6N Round 1: France v Scotland, 7 February

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FRANCE v SCOTLAND
Saturday 7 February 2015
KO 17:00 (GMT)/18:00 (local)
Stade de France, Paris

Live on BBC1.

Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU)
Touch Judge 1: Glen Jackson (NZR)
Touch Judge 2: Mike Fraser (NZR)
TMO: George Ayoub (ARU)

A. Teams:

1. France

15 Scott Spedding (Bayonne)
14 Yoann Huget (Toulouse)
13 Mathieu Bastareaud (Toulon)
12 Wesley Fofana (Clermont)
11 Teddy Thomas (Racing Metro)
10 Camille Lopez (Clermont)
09 Rory Kockott (Castres)

01 Alexandre Menini (Toulon)
02 Guilhem Guirado (Toulon)
03 Rabah Slimani (Stade Francais)
04 Pascal Papé (Stade Francais)
05 Yoann Maestri (Toulouse)
06 Thierry Dusautoir (c) (Toulouse)
07 Bernard Le Roux (Racing Metro)
08 Damien Chouly (Clermont )

16 Benjamin Kayser (Clermont)
17 Uini Atonio (La Rochelle)
18 Eddy Ben Arous (Racing Metro)
19 Romain Taofifenua (Toulon)
20 Loann Goujon (La Rochelle)
21 Morgan Parra (Clermont)
22 Rémi Talès (Castres)
23 Rémi Lamerat (Castres)

2. Scotland

15 Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors)
14 Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors)
13 Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors)
12 Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors)
11 Tim Visser (Edinburgh Rugby)
10 Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors)
9 Greig Laidlaw CAPTAIN (Gloucester)

1 Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby)
2 Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby)
3 Euan Murray (Glasgow Warriors)
4 Richie Gray (Castres)
5 Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors)
6 Rob Harley (Glasgow Warriors)
7 Blair Cowan (London Irish)
8 Johnnie Beattie (Castres)

16 Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors)
17 Gordon Reid (Glasgow Warriors)
18 Geoff Cross (London Irish)
19 Jim Hamilton (Saracens)
20 Alasdair Strokosch (USA Perpignan)
21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh Rugby)
22 Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors)
23 Dougie Fife (Edinburgh Rugby)

B. Tournament Form (last 3 games):

1. France

15/3/14 - France 20 - 22 Ireland

8/3/14 - Scotland 17 - 19 France

21/2/14 - Wales 27 - 6 France

2. Scotland

15/3/14 - Wales 51 - 3 Scotland

8/3/14 - Scotland 17 - 19 France

22/2/14 - Italy 20 - 21 Scotland

C. Head to Head:

87 Played 87
50 Wins 34
34 Losses 50
3 Draws 3
153 Tries 132
78 Conversions 70
119 Penalties 127
28 Drop Goals 15
1,228 Points 1,049

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:

Furthermore none of us have any Idea what actually went down in the takeaway. He might have been provoked.

Hmm, I am not a big fan of the criminal justice system (suffers from the same issues as democracy - tyranny of the majority - most people are idiots) but at the end of a day a jury (presuming this was Sherriff court?) has decided that on balance and in spite of any mitigating evidence, he is guilty.

I do, however, feel that the SRU are trying to get the best of both worlds for the PR here. If he's got issues then by all means suspend him until his head is in the right place and offer counselling and support to try to manage that. Come across as an employer that takes such things seriously but want to help its employees through their problems. By hitting him with a pretty hefty fine of 25% of salary in addition to this they want to come across as being hard line.

It also seems a bit unfair with the timings that a guy is having a potentially career defining ban from playing and training immediately before the World Cup despite the fact that the offence happened nearly 18 months ago. Had the court service pulled their socks up and got this all done in, say, September, he would have served his ban and been done with it all by now freeing him for the 6N and WC! Not a dig at Scottish Courts there, just an observation that the timing is pretty terrible for him. It could be argued he's basically been banned and fined by his employer for the verdict rather than the act...

But then, he could have avoided it all (even if provoked) by being the bigger man and walking away.

As a lighter aside... http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/braveheart-impersonator-warns-kilt-gropers-1-3679733

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:

SecretFly wrote:

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:Semantics,

An Assault is any attack directed to a person whether or not injury was inflicted.

To clarify shoving someone is considered an assault these days. (My Wife's a copper so I have been forced to learn all this nonsense).

So how many times did she arrest you for attempted boisterous canoodling before you got wise to the fact?

Well my initial chat up lines didn't need any boisterous canoodling. I simply said :

"Does this rag smell like chloroform to you?"

The rest as they say, is history.

So has Cotter anything on these French sorts with the snorts of zeecontempt for zee highLanderes of Scotzlond?

Does he have anything in his memorystick that might put a virus into the French boys from the get go?

Is this the game Cotter must really prove himself in?  He's done the time in France, he must have a few ideas how to get to their sensibilities.

Tattie Scones RRN wrote:

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:Semantics,

An Assault is any attack directed to a person whether or not injury was inflicted.

To clarify shoving someone is considered an assault these days. (My Wife's a copper so I have been forced to learn all this nonsense).

He's wronged himself and the other guy. No doubt. The courts have decided his fate. The SRU have a responsiblility to uphold the standards they expect. However suspension without pay IMO wasn't the way forward.

He should have been suspended, paid and helped if he has anger or alcohol issues.

As I said he is foolish for getting involved but his career is arguably in tatters now.

Furthermore none of us have any Idea what actually went down in the takeaway. He might have been provoked.

Agreed.

The fact that the press were making a joke of it by going on about Batman, red crayon etc. would indicate it wasn't as serious as first thought. If he'd glassed the boy causing severe permanent scarring, then perhaps the punishment would fit the crime.

But like you say, none of us were there.

The victim had to undergo reconstructive plastic surgery to repair the damage that Wilson has been convicted of doing. I'd hardly say it wasn't a serious act!

In terms of "being provoked" I'm afraid that just doesn't wash either! You can't smash someone's face in because they said "leave it batman". Self defence is one thing, but causing serious damage to another human being just because they said something, or even if they did the "come on then playground push", is just inexcusable!

I'm not defending him, its just we all have a habit (the public I mean, myself included) of condemning people without being in full possession of the facts.

The SRU are obviously entitled to act on their employee's foolishness as they see fit. However I can't help feel a pang of sympathy for him.

He's already been found guilty and punished, however the subsequent treatment by the SRU seems a bit disproportionate to his crime.

The fact that the guy needed surgery IMO is a moot point. He gave the guy a doo'in but I seriously doubt Wilson went out with the intent to hospitalize him.

In other news, the 6N fixtures have been announced for 2016 and 2017. Luckily for me I made an accurate guess on which weekends they will be on, becuase we booked our wedding deliberately trying to avoid a game weeend!

2016
Sat 6 Feb (4.50pm): Scotland v England

Sat 13 Feb (4.50pm): Wales v Scotland

Sat 26 Feb (2.25pm GMT): Italy v Scotland

Sun 13 March (3pm): Scotland v France

Sat 19 Mar (5pm): Ireland v Scotland


2017
Sat 4 Feb (2.25pm): Scotland v Ireland

Sun 11 Feb (3pm GMT): France v Scotland

Sat 25 Feb (2.25pm): Scotland v Wales

Sat 11 Mar (4pm): England v Scotland

Sat 18 Mar (12.30pm): Scotland v Italy

highland_scot wrote:

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:

Furthermore none of us have any Idea what actually went down in the takeaway. He might have been provoked.

Hmm, I am not a big fan of the criminal justice system (suffers from the same issues as democracy - tyranny of the majority - most people are idiots) but at the end of a day a jury (presuming this was Sherriff court?) has decided that on balance and in spite of any mitigating evidence, he is guilty.

I do, however, feel that the SRU are trying to get the best of both worlds for the PR here. If he's got issues then by all means suspend him until his head is in the right place and offer counselling and support to try to manage that. Come across as an employer that takes such things seriously but want to help its employees through their problems. By hitting him with a pretty hefty fine of 25% of salary in addition to this they want to come across as being hard line.

It also seems a bit unfair with the timings that a guy is having a potentially career defining ban from playing and training immediately before the World Cup despite the fact that the offence happened nearly 18 months ago. Had the court service pulled their socks up and got this all done in, say, September, he would have served his ban and been done with it all by now freeing him for the 6N and WC! Not a dig at Scottish Courts there, just an observation that the timing is pretty terrible for him. It could be argued he's basically been banned and fined by his employer for the verdict rather than the act...

But then, he could have avoided it all (even if provoked) by being the bigger man and walking away.

As a lighter aside... http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/braveheart-impersonator-warns-kilt-gropers-1-3679733

This is my favourite part...

'Marti Morrison said: “It happens a lot pal and yes it is unfair. A woman lifted my kilt up in a pub and grabbed my erse (sic) so her pals could chuckle.

“She exposed me to the whole busy pub and I went mad at her, but every woman there told me stop making a fuss as I was overreacting.'

First rule of kilt wearing:

Fluff up.

RDW_Scotland wrote:In other news, the 6N fixtures have been announced for 2016 and 2017.  Luckily for me I made an accurate guess on which weekends they will be on, becuase we booked our wedding deliberately trying to avoid a game weeend!

2016                
Sat 6 Feb (4.50pm): Scotland v England

Sat 13 Feb (4.50pm): Wales v Scotland

Sat 26 Feb (2.25pm GMT): Italy v Scotland

Sun 13 March (3pm): Scotland v France

Sat 19 Mar (5pm): Ireland v Scotland


2017
Sat 4 Feb (2.25pm): Scotland v Ireland

Sun 11 Feb (3pm GMT): France v Scotland

Sat 25 Feb (2.25pm): Scotland v Wales

Sat 11 Mar (4pm): England v Scotland

Sat 18 Mar (12.30pm): Scotland v Italy

There's something seriously wrong here!!! We're not playing France first either of these years!!!!

tigertattie wrote:

Tattie Scones RRN wrote:

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:Semantics,

An Assault is any attack directed to a person whether or not injury was inflicted.

To clarify shoving someone is considered an assault these days. (My Wife's a copper so I have been forced to learn all this nonsense).

He's wronged himself and the other guy. No doubt. The courts have decided his fate. The SRU have a responsiblility to uphold the standards they expect. However suspension without pay IMO wasn't the way forward.

He should have been suspended, paid and helped if he has anger or alcohol issues.

As I said he is foolish for getting involved but his career is arguably in tatters now.

Furthermore none of us have any Idea what actually went down in the takeaway. He might have been provoked.

Agreed.

The fact that the press were making a joke of it by going on about Batman, red crayon etc. would indicate it wasn't as serious as first thought. If he'd glassed the boy causing severe permanent scarring, then perhaps the punishment would fit the crime.

But like you say, none of us were there.

The victim had to undergo reconstructive plastic surgery to repair the damage that Wilson has been convicted of doing. I'd hardly say it wasn't a serious act!

In terms of "being provoked" I'm afraid that just doesn't wash either! You can't smash someone's face in because they said "leave it batman". Self defence is one thing, but causing serious damage to another human being just because they said something, or even if they did the "come on then playground push", is just inexcusable!

Where is it written that he had reconstructive surgery? If that was indeed the case, Wilson would have been done for GBH and the punishment would have been a hell of a lot more than a £750 fine.

Tattie Scones RRN wrote:

Where is it written that he had reconstructive surgery? If that was indeed the case, Wilson would have been done for GBH and the punishment would have been a hell of a lot more than a £750 fine.

I don't know if it has been written anywhere, but I have friends who know the guy (she's engaged to one of Glasgow Hawks' ex players) and they said he needed surgery, and I'm sure Maj (who seems to know every rugby player in Scotland) said the same thing.

RDW_Scotland wrote:

Tattie Scones RRN wrote:

Where is it written that he had reconstructive surgery? If that was indeed the case, Wilson would have been done for GBH and the punishment would have been a hell of a lot more than a £750 fine.

I don't know if it has been written anywhere, but I have friends who know the guy (she's engaged to one of Glasgow Hawks' ex players) and they said he needed surgery, and I'm sure Maj (who seems to know every rugby player in Scotland) said the same thing.

Surprised Maj hasn't posted a copy of the CCTV yet

GLove39 wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:

Tattie Scones RRN wrote:

Where is it written that he had reconstructive surgery? If that was indeed the case, Wilson would have been done for GBH and the punishment would have been a hell of a lot more than a £750 fine.

I don't know if it has been written anywhere, but I have friends who know the guy (she's engaged to one of Glasgow Hawks' ex players) and they said he needed surgery, and I'm sure Maj (who seems to know every rugby player in Scotland) said the same thing.

Surprised Maj hasn't posted a copy of the CCTV yet

Rumour has it Maj was actually there, dressed as a giant hot dog....

RDW_Scotland wrote:

GLove39 wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:

Tattie Scones RRN wrote:

Where is it written that he had reconstructive surgery? If that was indeed the case, Wilson would have been done for GBH and the punishment would have been a hell of a lot more than a £750 fine.

I don't know if it has been written anywhere, but I have friends who know the guy (she's engaged to one of Glasgow Hawks' ex players) and they said he needed surgery, and I'm sure Maj (who seems to know every rugby player in Scotland) said the same thing.

Surprised Maj hasn't posted a copy of the CCTV yet

Rumour has it Maj was actually there, dressed as a giant hot dog....

RDW_Scotland wrote:

GLove39 wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:

Tattie Scones RRN wrote:

Where is it written that he had reconstructive surgery? If that was indeed the case, Wilson would have been done for GBH and the punishment would have been a hell of a lot more than a £750 fine.

I don't know if it has been written anywhere, but I have friends who know the guy (she's engaged to one of Glasgow Hawks' ex players) and they said he needed surgery, and I'm sure Maj (who seems to know every rugby player in Scotland) said the same thing.

Surprised Maj hasn't posted a copy of the CCTV yet

Rumour has it Maj was actually there, dressed as a giant hot dog....

I heard he actually got involved, but came off wurst...

Taxi for Glove plz!

Nematode wrote:

Ach come on now, Glove's joke wasn't that bad!

impossible to follow though.

Prothero wrote:impossible to follow though.

True, afraid I have set the bar higher than Richard Metcalfe.

Sorry chaps

Ah Richard Metcalfe...dreams......Beating England at Murreyfield, Duncan Hodge scoring whilst the heavens open washing away English resolve under the ferocity of Scottish will and physicality, Geech forbidding the boys to make a pass to a player more than three meter's away. great days. Me jumping around in the Caley sample room. Richard bloody Metcalfe eh?

Speaking of the human skyscraper just found this delightful picture of him & Jason White

If the the sru had taken that concept and turned it into the slanket back in 2001 the debt would have been gone years ago and we would have a third pro team.

Well to keep us going for the next few hours before the team announcement, here's the worst case team - just to acclimatise ourselves for any disappointment later!

1 Reid
2 Brown
3 Welsh
4 Hamilton
5 Toolis
6 Strokosh
7 Blake
8 Cowan

9 Hidalgo-Clyne
10 Tonks
11 Lamont
12 Horne
13 Scott
14 Fife
15 Seymour

That's not a terrible team in itself to be fair, but don't think we'd win against France with that lot!

GLove39 wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:

GLove39 wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:

Tattie Scones RRN wrote:

Where is it written that he had reconstructive surgery? If that was indeed the case, Wilson would have been done for GBH and the punishment would have been a hell of a lot more than a £750 fine.

I don't know if it has been written anywhere, but I have friends who know the guy (she's engaged to one of Glasgow Hawks' ex players) and they said he needed surgery, and I'm sure Maj (who seems to know every rugby player in Scotland) said the same thing.

Surprised Maj hasn't posted a copy of the CCTV yet

Rumour has it Maj was actually there, dressed as a giant hot dog....

I heard he actually got involved, but came off wurst...

Can neither confirm or deny the rumours apart from I am open to the highest bidders for the footage

Maj - can you post any links?

Links. Sausages. Links. See what I did? See what I did?

Better get my coat.

Well well well...

Dickinson ford murray Gray Gray Harley Cowan Beattiee

laidlaw russell dunbar bennett visser seymour hogg

16 Brown
17 Reid
18 Cross
19 Hamilton
20 Strokosch
21 Hidalgo-Clyne
22 Horne
23 Fife

Dickinson
Ford
Murray
Gray
Gray
Harley
Cowan
Beattie

Laidlaw
Russell
Visser
Dunbar
Bennett
Seymour
Hogg


Subs - Brown, Reid, Cross, Hamilton, Strokosh, Hidalgo-Clyne, Horne, Fife


No Matt Scott!

Starting team as expected, and great to see the return of injured players (hope they are fit!). Few surprises on the bench, mainly Horne's inclusion and Scott's exclusion!

The XV looks good, also great to see SHC in there.

I'm not all too surprised to not see Scott - he can only really cover 12 whilst Horne and Fife cover the entire back line.

Well, well, well indeed. I've got to say I'm chuffed to bits with the starting 15.

Everyone starting in the best positions for once. My only queries are in the backs:

Horne may have got the nod over Scotty as he covers 10 and 12???

I didn't see Dougie Fife coming in ahead of Sean. But I'm happy to see him get a shot.

Our strength in depth is increasing squad by squad.

Well that explains that then!

Might as well end the discussion here then, nothing controversial to get up in arms about!

That clears it up then...

Les bleus will be wearing their new (red) away kit on saturday...

Consistent selection which is a good sign. Matt Scott hasn't been on his best form as yet but a bit surprised to see Horne rather than Tonks on the subs bench, Horne has always looked a tad lightweight when playing for Scotland previously. However, hope all the returning players stay fit.

whocares wrote:

Les bleus will be wearing their new (red) away kit on saturday...

Munster, is that you?

Nematode wrote:

whocares wrote:

Les bleus will be wearing their new (red) away kit on saturday...

Munster, is that you?

So when the Frenchies are signing 'allez les blues' they'll really be cheering for us then!

Scary thought. Horne v Bastareaud.

Wait, I've got this strange feeling. It's almost like I'm... happy?

Me right now:

highland_scot wrote:Scary thought. Horne v Bastareaud.

Unfortunately it needn't just be a thought...



I expect he'll just be 10 cover and probably won't come on at centre.

Hopefully so, I'd rather Horne to 10 and Russell to 12 tbh. I like Horne's passing but he is a bit of a speed bump in defence.

This team excites me. I can feel the hope bubbling up in my stomach.

Some key things for me that need to happen I reckon for us to win:

- Harley and Hogg genuinely are match fit and ready
- Russell and Dunbar last the whole game
- The fact that their scrum will get stronger and ours weaker when the subs come on doesn't affect the result!

Really happy with that team. I like the look of the pack. I think Dickinson will do a job for us.

Also that bench looks entirely geared toward coming on against tired legs and moving the ball around, with one (very large) exception in Le Grand Jim!

Shame for Matt (Rory Lamont II) Scott.

Very happy overall with the team though.

To confirm,

Scotland team to play France at the Stade de France, Paris; RBS 6 Nations Championship
Kick-off 6pm local, 5pm GMT – live on BBC1

15 Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors); 27 caps, 8 tries, 1 penalty, 43 points
14 Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors); 13 caps, 6 tries, 30 points
13 Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors); 2 caps
12 Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors); 11 caps, 4 tries, 20 points
11 Tim Visser (Edinburgh Rugby); 15 caps, 7 tries, 35 points

10 Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors); 5 caps
9 Greig Laidlaw CAPTAIN (Gloucester); 34 caps, 3 tries, 37 conversions, 70 penalties, 299 points

1 Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby); 39 caps, 2 tries, 10 points
2 Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby); 80 caps; 2 tries, 10 points
3 Euan Murray (Glasgow Warriors); 62 caps, 2 tries, 10 points
4 Richie Gray (Castres); 42 caps, 2 tries, 10 points
5 Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors); 8 caps, 1 try, 5 points
6 Rob Harley (Glasgow Warriors), 10 caps, 1 try, 5 points
7 Blair Cowan (London Irish); 6 caps, 1 try, 5 points
8 Johnnie Beattie (Castres); 34 caps, 3 tries, 15 points

Substitutes
16 Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors); 3 caps
17 Gordon Reid (Glasgow Warriors); 6 caps
18 Geoff Cross (London Irish); 35 caps, 2 tries, 10 points
19 Jim Hamilton (Saracens); 57 caps, 1 try, 5 points
20 Alasdair Strokosch (USA Perpignan); 42 caps, 2 tries, 10 points
21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh Rugby); uncapped
22 Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors); 5 caps
23 Dougie Fife (Edinburgh Rugby); 3 caps

Not considered through injury: Adam Ashe (neck), Chris Cusiter (knee), Chris Fusaro (ankle), Grant Gilchrist (arm), Tyrone Holmes (face), Ruaridh Jackson (knee), Sean Lamont (calf), Henry Pyrgos (knee), Matt Scott (shoulder), Tim Swinson (calf), Duncan Taylor (hamstring), Duncan Weir (arm).

RDW_Scotland wrote:

Nematode wrote:

whocares wrote:

Les bleus will be wearing their new (red) away kit on saturday...

Munster, is that you?

So when the Frenchies are signing 'allez les blues' they'll really be cheering for us then!

true...but remember the ref is Welsh just need to write "brains" somewhere on the kit and job done

Cross can feel a little bit aggrieved. Murray hasn't had a good game for Scotland for about 3 years.

Other than that, I have to say I'm happy.

Never been so happy to see Harley on the team sheet either. I just hope he is fit enough.