6N Round 2: Scotland v Wales, 15 February

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SCOTLAND v WALES
Sunday 15 February 2015
KO 15:00 (GMT)
BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh

Live on BBC1

Referee: Glen Jackson (NZR)
AR1: George Clancy (IRFU)
AR2: Dudley Phillips (IRFU)
TMO: Simon McDowell (IRFU)

A. Teams:

1. SCOTLAND

15 Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors);
14 Sean Lamont (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 Geoff Cross (London Irish);
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 Jon Welsh (Glasgow Warriors);
19 Jim Hamilton (Saracens);
20 Alasdair Strokosch (USA Perpignan);
21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh Rugby);
22 Greig Tonks (Edinburgh Rugby);
23 Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby);

2. WALES

15 Leigh Halfpenny (Toulon)
14 Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues)
13 Jonathan Davies (ASM Clermont Auvergne)
12 Jamie Roberts (Racing Metro)
11 Liam Williams (Scarlets)
10 Dan Biggar (Ospreys)
09 Rhys Webb (Ospreys)

01 Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues)
02 Richard Hibbard (Gloucester)
03 Aaron Jarvis (Ospreys)
04 Jake Ball (Scarlets)
05 Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys)
06 Dan Lydiate (Ospreys)
07 Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues, CAPT)
08 Taulupe Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons)

16 Scott Baldwin (Ospreys)
17 Paul James (Bath Rugby)
18 Scott Andrews (Cardiff Blues)
19 Luke Charteris (Racing Metro)
20 Justin Tipuric (Ospreys)
21 Mike Phillips (Racing Metro)
22 Rhys Priestland (Scarlets)
23 Scott Williams (Scarlets)

B. Form (last 4 games):

1. SCOTLAND

07/02/15 - France 15 - 8 Scotland

22/11/14 - Scotland 37 - 12 Tonga

15/11/14 - Scotland 16 - 24 New Zealand

08/11/14 - Scotland 41 - 31 Argentina

2. WALES

06/02/15 - Wales 16 - 21 England

29/11/14 - Wales 12 - 6 South Africa

22/11/14 - Wales 16 - 34 New Zealand

15/11/14  - Wales 17 - 13 Fiji

C. Head to Head:

120 Played 120

48 Wins 69

69 Losses 48

3 Draws 3

180 Tries 227

80 Conversions 112

130 Penalties 142

30 Drop Goals 25

1,204 Points 1,578

I don't like to hear about players getting injured, but Samson Lee missing out is a big boost for us. Great opportunity for Dickinson to turn up the heat after a relatively quiet opening weekend.

I was reading the Rugby Blog earlier.

The same folk who predicted Wales to beat England and Scotland to beat France have predicted Wales by 8

Have the Nematodes gone? Has Scotland drowned the pitch with water again and then asked the Black Watch to trample all over it for 30 mins before kick-off? Where are the Welsh when you need them? Not many on here this week.

funnyExiledScot wrote:I don't like to hear about players getting injured, but Samson Lee missing out is a big boost for us. Great opportunity for Dickinson to turn up the heat after a relatively quiet opening weekend.

Aye, Jarvis and Andrews are our options and neither has played much this year, let alone provided any notable moments for us to be excited about...

As yer man Private Fraserused to say "we're dooooomed"!

maestegmafia wrote:

Scotland Vs Wales has been an incredible game in the past.

I am sure we all hope this is another classic.

Hope so - with the right result of course ;-)

englandglory4ever wrote:Have the Nematodes gone? Has Scotland drowned the pitch with water again and then asked the Black Watch to trample all over it for 30 mins before kick-off? Where are the Welsh when you need them? Not many on here this week.

New part artificial pitch. Looks good so far. #Great surface for rugby. Soft enough to take a stud, firm enough for scrummaging

Wales online have released the following rankings to compare the two teams:

STUART HOGG 8 v 8 LEIGH HALFPENNY: Full-back Hogg will be desperate to make amends for being sent off in Cardiff last year and showed how dangerous he was on the counter-attack against France with his willingness and ability to run the ball back. Halfpenny was one of the few Welsh players to come out of the defeat to England with credit.

SEAN LAMONT 7 v 7 LIAM WILLIAMS: Former team-mates at the Scarlets, self-styled ‘bomb defuser’ Williams is always up for the scrap and a creative presence while the experienced Lamont is a powerful and dangerous attacker with a liking for the try-line.

MARK BENNETT 6 v 7 JONATHAN DAVIES: Wales should have the edge at centre in terms of size and power but Lions ace Davies has been struggling to regain his best form since being injured against South Africa in November 2013. Bennett is smaller but was a creative influence during the narrow loss in France.

ALEX DUNBAR 6 v 8 JAMIE ROBERTS: Roberts was a colossus for Wales during the autumn campaign but didn’t get the ball enough versus England, spending most of his time craning his neck upwards and chasing kicks. Dunbar impressed against the French before taking a knock.

TIM VISSER 7 v 7 ALEX CUTHBERT: Both are predatory try-scorers with question-marks over their defensive capabilities. They have terrific strike records and are lethal finishers. Cuthbert has come in for some stick, perhaps unfairly, because the ball hasn’t headed in his direction very often.

FINN RUSSELL 7 v 7 DAN BIGGAR: Outside-half is the most important position in any team because he’s its driver and Scotland might have just found the No.10 they have been searching for in years in the promising Russell. He appears to have a feel for a game and plays in the face of the opposition defence. Biggar was surprisingly quiet, vocally as well as in demanding the ball, a week ago.

GREIG LAIDLAW 8 v 7 RHYS WEBB: Scotland captain Laidlaw is someone I rate for his skill, vision and ability to play heads-up rugby. He’s a canny operator while Webb remains very much work in progress and kicked far too much precious possession away against England, sometimes inaccurately.

ALASDAIR DICKINSON 7 v 5 AARON JARVIS: The withdrawal of Samson Lee after failing to recover from concussion has given Wales a headache with Scotland sure to target his replacement Jarvis at the scrum. Scotland were pretty solid in that facet against France and Dickinson will be gunning to get a shove on Jarvis.

ROSS FORD 6 v 7 RICHARD HIBBARD: Hooker Hibbard started brightly against England but faded along with most of the rest of the pack. Ford has been around for years but tends to blow hot and cold and, like his opponent, can also be put under-pressure throwing into the line-out.

GEOFF CROSS 6 v 7 GETHIN JENKINS: Losing renowned scrummager Euan Murray because he doesn’t play on Sundays due to his religious beliefs is a blow for the Scots and Jenkins, who was penalised twice last week, will be happy he’s up against Cross. However, the veteran is under growing pressure to stand up to the task when packing down.

RICHIE GRAY 7 v 7 JAKE BALL: Wales’ locks are going to have to be on their game in Scotland because the Gray brothers bounce off each other and are a formidable pair when in harness. Ball supplies oomph to the Welsh scrum but will have to speed around the pitch to keep up with blond-haired Richie Gray,

JONNY GRAY 8 v 8 ALUN WYN JONES: There’s a school of thought in influential Scottish rugby circles Jonny Gray has more dog than his older brother and he certainly worked hard in Paris against muscular and physical opponents. Jones, by his standards, was strangely subdued against England and drifted out of the game.

ROB HARLEY 6 v 6 DAN LYDIATE: Lydiate is under pressure but needs to focus on what he’s good at, which is being destructive, rather than concentrate his efforts on attempting to carry the ball more and being constructive. Harley came back from injury to produce a hearty effort in Paris.

JOHN BEATTIE 7 v 8 TAULUPE FALETAU: Beattie was into everything at the Stade de France but gave away too many penalties because he was too eager to make an impact. Faletau came out of Wales’ losing battle with England with his reputation intact, working wonders to put Webb over for an early try from a retreating scrum.

BLAIR COWAN 7 v 7 SAM WARBURTON: Wales captain Warburton failed to galvanise his troops when they were under the hammer a week ago and, at times, appears to need to be more forceful and vocal in geeing up the team. Back-row import Cowan, who has been parachuted in from New Zealand reminds me of a young Josh Kronfeld. Whether he will become as good is another matter.

To rate Dunbar as 6 (making him Scotland's joint 'worst' players) compared to Roberts' 8 suggests the journalist hasn't watched any of Glasgow or Scotland's games for the last couple of years, but never mind!

Surprised to see Beattie rated so highly, and I'm not sure I'd class Lamont as high as Williams.

TJ wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

Scotland Vs Wales has been an incredible game in the past.

I am sure we all hope this is another classic.

Hope so  - with the right result of course ;-)  

Aye thanks mate... We need the win in Wales... Too much doom and gloom here.

Right we are flying up for a romantic weekend in Edinburgh.. If any locals have a good recomendation for a bite to eat in central Edinburgh please let me know. It's been two years since we were last there.

RDW_Scotland wrote:Wales online have released the following rankings to compare the two teams:

STUART HOGG 8 v 8 LEIGH HALFPENNY: Full-back Hogg will be desperate to make amends for being sent off in Cardiff last year and showed how dangerous he was on the counter-attack against France with his willingness and ability to run the ball back. Halfpenny was one of the few Welsh players to come out of the defeat to England with credit.

SEAN LAMONT 7 v 7 LIAM WILLIAMS: Former team-mates at the Scarlets, self-styled ‘bomb defuser’ Williams is always up for the scrap and a creative presence while the experienced Lamont is a powerful and dangerous attacker with a liking for the try-line.

MARK BENNETT 6 v 7 JONATHAN DAVIES: Wales should have the edge at centre in terms of size and power but Lions ace Davies has been struggling to regain his best form since being injured against South Africa in November 2013. Bennett is smaller but was a creative influence during the narrow loss in France.

ALEX DUNBAR 6 v 8 JAMIE ROBERTS: Roberts was a colossus for Wales during the autumn campaign but didn’t get the ball enough versus England, spending most of his time craning his neck upwards and chasing kicks. Dunbar impressed against the French before taking a knock.

TIM VISSER 7 v 7 ALEX CUTHBERT: Both are predatory try-scorers with question-marks over their defensive capabilities. They have terrific strike records and are lethal finishers. Cuthbert has come in for some stick, perhaps unfairly, because the ball hasn’t headed in his direction very often.

FINN RUSSELL 7 v 7 DAN BIGGAR: Outside-half is the most important position in any team because he’s its driver and Scotland might have just found the No.10 they have been searching for in years in the promising Russell. He appears to have a feel for a game and plays in the face of the opposition defence. Biggar was surprisingly quiet, vocally as well as in demanding the ball, a week ago.

GREIG LAIDLAW 8 v 7 RHYS WEBB: Scotland captain Laidlaw is someone I rate for his skill, vision and ability to play heads-up rugby. He’s a canny operator while Webb remains very much work in progress and kicked far too much precious possession away against England, sometimes inaccurately.

ALASDAIR DICKINSON 7 v 5 AARON JARVIS: The withdrawal of Samson Lee after failing to recover from concussion has given Wales a headache with Scotland sure to target his replacement Jarvis at the scrum. Scotland were pretty solid in that facet against France and Dickinson will be gunning to get a shove on Jarvis.

ROSS FORD 6 v 7 RICHARD HIBBARD: Hooker Hibbard started brightly against England but faded along with most of the rest of the pack. Ford has been around for years but tends to blow hot and cold and, like his opponent, can also be put under-pressure throwing into the line-out.

GEOFF CROSS 6 v 7 GETHIN JENKINS: Losing renowned scrummager Euan Murray because he doesn’t play on Sundays due to his religious beliefs is a blow for the Scots and Jenkins, who was penalised twice last week, will be happy he’s up against Cross. However, the veteran is under growing pressure to stand up to the task when packing down.

RICHIE GRAY 7 v 7 JAKE BALL: Wales’ locks are going to have to be on their game in Scotland because the Gray brothers bounce off each other and are a formidable pair when in harness. Ball supplies oomph to the Welsh scrum but will have to speed around the pitch to keep up with blond-haired Richie Gray,

JONNY GRAY 8 v 8 ALUN WYN JONES: There’s a school of thought in influential Scottish rugby circles Jonny Gray has more dog than his older brother and he certainly worked hard in Paris against muscular and physical opponents. Jones, by his standards, was strangely subdued against England and drifted out of the game.

ROB HARLEY 6 v 6 DAN LYDIATE: Lydiate is under pressure but needs to focus on what he’s good at, which is being destructive, rather than concentrate his efforts on attempting to carry the ball more and being constructive. Harley came back from injury to produce a hearty effort in Paris.

JOHN BEATTIE 7 v 8 TAULUPE FALETAU: Beattie was into everything at the Stade de France but gave away too many penalties because he was too eager to make an impact. Faletau came out of Wales’ losing battle with England with his reputation intact, working wonders to put Webb over for an early try from a retreating scrum.

BLAIR COWAN 7 v 7 SAM WARBURTON: Wales captain Warburton failed to galvanise his troops when they were under the hammer a week ago and, at times, appears to need to be more forceful and vocal in geeing up the team. Back-row import Cowan, who has been parachuted in from New Zealand reminds me of a young Josh Kronfeld. Whether he will become as good is another matter.

To rate Dunbar as 6 (making him Scotland's joint 'worst' players) compared to Roberts' 8 suggests the journalist hasn't watched any of Glasgow or Scotland's games for the last couple of years, but never mind!

Surprised to see Beattie rated so highly, and I'm not sure I'd class Lamont as high as Williams.

He's 28 FFS. I don't think much time has gone into this piece.

Interesting article...

Sean Lamont has a lot of things, but an eye for the try line is not one of them!

Not quite sure how they work out the AWJ is the joint highest in the team (and on the pitch) but say he was subdued and not really in the game.

Presume we are going on reputations here then?

TJ wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

Scotland Vs Wales has been an incredible game in the past.

I am sure we all hope this is another classic.

Hope so  - with the right result of course ;-)  

Aye thanks mate... We need the win in Wales... Too much doom and gloom here.

Right we are flying up for a romantic weekend in Edinburgh.. If any locals have a good recomendation for a bite to eat in central Edinburgh please let me know. It's been two years since we were last there.

maestegmafia wrote:

TJ wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

Scotland Vs Wales has been an incredible game in the past.

I am sure we all hope this is another classic.

Hope so  - with the right result of course ;-)  

Aye thanks mate... We need the win in Wales... Too much doom and gloom here.

Right we are flying up for a romantic weekend in Edinburgh.. If any locals have a good recomendation for a bite to eat in central Edinburgh please let me know. It's been two years since we were last there.

Good luck...valentines weekend and a rugby weekend!

Depends what you're after. If you like informal latin food then Las Iguanas has recently opened on George Street and I would highly recommend it. Iris is one of my personal favourites in Edinburgh but is quite small. If you want a good all rounder go to the George Street bar and grill.

If you want a good steak place you can't do better than Kyloe in my opinion!

If you don't book anything then best to wander around George Street, Castle Street, Hannover and Frederick street - they have the biggest concentration of large restaurants.

maestegmafia wrote:

Aye thanks mate... We need the win in Wales... Too much doom and gloom here.

Right we are flying up for a romantic weekend in Edinburgh.. If any locals have a good recomendation for a bite to eat in central Edinburgh please let me know. It's been two years since we were last there.

What kind of food are you after?

The Cambridge Bar does brilliant burgers and is good for sport, not so much for a romantic break though! Although my Mrs and I would quite happily have a romantic trip there, which says more about us than the bar!

Heard good things about Bistro Moderne in Stockbridge, never been but I dare say FES would be able tell you more as a venerable Stocbridge socialite!

Café Andaluz on George St is nice for Tapas and pretty reasonable too.

Ooh, forgot about Kyloe! Brilliant steaks, although they don't seem to do their 16oz rump any more

http://www.thewitchery.com/ get's good reviews never been there though.

If you want to push the boat out there are many michelin star restaurants to choose from. Tom Kitchen and Martin Wishart are both good and decent value for money.

Tower restaurant above the national museum of Scotland is very posh - excellent food and great views (if you can afford it)

beshocked wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:Exactly.  It's not the fact that he's 1 dimensional that bothers me about him - he's very good at what he does - it's the fact that he's not really shown any improvement in the areas that could turn him into a world class blind side to rival the likes of Kaino etc.

He's 27 now - he's had plenty time!

Would Lydiate actually get in another team though?

England? No you have Wood and Haskell, I would pick Croft, Clark,Garvey and Fearns instead of him too.....

Ireland? No you have Mahony.

Scotland?  No you have Harley and of course Kelly Brown.

I guess he would get in the Italian side actually.....

Lydiate is like a 2nd rate version of Joe Worsley though perhaps that's too insulting to Joe Worsley....

Lydiate is picked for one thing and one thing only to tackle and he does that very well, he only missed on tackle last week, he's not picked to carry or as an extra line out option. He does the job hes picked to do

bedfordwelsh wrote:

beshocked wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:Exactly.  It's not the fact that he's 1 dimensional that bothers me about him - he's very good at what he does - it's the fact that he's not really shown any improvement in the areas that could turn him into a world class blind side to rival the likes of Kaino etc.

He's 27 now - he's had plenty time!

Would Lydiate actually get in another team though?

England? No you have Wood and Haskell, I would pick Croft, Clark,Garvey and Fearns instead of him too.....

Ireland? No you have Mahony.

Scotland?  No you have Harley and of course Kelly Brown.

I guess he would get in the Italian side actually.....

Lydiate is like a 2nd rate version of Joe Worsley though perhaps that's too insulting to Joe Worsley....

Lydiate is picked for one thing and one thing only to tackle and he does that very well, he only missed on tackle last week, he's not picked to carry or as an extra line out option.  He does the job hes picked to do

Yes but there are guys out there making more tackles and doing other stuff too.

lostinwales wrote:

bedfordwelsh wrote:

beshocked wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:Exactly.  It's not the fact that he's 1 dimensional that bothers me about him - he's very good at what he does - it's the fact that he's not really shown any improvement in the areas that could turn him into a world class blind side to rival the likes of Kaino etc.

He's 27 now - he's had plenty time!

Would Lydiate actually get in another team though?

England? No you have Wood and Haskell, I would pick Croft, Clark,Garvey and Fearns instead of him too.....

Ireland? No you have Mahony.

Scotland?  No you have Harley and of course Kelly Brown.

I guess he would get in the Italian side actually.....

Lydiate is like a 2nd rate version of Joe Worsley though perhaps that's too insulting to Joe Worsley....

Lydiate is picked for one thing and one thing only to tackle and he does that very well, he only missed on tackle last week, he's not picked to carry or as an extra line out option.  He does the job hes picked to do

Yes but there are guys out there making more tackles and doing other stuff too.

Admittedly Faletau matched his tackle count last week as for doing the other stuff then that's down to Gatland and his style.  As said he's picked to do one thing and he does it, Gatland doesn't want his 6 to do other things so you can't knock a player for doing what is asked of him.

RDW_Scotland wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

TJ wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

Scotland Vs Wales has been an incredible game in the past.

I am sure we all hope this is another classic.

Hope so  - with the right result of course ;-)  

Aye thanks mate... We need the win in Wales... Too much doom and gloom here.

Right we are flying up for a romantic weekend in Edinburgh.. If any locals have a good recomendation for a bite to eat in central Edinburgh please let me know. It's been two years since we were last there.

Good luck...valentines weekend and a rugby weekend!

Depends what you're after.  If you like informal latin food then Las Iguanas has recently opened on George Street and I would highly recommend it.  Iris is one of my personal favourites in Edinburgh but is quite small.  If you want a good all rounder go to the George Street bar and grill.

If you want a good steak place you can't do better than Kyloe in my opinion!

If you don't book anything then best to wander around George Street, Castle Street, Hannover and Frederick street - they have the biggest concentration of large restaurants.

Great thanks for the info, Las Iguanas sounds good.

Thanks to you other guys too.. Might try one of the others at some point over the weekend.

16oz steak.. Not sure I have the appetite for that anymore these days... 8oz would be fine...

You get 20% off las iguanas tomorrow if you show your ticket too!

highland_scot wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

Aye thanks mate... We need the win in Wales... Too much doom and gloom here.

Right we are flying up for a romantic weekend in Edinburgh.. If any locals have a good recomendation for a bite to eat in central Edinburgh please let me know. It's been two years since we were last there.

What kind of food are you after?

The Cambridge Bar does brilliant burgers and is good for sport, not so much for a romantic break though! Although my Mrs and I would quite happily have a romantic trip there, which says more about us than the bar!

Heard good things about Bistro Moderne in Stockbridge, never been but I dare say FES would be able tell you more as a venerable Stocbridge socialite!

Café Andaluz on George St is nice for Tapas and pretty reasonable too.

I've heard good things but haven't actually been. BabyfES has ended my days of dining out!

Best romantic restaurant I can think of is Cafe St Honore off Thistle Street, and Bon Vivant (also on Thistle Street) is pretty decent.

If you like Thai food then Dusit (Thistle Street) and Chaophraya (George Street and with nice views) are good, and Chaophraya are doing 6 Nations packages for both lunch and dinner (although it's a chain, in case you turn your nose up at such things).

RDW_Scotland wrote:You get 20% off las iguanas tomorrow if you show your ticket too!

In fact, 20% off all weekend!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/31458857

Nice bit of analysis from Blair

Weegie Wizard wrote:I was reading the Rugby Blog earlier.

The same folk who predicted Wales to beat England and Scotland to beat France have predicted Wales by 8

I was wandering if Wales are going to run riot this week end....OR will Scotland be to much of a challenge for them.

Scotland at home will be a different team than the one that played agaisnt France.

No worries RDW - I was trying to play on the fact that it is a hot topic about Maitlands (lack of) tryscoring to be funny but think I failed and sounded like I was being a defensive bum. My bad!


[quote="RDW_Scotland"]Wales online have released the following rankings to compare the two teams:

STUART HOGG 8 v 8 LEIGH HALFPENNY: Full-back Hogg will be desperate to make amends for being sent off in Cardiff last year and showed how dangerous he was on the counter-attack against France with his willingness and ability to run the ball back. Halfpenny was one of the few Welsh players to come out of the defeat to England with credit.

SEAN LAMONT 7 v 7 LIAM WILLIAMS: Former team-mates at the Scarlets, self-styled ‘bomb defuser’ Williams is always up for the scrap and a creative presence while the experienced Lamont is a powerful and dangerous attacker with a liking for the try-line.

MARK BENNETT 6 v 7 JONATHAN DAVIES: Wales should have the edge at centre in terms of size and power but Lions ace Davies has been struggling to regain his best form since being injured against South Africa in November 2013. Bennett is smaller but was a creative influence during the narrow loss in France.

ALEX DUNBAR 6 v 8 JAMIE ROBERTS: Roberts was a colossus for Wales during the autumn campaign but didn’t get the ball enough versus England, spending most of his time craning his neck upwards and chasing kicks. Dunbar impressed against the French before taking a knock.

TIM VISSER 7 v 7 ALEX CUTHBERT: Both are predatory try-scorers with question-marks over their defensive capabilities. They have terrific strike records and are lethal finishers. Cuthbert has come in for some stick, perhaps unfairly, because the ball hasn’t headed in his direction very often.

FINN RUSSELL 7 v 7 DAN BIGGAR: Outside-half is the most important position in any team because he’s its driver and Scotland might have just found the No.10 they have been searching for in years in the promising Russell. He appears to have a feel for a game and plays in the face of the opposition defence. Biggar was surprisingly quiet, vocally as well as in demanding the ball, a week ago.

GREIG LAIDLAW 8 v 7 RHYS WEBB: Scotland captain Laidlaw is someone I rate for his skill, vision and ability to play heads-up rugby. He’s a canny operator while Webb remains very much work in progress and kicked far too much precious possession away against England, sometimes inaccurately.

ALASDAIR DICKINSON 7 v 5 AARON JARVIS: The withdrawal of Samson Lee after failing to recover from concussion has given Wales a headache with Scotland sure to target his replacement Jarvis at the scrum. Scotland were pretty solid in that facet against France and Dickinson will be gunning to get a shove on Jarvis.

ROSS FORD 6 v 7 RICHARD HIBBARD: Hooker Hibbard started brightly against England but faded along with most of the rest of the pack. Ford has been around for years but tends to blow hot and cold and, like his opponent, can also be put under-pressure throwing into the line-out.

GEOFF CROSS 6 v 7 GETHIN JENKINS: Losing renowned scrummager Euan Murray because he doesn’t play on Sundays due to his religious beliefs is a blow for the Scots and Jenkins, who was penalised twice last week, will be happy he’s up against Cross. However, the veteran is under growing pressure to stand up to the task when packing down.

RICHIE GRAY 7 v 7 JAKE BALL: Wales’ locks are going to have to be on their game in Scotland because the Gray brothers bounce off each other and are a formidable pair when in harness. Ball supplies oomph to the Welsh scrum but will have to speed around the pitch to keep up with blond-haired Richie Gray,

JONNY GRAY 8 v 8 ALUN WYN JONES: There’s a school of thought in influential Scottish rugby circles Jonny Gray has more dog than his older brother and he certainly worked hard in Paris against muscular and physical opponents. Jones, by his standards, was strangely subdued against England and drifted out of the game.

ROB HARLEY 6 v 6 DAN LYDIATE: Lydiate is under pressure but needs to focus on what he’s good at, which is being destructive, rather than concentrate his efforts on attempting to carry the ball more and being constructive. Harley came back from injury to produce a hearty effort in Paris.

JOHN BEATTIE 7 v 8 TAULUPE FALETAU: Beattie was into everything at the Stade de France but gave away too many penalties because he was too eager to make an impact. Faletau came out of Wales’ losing battle with England with his reputation intact, working wonders to put Webb over for an early try from a retreating scrum.

BLAIR COWAN 7 v 7 SAM WARBURTON: Wales captain Warburton failed to galvanise his troops when they were under the hammer a week ago and, at times, appears to need to be more forceful and vocal in geeing up the team. Back-row import Cowan, who has been parachuted in from New Zealand reminds me of a young Josh Kronfeld. Whether he will become as good is another matter.

Anyway, this article is very funny. I love these pointless ratings guff that always get wheeled out. Harley, Ford, Bennett and Dunbar the 4 lowest ranked players?!
So, in the interest of "balance" I will attempt to offer up my own ratings from a Scottish perspective. As is traditional with these ratings pieces I will attempt to forget any rugby knowledge I may have and base them entirely on prejudice, individual games I've seen and guesswork.........So,

STUART HOGG 6 v 3 LEIGH HALFPENNY: Hogg has serious anger issues and has been sent off multiple times in his career. I'm a bit worried about this "Leigh" character facing up to Hogg's constant lashing out. All the boys I know with that name are spelt "Lee", and I knew a girl called "Leigh" once. Hope for her own sake she is a butch tomboy.

SEAN LAMONT 9 v 8 LIAM WILLIAMS: Welsh winger called Williams must be good so will give him an 8. Sean Lamont has been Scotland's best player for years. 1st name on the teamsheet.

MARK BENNETT 6 v 6 JONATHAN DAVIES: Bennett? Never heard of him, probably a 6 then. As for Davies. C'mon, Davies, again, seriously? Not sure which one he is so we'll go for a 6 as well.

ALEX DUNBAR 6 v 8 JAMIE ROBERTS: Read somewhere that Roberts is a doctor so that will help towards my work count despite being completely irrelevant. He has all the tools to resuscitate the flatlining Welsh backline. I've been to Dunbar, nice place.

TIM VISSER 7 v 8 ALEX CUTHBERT: Two guys here who score tries for fun. The flying Dutchman gets a bit of stick for not being able to tackle, which is entirely justified but he can run really, really fast so that'll do for us. Cuthbert is similar to be fair, but does make the occasional tackle so he edges it for me.

FINN RUSSELL 5 v 5 DAN BIGGAR: Two big strapping number 10s - on account of the fact Russell rhymes with muscle and Dan is called Biggar. Both are probably too big and not mobile enough to get the backs into the game. Dan Parks must be injured.

GREIG LAIDLAW 8 v 7 RHYS WEBB: Captain Laidlaw will be key for Scotland and should have a fruitfull afternoon if he utilises his key strength - the box kick - as often as possible on Sunday.

ALASDAIR DICKINSON 7 v 3 AARON JARVIS: What happened to the hairy fat bloke who played in the scrum. This Jarvis guy isnt him anyway so he must be rubbish.

ROSS FORD 6 v 7 RICHARD HIBBARD: Both guys are renowned for wonky throwing at line-out time. Going to give Hibbard the edge here as he is not Scottish. Ford may have other things on his mind as he contemplates moving into motivational speaking once he retires from rugby.

GEOFF CROSS 6 v 7 GETHIN JENKINS: With former Lion Euan Murray praying at home for a Scotland win, the task has been passed on to Geoff Cross. That beard is incredible, but there are question marks over him at international level. Jenkins is a veteran in the Welsh pack and is still going strong, he edges this contest.

RICHIE GRAY 9 v 7 JAKE BALL: The poster boy for Scottish Rugby, who, along with David Denton are proving that if you are tall and have a mop of blonde hair, all you need to do is get over the gainline once per match to stick in the mind and become a fans favourite. I wonder if any of the other middle rowers in the 6 nations have Gray Ball-Sacks.

JONNY GRAY 9 v 8 ALUN WYN JONES: Jonny Gray is so much better than his older brother. Was unlucky to miss out on the last two Lions tours despite still being at school. Wyn Jones captained the Lions to their 3rd test victory over Australia so expect him to be quite good.


ROB HARLEY 8 v 6 DAN LYDIATE: The "Ginger Ninja" was once seen, rather unfairly, as only being in the squad to fill the ginger quota that enabled the SRU to claim SportScotland funding. Luckily though he has since became pretty damn good and will tackle and rummage all day long at the rucks, same as Lydiate, but better
.

JOHN BEATTIE 8 v 9 TAULUPE FALETAU: Beattie reminds me of a young John Beattie who was pretty good in his day. Faletau did really well to set up the 1st Welsh try last week off the back of a disintegrating scrum which means this is one of his key strengths. Without the hairy bloke up front the Welsh scrum will disintegrate again, which means if the scrum is advantage Scotland it will actually be advantage Wales.


BLAIR COWAN 5 v 7 SAM WARBURTON: Cowan plays for London Irish so must be mediocre, but he is from NZ so he must be good, but he plays for Scotland so he can't be. Don't know then. Warburton is well known for dirty tip-tackles so Scotland will hope the ref keeps an eye out for that.

115......118
Coaches
VERN COTTER 10 v 9 WARREN GATLAND: He who will do no wrong versus he who didn't do no wrong. Stern Vern is, for now, always right even when he is wrong. Gatland used to be, but his wobble last week against England may be the start of some cracks forming.

Other Factors
SCOTT JOHNSON 0 v 10 THE LAST 10 YEARS
As if Grand Slams, Championships and World Cup Semi-Finals aren't enough for the Welsh, they also had to kick a nation while it is down by offloading Roy Chubby Brown onto us.


So, the scores are in. We can be biased too and turn it in our favour - in your face Wales! The totals are:
Scotland 115 v 118 Wales.
Oh.........frack, we are still going to lose

God I am so bored today.

TJ wrote:http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/31458857

Nice bit of analysis from Blair

I was dreading that before I read it, but thought it was a very good piece. Very true IMO. He makes good points both about areas for Scotland to target and areas for Wales to be wary of and/or tighten up. It's going to be an interesting game for sure: Scotland as a measure of distance travelled; Wales as a test of whether the wheels have definitely fallen of 'The Plan' or whether it just wasn't executed very well against a very good England last week. Squeaky bum time!

Hoping Hogg sees red again, literally, and we have an easy ride

Speaking of the "Ginger Ninja" he's currently doing a Q&A on the SRU facebook page https://www.facebook.com/scottishrugby/posts/784137791634470

Griff wrote:

TJ wrote:http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/31458857

Nice bit of analysis from Blair

I was dreading that before I read it, but thought it was a very good piece. Very true IMO. He makes good points both about areas for Scotland to target and areas for Wales to be wary of and/or tighten up. It's going to be an interesting game for sure: Scotland as a measure of distance travelled; Wales as a test of whether the wheels have definitely fallen of 'The Plan' or whether it just wasn't executed very well against a very good England last week. Squeaky bum time!

Hoping Hogg sees red again, literally, and we have an easy ride

Of the players/ex-players on the punditry train, i find his analysis the most insightful. Compared to the mindless ambling of Andy Nicholl he is a genius!

EST wrote:

Griff wrote:

TJ wrote:http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/31458857

Nice bit of analysis from Blair

I was dreading that before I read it, but thought it was a very good piece. Very true IMO. He makes good points both about areas for Scotland to target and areas for Wales to be wary of and/or tighten up. It's going to be an interesting game for sure: Scotland as a measure of distance travelled; Wales as a test of whether the wheels have definitely fallen of 'The Plan' or whether it just wasn't executed very well against a very good England last week. Squeaky bum time!

Hoping Hogg sees red again, literally, and we have an easy ride

Of the players/ex-players on the punditry train, i find his analysis the most insightful.  Compared to the mindless ambling of Andy Nicholl he is a genius!

Yes, the game has moved on so far from many of the pundits' experiences. Actually, all of them I suspect (BBC). They were simply not involved in the level of analysis, the conditioning, planning, professionalism of the modern game. They may as well be pundits from a different sport! But players like Blair, Martyn Williams to a certain extent as he very recently retired, etc. have very valid and relevant insight. Good to see.

maestegmafia wrote:Right we are flying up for a romantic weekend in Edinburgh.. If any locals have a good recomendation for a bite to eat in central Edinburgh please let me know. It's been two years since we were last there.

If you can get a table, I'd definitely recommend Iris on Thistle Street - basically the best steak I've ever had, but with very little done to it. Just some pepper and a bit of lemon juice. Utter joy. Worth phoning up, if they get a cancellation.

Other than that Callistoga (just off of Rose Street) is excellent and has a fantastic wine list (although I went there after Scotland v France last year, and my French friends were shocked at the wine bottles being stacked upright. I was just impressed that the bottles didn't have screw tops).

Griff wrote:

EST wrote:

Griff wrote:

TJ wrote:http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/31458857

Nice bit of analysis from Blair

I was dreading that before I read it, but thought it was a very good piece. Very true IMO. He makes good points both about areas for Scotland to target and areas for Wales to be wary of and/or tighten up. It's going to be an interesting game for sure: Scotland as a measure of distance travelled; Wales as a test of whether the wheels have definitely fallen of 'The Plan' or whether it just wasn't executed very well against a very good England last week. Squeaky bum time!

Hoping Hogg sees red again, literally, and we have an easy ride

Of the players/ex-players on the punditry train, i find his analysis the most insightful.  Compared to the mindless ambling of Andy Nicholl he is a genius!

Yes, the game has moved on so far from many of the pundits' experiences. Actually, all of them I suspect (BBC). They were simply not involved in the level of analysis, the conditioning, planning, professionalism of the modern game. They may as well be pundits from a different sport! But players like Blair, Martyn Williams to a certain extent as he very recently retired, etc. have very valid and relevant insight. Good to see.

Exactly right, Griff. I cringe when Guscott et all start droning on at half time. Another guy I always find interesting is Chris Patterson, with both him and Blair offering their services to the beeb, hopefully us Scotland fans don't have to suffer through much more of Nicholl. We have enough to be getting annoyed at watching the game!

Scotland under 20s losing 19-24 at HT

It's an intersting U20 game. Wales leading 4 tries to 1 at half time but only 5 points in it!

Now Scotland U20 22-24 Wales U20. Tight as a really tight thing.

IanBru wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:Right we are flying up for a romantic weekend in Edinburgh.. If any locals have a good recomendation for a bite to eat in central Edinburgh please let me know. It's been two years since we were last there.

If you can get a table, I'd definitely recommend Iris on Thistle Street - basically the best steak I've ever had, but with very little done to it. Just some pepper and a bit of lemon juice. Utter joy. Worth phoning up, if they get a cancellation.

Other than that Callistoga (just off of Rose Street) is excellent and has a fantastic wine list (although I went there after Scotland v France last year, and my French friends were shocked at the wine bottles being stacked upright. I was just impressed that the bottles didn't have screw tops).

Take Mrs Maesteg to the Grain Store on 30 Victoria Street. Small, atmospheric, local food, beautiful setting.

She will love it. It's never let me down.

Scotland U20 36 - 34 Wales U20, 4 minutes to go.

Brilliant game & result.
Here's to a repeat on Sunday!

First blood Scotland!

36-34

Hoping it's a reverse to Wales senior and U20 results from last week then, but it isn't going to happen. Samson Lee is a huge loss. The only plus is, Taulupe is better at playing from a retreating scrum, so thank fudge for the Dragons set piece prowess over the years.

2-0 Scotland!

RDW_Scotland wrote:2-0 Scotland!

And although Hugh Blake was reasonably solid, and it was only his first game, but he didn't show overly much to justify him being in the Scotland squad!

Roddy Grant was immense though...

RDW_Scotland wrote:2-0 Scotland!

It's a relief to see Scotland take the series so quickly!

Since the last match is a dead rubber, could I suggest that Gatland & Co put out a development squad on Sunday? It will do wonders for youth development, and you'll come back stronger next year. You've got to think about the long term, folks.

IanBru wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:2-0 Scotland!

It's a relief to see Scotland take the series so quickly!

Since the last match is a dead rubber, could I suggest that Gatland & Co put out a development squad on Sunday? It will do wonders for youth development, and you'll come back stronger next year. You've got to think about the long term, folks.

We are now doomed on Sunday.There is no way Scottish rugby can manage a perfect weekend. Can't be done. Although I would take a Glasgow loss and a Scotland win.

Bedford Welsh if you look on here who started ripping Lyds apart it was the same Irish supporter who always went on a rant at the very mention of Lyds name all the way up to him being picked for the Lions. Top back row 3 caps .As you said Lyds plays to orders of that i have no doubt tackle tackle and tackle again some don,t like it but then again they don,t pick the Welsh team .Now get ready for the following rants that i am sure will follow

I'd just settle for a Glasgow loss

IanBru wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:2-0 Scotland!

It's a relief to see Scotland take the series so quickly!

Since the last match is a dead rubber, could I suggest that Gatland & Co put out a development squad on Sunday? It will do wonders for youth development, and you'll come back stronger next year. You've got to think about the long term, folks.

Hold on a minute. When do the women play? We still have very very minuscule hopes of a draw