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

Tode, don't you diss Essex. You're well jel that's what it is.

I was in Basildon last week, took young Pipetto to the cinema: I can highly recommend "Tomorrowland", and we passed an Indian take away called Basil Spice. What's not to love?

jimbopip wrote:I saw this in an article about "the most valuable players in your world cup squad"

Finn Russell: It seems crazy that a 22-year-old with less than a year's Test experience can crack this list, but the in-form Russell will be crucial to Scotland's chances. As he's shown for Glasgow this season, Russell's crisp passing game is vital for a team that want to play with ambition. His back-up for both club and country, Duncan Weir, offers a completely different skill-set and would force Vern Cotter to overhaul his game plan if Russell were absent.

If Jamesie Cotter goes along with the last sentence then that would presumably put Meatball and Greg "I'm a 15, no a 10, well I can play 12" Tonks out of the running. The logical thing would be to have Jackson, if fit, and Furra Linee as second and third choice 10's.
This is of course predicated on the assumption that Jamesie C wants Scotland to emulate Glasgow's style of play. (And why wouldn't he as most of the backs will be from the league champions?)

Sorry to drag us back to rugby but someone had to.

Stops the clocks. We are in complete agreement!

funnyExiledScot wrote:

jimbopip wrote:I saw this in an article about "the most valuable players in your world cup squad"

Finn Russell: It seems crazy that a 22-year-old with less than a year's Test experience can crack this list, but the in-form Russell will be crucial to Scotland's chances. As he's shown for Glasgow this season, Russell's crisp passing game is vital for a team that want to play with ambition. His back-up for both club and country, Duncan Weir, offers a completely different skill-set and would force Vern Cotter to overhaul his game plan if Russell were absent.

If Jamesie Cotter goes along with the last sentence then that would presumably put Meatball and Greg "I'm a 15, no a 10, well I can play 12" Tonks out of the running. The logical thing would be to have Jackson, if fit, and Furra Linee as second and third choice 10's.
This is of course predicated on the assumption that Jamesie C wants Scotland to emulate Glasgow's style of play. (And why wouldn't he as most of the backs will be from the league champions?)

Sorry to drag us back to rugby but someone had to.

Stops the clocks. We are in complete agreement!

Come over to the dark side young Jedi.

But would you have Maitland the try machine as back up 15, because this puts Tonks' coat on a distinctly shoogly peg.

Anyone who thinks Horne should be considered to play in any position in any world cup match, please remove yourself form this forum

Thank you

Horne is the new De Luca. Great pro12 player, but the sausage ups in a scotland shirt are building up fast.

The criticism of Horne is a bit unjustified. He was shoved in at 10 which isn't his normal position and has had a significant injury recently. To be playing at the level he is surely should be commended.

He really plays well for Glasgow and fits their style of play excellently. He complements Russell and his kicking is pretty decent actually. He's also linked well with Vernon and hasn't been a noticeable revolving door. Bear in mind Mark Bennett is 89kg (Horne is over 90kg) and nobody is complaining about him. Hopefully Horne and Tonks could be considered as Matt Giteau-esque players at 12?

We're not going to out-muscle South Africa or Samoa - if we try and copy them we can only be second best - so why not play a creative team that aims to exploit space and exploit any mismatches?

Nematode wrote:The criticism of Horne is a bit unjustified. He was shoved in at 10 which isn't his normal position and has had a significant injury recently. To be playing at the level he is surely should be commended.

He really plays well for Glasgow and fits their style of play excellently. He complements Russell and his kicking is pretty decent actually. He's also linked well with Vernon and hasn't been a noticeable revolving door. Bear in mind Mark Bennett is 89kg (Horne is over 90kg) and nobody is complaining about him. Hopefully Horne and Tonks could be considered as Matt Giteau-esque players at 12?

We're not going to out-muscle South Africa or Samoa - if we try and copy them we can only be second best - so why not play a creative team that aims to exploit space and exploit any mismatches?

Im not talking about that game, where I actually thought he was alright for 79 minutes, im talking about the revolving door defence and poor decision making ball in hand that has been the tale of his caps so far.

jimbopip wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:

jimbopip wrote:I saw this in an article about "the most valuable players in your world cup squad"

Finn Russell: It seems crazy that a 22-year-old with less than a year's Test experience can crack this list, but the in-form Russell will be crucial to Scotland's chances. As he's shown for Glasgow this season, Russell's crisp passing game is vital for a team that want to play with ambition. His back-up for both club and country, Duncan Weir, offers a completely different skill-set and would force Vern Cotter to overhaul his game plan if Russell were absent.

If Jamesie Cotter goes along with the last sentence then that would presumably put Meatball and Greg "I'm a 15, no a 10, well I can play 12" Tonks out of the running. The logical thing would be to have Jackson, if fit, and Furra Linee as second and third choice 10's.
This is of course predicated on the assumption that Jamesie C wants Scotland to emulate Glasgow's style of play. (And why wouldn't he as most of the backs will be from the league champions?)

Sorry to drag us back to rugby but someone had to.

Stops the clocks. We are in complete agreement!

Come over to the dark side young Jedi.

But would you have Maitland the try machine as back up 15, because this puts Tonks' coat on a distinctly shoogly peg.

Yes, Maitland would be first choice back-up at 15 with Horne covering if needed. Clearly Hogg is going to play every minute of the big games in that position.

I don't think Tonks will make the final cut unless Cotter decide he's good enough to go as second choice 10, which would be a big gamble.

The real danger for Horne not making it is if Dunbar, Scott, Bennett and Taylor are all fit. If they are then his utility to play 10 or 12 is rather lost, as he'd be being picked solely as a 10. In that scenario there may be more virtue in taking Tonks, as his ability to cover 15 would be more useful.

The worst case scenario is Duncan Weir. I really thought he was going to emerge as the long term solution, but he has not impressed at all this season or in a Scotland jersey previously.

Duncan Weir = Matthew LeTissier.

If you know what I mean.

You can hardly criticise Weir for this year, he's barely been fit as has Jackson. The difference is that Weir seems to have become, by public consensus, a very poor player whereas Jackson has got better. Let's not forget for two seasons Weir was considered ahead of Jackson at Scotland and Glasgow before Russell arrived. The danger is I feel Weir is a player who needs a run of games which he'll never get now as he seems Glasgow through and through and Russell has the shirt nailed.

tigertattie wrote:Anyone who thinks Horne should be considered to play in any position in any world cup match, please remove yourself form this forum

Thank you

Erm, no. I don't think I will.

Me neither, if that's all right.

GC, Matt LeTissier will be remembered as a player who possessed sublime skills but had periods of anonymity during too many matches .
In that sense
Rhuaridh Jackson = Matt LeTissier

Duncan Weir = Paul Grayson

Jade Te Rure = Larry Grayson

My first University of Southampton Law Society Christmas ball was in the Matt LeTissier suite at St Mary's Stadium, so... you know... there's that.

If I recall, the quiche bites had been reheated a week before the event itself, the DJ had just been released from prison and was desperately looking for someone to represent him for a 'falling down the stairs incident' in the solitary wing, and I spent the entire night trying to avoid a girl who drank pints and wore a tattoo that said "Live Every Day Like Its [sic] you're [sic] last".

So was that the first time you met the good Lady Schiz?
And does ASBO still have the decks?

Interesting to see Roy Laidlaw being interviewed in the Hootsmon saying that he thinks 4 warm up games is too many and that 2 would actually do.

I would ordinarily agree with the great man but I think that a large number of games is more to the detriment of teams who already have strong and established combinations nailed on. We don't have that sort of certainty and whilst I appreciate the risk of injury, I really think that we need to try combinations (especially loose forward ones) and give some of the long term injured a chance to come back. I understand Vern needing to show faith with that shower of donkeys who tanked in the 6 Nations, but I am now hoping that all bets are off and Vern will chop and change as he pleases.

How will the Mighty Rhubarb be playing now when he hasn't struck a blow since last September? Who can prop at tighthead these days? Is Matt Scott even able to walk upright? That's exactly what these games are for. And I'm hoping Sam Clyne gets a full 80 minutes in at least one of these games.

Yes, if Jamesie is being straight (as opposed to Rab C's straight man) then he will allow all the players who have a genuine chance to make the squad at least 80 minutes to press their claims. None of your Clive Woodward with the Lions nonsense.

At scrum-half we have four in the squad. My own ranking in order of preference would be; Samwise, Henners, Cooseater THEN and only as a last resort Frodo the Ponderous. But four warm up games would allow everyone a chance to play for a meaningful length of time.
Similarly at 10.We need three. We need to give Ruaridh a couple of games (or large chunks of) to see if he is match fit. Do we use one game to see if the whole team can be effective playing Plan B with Meatball at 10? My gut feeling is that either Furra Linee (league champion) or Tonks (I'll bring my own shower gel) will go as "utility back". So one game where they play a half each.
So games one and two: Ruaridh, mainly.
Game three: Meatball mainly.
Game four: Furra Linee and that fellow from the Luvvies who doesn't really have a position to call his own.
Dancer wrapped in cotton wool and told not to bother with any of that tackling nonsense until the real stuff starts.

Also, GC has it right in terms of the back row. I think Strokes is too similar to Harley so wont make it. But that still gives us; Harley, Batman, Bluto, Ashe and Dozer to play six.
Similarly we have four 7's in the squad. This way they can get a game each. Then we give the jersey to John Barclay.

No, four warm up games seems fair to the players. However, it does increase the chances of injury.

Players get injured in training at the end of the day, it is just something that has to be dealt with. Baring FH, at least we have some degree of cover throughout the squad!

I think Ruaridh Jackson style of play would fit right in to Toonie's Warriors.  remember he spent most of his time paying for Sir Sean Lineen's Mean Machine Warriors - stuffy and hard to beat but ultimately not very expansive.   Still think he is a bloody good FH.

Which marketing monster though inviting a player who was cruelly overlooked from the World Cup squad along on the trophy tour was a sensible idea?





Poor Kelly

The guy is a pro. Probably sitting at home looking at his Jeff winners medal and throwing darts at pictures of Strokosch and Blake.

Has anyone see the Blake guy play a game yet? He had better be at least as good as Richie McCaw !

21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:Has anyone see the Blake guy play a game yet?  He had better be at least as good as Richie McCaw !

His one and only appearance for Edinburgh was the win at home against the Ospreys.

He was OK - nothing special, nothing bad!

Other than that the only time you could have seen him was at the Melrose 7s for Glasgow and I think he's played for Scotland 7s too.

21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:Has anyone see the Blake guy play a game yet?  He had better be at least as good as Richie McCaw !

He will be once he puts on a Glasgow shirt. The leadership will seep from his pores.....

Blake looked good on the international 7s circuit.
Then again, how he played wasn't the point of him playing.
The idea was to tie him to Scotland forever on the wafer thin premise of experimentation.

I think you are all being a bit harsh on Blake, he is a young kid who the coaches clearly feel has a lot of potential. Lets just give him a chance to play and develop. I have a feeling that in a few years time we will be very happy with him and the Edinburgh fans will feel that they have let another one go!

Talking of Blake, apparently he was the last forward standing at the fitness tests during the first training session today. The best front rower was McInally and the best 2nd row was Hamilton

Weegie Wizard wrote:Talking of Blake, apparently he was the last forward standing at the fitness tests during the first training session today. The best front rower was McInally and the best 2nd row was Hamilton

Blake was the same in the 6N fitness tests - he's obviously very fit! That doesn't mean you're an international class 7 on it's own of course.

Weegie Wizard wrote:Talking of Blake, apparently he was the last forward standing at the fitness tests during the first training session today. The best front rower was McInally and the best 2nd row was Hamilton

I suspect the start line was also the finish line, and Hamilton just didn't move.

funnyExiledScot wrote:

Weegie Wizard wrote:Talking of Blake, apparently he was the last forward standing at the fitness tests during the first training session today. The best front rower was McInally and the best 2nd row was Hamilton

I suspect the start line was also the finish line, and Hamilton just didn't move.

surely they need to calibrate the machine if Hammy is winning fitness tests!

Or Hamilton just threatened to hospitalise the 9 stone bloke with spectacles and a limp who was administering the test.

Unless the speed test was, "quickest to get a yellow".

jimbopip wrote:Unless the speed test was, "quickest to get a yellow".

You win the internet today.

Aw shucks George.

Wow, big Vern leaving no stone unturned

DM reporter wrote:Vern Cotter to bring in trained hostage negotiator Eric Blondeau to help players make big decisions under pressure during the World Cup. Blondeau worked in hostage negotiations with GIGN, the French equivalent of the SAS and will work with players this week

Training should be fun this week!

123456789 wrote:You can hardly criticise Weir for this year, he's barely been fit as has Jackson. The difference is that Weir seems to have become, by public consensus, a very poor player whereas Jackson has got better. Let's not forget for two seasons Weir was considered ahead of Jackson at Scotland and Glasgow before Russell arrived. The danger is I feel Weir is a player who needs a run of games which he'll never get now as he seems Glasgow through and through and Russell has the shirt nailed.

I agree. Weir needs to play a season as a regular starter somewhere. Jackson is not the answer. We know who he is and he doesn't quite cut it at international level. I'd rather have Horne or Tonks as back up to Russell unless Weir finds some confidence / form from somewhere. Weir is a better if different player to Jackson but woefully short of form and gametime.

Question - do teams really need 100 days together to prepare for the world cup before the first game? That's almost 1/3 of a year!

Do they stay together the whole time, or reckon they'll get some time off?

You don't want everone falling out with each other having spent so long in each other's company!

It seems to be the standard for northern hemisphere teams in preparation for the World cup. It does seem a little bit excessive especially when some of the players have only had two weeks off.

They will be together for the majority of that time although they will get another couple weeks off in mid july I think.

Does it put the Southern Hemisphere teams at a disadvantage not having as long to prepare with having the super rugby season still to finish off and then some friendly internationals and then the rugby championship?

The Rugby Championship teams will certainly be battle hardened and in peak form, the obvious issue being injuries and player fatigue as the season goes on given their long, hard season.

Will be interesting to see how a tournament on the other side of the world affects them - Australia and New Zealand didn't have to contend with long travel and jet lag for the last one.

Good heavens to betsy - are people really still talking about Tonks being an international 10? This one really will never die, will it? At least Weir is a dedicated 10 and whilst resolutely unexciting as an attacking player, I would have him over Tonks and possibly Horne too.

Provided he signed a legally binding 'no more farking intercept passes' agreement.

Do you guys think this is a WC too soon for the young squad?

2019 really is looking good. If the current players continue their trajectory we should have a cracking XV, with some pretty able players in the wings.

Had a thunk and all these starters will be 30 or under. I also wouldn't put it past guys like Nel and Strauss to play to the next WC.

1: Rory Sutherland (Allen/Dell/Shiells)
2: Stuart McInally (Brown/MacArthur)
3: Zander Ferguson (Welsh)
4: Jonny Gray (Gilchrist/Bresler)
5: Richie Gray (Toolis/ Low)
6: Adam Ashe (Harley/Wilson)
7: Cornell du Preez (Watson/Blake)
8: David Denton (Bradbury/Eadie)

9: SHC (Pyrgos/Steele/Stevenson)
10: Finn Russell (Weir/Jackson)
11: Tommy Seymour (Hoyland/Fife)
12: Alex Dunbar (Scott)
13: Mark Bennett (Taylor/Horne)
14: Taqele Naiyaravoro (Maitland/Hughes)
15: Stuart Hogg (Tonks)

Still a bit light at tighthead, but that always seems to be the case.

I think it is too soon in our development for many reasons, not just because it is a young squad.

We are going into a world cup with only a handful of positions nailed on starters at this stage. All the best teams go into a world cup knowing at least 75% of the starting team I reckon, and that team has been together for plenty games to know how to work together. Look at the past winners - you could name those teams before they were picked and get most of them right. I don't think anyone could accurately guess who will start against Japan at this stage.

This is due to Cotter arriving late and having had limited time with the squad, injuries and the young age of our squad so we don't have that luxury.

We've got a great core of potentially World Class players coming through that we can build a quality side around for the next decade:

3 - Fagerson ( 19 y/o )
5 - Gray ( 21 y/o )
8 - Ashe ( 21 y/o )
9 - HidalgoClyne ( 21 y/o )
10 - Russell ( 22 y/o )
13 - Bennett ( 22 y/o )
15 - Hogg ( 22 y/o )

Any more decent hookers coming through the ranks? Heard good things about Fergus Scott but hasn't had a chance yet at Pro level. What happened to Alun Walker?

madmaccas wrote:Do you guys think this is a WC too soon for the young squad?

2019 really is looking good. If the current players continue their trajectory we should have a cracking XV, with some pretty able players in the wings.

Had a thunk and all these starters will be 30 or under. I also wouldn't put it past guys like Nel and Strauss to play to the next WC.

1: Rory Sutherland (Allen/Dell/Shiells)
2: Stuart McInally (Brown/MacArthur)
3: Zander Ferguson (Welsh)
4: Jonny Gray (Gilchrist/Bresler)
5: Richie Gray (Toolis/ Low)
6: Adam Ashe (Harley/Wilson)
7: Cornell du Preez (Watson/Blake)
8: David Denton (Bradbury/Eadie)

9: SHC (Pyrgos/Steele/Stevenson)
10: Finn Russell (Weir/Jackson)
11: Tommy Seymour  (Hoyland/Fife)
12: Alex Dunbar (Scott)
13: Mark Bennett (Taylor/Horne)
14: Taqele Naiyaravoro (Maitland/Hughes)
15: Stuart Hogg (Tonks)

Still a bit light at tighthead, but that always seems to be the case.

Tighthead we shouldn't be too bad for depth come that time. There is D'arcy Rae coming through at Glasgow as well who has looked pretty promising. Nick Fraser playing out in Australia in the Australian Championship is only 23/24 and putting in some good performances out there. There is the young guy at Edinburgh just now and in the Scotland u20s at the moment Callum Sheldon who is a big unit.
There is also the likes of Simon Berghan who could develop into a good tighthead and De Klerk at Glasgow who will qualify by then.

[quote="reallybored"]We've got a great core of potentially World Class players coming through that we can build a quality side around for the next decade:

3 - Fagerson ( 19 y/o )
5 - Gray ( 21 y/o )
8 - Ashe ( 21 y/o )
9 - HidalgoClyne ( 21 y/o )
10 - Russell ( 22 y/o )
13 - Bennett ( 22 y/o )
15 - Hogg ( 22 y/o )

/quote]
Hmm, who's the odd one out there?

Come on you pampered jades of the east help me out here.

jimbopip wrote:

reallybored wrote:We've got a great core of potentially World Class players coming through that we can build a quality side around for the next decade:

3 - Fagerson ( 19 y/o )
5 - Gray ( 21 y/o )
8 - Ashe ( 21 y/o )
9 - HidalgoClyne ( 21 y/o )
10 - Russell ( 22 y/o )
13 - Bennett ( 22 y/o )
15 - Hogg ( 22 y/o )

/quote]
  Hmm, who's the odd one out there?

Come on you pampered jades of the east help me out here.

We're talking about 4 years time Jimbo. The odd one out is Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, as he'll be the only player on the list still playing in Scotland come the next World Cup! My money is on Toulon, Castres, Toulouse and Clermont to have swept up the others before then.

haha good point, It certainly seems that the majority of the good young talent being given opportunities is through Glasgow.
Hopefully over this coming season Edinburgh can blood a few of their younger players and re balance it a little.

The current age group from 18-23 is one that is potentially going to be a very good group with lots of very good, exciting players coming through and some already in the Scotland team. The key is going to be getting these guys game time at pro level.
Now the SRU seem to have sorted out their academies and development programme hopefully it will lead to even more talent coming through but with just two pro teams not all of them are going to be able to be taken on.

Yeah I'd say the positions we really need some more options would be:

Tighthead x2/3
Hooker
Openside (CdP is most suited to 7 imo but we need the other 7 prospects to solidify their places)
Someone to push Russell and provide cover

Obviously a lot can change in 4 years but had a crack at putting together my potential 23 man squad for 4 years time.
1 R Sutherland 2 S McInally 3 Z Fagerson 4 J Gray 5 R Gray 6 A Ashe 7 H Watson 8 M Bradbury 9 SHC 10 F Russell 11 D Hoyland 12 A Dunbar 13 M Bennett 14 R Nairn 15 S Hogg
16 F Brown 17 A Dell 18 N Fraser 19 B Toolis 20 H Blake 21 S Steele 22 B Kinghorn 23 H Jones

The position I struggled to really think of anyone for was blindside. Currently there is no one really sticking their hands up and taking hold of the jersey and there aren't too many young ones coming through. There are lots of good opensides and 8s coming through the ranks but not a big blindside.
The one player I reckon the SRU should look at bringing into the system again is Callum Templeton who was an EDP at Glasgow a couple years back. Was injured for a lot of that year through over training and didn't get any game time. Was Ayrs player of the year last season and has featured for the Scottish club xv since. Only 21 still, is 6ft 6 and around the 17st mark. He was pretty rapid from what I remember as well.

Majestic83 wrote:Obviously a lot can change in 4 years but had a crack at putting together my potential 23 man squad for 4 years time.
1 R Sutherland 2 S McInally 3 Z Fagerson 4 J Gray 5 R Gray 6 A Ashe 7 H Watson 8 M Bradbury 9 SHC 10 F Russell 11 D Hoyland 12 A Dunbar 13 M Bennett 14 R Nairn 15 S Hogg
16 F Brown 17 A Dell 18 N Fraser 19 B Toolis 20 H Blake 21 S Steele 22 B Kinghorn 23 H Jones

The position I struggled to really think of anyone for was blindside. Currently there is no one really sticking their hands up and taking hold of the jersey and there aren't too many young ones coming through.

So you don't see du Preez making the team at either 7 or 6? I'm surprised, he's been Edinburgh's best player by a mile before he got injured. He'll only be 28 by 2019.