Scotland v South Africa, 3 October

by **George Carlin** Mon Sep 28, 2015 6:31 am

First topic message reminder :

Scotland v South Africa, 3 October - Page 6 Scot_f10

Scotland v South Africa, 3 October - Page 6 Spring11

SCOTLAND V SOUTH AFRICA
3 October 2015
KO: 16:45 BST
St. James' Park, Newcastle

Live on [tbc]

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales) Scotland v South Africa, 3 October - Page 6 Worshi11

Scotland v South Africa, 3 October - Page 6 Worshi11

Touch judges: Chris Pollock (New Zealand) & Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Television match official: George Ayoub (Australia)

A. Head to Head

25 Played 25
5 Won 20
0 Drawn 0
20 Lost 5
270 Points 652

B. Recent Form

28 June 2014
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
55 – 6 to South Africa

17 November 2013
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
0 – 28 to South Africa

15 June 2013
Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
30 – 17 to South Africa

17 November 2012
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
10 – 21 to South Africa

20 November 2010
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
21 – 17 to Scotland

15 November 2008
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
10 – 14 to South Africa

C. Teams

SCOTLAND
Scotland v South Africa, 3 October - Page 6 Kirsty10

Scotland v South Africa, 3 October - Page 6 Kirsty10

15 Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors) – 35 caps; 9 tries, 2 pens, 51 points 
14 Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) – 19 caps; 8 tries, 40 points
13 Richie Vernon (Glasgow Warriors) – 22 caps
12 Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby) – 31 caps; 4 tries, 20 points
11 Tim Visser (Harlequins) – 22 caps; 10 tries, 50 points
 10 Duncan Weir (Glasgow Warriors) – 20 caps; 2 tries, 6 cons, 9 pens, 1 drop, 52 points
09 Greig Laidlaw CAPTAIN (Gloucester) – 43 caps; 3 tries, 51 cons, 92 pens, 393 points
 
01 Gordon Reid (Glasgow Warriors) – 12 caps
02 Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors) – 12 caps
03 Willem Nel (Edinburgh Rugby) – 5 caps; 1 try, 5 points
04 Richie Gray (Castres) – 48 caps; 2 tries, 10 points
05 Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors) – 16 caps; 1 try, 5 points
06 Josh Strauss (Glasgow Warriors) – 2 caps
07 Blair Cowan (London Irish) – 13 caps, 2 tries, 10 points
08 David Denton (Edinburgh Rugby) – 29 caps

 16 Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby) – 91 caps; 2 tries, 10 points
17 Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby) – 49 caps; 2 tries, 10 points
18 Jon Welsh (Newcastle Falcons) – 9 caps; 1 try, 5 points
19 Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors) – 14 caps
20 Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors) – 13 caps
21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh Rugby) – 7 caps
22 Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors) – 12 caps; 1 try, 1 con, 1 pen, 10 points
23 Sean Lamont (Glasgow Warriors) – 98 caps; 14 tries, 70 points

SOUTH AFRICA
Scotland v South Africa, 3 October - Page 6 Charli10

Scotland v South Africa, 3 October - Page 6 Charli10

01. Tendai Mtawarira
02. Bismarck Du Plessis
03. Jannie Du Plessis
04. Eben Etzebeth
05. Lodewyk De Jager
06. Francois Louw
07. Schalk Burger
08. Duane Vermeulen

09. Fourie Du Preez (captain)
10. Handre Pollard
11. Bryan Habana
12. Damian De Allende
13. Jesse Kriel
14. JP Pietersen
15. Willie Le Roux

16. Adriaan Strauss
17. Trevor Nyakane
18. Frans Malherbe
19. Pieter-Steph Du Toit
20. Willem Alberts
21. Ruan Pienaar
22. Pat Lambie
23. Jan Serfontein

by Majestic83 Thu Oct 01, 2015 12:40 pm

Very disappointed to see the XV Cotter has selected.

With our best XV on the pitch South Africa is very much a game Scotland can win.

There is week between this game and the Samoa game so plenty time for players to recover etc. Very poor decision from Cotter.

Would have liked to have seen Dickinson have a real go at Du Plessis in the scrum and Bennett take on Kriel. Same with Maitland against Habana who when they have faced each other in the past Maitland has come out on top!

by EWT Spoons Thu Oct 01, 2015 12:48 pm

There is a week between this game and next, but there was only 5 days between this game and USA (excluding match days) and 4 days for the game against Japan. It's a lot to ask some players to play 3x in 9 days.

by Majestic83 Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:00 pm

Yes it is a tough ask but it is very manageable to do, their training will have been tapered down so there will be very little contact work in training at the moment. They will mainly be doing set moves, line out & scrimmaging work so the work load during training wont be intense.
Also the likes of Bennett, Maitland, Dickinson have all come through the first two games unscathed & are 100% fit.

by SecretFly Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:06 pm

There is a world of potential pain After the Pool too. So, if a team have ambitions to keep going, and if the team have a determined bunch of distinguishable first teamers, then it does become a fine balancing act to play them when you must but also think about two, three or four games to come - increasingly against stronger and stronger sides.

by bsando Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:06 pm

Well this is gonna be a real bruiser of a test match.

Weir has one heck of a boot on him, so i think Cotter is hoping Scotland can some how match the Bok pack, get some turnovers via Cowan, use the power of Scott and Vernon to bash our way forwards?

I dunno.. its the strongest Scottish pack to be fielded in a long time, but its gonna be tough to match the Boks up front. I think Bennett should have been in and maitland as well. Saying that I like the fact he is rotating the squad Glasgow style, it keeps players fresh and you never know it may work out. Visa at 11.. hmm not sure, he hasn't looked his old self in attack, sats game would be a great day to find his old form!! or he could just make all his tackles too.

I am predicting a Springboks win though. I suspect the Scottish game plan will involve a bit more kicking for territory with the usual passing/offloading game.

Glad Bennett, Hardie, Maitland, Russell etc will be fresh for Samoa (hope Russell is okay by then).

by Majestic83 Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:09 pm

SecretFly wrote:There is a world of potential pain After the Pool too. So, if a team have ambitions to keep going, and if the team have a determined bunch of distinguishable first teamers, then it does become a fine balancing act to play them when you must but also think about two, three or four games to come - increasingly against stronger and stronger sides.

We need to get out the pool first before we start thinking that far ahead.

by SecretFly Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:15 pm

no,no no...................... No no no no no! Wink

I knew that might be the response. Scotland have a good chance of getting out of the pool. But what's the point of getting out of the pool to be either too drained or having too many injuries to have much of a say in the afters?

For about two or three days there'll be cheers at getting out of the Pool... but then the serious sides get serious. Scotland will want to have enough ammo left to be one of them. They mightn't think that now. But getting a hammering in a quarterfinal is not much of a step up from getting out of the Pool.

by reallybored Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:23 pm

Majestic83 wrote:Yes it is a tough ask but it is very manageable to do, their training will have been tapered down so there will be very little contact work in training at the moment. They will mainly be doing set moves, line out & scrimmaging work so the work load during training wont be intense.
Also the likes of Bennett, Maitland, Dickinson have all come through the first two games unscathed & are 100% fit.

I don't think you appreciate quite how physically demanding a Test match is, especially against the likes of South Africa and Samoa.

Pragmatic selection from Cotter.

It's a big solid pack which should be competitive at set-piece and has plenty big ball carriers with Reid, the Grays, Strauss and Denton.

Obviously disappointing not to have Russell but can't be helped, at least Hogg and Scott are both showing good form and both wingers are looking sharp. Vernon is a gamble but he did very well for Glasgow on their run-in for the Pro-12.

by flyhalffactory Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:30 pm

I thought some VC selections for our original squad were very poor however so far his choices have been sound and what I would have thought was "horses for courses" teams but now what could have been a very realistic potential win and realising of us ending up as group winners, now could end up with us going into the Samoan match with them only one point behind us, or even a worse scenario Japan playing USA just one point behind knowing we have lost against Samoa the day before.

Was flabbergasted when Rhubarb and Barclay wasn't originally selected and now seeing Weir and to a lesser extent Cowan facing off to a re-energised Boks 23 is filling me with dismay.

The premise that we are resting players as being suggested is a crock of sh*te, if that was the case why didn't VC (knowing that Japan had beaten SA and cracking the group wide open) rest the likes of Hogg, Bennett, Russell, Hardie, and Dickinson against the USA knowing that their replacements Maitland, Vernon, Weir etc could still potentially get a WBP victory, then put out our best 15 and best bench for this one.

I can only assume Bennett is carrying a slight injury!, but I like the idea of Vernon facing off in the midfield

by **RDW** Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:30 pm

Majestic83 wrote:Yes it is a tough ask but it is very manageable to do, their training will have been tapered down so there will be very little contact work in training at the moment. They will mainly be doing set moves, line out & scrimmaging work so the work load during training wont be intense.

Today was their first full session back since the USA game - they've certainly been well rested. I hope they're having an intensive scrummaging and maul defence session though.

Majestic83 wrote:
Also the likes of Bennett, Maitland, Dickinson have all come through the first two games unscathed & are 100% fit.

How do we know that? None of us have played International rugby, and we've not been involved in the players' physio/rehab and surveyed they performance at training to know what condition they are in and how much recovery time they need. Sam Warbuton once said that it is often the middle of the next week before he can even lift his arms above his shoulders - those that had a lot of gametime in the first two games will definitely be feeling it.

And I think this is a change in plan - Dickinson and Ford were never meant to play much against the USA, maybe 10-15 minutes max. Instead Ford ended up playing 73 minutes and Dickinson 40 - having played almost a full game 5 days ealier. I remember thinking at the time that Bennett looked pretty beaten up as the USA game went on - he may be struggling.

I think we need to trust in Vern here, and assume that a veteran coach with leading sports science data, top physios and doctors at his disposal and being around the players 24/7 knows what the best team selection is more than us armchair fans sitting in front of a keyboard!

by Majestic83 Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:42 pm

reallybored wrote:
Majestic83 wrote:Yes it is a tough ask but it is very manageable to do, their training will have been tapered down so there will be very little contact work in training at the moment. They will mainly be doing set moves, line out & scrimmaging work so the work load during training wont be intense.
Also the likes of Bennett, Maitland, Dickinson have all come through the first two games unscathed & are 100% fit.
I don't think you appreciate quite how physically demanding a Test match is, especially against the likes of South Africa and Samoa.

Pragmatic selection from Cotter.

It's a big solid pack which should be competitive at set-piece and has plenty big ball carriers with Reid, the Grays, Strauss and Denton.

Obviously disappointing not to have Russell but can't be helped, at least Hogg and Scott are both showing good form and both wingers are looking sharp. Vernon is a gamble but he did very well for Glasgow on their run-in for the Pro-12.

Actually I do appreciate how physically demanding a test match can be, however with all the training etc that the squad have done they are more than capable of playing 2 games with a week in between back to back.

by Majestic83 Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:45 pm

SecretFly wrote:no,no no...................... No no no no no!

I knew that might be the response. Scotland have a good chance of getting out of the pool. But what's the point of getting out of the pool to be either too drained or having too many injuries to have much of a say in the afters?

For about two or three days there'll be cheers at getting out of the Pool... but then the serious sides get serious. Scotland will want to have enough ammo left to be one of them. They mightn't think that now. But getting a hammering in a quarterfinal is not much of a step up from getting out of the Pool.

Do you not remember the last 2 world cups?
The last one we didn't even make it out the pool, the one before that we made out by the skin of our teeth only getting through with a 2 point victory over Italy, that was after Hadden's embarrassing decision to rest key players against the All Blacks.

by SecretFly Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:51 pm

I think we all rest key players against the All Blacks Whistle

by SecretFly Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:51 pm

... or have them sent on home before the rest of the squad follows them.

by R!skysports Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:52 pm

URGENT

My Missies is very ill (not life threatening) but means I can not make the game

Does anyone want 2 tickets for the match - face value (plus posting)

Cat C - £85

Need to know asap - as would prefer to sell them to someone here - for face value than someone else

Thanks

by Majestic83 Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:53 pm

[quote="RDW_Scotland"]

Majestic83 wrote:Yes it is a tough ask but it is very manageable to do, their training will have been tapered down so there will be very little contact work in training at the moment. They will mainly be doing set moves, line out & scrimmaging work so the work load during training wont be intense.

Today was their first full session back since the USA game - they've certainly been well rested. I hope they're having an intensive scrummaging and maul defence session though.

Majestic83 wrote:
Also the likes of Bennett, Maitland, Dickinson have all come through the first two games unscathed & are 100% fit.

How do we know that? None of us have played International rugby, and we've not been involved in the players' physio/rehab and surveyed they performance at training to know what condition they are in and how much recovery time they need. Sam Warbuton once said that it is often the middle of the next week before he can even lift his arms above his shoulders - those that had a lot of gametime in the first two games will definitely be feeling it.

And I think this is a change in plan - Dickinson and Ford were never meant to play much against the USA, maybe 10-15 minutes max. Instead Ford ended up playing 73 minutes and Dickinson 40 - having played almost a full game 5 days ealier. I remember thinking at the time that Bennett looked pretty beaten up as the USA game went on - he may be struggling.

I think we need to trust in Vern here, and assume that a veteran coach with leading sports science data, top physios and doctors at his disposal and being around the players 24/7 knows what the best team selection is more than us armchair fans sitting in front of a keyboard!

Wrong boxing

I've been capped by Poland at XV's!

One of my mates who used to do media for Edinburgh is covering the world cup and was down with the team earlier this week. Bennett, Maitland, Dickinson are all 100% fit, Maitland and Bennett have been out doing sprint sessions and Dickinson has been doing a lot of gym work.

The days of trusting Scotland coaches are long gone, how many bad selections have they made over the years....Cotter included!

by **George Carlin** Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:57 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:
I think we need to trust in Vern here, and assume that a veteran coach with leading sports science data, top physios and doctors at his disposal and being around the players 24/7 knows what the best team selection is more than us armchair fans sitting in front of a keyboard!

You'll never make it as an armchair pundit on these boards, son. Not with that sort of attitude.

by cakeordeath Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:58 pm

The only selection I don't agree with is Wilson, he offers nothing at the breakdown, or in attack. So unless we have switched venue to a kebab shop we are not going to see much from him.

by **George Carlin** Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:01 pm

cakeordeath wrote:The only selection I don't agree with is Wilson, he offers nothing at the breakdown, or in attack. So unless we have switched venue to a kebab shop we are not going to see much from him.

Yes. For me, Wilson is like a Nissan.

Everything works adequately, but I still really don't want one.

by **RDW** Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:02 pm

Maj – that quoting effot makes Jimbo look like an expert!

OK I’ll rephrase it, anyone who has played top level International rugby! Rolling Eyes

And as promising as your description of the players sound, you get my point – there’s a big difference between doing weights and sprints and having to play against the Sprinbocks. I’m sure they would be fit enough for it, but Cotter is obviously looking at the bigger picture.

by **RDW** Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:03 pm

George Carlin wrote:
cakeordeath wrote:The only selection I don't agree with is Wilson, he offers nothing at the breakdown, or in attack. So unless we have switched venue to a kebab shop we are not going to see much from him.
Yes. For me, Wilson is like a Nissan.

Everything works adequately, but I still really don't want one.

Is that why Keira Knightley keeps turning you down?

by flyhalffactory Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:06 pm

Majestic83 wrote:
SecretFly wrote:no,no no...................... No no no no no!

I knew that might be the response. Scotland have a good chance of getting out of the pool. But what's the point of getting out of the pool to be either too drained or having too many injuries to have much of a say in the afters?

For about two or three days there'll be cheers at getting out of the Pool... but then the serious sides get serious. Scotland will want to have enough ammo left to be one of them. They mightn't think that now. But getting a hammering in a quarterfinal is not much of a step up from getting out of the Pool.

Do you not remember the last 2 world cups?
The last one we didn't even make it out the pool, the one before that we made out by the skin of our teeth only getting through with a 2 point victory over Italy, that was after Hadden's embarrassing decision to rest key players against the All Blacks.

The point or points are firstly the sign of good management is rotating your players during the group stages, e.g. if we were going to select our best players for the USA game then we should have played our best 15 from the start, not throw them on in the 2nd half telling them to give an "80 minute 5 try performance" in 40 mins, that's what has tired certain players out. Secondly there is a 7/8 day rest period between the last group game and the quarter finals, that is more than enough time for today's modern "professional" fit players to recuperate

by cakeordeath Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:07 pm

George Carlin wrote:
cakeordeath wrote:The only selection I don't agree with is Wilson, he offers nothing at the breakdown, or in attack. So unless we have switched venue to a kebab shop we are not going to see much from him.
Yes. For me, Wilson is like a Nissan.

Everything works adequately, but I still really don't want one.

Ohhh hark at you with your fancy car privilege. I own a push bike. I dream of having a Nissan*

*I don't

by **George Carlin** Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:07 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:
George Carlin wrote:
cakeordeath wrote:The only selection I don't agree with is Wilson, he offers nothing at the breakdown, or in attack. So unless we have switched venue to a kebab shop we are not going to see much from him.
Yes. For me, Wilson is like a Nissan.

Everything works adequately, but I still really don't want one.

Is that why Keira Knightley keeps turning you down?

Scotland v South Africa, 3 October - Page 6 Sherlo10

by **RDW** Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:12 pm

George Carlin wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:
George Carlin wrote:
cakeordeath wrote:The only selection I don't agree with is Wilson, he offers nothing at the breakdown, or in attack. So unless we have switched venue to a kebab shop we are not going to see much from him.
Yes. For me, Wilson is like a Nissan.

Everything works adequately, but I still really don't want one.

Is that why Keira Knightley keeps turning you down?

Are you not the one that has the infatuation for Keira Knightly? Or is that FES? If so then move along, nothing to see here...

by funnyExiledScot Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:16 pm

Not me. A criterion I have for women is that they must weigh more than my arm.

by funnyExiledScot Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:20 pm

Suffice to say I completely agree with Maj on this. The games to focus on in this Group are South Africa and Samoa. The 1st XV should be playing both those games to win. I think it's pathetic frankly that in two World Cups we've sought to rotate players against the top teams in our Group.

We knew the schedule and should have managed the training and the preparations accordingly. The game to rotate in was USA, not this one. Once again we risk going home without having a proper crack at the best teams.

by TrailApe Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:22 pm

Good luck to the lads in Blue on Saturday!

If my lot crash I’ll be jumping onto the Scottish bandwagon – after all it’s only since 1237 AD that my neck of the woods was certified as 100% English

(Scriptum cirographatum inter Henricum Regem Anglie et Alexandrum Regem Scocie de comitatu Northumbrie Cumbrie et Westmerland factum coram Ottone Legato)

by funnyExiledScot Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:24 pm

TrailApe wrote:Good luck to the lads in Blue on Saturday!

If my lot crash I’ll be jumping onto the Scottish bandwagon – after all it’s only since 1237 AD that my neck of the woods was certified as 100% English

(Scriptum cirographatum inter Henricum Regem Anglie et Alexandrum Regem Scocie de comitatu Northumbrie Cumbrie et Westmerland factum coram Ottone Legato)

Ah, so you speak Afrikaans as well......

by screamingaddabs Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:26 pm

As an Englishman living in Glasgow (with a Scottish wife), I will be practising my Scottish accent for when England lose to the Aussies.

by madmaccas Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:29 pm

Riskysports wrote:URGENT

My Missies is very ill (not life threatening) but means I can not make the game

Does anyone want 2 tickets for the match - face value (plus posting)

Cat C - £85

Need to know asap - as would prefer to sell them to someone here - for face value than someone else

Thanks

The poor thing. Is she ok?

I'm pretty tempted by the tickets. Have you still got 'em? I'd need to see how much train tickets from London to Newcastle would be though!

by funnyExiledScot Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:30 pm

screamingaddabs wrote:As an Englishman living in Glasgow (with a Scottish wife), I will be practising my Scottish accent for when England lose to the Aussies.

You are a brave man. I salute you.

by screamingaddabs Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:33 pm

funnyExiledScot wrote:
screamingaddabs wrote:As an Englishman living in Glasgow (with a Scottish wife), I will be practising my Scottish accent for when England lose to the Aussies.

You are a brave man. I salute you.

In all honesty I have never had a single issue. My wife has. She's from Edinburgh though.

I walk around town in my England rugby shirt, never had a problem. Admittedly I wouldn't wear an England football shirt in Glasgow. (Or anywhere else actually the England football team can sod off)

by Weegie Wizard Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:38 pm

Remember there's a certain type of Glaswegian who is happy to wear the England football top on a regular basis.

There's no helping your Mrs though....dreadful

by EWT Spoons Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:44 pm

funnyExiledScot wrote:Suffice to say I completely agree with Maj on this. The games to focus on in this Group are South Africa and Samoa. The 1st XV should be playing both those games to win. I think it's pathetic frankly that in two World Cups we've sought to rotate players against the top teams in our Group.

We knew the schedule and should have managed the training and the preparations accordingly. The game to rotate in was USA, not this one. Once again we risk going home without having a proper crack at the best teams.

We did rotate for the USA match. A starting line up of Grant, Welsh, Strokosch, Wilson, Horne and Pyrgos are not our first choice players. However, the way the match was going dictated we had to bring some of our first xv on and leave others on the park.

That obviously has consequences for this game. It could well have been Vern's plan to sub off Bennett and have him fit for this game, or to not have to bring Nel & Dickinson on, or maybe sub Ford...who knows, but we needed to win that game first. Now we have to try and win this game with what we have.

Also I'm really not sure where the major issue is with the team Vern's selected. The only questionable calls are LH & hooker, who can be replaced if it's going wrong and Vernon, who while clearly isn't as good as Bennett, will offer us something slightly different in terms of physicality.

Other than that I wouldn't say we are weaker anywhere in the team with the selections he has gone with from the players available.

by RuggerRadge2611 Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:45 pm

A lot of whinging about the team, looks pretty strong to me. Vernon deserves a run out at 13 and although not the angel

he can still play some good rugby.

Also Dozer and Bluto on the pitch on the same side together for the first time. Hope they can punch some holes.

by funnyExiledScot Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:49 pm

EWT Spoons wrote:Also I'm really not sure where the major issue is with the team Vern's selected. The only questionable calls are LH & hooker, who can be replaced if it's going wrong and Vernon, who while clearly isn't as good as Bennett, will offer us something slightly different in terms of physicality.

Other than that I wouldn't say we are weaker anywhere in the team with the selections he has gone with from the players available.

Reid, Brown, Cowan, Vernon and Visser. 1/3 of the team.

Obviously the injury to Russell makes 6, but I don't blame Vern for that, albeit that I think the decision to select Weir over Jackson or Tonks was a mistake as it changes the shape of the backline.

I also believe the bench is wrong. Wilson shouldn't be there. Adds nothing. Maitland would be better than S Lamont as well.

by TrailApe Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:55 pm

Ah, so you speak Afrikaans as well......

It's going to be good crack on Saturday night in the toon.

A Scotsman, a Geordie and a South African walk into a bar.....

There was a joke in there but nobody understood it.

by screamingaddabs Thu Oct 01, 2015 4:01 pm

What do the Scottish fans on here think about the number of foreign born starters in your team this weekend? Your whole back row is foreign born. Not trying to start a fight here, just wondering, as I dislike when players like Flutey were picked for England.

by jimbopip Thu Oct 01, 2015 4:07 pm

[quote="RDW_Scotland"]Maj – that quoting effot makes Jimbo look like an expert!
quote]

I am an expert. furious

just nobody knows at what. Laugh

by **RDW** Thu Oct 01, 2015 4:11 pm

screamingaddabs wrote:What do the Scottish fans on here think about the number of foreign born starters in your team this weekend? Your whole back row is foreign born. Not trying to start a fight here, just wondering, as I dislike when players like Flutey were picked for England.

Strauss – no Scottish roots, but has earned his place as a key player for Glasgow over the last 3 years

Cowan – Scottish mum, his brother is friends with a lot of players at my local rugby club in Edinburgh, and Blair even agreed to phone us in the clubhouse after one of our games to give us some banter. Certainly not got any issues with his claim to play for Scotland

Denton – Scottish mum, moved to Scotland when he was 17 and played 2nd XV rugby for a local club team before he was spotted by Edinburgh. Again don’t have any issues with his Scottishness!

by Weegie Wizard Thu Oct 01, 2015 4:14 pm

screamingaddabs wrote:What do the Scottish fans on here think about the number of foreign born starters in your team this weekend? Your whole back row is foreign born. Not trying to start a fight here, just wondering, as I dislike when players like Flutey were picked for England.

It depends on the player.

Denton has been over here for years and I do genuinely believe he considers himself Scottish to a large extent. I view him as the same category of import as Sam H-C. Cowan has put the graft in whenever he plays so I'm not fussed about him either (from the POV of nationality). Strauss and Nel would undoubtedly be playing for the opposition had Meyer rated him highly enough, which is poor. Not their fault and I don't put the blame on Cotter either - those are the rules. Over the last 3 years they have done enough for us to think they will be 2 of the most committed guys on the park though.

by jimbopip Thu Oct 01, 2015 4:14 pm

madmaccas wrote:
Riskysports wrote:URGENT

My Missies is very ill (not life threatening) but means I can not make the game

Does anyone want 2 tickets for the match - face value (plus posting)

Cat C - £85

Need to know asap - as would prefer to sell them to someone here - for face value than someone else

Thanks

The poor thing. Is she ok?

I'm pretty tempted by the tickets. Have you still got 'em? I'd need to see how much train tickets from London to Newcastle would be though!

Risky, sorry to hear that. I hope everything works out in the end. Fingers Crossed

Madmacass, ther's an 8:00 train from Kings Cross which gets into Noocassell about 11:00. We're doing that and returning on the Sunday afternoon and a return came in at about £120.

Everyone else: you all moaned about angel

as being too lightweight to stand up to the Boks. Well Richie V will stand up to them and then some. Also, he will come in handy at the breakdown.

The only selection I'm not happy about is Cowan. Barclay shopld be there.

Meatball must have something: Toonie kept him over Jackson and now Cotter has made the same choice. I think/hope that on Saturday we'll see why. Fingers Crossed

by funnyExiledScot Thu Oct 01, 2015 4:16 pm

screamingaddabs wrote:What do the Scottish fans on here think about the number of foreign born starters in your team this weekend? Your whole back row is foreign born. Not trying to start a fight here, just wondering, as I dislike when players like Flutey were picked for England.

Love it. The more the merrier. I've lived in Scotland half my life, and don't like 45% of the voters in my country, so more than happy to have some "good immigration".

by funnyExiledScot Thu Oct 01, 2015 4:19 pm

jimbopip wrote:Everyone else: you all moaned about as being too lightweight to stand up to the Boks. Well Richie V will stand up to them and then some. Also, he will come in handy at the breakdown.

Meatball must have something: Toonie kept him over Jackson and now Cotter has made the same choice. I think/hope that on Saturday we'll see why.

1. Vernon's ability to "stand up" is not in question. It's his ability to play rugby to the standard of Mark Bennett that concerns me. Still with Meatball at 10 and Laidlaw at 9 I don't expect to see much in the way of fast flowing moves.

2. Or put another way, Jackson is a good player and could earn more money elsewhere in the Aviva and left, whereas no-one wanted to sign Weir and therefore he's stuck at Glasgow.

by BamBam Thu Oct 01, 2015 4:23 pm

funnyExiledScot wrote:
screamingaddabs wrote:What do the Scottish fans on here think about the number of foreign born starters in your team this weekend? Your whole back row is foreign born. Not trying to start a fight here, just wondering, as I dislike when players like Flutey were picked for England.

Love it. The more the merrier. I've lived in Scotland half my life, and don't like 45% of the voters in my country, so more than happy to have some "good immigration".

by madmaccas Thu Oct 01, 2015 4:37 pm

jimbopip wrote:

Madmacass, ther's an 8:00 train from Kings Cross which gets into Noocassell about 11:00. We're doing that and returning on the Sunday afternoon and a return came in at about £120.

Now I'd just have to find a hotel. Looking and there isn't a sausage! Will keep trying

by funnyExiledScot Thu Oct 01, 2015 4:40 pm

madmaccas wrote:
jimbopip wrote:

Madmacass, ther's an 8:00 train from Kings Cross which gets into Noocassell about 11:00. We're doing that and returning on the Sunday afternoon and a return came in at about £120.

Now I'd just have to find a hotel. Looking and there isn't a sausage! Will keep trying

You can stay at Ian Bru's place. Jimbo will give you the address. More the merrier I say.

by IanBru Thu Oct 01, 2015 4:59 pm

I walked past Eben Etzebeth and Lwazi Mvovo on Grey Street yesterday.

Truth be told, Etzebeth didn't look all that. He was wearing what can only be described as Shoreditch white boy rapper wear.

by screamingaddabs Thu Oct 01, 2015 5:09 pm

Thanks for the responses re: foreign born players. Didn't know Cowan had a Scottish mum.

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