Scotland World Cup look ahead and squad

by 123456789 Sat Mar 21, 2015 4:19 pm

First topic message reminder :

A. WORLD CUP WARM-UP MATCHES:

Scotland World Cup look ahead and squad - Page 18 Irelan10

15 August 2015:Ireland v Scotland, Dublin.

Scotland World Cup look ahead and squad - Page 18 Italy_10

22 August 2015: Italy v Scotland, Turin.

Scotland World Cup look ahead and squad - Page 18 Scot_f10

29 August 2015: Scotland v Italy, Edinburgh

Scotland World Cup look ahead and squad - Page 18 France10

05 September 2015: France v Scotland, Paris

B. WORLD CUP POOL MATCHES

Scotland World Cup look ahead and squad - Page 18 Scot_f10

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

Scotland World Cup look ahead and squad - Page 18 Scot_f10

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

Scotland World Cup look ahead and squad - Page 18 Scot_f10

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

Scotland World Cup look ahead and squad - Page 18 Scot_f10

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

by funnyExiledScot Mon Jun 22, 2015 5:43 pm

I would not include anyone in the 31 man squad who isn't 100% fit to play the first match (whether or not they actually start that game).

Vernon would likely be the next in line as a centre should Scott and one of the centres I've listed not be fit. As you say, that's a noticeable drop in quality, albeit he finished the season on good form (and has in fact been steadily improving ever since he converted). After that you're probably looking at Lamont in the centres, or moving Russell to 12 or Hogg to 13. Not ideal at all.

by nickj Mon Jun 22, 2015 5:54 pm

I'm in two minds. Are Dunbar and Bennett worth the gamble or do we rule out our most lethal trio of centres for a decade? Is an 80% fit Dunbar better than Peter Horne? In my mind, we can't take all three; but from the information we have, I'm extrapolating Bennett is the closest to being ready. If that's the case, I'd be willing to gamble on Dunbar being fit during the later group stages and I'd leave Scott at home.

by nickj Mon Jun 22, 2015 5:56 pm

I should add that there's a long time to go and hopefully one or more can play a full part in the build-up.

by 123456789 Mon Jun 22, 2015 8:35 pm

The point made earlier about the distance to be travelled is a good one, if they were to leave Horne, Vernon or Taylor out they can travel to the squad within a number of hours, and having spent the summer with them they'll know all the moves inside out (or at least to the extent any member of the Scotland team does) so I'm not sure injuries and versatility is as big an issue it was at the last World Cup, look at the problems New Zealand managed to overcome last year. I'd say take four centres with three of them being Scott, Bennett and Dunbar if possible, then if one gets injured it's very simple to bring another in and up to speed without the risk of Jetlag, we effectively have an unlimited squad when it comes to injuries so why not take the best we can?

With that in mind I'd go for a squad of:

Props: Welsh, Cusack, Nel, Dickinson, Reid
Hooker: Ford, Brown, MacInally
Second Row: Gray, Gray, Gilchrist, Hamilton
Back Row: Harley, Strauss, Denton, Ashe, Barclay, Watson
Scrum-Halves: Cusiter, Hidalgo-Clyne, Pyrgos (in full acceptance that Laidlaw's travelled down to the team hotel in England already and is sat ordering his Dinner as we speak)
Fly-Halves: Russell, Weir
Centres: Scott, Bennett, Dunbar
Back three: Hogg, Maitland, Visser, Seymour, Lamont

With Jackson, Wilson, Horne, Taylor and Vernon told to be by their phone and reading the play book. And also the acceptance that in a match we could stick Russell and Hogg together in the centre because in the past the Scottish rugby management have genuinely put Graeme "G-Dog" Morrison and Sean Lamont in the same centre partnership. Although Russell and Hogg could be disastrously lightweight against Samoa and the Boks, especially when you put Weir in the same midfield, but Horne is hardly the largest, Taylor was dreadful against the Boks last time he played them and Vernon's calf size is arguably the longest running joke since Blair Cowan's schoolmates told him his hair looked really good and all the girls would love it.

by reallybored Mon Jun 22, 2015 11:17 pm

I'm finding Matt Scott's injury the most frustrating, at least we know what's wrong with Dunbar and when he's expected back.

If both Scott and Dunbar were to miss the tournament, I think we need Taylor in the squad for his size. May not have produced the goods at Test level yet but he did just win the Aviva.

by **RDW** Tue Jun 23, 2015 7:12 am

From memory Bennett is most likely to be fit first and be involved in the warm up games.

I don't have anything to back that up though!

by **George Carlin** Tue Jun 23, 2015 7:33 am

RDW_Scotland wrote:From memory Bennett is most likely to be fit first and be involved in the warm up games.

I don't have anything to back that up though!

Just a shiny green badge and a winning smile.

Twas ever thus, big feller.

by jimbopip Tue Jun 23, 2015 8:42 am

George Carlin wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:From memory Bennett is most likely to be fit first and be involved in the warm up games.

I don't have anything to back that up though!
Just a shiny green badge and a winning smile.

Twas ever thus big. Feller.

Fixed that for you. Whistle

by **RDW** Tue Jun 23, 2015 8:49 am

I've found this article on the Evening Times of all places - now Duncan Taylor is an injury doubt with a shoulder injury (bit of an epidemic on those) and Tim Swinson hasn't recovered from an ankle injury.. It sounds more positive that Scott and Bennett will be ready though.

SCOTLAND head coach Vern Cotter has revealed he has major injury worries ahead of the Rugby World Cup in September.

Saracens centre Duncan Taylor is a major doubt for the tournament with a shoulder injury, while Glasgow Warriors lock Tim Swinson is also a concern because of ankle damage.

Glasgow centre Alex Dunbar will travel to the USA next week to continue his recovery from ruptured knee ligaments, and he and his fellow-centres Matt Scott and Mark Bennett remain on course to be available for the tournament.

Sean Maitland, the wing or full-back, is also making his comeback as scheduled, but Cotter revealed that, just as those worries are beginning to clear up, so others have emerged.

“The injury we are most concerned about at the moment is Duncan Taylor, whose shoulder is not showing positive signs of improvement over the last couple of weeks,” the Scotland head coach said here as the squad continued their week of preparations in the Pyrenees.

“He'll get looked at medically and so will Tim Swinson, who hasn't recovered from his ankle problem.

“The long-term injuries, like Matt Scott and Mark Bennett, are coming on well. And Sean Maitland we had a look at before we left and he looked good.

“As far as progress goes, [Dunbar] is moving forward very well. Everybody is optimistic. I'm not saying it's done: we're very cautious.”

The squad will move from Font Romeu to Perpignan today for their last two days in France before returning to BT Murrayfield. Once back in Edinburgh, Cotter expects some of the current absentees to join up with the group.

“I think next week when we get back Matt Scott and Mark Bennett will join us. They won't be doing the full content, but they will be doing part of it. Hopefully Sean Maitland. Alex will be a little bit further down the road, with Duncan Taylor now a further complication.”

Dunbar, who had surgery on his knee damage back in March, will travel on Monday to Philadelphia for a three-week camp with Bill Knowles, the renowned rehabilitation specialist whose previous clients include Tiger Woods, Johnny Wilkinson and Frank Lampard. He is then expected to rejoin the national squad for further assessment and the next phase of his rehabilitation.

“We're pleased to say that Alex remains on schedule at this stage and that, 14

weeks down the line, he is now in the right place for this trip to the States,” said Paul McGinley of the SRU’s medical department. “Evidence suggests that the earliest you could expect somebody to safely recover from ACL reconstruction is around six months, and that is tight; but that's the timescale to which we're working if he is to feature in the Rugby World Cup.”

Injury worries aside, Cotter has been pleased by how the week has gone here. He wanted to stretch the squad both mentally and physically, and he has been pleased by the way in which they have responded.

“This is where the character kicks in and people have to stick in and look at their improvements,” he added.

“The altitude makes it hard – even for us [coaching staff] walking up and down the stairs. But I've really enjoyed it and been very pleased with the way the players have taken to their tasks. They've all chipped in and rolled their sleeves up.”

by **George Carlin** Tue Jun 23, 2015 8:54 am

jimbopip wrote:
George Carlin wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:From memory Bennett is most likely to be fit first and be involved in the warm up games.

I don't have anything to back that up though!
Just a shiny green badge and a winning smile.

Twas ever thus big. Feller.

Fixed that for you.

Scotland World Cup look ahead and squad - Page 18 Crap10

Eeeuw.

by funnyExiledScot Tue Jun 23, 2015 10:28 am

Not good news about Taylor. Our centres are dropping like flies.

Emergency backline:

9.Laidlaw 10.Weir 11.Visser 12.Russell 13.Hogg. 14.Seymour 15.Maitland

by EWT Spoons Tue Jun 23, 2015 11:38 am

The way things are going, Vernon must be in with a decent shout of making the squad. We’re running out of first choice centres at a rate of knots, and given we‘re in quite a physical group, having a former backrower in the centre would make some sense. Plus he’s actually coming into the WC in form, whereas Bennett/Scott/Dunbar are coming into the tournament from the injury table. That said I would much rather the latter were fit and available, but Ritchie’s move to centre does look like it could pay dividends in the WC.

by 123456789 Tue Jun 23, 2015 11:48 am

World Cup is in 14 weeks, I'm not sure form comes into it.

The way I see it our centre options go:
I've probably forgotten someone obvious though...
1. Dunbar
2. Bennett
3. Scott
4. Taylor
5. Horne
6. Vernon
7. Russell
8. Hogg
9. Evans
10. De Luca
10. Lamont
11. Grove
12. Lyle

by **George Carlin** Tue Jun 23, 2015 11:56 am

123456789 wrote:World Cup is in 14 weeks, I'm not sure form comes into it.

The way I see it our centre options go:

I've probably forgotten someone obvious though...

1. Dunbar
2. Bennett
3. Scott
4. Taylor
5. Horne
6. Vernon
7. Russell
8. Hogg
9. Evans
10. De Luca
10. Lamont
11. Grove
12. Lyle

13.

Scotland World Cup look ahead and squad - Page 18 Crazy-11

by Weegie Wizard Tue Jun 23, 2015 12:05 pm

Tonks can play 12 apparently.

Are one or two of the Edinburgh imports not SQ'd. McLennan or Beard? How long until Strauss qualifies? Whistle

by EWT Spoons Tue Jun 23, 2015 12:13 pm

123456789 wrote:World Cup is in 14 weeks, I'm not sure form comes into it.

Perhaps not, but if he's coming into the training camp in good form and having a Pro12 winners medal stuffed down his shorts, it's going to probably give him confidence and a bit of a swagger which in theory should put him at an advantage over someone coming into the camp who has spent the last 6 months or so rebuilding an injured part of their body.

I get your point, and yeah anything could happen between now and then, but he's coming into the camp from a good place, whereas our normal first choices are coming in from a position of weakness. Also we all saw how poor Scott was in his spell of supposed fitness between his last injury and this current one, which is not something RV needs to worry about (kiss of death, he'll rupture a shoulder and knee now I've said this).

Still you're right, in regards that it's 14 weeks away so anything could happen, but at the moment I would imagine RV should be in with a decent shout of making the squad.

by funnyExiledScot Tue Jun 23, 2015 12:21 pm

Weegie Wizard wrote:Tonks can play 12 apparently.

Are one or two of the Edinburgh imports not SQ'd. McLennan or Beard? How long until Strauss qualifies?

Pretty sure Beard and Strauss are a while away. I had thought McLennan was SQ already, not that it matters.

Sam Beard could actually become a useful option for Scotland. He's 25 now and I believe will qualify when he's 26. 13 is not a position of depth, and he's much closer to Bennett in playing style than Taylor or Vernon. He has decent pace and good allround skills. Not a shrinking violet in defence either, and certainly punches his weight. Not a threat to Bennett (or Dunbar should Scott rediscover himself at 12), but a good option to have.

by 123456789 Tue Jun 23, 2015 12:26 pm

In a spate of boredom I looked at the Scottish rugby youtube channel, it appears whilst the rest of world rugby trains hard for an upcoming world cup our guys have gone on a primary school residential trip, where the conditions are described as a bit "spartan". Now I'm from the Roy Keane/ Clive Woodward school of thought in which if your fail to prepare prepare to fail, in which case surely it would be just as valuable to have our players in luxury accommodation and therefore sleeping better and recovering easier from training.

To be fair the gym equipment and the pitch condition looks fantastic but I'm sure when we all look back on world cup glory we will not be attributing it to their night of "wild camping", whatever that entails

by **RDW** Tue Jun 23, 2015 12:57 pm

123456789 wrote:In a spate of boredom I looked at the Scottish rugby youtube channel, it appears whilst the rest of world rugby trains hard for an upcoming world cup our guys have gone on a primary school residential trip, where the conditions are described as a bit "spartan". Now I'm from the Roy Keane/ Clive Woodward school of thought in which if your fail to prepare prepare to fail, in which case surely it would be just as valuable to have our players in luxury accommodation and therefore sleeping better and recovering easier from training.

To be fair the gym equipment and the pitch condition looks fantastic but I'm sure when we all look back on world cup glory we will not be attributing it to their night of "wild camping", whatever that entails

I think it is a good thing what they're doing - this is going to be a long pre-season and they've got to have some variety. They are doing this right at the beginning so it will all be about forging teamwork and breaking them in on the fitness side of things - some of the sessions look brutal. It also will be good fun, and their camping eperience in the mountains sounds like it was a good laugh.

I'm sure as of next week, and for the rest of the preparations, they will be staying in a nice hotel!

Worth noting that some countries haven't even started their training yet!

by reallybored Tue Jun 23, 2015 1:02 pm

123456789 wrote:In a spate of boredom I looked at the Scottish rugby youtube channel, it appears whilst the rest of world rugby trains hard for an upcoming world cup our guys have gone on a primary school residential trip, where the conditions are described as a bit "spartan". Now I'm from the Roy Keane/ Clive Woodward school of thought in which if your fail to prepare prepare to fail, in which case surely it would be just as valuable to have our players in luxury accommodation and therefore sleeping better and recovering easier from training.

To be fair the gym equipment and the pitch condition looks fantastic but I'm sure when we all look back on world cup glory we will not be attributing it to their night of "wild camping", whatever that entails

To be fair, they've only been at that camp for a week and have another 2 months of training back in Edinburgh. Plus it was at altitude, which would have been good for conditioning.

Centre is becoming incredibly worrying with Taylor picking up an injury, especially when you consider the physicality of SA or Samoa.

Hogg is a very handy 13, hasn't played there is a while but remember him notching up a hat-trick against Munster from centre. Long been an advocate of leaving him at 15 long-term because imo he could be the best in the World but needs must. Maitland's injury is a problem but Tonks is a solid 15, with good defence and a big boot.

Incredibly tricky working out the possible combinations at centre:

12 - Dunbar, Scott, Horne, Taylor, Lamont, Russell, Bennett
13 - Bennett, (Dunbar), Taylor, Hogg, Lamont, Vernon, Grove?

If he is fit enough, could Maitland play at outside centre in an emergency?

by 123456789 Tue Jun 23, 2015 1:21 pm

I imagine so but I can't imagine it would be the best option.

by Fanster Tue Jun 23, 2015 1:32 pm

Guys, apologies for the ignorance but I'm looking at the Scottish squad and I have a few questions...

1) Where are Nell and Strauss from? Are they SA converts / SQ?

2) Is Harley now considered a lock only?

3) What position is Peter Horne exactly?

4) Has Ritchie Vernon only got 20 caps really??? Does he only play RWC's or something?

5) What do you guys make of Scotlands chances, and who are the key players in your minds?

Thanks

by funnyExiledScot Tue Jun 23, 2015 1:50 pm

Fanster wrote:Guys, apologies for the ignorance but I'm looking at the Scottish squad and I have a few questions...

1) Where are Nell and Strauss from? Are they SA converts / SQ?

Both qualify on residency - just. The are from SA originally.

2) Is Harley now considered a lock only?

Hopefully not. He's an excellent flanker, and a very average lock.

3) What position is Peter Horne exactly?

He's an inside centre who can "do a job" at 10.

4) Has Ritchie Vernon only got 20 caps really??? Does he only play RWC's or something?

He's yet to be capped at centre. His previous work was at number 8 and he's taken time off to convert to 13. He's making a good fist of it actually.

5) What do you guys make of Scotlands chances, and who are the key players in your minds?

We have a good chance of making it out of our Group, but I'm not convinced we have the composure to take it much further. Key forwards for me are Jonny Gray and Richie Gray - the best boiler room we've had for years, and the key backs are Russell and Hogg. Hogg is already a Lion and a top class international player. Russell has it all to do on the international stage, but his potential is huge and he's already done much to impress in a Glasgow jersey.

Thanks

See above.

by Weegie Wizard Tue Jun 23, 2015 1:52 pm

1) yes both are just completing their 3yr residency qualification period. Normally this results in more grief than Cotter has been given as both these guys are very good and Nel is in a position we need.

2) not sure but we hope not. Most folk see him as a 6 who could cover 2nd row.

3) Normally a 12 but can cover 10. Hopefully we don't need him as Russell is a far better option.

4) lol. Hasn't played international rugby for a few years due to moving from back row to centre. Was not a regular before that but picked up a few caps behind Beattie and a few others.

5) I personally think we'll lose in the quarters to England. Not getting out the group would be a disaster and getting to the semi is not realistic unfortunately. We are in the strange position of having pretty much our entire starting XV in the key player category due to the lack of depth we have, but Russell, Hogg and Jonny Gray are our main ones I think, although others will add a few more.

by jimbopip Tue Jun 23, 2015 2:35 pm

Fanster, Fes and WW have done a good job on q's 1-3.

On 4 however; IF we are runners up in the group we will face one of England, Wales or OZ at Twickers. I think we can beat the last two on a neutral ground (or lose just as easily) but we haven't won at Twickers since Fes last gave his domestic staff a raise.

Mind you, I think Samoa have a big win in them. If they beat SA we could win the group (if they beat us we don't get out the group) and then I think it's Ireland or France in the quarters.

So we're either third in the group, beating Wales and reaching a semi against NZ who always lose in the semi or winning the group and losing to/ stuffing France depending on which bunch of schizophrenic gastronomes turn up.

That should be much clearer now. Shocked

by Fanster Tue Jun 23, 2015 2:38 pm

Thanks for the responses, my knowledge of Scottich rugby revolves around the 6N games and Glasgows style of play for the last 18 months or so.

I'm a huge fan of Harley, he reminds me of Lydiate a bit, but has a more varied style, and despite not being the biggest he just seems to be in the worst places possible constantly for an attacking threat to want!

Horne has baffled me quite literally, since he came onto the scene, he has undoubted quality but a bit like Hook, where does he fit into a team?!?!

I remember seeing Vernon in 2011 where he played a fair bit in the back row, had no idea he was converting let alone ever coming back.

It's great to get a Scottish perspective, and hear the down to earth predictions sometimes, I get the feeling your all a touch negative by nature, and don't have the foolishly blind optimism of the Welsh, or the unrelenting confidence of the English, which leads the rest of the 6N to worry about what you guys have under the hood at times.

I was a little worried about Cotter starting the job, as I was Johnstone, but Cotter, despite a poor 6N seems to be developing areas of weakness already, seeing potential at 10, 12 and 13, for the first time in a while seems to have turned Scottish opinion a touch, and once the beleif of the crowd turn the pressure on the players returns and they start to turn results around.

by **George Carlin** Tue Jun 23, 2015 3:15 pm

jimbopip wrote:On 4 however; IF we are runners up in the group we will face one of England, Wales or OZ at Twickers. I think we can beat the last two on a neutral ground (or lose just as easily) but we haven't won at Twickers since Fes last gave his domestic staff a raise.

That can't be right. I'm sure that we've beaten England at Twickers at least once.

by EWT Spoons Tue Jun 23, 2015 3:19 pm

Fanster wrote:It's great to get a Scottish perspective, and hear the down to earth predictions sometimes, I get the feeling your all a touch negative by nature, and don't have the foolishly blind optimism of the Welsh, or the unrelenting confidence of the English, which leads the rest of the 6N to worry about what you guys have under the hood at times.

The negativity comes from a lifetime of watching Scotland fail. We'll all probably get to the point just prior to the WC (or any Scotland game to be honest) where this place will be the most positive board around, only for the day after our games to be flat again. It's very much an emotional roller-coaster being a Scotland fan, part of the reason why we have such poor life expectancy levels.*

*that and deep frying anything that we find lying around.

by tigertattie Tue Jun 23, 2015 3:59 pm

EWT Spoons wrote:

*that and deep frying anything that we find lying around.

We deep fried Uncle Dougie?

No wonder his form dropped!

by R!skysports Tue Jun 23, 2015 3:59 pm

EWT Spoons wrote:
Fanster wrote:It's great to get a Scottish perspective, and hear the down to earth predictions sometimes, I get the feeling your all a touch negative by nature, and don't have the foolishly blind optimism of the Welsh, or the unrelenting confidence of the English, which leads the rest of the 6N to worry about what you guys have under the hood at times.

The negativity comes from a lifetime of watching Scotland fail. We'll all probably get to the point just prior to the WC (or any Scotland game to be honest) where this place will be the most positive board around, only for the day after our games to be flat again. It's very much an emotional roller-coaster being a Scotland fan, part of the reason why we have such poor life expectancy levels.*

*that and deep frying anything that we find lying around.

Not sure I agree with that any more - I think we have been beaten by the 'dark horses' stick for so long we now go into most games with a cushion to hide our eyes behind now. The level of positivey peaks at - we may not get humped and we could possibly have a chance

I personally tend to start a thread on why i will never watch Scottish rugby again - and list the reasons why - the good thing is I re-use it every year, as nothing changes (and yes I do come back and peak my positivey just a little) :-)

by Fanster Tue Jun 23, 2015 4:10 pm

[quote="tigertattie"]

EWT Spoons wrote:

*that and deep frying anything that we find lying around.

We deep fried Uncle Dougie?

No wonder his form dropped![/quote

Ive tried the Mars bar, snickers and grapes...

I felt my life expectancy reducing by the mouthfull!

I one lived near Musselbrugh and loved passing a pub (I forget the name) that had a big blackboard just outside the door saying -

'Soup of the day -'
'Lager'

I thought it summed the Scots up beautifully!

by jimbopip Tue Jun 23, 2015 4:38 pm

Fanster wrote:
tigertattie wrote:
EWT Spoons wrote:

*that and deep frying anything that we find lying around.

We deep fried Uncle Dougie?

No wonder his form dropped![/quote

Ive tried the Mars bar, snickers and grapes...

I felt my life expectancy reducing by the mouthfull!

I one lived near Musselbrugh and loved passing a pub (I forget the name) that had a big blackboard just outside the door saying -

'Soup of the day -'
'Lager'

I thought it summed the Scots up beautifully!

I had to quote this in its entirety. Firstly because it's the kind of funny that belongs here and secondly, to paraphrase Kevin Keegan- the thinking man's Muppet, I just love it when someone snarffs up the quote function, just love it. Yahoo

by SirBurger Tue Jun 23, 2015 5:19 pm

When we announced our signing of Maitland, Bob Casey stated in our weekly podcast that Maitland's versatility was a big plus as he can cover wing, full back and 13. I don't remember him ever playing there myself, but it is obviously something he can do if needs be.

by 123456789 Tue Jun 23, 2015 7:46 pm

I think with regards to the endless cycle of positive and negative feelings regarding scottish rugby it's a Stockholm syndrome like feeling over us in when they're not active we start to formulise our own opinions based on facts and then as soon as they get back in camp and Greig starts piping up about how good training has been under "Uncle Vern" and Sean Lamont threatening to knock out anyone in the team who doesn't believe they can win, incidentally he'll make a great junior rugby coach one day.

by **RDW** Wed Jun 24, 2015 9:40 am

What kind of challenge should we expect from Japan and USA? Scotland have never been a team that can take things easy against 'lower' rugby nations but, other than Tonga and Italy, we haven't lost to a team ranked below us for a number of years now (although there have been a few close calls!)

Both teams will be gunning for us, and both teams will be fitter, stronger and better prepared than ever before. Saying that, so should we be.

It was noted in the Scotsman this morning that, in the last world cup, our stuttering victories over Romania and Georgia were one of the reasons we failed to leave the group - we had no momentum going into the bigger games.

Therefore we don't just need to beat these teams, we need to win well and build confidence for the tougher tests to come.

So what should we expect from both?

by reallybored Wed Jun 24, 2015 11:01 am

Confident that we'll do the business against Japan or USA, man for man we'll be better pretty much across the whole XV. Plus with the quality of Gray, Strauss, Russell, Bennett and Hogg we'll have too much for them.

Despite the results in the 6 Nations, still confident that we've got a pretty special bunch of players coming through.

by 123456789 Wed Jun 24, 2015 11:42 am

I think the reasons our games against Romania and Georgia were tight was because we were in an era when successive Scottish coaches fielded huge players and then Dan Parks, quite a simple tactic really, give it to Dan he'll put us in the right place and then we'll get big men with very little rugby ability to run at the opposition line until we get a penalty or score a try (or more likely fluff a simple two, three or four on one) it produced the goods against teams like SA and Australia tired after a long season and a month away from home and who faced a defensively strong group of guys who were exceptionally resilient and had very little intention of actually scoring any tries, so when you put a team with that mindset, if not those tactics, against anyone it's never going to be a runaway victory regardless of who you're playing especially when against most teams Scotland played they had the energy that comes from being the underdog, obviously we didn't have that against Romania and Georgia. We also paid them too much respect, only Strockosch when asked whether or not he thought Scotland would win outright said "yes, we're Scotland of course we should beat Georgia", now unfortunately he's lived off that ever since. We've also played both Japan and the USA within the last two years and at no point in either of those games did we look losing, the USA game was in the US as well and the players were jetlagged and at the end of the season, my feeling is that come the world cup our players will be too strong and too good for the minnows.

I also think that South Africa are only one poor performance against either us or Samoa from being dragged into a three way battle for qualification. The World Cup is the only time of the year where the NH team come into the games with the background as the SH teams and we've seen Wales push the Boks close in 2011 and Australia beaten by Ireland so let's not reduce ourselves to a fight for second unless it comes to it, we've got a week in between Samoa and SA so I reckon we'd be better served going for it anyway and keeping the strongest team together.

by Weegie Wizard Wed Jun 24, 2015 12:10 pm

Reid, Brown, Nel, Gilchrist, Gray Snr, Harley, Cowan, Denton
Sam H-C, Russell, Horne, Taylor, Visser, Maitland, Hogg

This team is obviously making assumptions on who will make the squad but it would allow us to rest some key players for the 2 big games later in the group and should be plenty to beat Japan or USA.

Japan are a better team than they were a few years back but most of their players play domestic rugby in Japan. How many of them would get a game for the Warriors or Edinburgh? USA are better but mainly down to a few good players rather than having strength throughout their team. We beat them last summer without playing anything like good rugby.

It should be more likely that we beat the Boks than lose to either of those guys.

by **George Carlin** Wed Jun 24, 2015 1:07 pm

Scotland are 10th in the world at present.

In terms of the ranking of our opposition:

23 September 2015: Japan - 13th

27 September 2015: USA - 16th

03 October 2015: South Africa - 2nd

10 October 2015: Samoa - 9th

The question is obvious - will we put a second string out for the Springboks and prioritise the Samoa game?

by **George Carlin** Wed Jun 24, 2015 1:11 pm

Interestingly, everyone's run-in looks like this, so Samoa get an easy win in their first game and then the Boks second:

19 September 2015	South Africa	v	Japan	Brighton Community Stadium, Brighton
20 September 2015	Samoa	v	United States	Brighton Community Stadium, Brighton
23 September 2015	Scotland	v	Japan	Kingsholm, Gloucester
26 September 2015	South Africa	v	Samoa	Villa Park, Birmingham
27 September 2015	Scotland	v	United States	Elland Road, Leeds
3 October 2015	Samoa	v	Japan	Stadium mk, Milton Keynes
3 October 2015	South Africa	v	Scotland	St. James' Park, Newcastle
7 October 2015	South Africa	v	United States	Olympic Stadium, London
10 October 2015	Samoa	v	Scotland	St. James' Park, Newcastle
11 October 2015	United States	v	Japan	Kingsholm, Gloucester

by lostinwales Wed Jun 24, 2015 1:20 pm

So Japan get 2 games in 4 days? At least they should be in pieces for you

by EWT Spoons Wed Jun 24, 2015 1:20 pm

Japan have put a lot of focus on their scrum (not sure if the pictures have been posted on this site), so I think they'll be looking to build a platform from it.

USA, not sure to be honest. In theory they should be good considering the resources available to them, and I think they are improving.

We'll need to treat both with a great deal of respect. Believe we can win, but make sure we don't switch off and assume a win.

by Manky-Flanker Wed Jun 24, 2015 1:31 pm

Interesting remark from Cotter: "Japan...play South Africa first and they'll probably throw that game away and look at us"

Brings back memories of Scotland vs NZ in 2007

by Fanster Wed Jun 24, 2015 1:50 pm

Already we are starting to talk about throwing games?

If you want to win the RWC you have to beat everyone in front of you, SA aren't NZ, and are beatable!

by R!skysports Wed Jun 24, 2015 1:50 pm

George Carlin wrote:Scotland are 10th in the world at present.

In terms of the ranking of our opposition:

23 September 2015: Japan - 13th

27 September 2015: USA - 16th

03 October 2015: South Africa - 2nd

10 October 2015: Samoa - 9th

The question is obvious - will we put a second string out for the Springboks and prioritise the Samoa game?

I hope not - as that did not work well when we tried to do that against NZ

Lets try and win the group..

by **RDW** Wed Jun 24, 2015 1:53 pm

Fanster wrote:Already we are starting to talk about throwing games?

If you want to win the RWC you have to beat everyone in front of you, SA aren't NZ, and are beatable!

It is talk of Japan putting out a weaker team to then focus on beating Scotland. Given Japan are never going to win the world cup, and a win over Scotland would be massive for them, you can understand why!

by Tattie Scones RRN Wed Jun 24, 2015 2:08 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:
Fanster wrote:Already we are starting to talk about throwing games?

If you want to win the RWC you have to beat everyone in front of you, SA aren't NZ, and are beatable!

It is talk of Japan putting out a weaker team to then focus on beating Scotland. Given Japan are never going to win the world cup, and a win over Scotland would be massive for them, you can understand why!

Come on RDW, we're not Wales*.

*Cue the usual numpties bleating on about it being a 7th string team.......

by GLove39 Wed Jun 24, 2015 2:53 pm

Good point about the Japanese scrum. It's looking strong at all levels, their under 20s gave France a real doing at the a week or two back.

And I'm sure we all remember, the Cherry Blosoms shunting us off our own ball and promptly sprinting 50m to score.

Having said that I expect us to win pretty comfortably against them & the US. The players will talk about the importance of just concentrating on the win (and rightly so) but I'll be disappointed if we don't finish up with 10 points from those 2 games.

by **George Carlin** Wed Jun 24, 2015 3:17 pm

I think that Fumiaki Tanaka is still the only player with a Super Rugby contract but let's remember that Japan will have a Super Rugby team of their own next year.

The really scary part about Japan (as I have mentioned before here) is the number of registered players that they have - I dimly recall that it's something like 48,000 registered senior male players in Japan in comparison to 12,000 in Scotland. That has to matter eventually and the gap, like FES' list of household staff, is getting larger.

Can we also remember the USA's recent embarrassment against the All Blacks when they lost 6 to 1,067 or something like that. In America. I fully expect us to have too much for both the USA and Japan.

by Weegie Wizard Wed Jun 24, 2015 3:53 pm

Not like when we play the All Blacks, eh?

Although I found this which I remember reading at the time. Very funny

http://www.foxsports.com.au/what-the-fox/us-public-react-hilariously-to-nuts-and-intense-all-blacks-rugby-test/story-fnn4peyo-1227109897415

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