Scotland 6N lookahead

by **RDW** Sun 23 Nov 2014, 10:36

First topic message reminder :

Scotland 6N lookahead - Page 10 Vern_c10

Fixtures

07/02 France V Scotland - 17:00
15/02 Scotland V Wales - 15:00

28/02 Scotland V Italy - 14:30

14/03 England V Scotland - 17:00
21/03 Scotland V Ireland - 14:30

6N standings last 10 years

2014 - 5th, 1 win
2013 - 3rd, 2 wins
2012 - 6th, 0 wins
2011 - 5th, 1 win
2010 - 5th, 1 win
2009 - 5th, 1 win
2008 - 5th, 1 win
2007 - 6th, 1 win
2006 - 3rd, 3 wins
2005 - 5th, 1 win

Squad

FORWARDS: Hugh Blake Erm

(Edinburgh Rugby), Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Blair Cowan, Geoff Cross (both London Irish), David Denton, Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby), Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors), Richie Gray (Castres), Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby), Jim Hamilton (Saracens), Rob Harley, Euan Murray, Gordon Reid (all Glasgow Warriors), Alasdair Strokosch Shocked

(Perpignan), Ben Toolis, Hamish Watson (both Edinburgh Rugby), Jon Welsh (Glasgow Warriors).

BACKS: Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors), Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh Rugby), Alex Dunbar, (Glasgow Warriors) Dougie Fife (Edinburgh Rugby), Stuart Hogg, Peter Horne (both Glasgow Warriors) Greig Laidlaw CAPTAIN (Gloucester), Sean Lamont, Sean Maitland, Henry Pyrgos, Finn Russell (all Glasgow Warriors), Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby), Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors), Greig Tonks, Tim Visser (both Edinburgh Rugby).

Unavailable through injury: Adam Ashe (neck), Chris Fusaro (ankle), Grant Gilchrist (arm), Tyrone Holmes (face), Ruaridh Jackson (knee), Duncan Taylor (hamstring), Duncan Weir (arm).

by GLove39 Fri 16 Jan 2015, 12:45

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:That list ~~was~~ very very funny.

is very very funny.

105. We're just getting started!
Scotland 6N lookahead - Page 10 To-infinity-and-beyond

by R!skysports Fri 16 Jan 2015, 13:13

GLove39 wrote:
RuggerRadge2611 wrote:That list ~~was~~ very very funny.

is very very funny.

105. We're just getting started!

106. to 1000 and beyond

by funnyExiledScot Fri 16 Jan 2015, 14:48

RDW_Scotland wrote:96. The number of household staff at FES' beck and call
97. The % of those that are not legally entitled to work in the UK!

Ouch!! Listen, where would we be without trickle-down economics? There would be rubbish on the streets (for the benefit of you weegies, this isn't normal), striking unions, nationalised industry from which irresponsible profits cannot be gleaned, redistributative taxation (filthy words) and, worst of all, working class accents in the New Club. censored

by tigertattie Fri 16 Jan 2015, 15:00

107. The number of Rocky films that will be made before Sly retires from movies
108. The street number of a decent chinese on the high street
109. The number of caps earned by the legend that is Paterson.

by highland_scot Fri 16 Jan 2015, 15:06

110. Somebody must have had a bit of a giggle writing up the witness testimonies for the Kebab shop incident... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-30852849

by **RDW** Fri 16 Jan 2015, 15:07

Being discussed here - worth having a look for IanBru's joke alone!

https://www.606v2.com/t57200-ercc-pool-4-round-5-glasgow-warriors-v-montpellier-herault#2892339

by RuggerRadge2611 Fri 16 Jan 2015, 15:16

RDW_Scotland wrote:Being discussed here - worth having a look for IanBru's joke alone!

https://www.606v2.com/t57200-ercc-pool-4-round-5-glasgow-warriors-v-montpellier-herault#2892339

Seconded. Has everyone been on funny pills recently? The humorous banter on here has reached exceptional status.

by funnyExiledScot Fri 16 Jan 2015, 15:55

111. Ben Atiga's waist size in inches.
112. Ben Atiga's 100m time in seconds.
113. The number of valid reasons that existed not to sign Ben Atiga.

by highland_scot Fri 16 Jan 2015, 16:08

114. The number of Scottish Qualified props in line for a cap ahead of Jack Gilding

by R!skysports Fri 16 Jan 2015, 16:47

115. The number of butlers rejected by FES before he identified the right one to buff his boots

by R!skysports Fri 16 Jan 2015, 16:49

116. The number of prawns saved in the great 'Save our Prawn' march past Murryafield in 2012

by R!skysports Fri 16 Jan 2015, 16:50

117. The number of new names proposed for the BT part of the BT Murrayfield stadium if the yes vote had won

by R!skysports Fri 16 Jan 2015, 16:50

118. The number of imaginary friends I have that think I am funny

by funnyExiledScot Fri 16 Jan 2015, 17:11

119. [Deliberately left blank]

by tigertattie Sat 17 Jan 2015, 16:37

120. 40 mins to two

by **George Carlin** Sat 17 Jan 2015, 17:23

121. The number of times in an average day I think about doing very rude things with Frieda Pinto.

122. The number of women that thought all Bill Cosby wanted was coffee.

123. The number of times Mrs GC tells me in an average day that she likes Chris Pine.

by GLove39 Sat 17 Jan 2015, 17:58

124: the number of windows on Ben Atiga's advent calendar.

by **RDW** Sat 17 Jan 2015, 19:10

Geoff cross has scored again - maybe we should play him on the wing instead of Maitland

by reallybored Sun 18 Jan 2015, 00:51

Any ideas when the 6 Nations squad will be announced?

Who will be the 3rd choice tight-head, personally I'd like to see Welsh get a chance to prove his worth.

Lock is pretty straight forward with the Gray brothers, Hamilton and Swinson.

Would love to see Brown and Barclay back in the mix, any news on Harley's estimated return date?

Any chance of Ashe returning in time? Was very impressive in the AIs and would definitely be ahead of either Beattie or Denton.

Surely Hidalgo Clyne has done enough to take the 3rd scrum-half spot behind Laidlaw and Cusiter.

With Weir, Jackson injured and Heathcote not getting any game time who'll back up Russell. Tonks?

Scott will return with Dunbar and hopefully Bennett will be fit enough to be in contention but who will miss out; Horne, Taylor or maybe Lamont.

Would like to see Fife involved in the squad along with Seymour, Maitland and Visser.

by **George Carlin** Sun 18 Jan 2015, 05:59

RDW_Scotland wrote:Geoff cross has scored again - maybe we should play him on the wing instead of Maitland

125. The number of times a day that a 'Maitland doesn't score many tries' joke is made on these boards.
126. Scotland 6N lookahead - Page 10 Floggi11

by **George Carlin** Sun 18 Jan 2015, 07:44

Morrison in the Hootsmon is fairly instructive about who will make the 6N squad due to injury:

Iain Morrison takes a look at the outsiders who may yet force their way into the Scotland reckoning

THE opening salvoes of the seven-week war that is the annual Six Nations have already been fired with the announcement of several squads. On Tuesday afternoon it is Scotland’s turn to light the fuse as head coach Vern Cotter releases the names of the 33-odd individuals who will vie for the silverware. For reasons that are plum obvious, it will, for the most part, resemble his autumn collection which caught the eye.

Jacques Brunel, Italy’s French coach, announced a squad last week but only for the opening two matches and, with one eye on injured players drifting back into contention midway through the tournament, Cotter may do the something similar.

Oddly enough, with a World Cup just nine months hence, the Azzurri boss found room for four uncapped players in his thirty-man squad.

Former All Blacks coach Sir Graham Henry always tried to ensure that his players had 30 odd caps to their name by the time a World Cup came over the horizon but not all coaches enjoy the same riches as he did.

It might seem a little late in the World Cup cycle for Cotter to unearth too many “bolters” but Edinburgh’s scrum-half Sam Hidalgo-Clyne must have a chance of making his debut in the full national squad after earning a regular Edinburgh start. There is also the possibility of a couple of left-field calls because Cotter may want to run the rule over two recent imports from his own neck of the woods, although this dynamic duo may not be part of the official Scotland squad.

Flanker Hugh Blake has joined Edinburgh from Otago and he qualifies for Scotland thanks to the ubiquitous “Gretna Granny”. He had a run against the Scotland U20s squad last week in Glasgow colours and evidently impressed sufficiently to merit a closer look. He is big, rangy and physical.

While Scotland’s incumbent openside Blair Cowan is canny at the breakdown – he is third equal on the Aviva charts with ten turnovers to his name – he is not the most physical of sevens and doesn’t feature in the top 28 tacklers in England’s Premiership.

Chris Fusaro will miss the entire tournament so, if Cotter is looking to replace like for like with added beef, then Blake may get the nod.

The other Kiwi on the fringe of the squad is another recent Edinburgh import, stand-off Jade Te Rure, who joined the club on loan a month or so back. He benched against Connacht last weekend without getting on to the field and started amongst the subs last night in Lyon.

Also Scottish qualified, Te Rure helped Manawatu lift the (second tier) ITM Championship Cup last October and the local press seem to rate him: “With Aaron Cruden on All Blacks duty, Manawatu still have two quality first fives in Otere Black and Jade Te Rure; the envy of other unions,” enthused New Zealand newspaper Hawke’s Bay Today at the time.

Te Rure is pretty accurate off the tee but his running game is what makes him stand out from the crowd. Murrayfield’s buzzword at the moment, well one of them, is “point of difference” and Te Rure’s threat with the ball offers that much even if his game management is a work in progress. If he does play, the opposition certainly won’t know much about him because no one in Scotland does either.

Elsewhere, the news on the injury front is mostly encouraging and, having finally unearthed a backline that can do some damage, Cotter cannot afford to lose too many frontline players if the season is to be successful.

Matt Scott is an obvious add after missing the autumn Tests through injury. Stuart Hogg and Rob Harley are in a fitness race to make the flight to Paris but, even if they miss that one, they will almost certainly be good to go against Wales/Italy at the very latest. Cotter will doubtless confer with the sawbones before adding or subtracting them from his opening gambit.

Mark Bennett is even better placed after playing 30 minutes of that U20s match last week and he starts this afternoon’s European tie on the Glasgow bench.

Adam Ashe is perhaps a week or two behind Bennett but the assessment of Sacarens’ centre Duncan Taylor is less optimistic after he did a number on his hamstring in the loss to Gloucester last week.

Otherwise, the question will be which of the wide backs to leave out if Stuart Hogg is passed fit. The problem in the forwards is finding quality locks in the continued absence of Grant Gilchrist.

Jim Hamilton is starting for Saracens these days so he could come back into the picture and Ben Toolis has impressed everyone who has watched Edinburgh make strides in the last month or so. The Brisbane-born 22-year-old was a stand out in the 1872 derby matches.

But, if anything keeps Cotter awake in the middle of the night, it must be the ongoing search for a tighthead who can do a credible Atlas impersonation.

Euan Murray is currently injured but, whatever the state of his body, his soul decrees that he rest on the Sabbath which is when Scotland face Wales. Jon Welsh, who starts for Glasgow today, and Geoff Cross, who has done well of late for London Irish, are the obvious candidates but there isn’t a standout player demanding inclusion. If Zander Fagerson is included it will be for the experience rather than with any genuine intention of throwing the teenager into the Six Nations furnace.

by Prothero Sun 18 Jan 2015, 08:11

In the case of Blake and Le Ture, Im really hoping that's just journalistic hyperbole? No one should be getting of a plane and walking into the Scotland squad. They would at least need to be starting for there clubs regularly before they are considered, even if they are Scotland qualified.

Cotter seems like a smart guy, He will be well aware the damage can be caused if player's feel entitled to a place in the Scotland squad, but at the same time to a guy that's burst his guts and sacrificed over years to work into his position in the squad having a guy with a Scottish granny walk of the plane and take his position would be a knife in the back and a terrible message to the young Scottish born players coming up.

by **RDW** Sun 18 Jan 2015, 08:15

Squad announced on Tuesday

by **RDW** Sun 18 Jan 2015, 08:31

Duncan Taylor has done his hammy - good thing Bennett is back.

It would be a farce if Te Rure and Blake are included in the squad - if even just for the experience.

by Prothero Sun 18 Jan 2015, 08:42

Ill probably be castigated for this but personally with Weir out, Id have Harry Leonard back in the reckoning, has done well for Leed's Carnegie this year and is to much of a talent to be in the first division for long. The one thing he is great at is getting a back line to fly, defiantly has the best hands of all the Scottish options at 10.

by **George Carlin** Sun 18 Jan 2015, 10:27

It would be farcical to add Blake if the guy hasn't even had a Pro 12 game. On the other hand, I think that we will see a set of players specifically described as being 'invited to train with the squad'.

That's where guys like Fagerson, Blake and, er, Richie Vernon will fit into the picture.

by **RDW** Sun 18 Jan 2015, 10:49

What message does it say if Blake is invited to training over the likes of roddy Grant or Hamish Watson? Never mind John Barclay!

by **George Carlin** Sun 18 Jan 2015, 10:56

RDW_Scotland wrote:What message does it say if Blake is invited to training over the likes of roddy Grant or Hamish Watson? Never mind John Barclay!

That the head coach wants to see more of Blake more than he wants to see more of Grant or Watson. Nothing more and nothing less.

I'm not going to get into the whole eligibility debate again. Suffice to say that we know what the rules are and Cotter knows that lots of players will share the view of a lot of Scots posters on these boards that selecting someone without even a professional game under their belt may disrupt the squad.

by **George Carlin** Sun 18 Jan 2015, 11:00

George Carlin wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:What message does it say if Blake is invited to training over the likes of roddy Grant or Hamish Watson? Never mind John Barclay!
That the head coach wants to see more of Blake more than he wants to see more of Grant or Watson. Nothing more and nothing less.

I'm not going to get into the whole eligibility debate again. Suffice to say that we know what the rules are and Cotter knows that lots of players will share the view of a lot of Scots posters on these boards that selecting someone without even a professional game under their belt may disrupt the squad.

Worth noting also that I don't think Blake ever actually played for the Highlanders, so I think that the odds of him actually making the squad are very, very slim indeed. That said, the kid's only 22 and if Cotter sees him featuring at some point over the next 2 years, why not bring him into a training camp to meet the players?

Not sure on what conceptual basis you would do that with the likes of McInally, Shiells, Nel, Toolis, Rae and Fagerson but wouldn't do it with Blake who is about the same age as those guys and would benefit from the exposure.

by **RDW** Sun 18 Jan 2015, 11:15

George Carlin wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:What message does it say if Blake is invited to training over the likes of roddy Grant or Hamish Watson? Never mind John Barclay!
That the head coach wants to see more of Blake more than he wants to see more of Grant or Watson. Nothing more and nothing less.

I'm not going to get into the whole eligibility debate again. Suffice to say that we know what the rules are and Cotter knows that lots of players will share the view of a lot of Scots posters on these boards that selecting someone without even a professional game under their belt may disrupt the squad.

Well why look at Blake and not Grant/Watson? They've not been in any of his squads before so are new to the environment too. Plus the fact they've shown they are good enough consistently.

It just won't sit right if a kiwi who hasn't even played a pro game in Scotland is invited to train with the squad over players who have earned it.

by Prothero Sun 18 Jan 2015, 11:28

I Really want Roddy Grant to get a chance for Scotland not just because he deserves it but because having two Fiery Gingers in the back row with big Bob Harley shall surely strike fear into our opponents hearts.

by **George Carlin** Sun 18 Jan 2015, 11:30

RDW_Scotland wrote:
George Carlin wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:What message does it say if Blake is invited to training over the likes of roddy Grant or Hamish Watson? Never mind John Barclay!
That the head coach wants to see more of Blake more than he wants to see more of Grant or Watson. Nothing more and nothing less.

I'm not going to get into the whole eligibility debate again. Suffice to say that we know what the rules are and Cotter knows that lots of players will share the view of a lot of Scots posters on these boards that selecting someone without even a professional game under their belt may disrupt the squad.

Well why look at Blake and not Grant/Watson? They've not been in any of his squads before so are new to the environment too. Plus the fact they've shown they are good enough consistently.

It just won't sit right if a kiwi who hasn't even played a pro game in Scotland is invited to train with the squad over players who have earned it.

Exactly. I can't think of any reason why you would look at Blake and not those two guys.

But then again, he's Vern. I'm not.
Scotland 6N lookahead - Page 10 Evil10

by MacKnocked-on Mon 19 Jan 2015, 10:18

Is there a limit to the number of players Cotter can call up as a training squad?
It's feasible that all of Watson, Grant and Blake could be called up in some capacity or other, with the probability that Grant is in the main squad and the other two are there to gain experience, but if Blake has been out performing the other two (just speculating) in Edinburgh training then Cotter may well want to have a look at him. He certainly seems to be a far bigger player than either Grant or Watson, this may also be a factor in Cotter's thinking.
It's the same with Te Rure, several options at 10 are injured so he may well find himself as one of the 10s in contention for a Scotland A place even if he's only played part of the Lyon game so far.

by funnyExiledScot Mon 19 Jan 2015, 11:59

Blake and Te Rure should be nowhere near the Scotland squad until they've played some professional rugby over here and demonstrated that they have abilities greater than their Scotland rivals.

It isn't justified and it sends the wrong message.

by funnyExiledScot Mon 19 Jan 2015, 12:01

George Carlin wrote:It would be farcical to add Blake if the guy hasn't even had a Pro 12 game.

Typical George Carlin. Wanting players to have 1,000,000 club appearances before being eligible to play for Scotland..... Whistle

by tigertattie Mon 19 Jan 2015, 12:37

funnyExiledScot wrote:
George Carlin wrote:It would be farcical to add Blake if the guy hasn't even had a Pro 12 game.

Typical George Carlin. Wanting players to have 1,000,000 club appearances before being eligible to play for Scotland.....

Had he played for Ayr then it would have been a different story!

by nickj Mon 19 Jan 2015, 13:01

Blake and Te Rure are not going to be anywhere near the squad. Surely?

Morrison was obviously short of a few paragraphs to get anywhere near his required word limit.

BTW Does anyone know how bad Strauss's injury is?

by **George Carlin** Mon 19 Jan 2015, 13:36

tigertattie wrote:
funnyExiledScot wrote:
George Carlin wrote:It would be farcical to add Blake if the guy hasn't even had a Pro 12 game.

Typical George Carlin. Wanting players to have 1,000,000 club appearances before being eligible to play for Scotland.....

Had he played for Ayr then it would have been a different story!

Scotland 6N lookahead - Page 10 Fes_fa10

by bsando Mon 19 Jan 2015, 13:59

Off topic, but has has anyone started a super bru league for 606v2? If not anyone keen?

by tigertattie Mon 19 Jan 2015, 14:07

George Carlin wrote:
tigertattie wrote:
funnyExiledScot wrote:
George Carlin wrote:It would be farcical to add Blake if the guy hasn't even had a Pro 12 game.

Typical George Carlin. Wanting players to have 1,000,000 club appearances before being eligible to play for Scotland.....

Had he played for Ayr then it would have been a different story!

by bsando Mon 19 Jan 2015, 16:26

I was feeling really confident after the AI's about Scotland's chances this 6N (cautious optimism that is), but now I feel like maybe Scotland are going to end up 5th or maybe even wooden spooners..

If this were to happen, what would the consensus be?

Personally I think if Scotland play well and score try's then the end result is not going to be quite as deflating as previous years where we had as few as 3-4 try's for the whole tournament. Especially when there is a WC later in the year and a second chance to transform that potential into actual results.

2011 saw Scotland place 5th with 6 try's (3 scored vs France), they lost to France 34-21. Then we lost to both Argentina and England in tight games with few try's in the WC.

So the bar is not very high, this should be bettered this year, but I guess the question is, by how much? Finish 4th in 6N with 10 try's, make to QF's in WC?

What do you think?

by **RDW** Mon 19 Jan 2015, 16:33

I'm in agreement that my cautious optimism has been tempered somewhat, and it does feel like we're limping into this 6N a bit.

Injuries to Harley and Weir in particular are leaving us worse off as a squad, and the Glasgow lineout going to pot doesn't bode well for Jonny's calling during the 6N. It's kind of worrying when I'm telling myself that Ford's throwing should help steady the ship (!).

Some key player's aren't showing top form either, whereas others who are (Brown, Barclay, Grant) might not even make it to the squad!

So my stance will be the same as every 6N - cautious optimism, but knowing that in reality we are going to have to settle for 5th place as usual.

by GLove39 Mon 19 Jan 2015, 16:48

Prothero wrote:I Really want Roddy Grant to get a chance for Scotland not just because he deserves it but because having two Fiery Gingers in the back row with big Bob Harley shall surely strike fear into our opponents hearts.

I can't recommend this post enough! thumbsup

by justified sinner Mon 19 Jan 2015, 20:49

I think the Blake, Te Rure stuff is Morrison making things up again. Both were brought across on short term trials imo to cover for other Embra players who may get called up, squad management from Solly? Embra are short of experienced back rows and we seem to have 2 10s plus Bezzy, so need cover there, if for example Denton, Grant (I believe he'll be in the squad btw) , Tonks and/or Heathcoate get called up.

So basically a bit of clickbait from Morrison. Maybe he wants Mick Cleary's job of writing nonsense to get comments and keep his editor happy?

by **RDW** Mon 19 Jan 2015, 21:50

All the rumours in the press are that it will be a very similar squad to the AIs. They are very light on details though, but that would suggest no Brown and Barclay!

by Majestic83 Mon 19 Jan 2015, 23:09

Well Barclay has just tweeted "didn't see that coming". Possible surprise at being included in 6 nations squad?

by Majestic83 Mon 19 Jan 2015, 23:12

On the Morrison article I would take anything he says with a pinch of salt, he is a terrible journalist and often makes things up or gets things completely wrong.
Jade te rure was interviewed in the nz press recently saying he was only in scotland short term and would be back playing for manawatu later this year.
I'm sure Hugh Blake said something similar about returning and playing for otago.

by GLove39 Mon 19 Jan 2015, 23:48

So, John Barclay tweeted this half an hour ago.
Scotland 6N lookahead - Page 10 B7wCRaiCQAANZKV

Surely he's back in the squad, or he's run something over..?

by justified sinner Tue 20 Jan 2015, 07:12

Maybe he was referring to Munipola's cheap shot that burst his eardrum?

by **RDW** Tue 20 Jan 2015, 07:42

Cryptic from Barclay - if he is in the squad, brilliant, if he's not then it's a bit childish of him.

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