Scotland World Cup look ahead and squad

First topic message reminder :

A. WORLD CUP WARM-UP MATCHES:

                                
15 August 2015:Ireland v Scotland, Dublin.

                              
22 August 2015:  Italy v Scotland, Turin.

                                 
29 August 2015:  Scotland v Italy, Edinburgh

                                      
05 September 2015: France v Scotland, Paris

B. WORLD CUP POOL MATCHES

                                         
23 September 2015:  Scotland V Japan, Kingsholm - Gloucester.

                                        
27 September 2015:  Scotland v USA, Elland Road - Leeds.

                                        
03 October 2015:  Scotland v South Africa, St James Park - Newcastle.

                                     
10 October 2015:  Scotland v Samoa, St James Park - Newcastle.

C. EXTENDED SCOTLAND SQUAD

- FORWARDS (25) -

Prop (7):
Mike Cusack (Glasgow Warriors) – Uncapped
Allan Dell (Edinburgh Rugby) – uncapped
Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby) – 44 caps; 4 RWC appearances (2007 and 2011)
Ryan Grant (Glasgow Warriors) – 22 caps
Willem Nel (Edinburgh Rugby) – Uncapped
Gordon Reid (Glasgow Warriors) – 8 caps
Jon Welsh (Newcastle Falcons) – 4 caps

Hooker (3):
Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors) – 8 caps
Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby) – 85 caps; 8 RWC appearances (2007 and 2011)
Stuart McInally (Edinburgh Rugby) – Uncapped

Second-row (6):
Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby) – 8 caps
Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors) – 13 caps
Richie Gray (Castres) – 44 caps
Jim Hamilton (Saracens) – 61 caps; 6 RWC appearances (2007 and 2011)
Robert Harley (Glasgow Warriors) – 15 caps
Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors) – 12 caps

Back-row (9):
Adam Ashe (Glasgow Warriors) – 5 caps
John Barclay (Scarlets) – 43 caps; 4 RWC appearances (2007 and 2011)
Hugh Blake (Glasgow Warriors) – Uncapped
Blair Cowan (London Irish) – 11 caps
David Denton (Edinburgh Rugby) – 25 caps
Josh Strauss (Glasgow Warriors) – Uncapped
Alasdair Strokosch (Perpignan) – 44 caps; 3 RWC appearances (2011)
Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors) – 9 caps
Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby) – 1 cap

- BACKS (21) -

Scrum-half (4):
Chris Cusiter (Sale Sharks) – 70 caps; 6 RWC appearances (2007 and 2011)
Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh Rugby) – 5 caps
Greig Laidlaw (Gloucester) – 39 caps
Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors) – 13 caps

Stand-off (3):
Ruaridh Jackson (Wasps) – 25 caps; 3 RWC appearances (2011)
Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors) – 9 caps
Duncan Weir (Glasgow Warriors) – 18 caps

Centre (6):
Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors) – 7 caps
Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors) – 14 caps
Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors) – 7 caps
Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby) – 25 caps
Duncan Taylor (Saracens) – 12 caps
Richie Vernon (Glasgow Warriors) – 20 caps; 3 RWC appearances (2011)

Back-three (8):
Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors) – 32 caps
Damien Hoyland (Edinburgh Rugby) – Uncapped
Rory Hughes (Glasgow Warriors) – Uncapped
Sean Lamont (Glasgow Warriors) – 93 caps; 8 RWC appearances (2007 and 2011)
Sean Maitland (London Irish) – 15 caps
Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) – 17 caps
Greig Tonks (Edinburgh Rugby) – 4 caps
Tim Visser (Harlequins) – 18 caps

To be fair to Denton, what else could he say? Any other scotland player who has gone against the SRU party line has gone on to the scrap heap whereas if you go along with it you get the captaincy. It's a good job we have such amazing strength in depth otherwise allowing politics to affect selection would have nasty consequences...

GLove39 wrote:

Gwlad wrote:

GLove39 wrote:Guys don't know why we're all so down, just listen to Denton

After finishing bottom of the Six Nations championship, David Denton states that Scotland will look to bounce back from this disappointment by winning the Rugby World Cup.

 

Nothing new, weren't the SRU banging on about winning RWC a couple of seasons ago? Gulp

Like I said not to worry, Dodson's strategic aim was World Cup win & grand slam, all to be completed by 2016. Bumper few months ahead...

Jeez, do you think Grand Slam 2016 will do after winning RWC or will he miss out on his contractual haggis bonus?

the litmus test is if you were to play a joint pro 12 ireland vs scotland game at home at murrayfield who would you expect to win ?
id certainly give scotland 50pc or better chance.

so to get whopped by 30 points is a strong indication of coaching problems/ lack of something else

the other big factor is leadership. for me staruss will come in at number 8 and id also make him captain. look at the difference a leader like parisse makes to italy !

Heuer27 wrote:The SRU need to ensure that the talent in the age group systems are not lost in the wilderness. For that to happen I suggest we scrap the 7's setup it does nothing for us and we will not even be holding a round next year. With the money that releases and an injection from the willing sponsors that have already declared an interest form a third pro team in Aberdeen. Formalise a relationship with London Scottish and use them to develop talent in the English leagues.  Forget the borders they just aren't interested in supporting pro rugby as it stands. This World Cup is fecked lets target the next one starting now. The young players currently in the international setup will still be young in four years time.
It requires a clear out of players who are not going to be there in four years. Ford, Murray, Hamilton, Laidlaw, Beattie, cross, Cusiter etc. and ensuring these emerging players are exposed to as high and intense a level of rugby as possible to prepare them.
Get our top coaches back coaching scottish players they are out there helping other countries develop their talent. We could start with Ritchie Gray,Matt Proudfoot and the lad who is off to London Irish.

Lastly sort out the schools system. It is a total mess with schools who already have a well established rugby programme being given preferential treatment. We all know that means private schools almost without exception. There is a massive pool of untapped talent within the state school system which is basically being ignored. The new proposals would mean the kids cannot play both club and school rugby as the SRU want these games all on a Saturday.
When you look at the structure of scottish rugby as it stands it really is no surprise we are in such a mess at senior level.
I have now completed my rant.

well said and agree 100pc. we need more players and we need another pro team.

put the sevens cash into state school rugby and grow playing numbers. target should be to at least double that. eventually cream will rise to top and we will have enough quality players for a 3rd team.

without that we have no chance whatsoever

Just realised that's the 3rd game now in this championship where we haven't scored any 2nd half points.

Grim.

RDW_Scotland wrote:Just realised that's the 3rd game now in this championship where we haven't scored any 2nd half points.

Grim.

A truly worrying trend. It crossed my mind at half time that we probably wouldn't score again. What is going on in the dressing room I wonder.

To try and put some balance to this, we certainly are an inexperienced team - Ireland had 275 more caps then
us yesterday.

Some other stats though - we had 30% possession in the second half, 25 missed tackles and gave away twice as many penalties as Ireland.

Now Ireland should have been penalised at a lot more rucks, but we've been on the wrong side of the ref in every single game.

I don't think I have fully recovered from yesterdays omnishambles, so don't really have the energy for a full diatribe, however....

First off, the national team. I think we need to have a cull of backroom staff. We need a new forwards coach and attacking coach. We also need someone to teach us how to deal with the high ball. SJ has to go, it is obvious he is influencing Cotter. Along with the coaching staff some of the established players need to be thrown out on their ear.
I have said for a long long time, that a lot of the current bunch are more interested in milking their status as a professional rugby player, rather than earning it. (this is where I think Glasgow do well to remind them it is a privilege)
I follow several of the players on twitter and with a couple of exceptions, everything they post is about free Poopie they got and general nonsense. The only player who talks about improvement and extra work is Gordon Reid. The SRU need to take some of the blame as they seem to inflate the players egos as well.

Secondly, I have never been in favour of a third pro team, preferring to put the money into the grassroots level, but I have changed my mind. It is obvious from our showing at the U20 level that we have some good talent coming through and with only 2 team a lot of that will be lost. The academies are getting set up, but where do the players go from there.

Last of all the 7's team has to go, someone mentioned on here a while back, that this doesn't actually cost the SRU any money, as they get some type of sports grant to run it. I don't care. It's just a travelling jamboree and I can't think of many who have made the transition to the full game.

I don't think our focus should be world cups. Lets face it, we're never going to win one in our lifetime, and there's only a very rare chance we'd ever get to a semi final. At best we'd class getting out our group and putting up a good fight in the QF as a success.

So what's the point in focussing all our efforts on that?

I think our focus needs to be on the 6N. There is a chance we could win that in our lifetime, and for me this is a much more meaningful thing to aim for than a world cup QF.

So that means 2017 6N IMO. The likes of Gray, Harley, Strauss, Denton, Ashe, hidalgo-clyne, Russell, Dunbar, Scott, Bennett, Hogg, Seymour will be 30/40/50 cap veterans by then, and other teams will be in a period of transition after world cup retirements.

The only players we're going to see retired by then are Murray, strokosh, Hamilton, Cusiter - big deal.

That's got to be our focus I think.

I disagree I think the SRU need to have another "strategic review" or whatever they call it now and they need to set out a step by step plan to be competing for the World Cup from 2023 onwards or whatever. By 2019 the current crop should be very experienced and very competitive so the semi-finals are a realistic aim. But long term surely targeting 50% if state schools fielding a senior rugby team, a third pro team and winning the Pro12, European cup and six nations by 2023 and then work from there based on where we are. IF they set realistic targets that we could all get behind and believe in rather than grand attention seeking gestures it would work better, remember it took England years of domination in European rugby before they won the World Cup. All their top players had played in the latter stages of club rugby and had won premierships and had won, and lost, six nations. Our top players play one knockout game a year in the pro12 and it took is years to get it right and then they were thrashed in the final. When it counts in pressure games our players don't get it right. But the new rugby Academies have potential if run properly and the u18s and u20s have done very very well this year so let's not give up completely but rather let's have realistic steps based on past successes of other countries rather than this awful approach of targeting the World Cup on the back of 1 six nations win in 10

Confidence must be very low indeed.

I really hope to hell Glasgow finishes strongly in the league and Edinburgh direct all their energies to winning the Challenge Cup because the sport in this country needs a boost desperately.

And where will the Glasgow players' heads be when facing off against Leinster this weekend? Surely they'll be dying to have a crack at them and get some pride back? The likes of Hogg definitely will.

Yeah I hope to god scotland gets a win in at least one of those competitions to take to the World Cup

When you look through our squad, I don't see many players who have won major competitions (perhaps just Maitland and Hamilton..?) unlike Wales, England and Ireland, so our players aren't used to winning pressure matches and competitions. If Glasgow can get over the line in the Pro12 this year, then there will be that experience of winning a major competition and hopefully the realisation that these guys can compete individually with the Irish and Welsh. The same would apply to Edinburgh, but I wouldn't think there would be such a boost as if Glasgow won because the Challenge Cup is a lesser tournament. Until our teams win competitions, there will always be that dearth of a winning mentality. I appreciate it's easier said than done, but Glasgow are certainly capable of winning the Pro12.

I'm a firm believer in developing partnerships and units at club level so I appreciate this is a bit of a wacky idea and I wouldn't support it if I were solely an Edinburgh fan, but it might be worth considering sending Matt Scott through to Glasgow until the end of the season to become accustomed to playing between Bennett and Russell. In turn, I would perhaps look to have Fraser Brown sent through to Edinburgh to work on playing with Nel and Dickinson as that would be my starting front row. This definitely won't happen as neither Glasgow nor Edinburgh would be happy with it, especially given Scott's importance to Edinburgh.

Also from next season onwards, although Alba have been magnificent over the past few years, I'd like to see all the Edinburgh and Glasgow matches on BBC 2 Scotland every weekend (other than those which Sky chooses to show), because we need to grow the profile of the sport to the entire country, particularly children. In addition, Edinburgh really need to drop the prices for their tickets to get more people through the door - let children go in free or whatever. I don't know about Glasgow's pricing strategy but I imagine it's more reasonable than Edinburgh's?

One of our major gripes about the Scotland team of the past few years is that pack is just not good enough. If the SRU are savvy, theyll recognise that our current crop of u20's is the best set of age grade forwards weve had since Richie Gray and Fraser Browns troops also achieved 3 6N victories back in 09. Im not for one second advocating these guys get chucked into the national squad any time soon, but they need to be nurtured far better than many of our youngsters have been in the past, because there are some special players in there. Fagerson, Bradbury and Ritchie are all beginning to make a name for themselves, while the two Glasgow 2nd rows Davidson and Cummings look like they will both become massive units in the coming years. The one player though who I really dont want to see lost to the pro game is Lewis Carmichael. Didnt get picked up on an EDP contract last season most likely because he was tiny for a second row, but hes beginning to fill out and add a bit of bulk. Despite his smaller size, hes been a mainstay of the u20's because hes so good. He may still not end up big enough for a pro level lock, but could be converted to blindside flanker with a bit of work.

I hope Peter Horne's wee brother gets a pro contract because he seems to be the lifeblood of the team. Are there are any highlights of the games against Italy and Ireland?

cakeordeath wrote:I don't think I have fully recovered from yesterdays omnishambles, so don't really have the energy for a full diatribe, however....

First off, the national team. I think we need to have a cull of backroom staff. We need a new forwards coach and attacking coach. We also need someone to teach us how to deal with the high ball. SJ has to go, it is obvious he is influencing Cotter. Along with the coaching staff some of the established players need to be thrown out on their ear.
I have said for a long long time, that a lot of the current bunch are more interested in milking their status as a professional rugby player, rather than earning it. (this is where I think Glasgow do well to remind them it is a privilege)  
I follow several of the players on twitter and with a couple of exceptions, everything they post is about free Poopie they got and general nonsense. The only player who talks about improvement and extra work is Gordon Reid. The SRU need to take some of the blame as they seem to inflate the players egos as well.

Secondly, I have never been in favour of a third pro team, preferring to put the money into the grassroots level, but I have changed my mind. It is obvious from our showing at the U20 level that we have some good talent coming through and with only 2 team a lot of that will be lost. The academies are getting set up, but where do the players go from there.

Last of all the 7's team has to go, someone mentioned on here a while back, that this doesn't actually cost the SRU any money, as they get some type of sports grant to run it. I don't care. It's just a travelling jamboree and I can't think of many who have made the transition to the full game.

I think a 3rd team is needed asap. There is a lot of great talent coming through from the u20s and u18s at the moment and there are also some v good players in prem 1&2 who could all step up.
My big worry is that a lot of this talent will be lost to Scottish rugby due to the high drop out rate once players have been capped at u20. Due to the lack of pro opportunitys players may not get a contract straight away so will have to choose to sticking with rugby in the hope a pro deal comes along or give up on that dream and choose a normal career.
3 of my ex team mates have all been capped at u20s and played in the u20s World Cup in t he last 5 years but all 3 have now all given up playing after becoming dissalusioned about rugby after the way the sru handled them. 2 of them were regarded better talents than 2 current scotland caps and kept them out the starting line up at u20s.
From the current crop guys like George Horne, Magnus Bradbury, Lewis Carmichael, paddy kelly and Many others are all ready to step up and play pro now but many of them won't. The ones who do get contracts probably won't play much rugby for the next couple years and instead spend most of their time in the gym instead. These guys need game time now as it's the only way they will develop and learn.

Talking of the scotland 7s team it has been a waste over the years as it hasn't been run or coached properly. They now have a good coach in place in kitty macrae who is starting to get better results with players like Damian Hoyland, james Johnston, chris dean all flourishing where as with out the 7s they might have also been lost to rugby. Without a 3rd pro team at the moment I think the 7s need to stay and be used to develop the young players coming through.

I think if we're going to do 7s let's do it properly, players who appear to be better suited to 7s should be put on a scheme earlier on otherwise what's the point?

Logistically where would a third pro team play? We had the rights to 4 teams in the Celtic league but whether we still do I don't know, also it the pro13 doesn't have the same ring to it, and let's not pretend we have enough for 4 teams.

Aberdeen should be where a 3rd team plays. Got a large population, financial backers who would support a rugby team, a large rugby fan/enthusiast base already and with some good marketing campaigns and promotion the potential to draw in many more people. There is a very large student population Which could be targeted. There is also very little to do in Aberdeen on a Friday night so it would be welcome entertainment.
Aberdeen rc have already offered pittodrie as a ground share option but if not there Aberdeen grammars ground could be developed into a small stadium either on a temporary or permanent basis. Aberdeenshires ground at Woodside sports complex is also a large area that could host a small stadium. Both are within good distance of the City centre and near good bus routes etc.
In regards to the league size super rugby is an odd number and has 15teams and it works. Teams would get a bye week every now and then which they would welcome as it gives a chance for players to rest up.

Also worth remembering that the Italians might also want a third team, which would make a Pro14

Is there any possibility of and scottish and Irish equivalent of the Anglo-Welsh cup to give our young players more exposure?

Would certainly be a good idea. The Irish provinces "a" teams play in the british and irish cup so don't see why they couldn't stage a tournament between the back up teams of the Irish provinces and the 2 scottish teams using the back up and young players.

Yep the Irish a teams and then Glasgow and edinburgh's a sides as well as two more regional teams could have some forn of league system that plays on Anglo Welsh cup weekends and the odd normal one.

The Aberdeen pro side isn't a bad idea. I think a strengthened link with London Scottish is a better one in the short term. The SRU should try and part fund them or agree to provide a number of EDP players each year. We need more options than we currently have and we need to bring these players through from grass roots. We can't allow the scenario where internationals are in the side because there is nobody else.

"Tom English: Scotland must look back if they are to go forward


By Tom English
BBC Scotland
If it's any consolation - and it almost certainly will not be - then the hangdog expression that has become the symbol of the Scottish rugby team, and all who flail in her, was the same hangdog expression worn by Ireland for a decade and more.

The sense of despair and hopelessness was once Ireland's despair and hopelessness. Those of us who lived, and wrote, through the 1990s across the water still remember what it was like. We still carry the scars.

These are the good times in Irish rugby and they are all the sweeter because the memory of the bad times are still fresh and will never, ever go away.

The Scottish team is on its knees and, in Ireland, they can understand the pain. They've been there.

In the last dozen championships the Scots have won a pitiful total of 12 victories and have finished outside of the bottom two only twice. Here's the comparison. In the dozen years from 1988 to 1999 Ireland won an even more pitiful total of 10 matches.

Ireland went through the coaches with a wearying brutality. The landscape was impossibly bleak. If you'd suggested that better days lay ahead then you'd have been carted away. Nothing good was going to happen. Ever.

Of course, Scotland's numbers would be even worse for Ireland if it wasn't for the Azzurri providing them with semi-regular victories. But Ireland played Italy during their own horrific era - albeit not in championship rugby - and failed dismally in that fixture, too. They once lost to Italy three games in a row, two of them coming in the same year - 1997.
The Irish wing, Simon Geoghegan, once got so frustrated after losing to Scotland (again) that he spoke of the team's lack of hunger and direction in a newspaper interview.
Geoghegan said, sarcastically, that Ireland would be better off playing Zimbabwe every year instead of the Scots, the English, the French and the Welsh. He was disciplined by the Irish Rugby Football Union for speaking his mind. That was the way of it until the clouds broke in 2000 and some light started to peek through the gloom.

Scotland are now where Ireland were round about 1998. They're seventeen years behind the times in one sense, but in another they are an eternity away from matching Ireland's success in Europe (six European Cups) and the Six Nations (a Grand Slam and two championships in the last half-dozen years) and in developing the game beyond the private school system.
In making rugby popular with people who never before cared for it, Ireland has opened up a gap on Scotland that will be nigh on impossible to breach.

When John Hayes, the beloved prop from farming stock in rural Limerick, made his debut against Scotland fifteen years ago he was asked about his background in the sport. He didn't really have one, he said. He only started playing rugby aged 17. He said that if somebody had showed him a rugby ball when he was 16 years old he would have presumed it was a Gaelic football that had been rolled over by a tractor.

Hayes went on to win 100 caps for his country. In understanding how Irish rugby connected with hurling and football communities that were forever off-limits then Hayes is the success story in microcosm.

This is where Scotland have performed abjectly in the professional era. They haven't had a Gaelic Games heartland to target, but even if they had you'd have had no faith in them doing it. The SRU woke up to professionalism years after everybody else. Many years.
Pinning Saturday's humiliation on the current generation of coaches and players is only scratching at the surface. Vern Cotter is a proven coach with a world view and Scotland are lucky to have him, but there are things that can be done in the short-term to make this team better.

Scotland have some fine young players but also a string of bad results. They have pockets of optimism but nothing tangible to show for it. And they are, as Ireland were years ago, still vulnerable to a cricket score when the big boys turn it on, as Paul O'Connell's team did on that tumultuous Saturday.

Up until Saturday, Scotland were winning friends with their ambition, typified by Stuart Hogg and Mark Bennett. All of those feelings have gone now. Ireland brutalised the Scots in the second half at Murrayfield.

When the gun was put to their head in terms of chasing the points total that would win them the championship, O'Connell's boys found extra gears that Scotland didn't even know existed.
They systematically took Scotland apart. Most of this happened up front. At least, that's where it began. Every one-on-one battle was won resoundingly by the visitors. The gulf in class in terms of power and game-awareness and cuteness and leadership and decision-making was acute, especially in the back-row.

This is where Scotland are at. When Greig Laidlaw and Ross Ford left the field, the captaincy appeared to fall to Jonny Gray, a richly promising player, and potential superstar, but a guy who only turned 21 a week ago. It was a tribute to Gray's excellence, but it was also a preposterous thing to ask the young lock to do.

By comparison, Ireland had O'Connell, a former Lions captain making his 101st appearance for his country, and Jamie Heaslip, a Lion, a former Irish captain and the current Leinster captain, making his 72nd appearance. They had Rory Best, the Ulster captain winning his 83rd cap, and Peter O'Mahony, an ex-Munster captain, in there, too. On top of that, they had Rob Kearney, Johnny Sexton and Sean O'Brien, all of whom are terrific leaders in their own way.

Cotter needs to learn a lesson from all of this. His team has played some decent stuff but they are terribly naïve and under-powered. They need some gnarled experience in there, some guys who have been around the block in this game and who know what's what.
Josh Strauss will be in the frame come the World Cup and how Scotland needs his ball-carrying aggression. The back-row needs serious attention. Cotter has jettisoned Kelly Brown and John Barclay but it's time to revert. Sometimes in order to go forward you need to go back.

The seminal game in Ireland's emergence from the doldrums in 2000 was against Scotland. Warren Gatland, then the Irish coach, picked five new caps but he also brought that old warrior, Mick Galwey, back from the wilderness. Galwey hadn't started a game for Ireland in over three years but he was a steadying influence, a cool head amid the young guns who fired the team to victory.

Brown is no has-been. He's 32-years-old, three years younger than O'Connell. And he's playing well for Saracens, one of the pre-eminent teams in England. He was playing blindside on the day Saracens humbled O'Connell's Munster in this season's Champions Cup and soon he'll be playing in the quarter-finals. Scotland needs leadership and dog and Brown still has much to bring to the table.

The same goes for Barclay - another leader, who is playing well for the Scarlets. Blair Cowan has stolen more ball at the breakdown than anybody else in this tournament, but he lacks the kind of nous that Barclay possesses. Cotter spoke about changing the mindset of his team. You would hope that he's now thinking of changing the personnel that might help the process.
Saturday was a shock to Scotland's system, a reminder of how far off the pace they are when the best teams produce their best stuff. Cotter has four warm-up games ahead of the World Cup and these are now vital. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne is a bright attacker but needs more game-time. Cotter shouldn't afford Laidlaw protected status just because he is captain. The Edinburgh scrum-half has got something to offer, no question.

WP Nel will soon qualify for Scotland and demands a chance at tighthead. Cotter is limited in his options, of course, but he was a tough nut as a player and is a tough nut as a coach. Surely the sight of a 21-year-old trying to lead Scotland amid the Irish onslaught will have given him cause to ponder the men he has ignored.

The Kiwi is not responsible for the negligence of the SRU's old guard when the game went professional, but it's his task to try to make it better in the short-term. The World Cup is his sole focus now. He needs to go there with some heavier artillery than he had on Saturday."

Personally, I found this to be an interesting read - it doesn't reveal anything we didn't already know, but at least English is sensible enough not to call for VC's head and instead, make a call for the return of Brown and Barclay.

Sooooooo

While the scotland players head back to their homes to lick their wounds, Kelly Brown is out on the lash celebrating winning the LV cup.

Sigh........

Is there not a certain irony that when we had a group of players struggling due to lack of big game experience the same weekend we had a 32 year old 50+ cap player and the greatest scottish person since William Wallace winning a final?

Also I'm pretty sure Tom English has been reading some of the posts on here

Scotlands players just fell off tackles and lacked the physical intensity to compete. Without these basics the game is lost, by how many depends on how ruthless the opposition are.

Non Scottish fan here, and I'll confess right up to not knowing a massive amount about Scottish players, only the ones I watch in the 6N.

Starting on the very meagre positives with the backs: Bennett looks class, Hogg back to his best, Dunbar also looked a very good player. Russell had a mixed bag, but there's ability there, you need to stick with him, and back him even when he makes mistakes. Players usually take time to settle to Test level rugby, particularly at FH. Seymour also looks a good player. What happened to Matt Scott though? A couple of years ago he looked the real deal, but seems to have gone backwards since.

Laidlaw is a bit of a disaster. SHs usually look better coming off the bench, but not to the extent Hidalgo-Clyne did. Laidlaw actually had a pretty decent first half against England, but that's about it. Service too slow, too ponderous in making decisions, not a great kicking game. Unfortunately him being captain compounds the problem since Cotter will feel reluctant to sub him early on. Get rid.

Lack of depth is a problem obviously (particularly on the wings and at FH). I know there've been a few injuries, but...

Then we get to the forwards, which was pretty much an all-round disaster! Gray's a good player, but that's about it. Not good enough at securing their own ball or slowing opponent ball down/turning it over. Scrum was poor throughout, line-out not much better. Surely there must be better Scottish forwards than that sorry bunch?

Overall Scotland started by arguably losing two games they should have won (particularly the Wales one), which I guess you could see as a mild positive if you're a glass-half-full type person. From thereon in though, the campaign was an unmitigated disaster, rounded off with a second-half performance against Ireland that was nothing short of embarassing...

That was the most depressing 40 minutes of rugby I have ever had the mis-pleasure of sitting through.  Utter, total crap - no plan A,  no plan B .   Feckin nothing.   I was so feckin angry the wee Irish guy next to me nearly got lidded.   I apologised and bought him a crappy pint of Best.

if Hamilton, Laidlaw, Fife or Ford ever get another game for Scotland it will be a complete disgrace.  I will excuse Scott (a bit) as he is clearly overrated but also not fit - he was garbage though !   I feel a wee bit sorry for Fife as he is basically just not got it, but the other 3 !  Senior players my erse.   Feckin diddys !  And to hear that crawling wee, thick besterd Frodo at the press conference.  Dire !

Pathetic and rubbish Cotter - do something !  Start with crawling on your hands and knees to K Brown and J Barclay - although I believe Barcs would tell you to stick it up your huge erse.   Who would blame him ? Get rid of Humphreys, the Italian fella (Ciutitta ?) and most importantly the charlatan, imposter-in chief Johnston. All utterly useless and incompetent.

Mad for Chelsea wrote:Non Scottish fan here, and I'll confess right up to not knowing a massive amount about Scottish players, only the ones I watch in the 6N.

Starting on the very meagre positives with the backs: Bennett looks class, Hogg back to his best, Dunbar also looked a very good player. Russell had a mixed bag, but there's ability there, you need to stick with him, and back him even when he makes mistakes. Players usually take time to settle to Test level rugby, particularly at FH. Seymour also looks a good player. What happened to Matt Scott though? A couple of years ago he looked the real deal, but seems to have gone backwards since.

Laidlaw is a bit of a disaster. SHs usually look better coming off the bench, but not to the extent Hidalgo-Clyne did. Laidlaw actually had a pretty decent first half against England, but that's about it. Service too slow, too ponderous in making decisions, not a great kicking game. Unfortunately him being captain compounds the problem since Cotter will feel reluctant to sub him early on. Get rid.

Lack of depth is a problem obviously (particularly on the wings and at FH). I know there've been a few injuries, but...

Then we get to the forwards, which was pretty much an all-round disaster! Gray's a good player, but that's about it. Not good enough at securing their own ball or slowing opponent ball down/turning it over. Scrum was poor throughout, line-out not much better. Surely there must be better Scottish forwards than that sorry bunch?

Overall Scotland started by arguably losing two games they should have won (particularly the Wales one), which I guess you could see as a mild positive if you're a glass-half-full type person. From thereon in though, the campaign was an unmitigated disaster, rounded off with a second-half performance against Ireland that was nothing short of embarassing...

For someone who confesses to not watching a lot of Scottish rugby, you've hit the nail on the head!! The only people who can't see our issues seems to be the SRU. Regarding Matt Scott, he's just constantly injured - there's been a shoulder injury, a hand injury and a few muscle injuries I think, so his development has stalled somewhat. Our forwards have been completely ineffective - the only thing I would disagree with you about is your comment about the lineout, which has been fine this 6N (other than defending an opposition's maul) - not that that is anything to be proud of. But otherwise, you're absolutely spot on.

The SRU seem lost in the belief that Scotland's failure is the fault of everyone but themselves; the fact we produce fewer lions than anyone else seems to bother them very little. We need more players playing better rugby at the highest level possible. That means engaging States schools, investing in the club game, facilitating matches between the top youth sides and more pro sides.

Even though it is not normal to make wholescale changes to a squad in a run up to the World Cup - I think it is time to throw out the bath water - and maybe the baby as well and bring in the young guns - we have experienced players that have failed to delivery ofr 10 years, so lets bring fresh people in who are excited to play and have not been totally found out



15 Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors) =Keep
14 Dougie Fife (Edinburgh Rugby) - Gone
13 Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors) - Keep
12 Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby) - Get form - Keep
11 Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) -Keep
10 Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors) - Keep
09 Greig Laidlaw (Gloucester) - Gone - gone gone

01 Ryan Grant (Glasgow Warriors) - NEeds to find form - otherwise gone
02 Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby) -GONE GONE GONE
03 Euan Murray (Glasgow Warriors) - Gone
04 Jim Hamilton (Saracens) -Gone
05 Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors) -Keep
06 Adam Ashe (Glasgow Warriors) - Keep
07 Blair Cowan (London Irish) - Put on the naughty step
08 David Denton (Edinburgh Rugby) - Keep

16 Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors) - Keep
17 Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby) - GOne
18 Geoff Cross (London Irish) = Gone
19 Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors) - Gone
20 Rob Harley (Glasgow Warriors) - Needs form
21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh Rugby) - Keep, promote and pay more
22 Greig Tonks (Edinburgh Rugby) - Keep
23 Tim Visser (Edinburgh Rugby)- GONE

Having just watched the programme on bbc2 about the great six nations moments one of the most obvious things for me is how soft the current team are compared to the team of the early 90s. I'm not talking about throwing punches but just having a bit of aggression and really making the opposition know you are there and up for a physical game!
Too many of the current team have had an easy ride to where they have got to! A lot of the players need to realise how lucky they are to be in the position they are. There are lots of good players who are playing or have played who are just as good but these guys have been lucky enough to get the contract.
For some of them it makes them think they have made it already because they are getting free cars etc and getting paid to promote a watch or something similar.

Our pack is Poopie at the moment but I'm not too worried Our second rows are decent especially when Richie gray and gilchrist are around, the back row has the likes of brown and Barclay to come back when vern sees sense, and Denton is by no means a bad player. Grant is a lion and a very good player on form and wp nel is a strong player.
Also looking to the future Darcy Rae and fagerson look as though they'll have strong futures, as does Magnus Bradbury.

Anybody in Scotland watch Sport XV programme on BBC2 at 2200?

Scottish Shaun wrote:Anybody in Scotland watch Sport XV programme on BBC2 at 2200?

o

Watched it on iplayer. Tom English talks a lot of sense & I agree pretty much 100% with his World Cup team.
A back row of Brown, Barclay & Strauss
Also damn, I'd forgotten how awesome Dan Parks accent is!

Common sense from Vern in this Hootsmon article from Stuart Bathgate:

VERN Cotter has insisted he is here for the long haul as he plans to rebuild Scotland’s confidence in the build-up to this year’s Rugby World Cup.

The national coach was again left deeply frustrated as his team lost a fifth match in succession on Saturday, going down 40-10 to Six Nations champions Ireland. But he denied a report that he would use a break clause in his contract to return to club rugby in France, and said he was sure that Scotland’s many failings could be dealt with once the squad get into their pre-World-Cup camp.

“That one took me by surprise,” Cotter said when asked about the claim that Bordeaux would sign him this summer, barely a year after he took over as head coach at Murrayfield. “No, no. I have the World Cup. The Six Nations after that. I am not aware of any contact whatsoever with anybody else.

“I didn’t have to come here. I keep repeating that. Today is enormously frustrating, but I really want to get back to winning and developing and seeing these guys developing.

“All we need to keep doing is develop what we’re doing. Defensively we need to improve. And once we have the ball we have to keep the ball.”

Scotland again played some positive rugby against the Irish, as they had done in parts of their previous defeats. But Cotter said that his team need to learn when to play with adventure, and when to retain possession and patiently go through the phases – something in which the Irish delivered a master plan.

“If we can condition ourselves to play with intensity and take away the errors, I feel we can dominate start to finish against good teams. If we do the simple things well, we’ll be fine.

“There has to be a shift in the way we support the game. We have to understand games are built. They are constructed from one lineout to another. From one phase to another.

“It goes for 80 minutes and that has to be managed and understood as a group. As soon as we lose a little bit of confidence we end up playing catch-up rugby. Catch-up rugby is not constructive rugby.”

Scotland have four warm-up games before the World Cup, against Ireland, Italy twice and France. While they will hope to regain the winning habit in that round of matches in August, Cotter suggested that the training camp was where the squad could collectively rediscover their form.

“We’ve just had a Six Nations which is not quite the same as a World Cup. We get to work with the players for three months before we go into the World Cup. There will be scenarios that we can perform. There are so many simple things.

“It’s been a bad championship. Absolutely. These are things in front of us and we have to address them.

“There was a loss of momentum. We were unable to keep the same team on the paddock. We missed players at the start of the competition – David Denton was not available, Adam Ashe.

Alex Dunbar, Richie Gray, Sean Lamont,” he continued, naming just three of the players who became unavailable during the tournament because of injury.

“We lost Finn Russell for a game as well. They are major losses to us. There are no two ways about it. Richie Gray is an international lock and playing with his brother adds to that cohesion.”

Captain Greig Laidlaw agreed that a long time together in camp is exactly what he and his team-mates need. “Things can be fixed by [the World Cup],” the scrum-half said. “We have more time together by then and that time will be very, very precious indeed.

“We’ll spend time with Vern and the rest of the coaches. Then we have four games leading into the World Cup and we will have precious, precious time together and build.”

Stand-off Finn Russell, who scored his first professional try against Ireland, is also convinced that the team can bounce back from the humiliation of taking the Wooden Spoon. “We have six months to the World Cup,” the Glasgow playmaker said.

“The boys will be back at their clubs this week and it will be a case of week on week individuals working on what they need to work on, tidying wee things up. It’s not far off. It’s just small mistakes that are costing us games.

“Pre-season will be good for the team. It’s still a young team that has not played with each other that much. We’re going to get a solid month and a half pre-season all together, and we’re going to know what we’re we doing and have great team bonding.

“We have time off now until the summer. We need to get better as individuals and a team. The only way to do that is to get the feedback from the coaches and it’s then up to the individual players to go away to club level and work on these things and come back into the pre-season as a better team.

“It will come. The pre-season will be good for us. We’ll get the team really tight and go into the World Cup knowing exactly what we are going to do.”

The return of several players to club action could be delayed because of injuries sustained against Ireland.

Loosehead prop Ryan Grant will need to rest an injured knee, which at present does not look like it will need surgery. Tighthead Euan Murray injured a nose and was concussed, and is now subject to the return-to-play protocol.

Centre Mark Bennett took a head knock and will only be allowed to return to play once he has completed the protocol for head injury assessment. Dougie Fife needed stitches in a cut nose during the first half, but was able to return to the field.

Mad for Chelsea wrote:Non Scottish fan here, and I'll confess right up to not knowing a massive amount about Scottish players, only the ones I watch in the 6N.

Starting on the very meagre positives with the backs: Bennett looks class, Hogg back to his best, Dunbar also looked a very good player. Russell had a mixed bag, but there's ability there, you need to stick with him, and back him even when he makes mistakes. Players usually take time to settle to Test level rugby, particularly at FH. Seymour also looks a good player. What happened to Matt Scott though? A couple of years ago he looked the real deal, but seems to have gone backwards since.

Laidlaw is a bit of a disaster. SHs usually look better coming off the bench, but not to the extent Hidalgo-Clyne did. Laidlaw actually had a pretty decent first half against England, but that's about it. Service too slow, too ponderous in making decisions, not a great kicking game. Unfortunately him being captain compounds the problem since Cotter will feel reluctant to sub him early on. Get rid.

Lack of depth is a problem obviously (particularly on the wings and at FH). I know there've been a few injuries, but...

Then we get to the forwards, which was pretty much an all-round disaster! Gray's a good player, but that's about it. Not good enough at securing their own ball or slowing opponent ball down/turning it over. Scrum was poor throughout, line-out not much better. Surely there must be better Scottish forwards than that sorry bunch?

Overall Scotland started by arguably losing two games they should have won (particularly the Wales one), which I guess you could see as a mild positive if you're a glass-half-full type person. From thereon in though, the campaign was an unmitigated disaster, rounded off with a second-half performance against Ireland that was nothing short of embarassing...

Agree with all of this, Chelsea.

In these posts suggesting we make sweeping culls of half our playing pool can we make a couple of suggestions as to who should replace them?

If you are suggesting getting rid of guys like Visser, Ford, Cowan, Harley etc then I have to think there must be dozens of Scottish rugby players that I have never noticed.

Who is our 3rd best winger if it is not Visser? Fife? Lamont? Half of the posts suggest putting them to sleep as well so who is next in the queue?

At hooker, I'm all for playing Fraser Brown but if we drop Ford out the 23, who comes in? MacArthur? MacInally? These guys look out their depth at Pro12 level so we suggest playing them in a world cup?!

We talk of dropping Hamilton & Swinson but with Gilchrist & Gray injured that means starting Toolis (completely untried) with an un-named other on the bench. Who are these other players?

I agree there are positions where we do have decent depth and the changes are not being made (scrum half) and I am also bitterly frustrated that Brown & Barclay are being ignored but until guys in the u20s play a few games in Pro12 and are ready for the step up we are stuck with the Fords and the Vissers of this world and need to work with the players we have available.

Some of this pish being spouted on this forum is incredible at the moment.

Weegie Wizard wrote:In these posts suggesting we make sweeping culls of half our playing pool can we make a couple of suggestions as to who should replace them?

If you are suggesting getting rid of guys like Visser, Ford, Cowan, Harley etc then I have to think there must be dozens of Scottish rugby players that I have never noticed.

Who is our 3rd best winger if it is not Visser? Fife? Lamont? Half of the posts suggest putting them to sleep as well so who is next in the queue?

At hooker, I'm all for playing Fraser Brown but if we drop Ford out the 23, who comes in? MacArthur? MacInally? These guys look out their depth at Pro12 level so we suggest playing them in a world cup?!

We talk of dropping Hamilton & Swinson but with Gilchrist & Gray injured that means starting Toolis (completely untried) with an un-named other on the bench. Who are these other players?

I agree there are positions where we do have decent depth and the changes are not being made (scrum half) and I am also bitterly frustrated that Brown & Barclay are being ignored but until guys in the u20s play a few games in Pro12 and are ready for the step up we are stuck with the Fords and the Vissers of this world and need to work with the players we have available.

Agree with all this. Also worth noting that bringing Brown and Barclay back won't suddenly make all the difference - I certainly think it would help, but these guys haven't had much success for Scotland either.

We are certainly needing leadership though - I think Brown should be on the bench at least.

Riskysports wrote:Even though it is not normal to make wholescale changes to a squad in a run up to the World Cup - I think it is time to throw out the bath water - and maybe the baby as well and bring in the young guns - we have experienced players that have failed to delivery ofr 10 years, so lets bring fresh people in who are excited to play and have not been totally found out



15 Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors) =Keep
14 Dougie Fife (Edinburgh Rugby) - Gone
13 Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors) - Keep
12 Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby) - Get form - Keep
11 Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) -Keep
10 Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors) - Keep
09 Greig Laidlaw (Gloucester) - Gone - gone gone

01 Ryan Grant (Glasgow Warriors) - NEeds to find form - otherwise gone
02 Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby) -GONE GONE GONE
03 Euan Murray (Glasgow Warriors) - Gone
04 Jim Hamilton (Saracens) -Gone
05 Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors) -Keep
06 Adam Ashe (Glasgow Warriors) - Keep
07 Blair Cowan (London Irish) - Put on the naughty step
08 David Denton (Edinburgh Rugby) - Keep

16 Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors) - Keep
17 Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby) - GOne
18 Geoff Cross (London Irish) = Gone
19 Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors) - Gone
20 Rob Harley (Glasgow Warriors) - Needs form
21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh Rugby) - Keep, promote and pay more
22 Greig Tonks (Edinburgh Rugby) - Keep
23 Tim Visser (Edinburgh Rugby)- GONE

Some of these I agree with but some I can't see how you can dump them as there are no replacements ready!

Dougie Fyfe needs booted and you could repalce him with Maitland (who by the way isn't scoring tires this year and I'm pretty sure wouldn't have made any difference to the outcomes of any of the matches in the 6Ns)
Big Jim needs to be put out to pasture! At least with Gray/Gray and Gilchirst, we have better options!
Tim Visser though! Who should repalce him? He's missing form but this is due to Edinburgh's kick chase tactic! His move next season could get him going again!
Grant/Dickenson, Ford, Murray and Cross - You want them all booted, but who would you put in there instead?

You also seem to be giving some players a chance but not others!

You say Harley needs to find form! Harley has never been a spectacular player for Scotland and this year he has been utterly dire! Maybe he is just a good club player can't pick up the intesity of international rugby? Why should he be given the benefit of the doubt where Ford isn't? In the AIs Ford was one of our best players!

Currently I am an advocate of kicking out the coaching staff that Vern inherited, let him get in his own guys and see what can be done!

Then, if we are still shocking, then start booting out players and even start handing out caps to guys in the premiership as they couldn't do much worse than we are at the moment!

I actually think that our (us, Scotland fans) biggest problem is that we have totally unrealistic expectations because we now have about 60% of a team made up of genuinely very good players. What we are forgetting is that the other 40% is made up of the same players that have been taking an annual pumping from everyone.

The likes of Hamilton, Laidlaw, Ford, Murray will need to be dropped only when we have someone of a similar standard coming through. Thankfully, I think we see at the pro sides that there is a group who might make the step up - Alex Allan, Sutherland, Toolis, Fagerson, Sam H-C etc etc but only 1 or 2 of these guys are anywhere near ready yet. It will be at least 2/3 years until we can rely on them at this level.

Once that happens, we might be really good. Until it does, we probably won't be.

Laidlaw is getting a lot of stick here. It's fair enough, I suppose.

It is quite hard to criticize though when his forwards are going backwards. We got destroyed up front. A lot of the blame has to be carried by the tight 5 who were drivel in every scrum and the backrow who were dominated at every breakdown.

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:Laidlaw is getting a lot of stick here. It's fair enough, I suppose.

It is quite hard to criticize though when his forwards are going backwards. We got destroyed up front. A lot of the blame has to be carried by the tight 5 who were drivel in every scrum and the backrow who were dominated at every breakdown.

I hear that argument, but what a difference Hidalgo-Clyne has made whenever he's come on. I know a 9 coming off the bench always looks better, but his speed of pass is staggering, his sniping kept the defence honest and he doesn't go to a ruck, stand up, take a couple of steps then pass it.

I have been one of the biggest voices of support of Laidlaw over the past few years, but his position really is untenable.

tigertattie wrote:

Riskysports wrote:Even though it is not normal to make wholescale changes to a squad in a run up to the World Cup - I think it is time to throw out the bath water - and maybe the baby as well and bring in the young guns - we have experienced players that have failed to delivery ofr 10 years, so lets bring fresh people in who are excited to play and have not been totally found out



15 Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors) =Keep
14 Dougie Fife (Edinburgh Rugby) - Gone
13 Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors) - Keep
12 Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby) - Get form - Keep
11 Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) -Keep
10 Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors) - Keep
09 Greig Laidlaw (Gloucester) - Gone - gone gone

01 Ryan Grant (Glasgow Warriors) - NEeds to find form - otherwise gone
02 Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby) -GONE GONE GONE
03 Euan Murray (Glasgow Warriors) - Gone
04 Jim Hamilton (Saracens) -Gone
05 Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors) -Keep
06 Adam Ashe (Glasgow Warriors) - Keep
07 Blair Cowan (London Irish) - Put on the naughty step
08 David Denton (Edinburgh Rugby) - Keep

16 Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors) - Keep
17 Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby) - GOne
18 Geoff Cross (London Irish) = Gone
19 Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors) - Gone
20 Rob Harley (Glasgow Warriors) - Needs form
21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh Rugby) - Keep, promote and pay more
22 Greig Tonks (Edinburgh Rugby) - Keep
23 Tim Visser (Edinburgh Rugby)- GONE

Some of these I agree with but some I can't see how you can dump them as there are no replacements ready!

Dougie Fyfe needs booted and you could repalce him with Maitland (who by the way isn't scoring tires this year and I'm pretty sure wouldn't have made any difference to the outcomes of any of the matches in the 6Ns)
Big Jim needs to be put out to pasture! At least with Gray/Gray and Gilchirst, we have better options!
Tim Visser though! Who should repalce him? He's missing form but this is due to Edinburgh's kick chase tactic! His move next season could get him going again!
Grant/Dickenson, Ford, Murray and Cross - You want them all booted, but who would you put in there instead?

You also seem to be giving some players a chance but not others!

You say Harley needs to find form! Harley has never been a spectacular player for Scotland and this year he has been utterly dire! Maybe he is just a good club player can't pick up the intesity of international rugby? Why should he be given the benefit of the doubt where Ford isn't? In the AIs Ford was one of our best players!

Currently I am an advocate of kicking out the coaching staff that Vern inherited, let him get in his own guys and see what can be done!

Then, if we are still shocking, then start booting out players and even start handing out caps to guys in the premiership as they couldn't do much worse than we are at the moment!

No, no and no

I totally think it is time to do a clean sweep -

We have players that expect to lose and seem to think it is ok.

Ford has had his chance. He is a perpetual loser and I am fed up seeing his smiling laughing mug before and after each game - he does not seem to care -

I would prefer to throw in some youngesters, let them play with freedom and adventure and even if we lost - it would be better than the total lazy, capitualation cra..p we have seen for the last 10 years

THESE Players are part of the problem and we have had 10 years of making excuses for them and making them undropable.

It is time to throw the wailing, spoiled baby out with the bath water - because that baby has shi...t in the water and it is is poisoned

newer players Like Visser and fife, can have a chance to re-find form and earn their place again

But too many have had too many chances

I really don't care if no one agrees with me :-) but I have had enough

I am selling my world cup tickets and taking a break from watching international rugby - as this team does no deserve my time

Glasgow and Edinburgh will now get my full attention

(BTW - Grant and Dickinson - I was hasty :-) )

I think we're all in agreement that the squad needs tweaking ahead of the World Cup, a number of players clearly aren't up to the required standards.
In his post match comments Cotter speaks about the three month training camp ahead of the WC where he'll be able to address the team's shortcomings in mindset etc etc, worryingly Laidlaw concurs and says that's just what's required. My feeling is that no player should take their World Cup place for granted, especially not Laidlaw given his generally poor play.
There are widespread calls for the recall of Brown and Barclay and some (on form) experience in the forwards would no doubt help us currently, I wonder if Hines might fancy a World Cup swansong?
I would also look to integrate a large number of the current U20s in the squad training camps as this can only help speed their development and improve our choice of available players. Who knows ,some of them might even show up the senior squad incumbents and make them raise their game?
Iain Morrison is mentioning the U18 stand-off Blair Kinghorn as being one to watch and, with several alternatives out with long term injuries, then Rory Hutchison of the U20s should be training with the senior squad as well now.
We may well have to unearth a SQ player or two (in addition to Nel and Strauss) in the next few months as well to improve certain positions in the squad. We're certainly short of wing options amongst others.
I think the lack of A team fixtures this season was a big missed opportunity to develop players capable of stepping up.