... spelling meh whatever.

Dunno if FES or RDW remember a player called Sean Crombie who was floating around Edinburgh a wee while back. He now plays for Accies I think. Now I played with Sean and another guy called Innes Brown who played for Kirkcaldy at the same time as me all through age grade rugby and into the seniors.

Both were good players but we had some excellent players in our team who just never got the recognition untill recently.

http://www.navyrugbyunion.co.uk/news/cossack-sword-matt-harvey-voted-players-player-of-the-year

Matt Harvey recently awarded the Cossack Sword by the Royal Navy is without a doubt the best player I ever played beside and he never got the breaks that the distinctly average Sean Crombie got.

Seems the SRU hasn't changed and I don't think we can afford to have players like RDW describe slipping through our fingers. The pro team argument has been done to death and I don't have the stomach to bring that argument up again. However the SRU has to do something about the oppertunities young players are getting to grow into the professional game.

[Majestic83]

Heard another example of the SRU's terrible handling of our young players while at training last night.

You may remember me posting on here saying that Scotland under 20 lock Andy Cramond (who 2 seasons ago was playing for my club) has been signed to Toulon's academy.  Apparently the SRU told him he was too small so wouldn't be given a contract (at 19 years old he's 6ft 5 and 18 stone).

Toulon then came in with an offer, at which point the SRU suddenly decided that they did in fact want to offer him a contract, at which point he roundly told them to go away!

This has been going on for years. The SRU will hide it by blaming size but the truth is youth development in Scottish rugby is very insular and very clique ie. As in Cleaky.... spelling meh whatever.

Dunno if FES or RDW remember a player called Sean Crombie who was floating around Edinburgh a wee while back. He now plays for Accies I think. Now I played with Sean and another guy called Innes Brown who played for Kirkcaldy at the same time as me all through age grade rugby and into the seniors.

Both were good players but we had some excellent players in our team who just never got the recognition untill recently.

http://www.navyrugbyunion.co.uk/news/cossack-sword-matt-harvey-voted-players-player-of-the-year

Matt Harvey recently awarded the Cossack Sword by the Royal Navy is without a doubt the best player I ever played beside and he never got the breaks that the distinctly average Sean Crombie got.

Seems the SRU hasn't changed and I don't think we can afford to have players like RDW describe slipping through our fingers. The pro team argument has been done to death and I don't have the stomach to bring that argument up again. However the SRU has to do something about the oppertunities young players are getting to grow into the professional game.

Think Sean Crombie is playing out in Dubai now part time and runs his own strength and conditioning business.
Played with him when he was at Boroughmuir and was a cracking player. Never understood how he didn't get more chances at Edinburgh.

The SRU are notorious for the way they treat younger players. At Haddington rugby club we have had 4 players involved with Scotland U20s in the last 4 years and all have come back really deflated after the experience and in the case of two of them they have totally given up rugby with one other taking a break from it.
One was in the Edinburgh academy as well but they changed the system halfway through his 2 year contract and was just dumped. This was after they had asked him to stop his university studies to concentrate on rugby.
One of the ones who has totally stopped playing now was that badly mismanaged by the SRU they chucked him into the gael force squad at 17 where he got a really bad knee injury. Was rushed back from it to make the U20s world cup and had a poor tournament due to a few niggles. He has been told before hand he was going to be given a contract with Edinburgh but after the world cup was again dumped by Edinburgh and the SRU and they took Hamish Watson on instead.

Also remember when i was playing for my senior high school team we went unbeaten in my final year beating teams like Merchiston, Watsons and Fettes along the way. When it came to Scottish schools and age grade selection not one of us were picked yet all the boys from Merchiston and the other schools we beat easily were selected!

[funnyExiledScot]

Also remember when i was playing for my senior high school team we went unbeaten in my final year beating teams like Merchiston, Watsons and Fettes along the way. When it came to Scottish schools and age grade selection not one of us were picked yet all the boys from Merchiston and the other schools we beat easily were selected!

I'll bet they were jolly good chaps though, and from the right stock. You simply have to factor that into the equation when trying to select a competitive rugby side......

[RDW]

Taking the personal element out of this, and standing back and taking it form an SRU point of you, we maybe just have to accept that the SRU just simply do not have the money or opportunities for these players.

In Andy's case, they maybe looked at the 2nd row stock at Edinburgh and Glasgow just now and decided that there really wasn't any room for him - focus the money and efforts elsewhere.

It is not an ideal situation, but these kind of stories are going to carry on until we come up with a genuine realistic proposal of what to do with them (and that doesn't mean a 3rd pro team IMO).

[Majestic83]

Taking the personal element out of this, and standing back and taking it form an SRU point of you, we maybe just have to accept that the SRU just simply do not have the money or opportunities for these players.

In Andy's case, they maybe looked at the 2nd row stock at Edinburgh and Glasgow just now and decided that there really wasn't any room for him - focus the money and efforts elsewhere.

It is not an ideal situation, but these kind of stories are going to carry on until we come up with a genuine realistic proposal of what to do with them (and that doesn't mean a 3rd pro team IMO).

Agreed, the SRU can't sign every good young player but the selection criteria of the ones they do give contracts to has to be questioned and also the way that the players are managed at age grade level is also a big area that needs looked into.
I think young players going to the French and English academies is a good thing, I did and definitely got more out of it than if i had stayed in the Scottish system.
I think more of the young players should go and look for contracts in England and abroad than what there is now but they don't seem to be encouraged to do that and just make do with playing in Prem 1 or prem 2 hoping that eventually they will get picked for Edinburgh or Glasgow.

[RDW]

Taking the personal element out of this, and standing back and taking it form an SRU point of you, we maybe just have to accept that the SRU just simply do not have the money or opportunities for these players.

In Andy's case, they maybe looked at the 2nd row stock at Edinburgh and Glasgow just now and decided that there really wasn't any room for him - focus the money and efforts elsewhere.

It is not an ideal situation, but these kind of stories are going to carry on until we come up with a genuine realistic proposal of what to do with them (and that doesn't mean a 3rd pro team IMO).

Agreed, the SRU can't sign every good young player but the selection criteria of the ones they do give contracts to has to be questioned and also the way that the players are managed at age grade level is also a big area that needs looked into.
I think young players going to the French and English academies is a good thing, I did and definitely got more out of it than if i had stayed in the Scottish system.
I think more of the young players should go and look for contracts in England and abroad than what there is now but they don't seem to be encouraged to do that and just make do with playing in Prem 1 or prem 2 hoping that eventually they will get picked for Edinburgh or Glasgow.

  

I think you're a bit overqualified to be on this forum!

You willing ot elaborate??

[funnyExiledScot]

Is Majestic83 actually Mark Bennett??

If so I should probably apologise for pretty much my entire posting history on both 606 and 606v2.......

[RDW]

It would be pretty awkward if someone on here actually played for Glasgow or Edinburgh...

A bit sad on their part too!

[RuggerRadge2611]

Would this be a good time to come clean?

[RDW]

I'm actually Ryan Wilson....

[Majestic83]

Taking the personal element out of this, and standing back and taking it form an SRU point of you, we maybe just have to accept that the SRU just simply do not have the money or opportunities for these players.

In Andy's case, they maybe looked at the 2nd row stock at Edinburgh and Glasgow just now and decided that there really wasn't any room for him - focus the money and efforts elsewhere.

It is not an ideal situation, but these kind of stories are going to carry on until we come up with a genuine realistic proposal of what to do with them (and that doesn't mean a 3rd pro team IMO).

Agreed, the SRU can't sign every good young player but the selection criteria of the ones they do give contracts to has to be questioned and also the way that the players are managed at age grade level is also a big area that needs looked into.
I think young players going to the French and English academies is a good thing, I did and definitely got more out of it than if i had stayed in the Scottish system.
I think more of the young players should go and look for contracts in England and abroad than what there is now but they don't seem to be encouraged to do that and just make do with playing in Prem 1 or prem 2 hoping that eventually they will get picked for Edinburgh or Glasgow.

  

I think you're a bit overqualified to be on this forum!

You willing ot elaborate??

Was a long time ago now but was in the Northampton academy for a couple years back in 2001. Unfortunately a serious neck injury stopped me going any further in pro rugby.

Talking of pro rugby players being on here, I know Byron McGuigan goes on the rugby forums quite often and so do a few of the Edinburgh boys.

[EWT Spoons]

Talking of pro rugby players being on here, I know Byron McGuigan goes on the rugby forums quite often and so do a few of the Edinburgh boys.

 
Hope they don't go on the Edinburgh forum, it's pretty depressing over there
 
 

[RDW]

This place isn't much better when it comes to all things Edinburgh!

What do they come on for? To get an ego boost when they play well, or see what everyone is saying about them if they play badly?

[Majestic83]

Talking of pro rugby players being on here, I know Byron McGuigan goes on the rugby forums quite often and so do a few of the Edinburgh boys.

 
Hope they don't go on the Edinburgh forum, it's pretty depressing over there
 
 

Yep went on that forum once and that was enough.

[IanBru]

I'm Rob Dewey.

[Majestic83]

This place isn't much better when it comes to all things Edinburgh!

What do they come on for? To get an ego boost when they play well, or see what everyone is saying about them if they play badly?

I know a couple of them like Fraser Brown come on for a genuine interest in rugby, not figured out what his name is on here but know he does come on.
A few of the others i would imagine it is probably a bit of an ego boost!

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