Glasgow and Edinburgh: Ongoing Banter Thread X-rated

[funnyExiledScot]

First topic message reminder :

Previously by the same artist:

https://www.606v2.com/t48240-glasgow-and-edinburgh-ongoing-banter-thread
https://www.606v2.com/t51313-glasgow-and-edinburgh-ongoing-banter-thread-ii
https://www.606v2.com/t53119-glasgow-and-edinburgh-ongoing-banter-thread-iii
https://www.606v2.com/t54519-glasgow-and-edinburgh-ongoing-banter-thread-iv
https://www.606v2.com/t55409-glasgow-and-edinburgh-ongoing-banter-thread-v-the-fun-continues
https://www.606v2.com/t56913p950-glasgow-and-edinburgh-ongoing-banter-thread-vi-banter-boogaloo
https://www.606v2.com/t57946-glasgow-and-edinburgh-ongoing-banter-thread-vii
https://www.606v2.com/t58659-glasgow-and-edinburgh-ongoing-banter-thread-viii
https://www.606v2.com/t59409p1000-glasgow-and-edinburgh-ongoing-banter-thread-ix

Edinburgh

1872 Champions

Glasgow

1872 Runners-up

[Majestic83]

With Glasgow having a bit of a crisis at hooker with them all dropping like flies I wouldn't be surprised if Townsend brought in more cover.
He has brought in players in the past from the Scottish Premiership with a good degree of success.
The only players that are springing to mind that could step up fairly easily are Boroughmuirs hooking duo Sean Crombie & Cal Davies. Crombie has just returned to Scotland after playing in the UAE for a couple years and has played for Edinburgh & Newcastle in the past. Davies has been putting in some good shifts for the past couple seasons, think he will be pushing for the Scotland club team come the new year.

[funnyExiledScot]

Is anyone still got a WC downer

I do....

You can probably get some penicillin

For Risky I was thinking viagra for his WC downer.....

[madmaccas]

With Glasgow having a bit of a crisis at hooker with them all dropping like flies I wouldn't be surprised if Townsend brought in more cover.
He has brought in players in the past from the Scottish Premiership with a good degree of success.
The only players that are springing to mind that could step up fairly easily are Boroughmuirs hooking duo Sean Crombie & Cal Davies. Crombie has just returned to Scotland after playing in the UAE for a couple years and has played for Edinburgh & Newcastle in the past. Davies has been putting in some good shifts for the past couple seasons, think he will be pushing for the Scotland club team come the new year.

Could also see if LS are willing to part with Adam Kwasnicki or Dave Cherry for a few weeks.

Actually, Scott Lawson's down at Newcastle, but isn't making the starting XV, so could do a job short term.

[madmaccas]

Thom Evans is looking to make a comeback!

I know he's 30, but he's had 5 years off (as opposed to Schlong who's now 34 but has played non-stop) and apparently is in pretty good nick.

Margot Wells said:

The surgeon was amazed at his recovery but it is not as if there was any physical damage to his body,

It is now as strong as it has ever been, he is as fast as he has ever been, as powerful as he has ever been and there is no area of weakness at all. I would actually say he is better now than when he got hurt.

There's a long way to go but could a Glasgow comeback be on the cards? Edinburgh desperately need good backs. He could even start off for his old club London Scottish and see where he goes from there.

http://www.espn.co.uk/rugby/story/_/id/14228454/thom-evans-set-dramatic-return-rugby-following-spinal-injury

[demosthenes]

Thom Evans is looking to make a comeback!

I know he's 30, but he's had 5 years off (as opposed to Schlong who's now 34 but has played non-stop) and apparently is in pretty good nick.

Margot Wells said:

The surgeon was amazed at his recovery but it is not as if there was any physical damage to his body,

It is now as strong as it has ever been, he is as fast as he has ever been, as powerful as he has ever been and there is no area of weakness at all. I would actually say he is better now than when he got hurt.

There's a long way to go but could a Glasgow comeback be on the cards? Edinburgh desperately need good backs. He could even start off for his old club London Scottish and see where he goes from there.

http://www.espn.co.uk/rugby/story/_/id/14228454/thom-evans-set-dramatic-return-rugby-following-spinal-injury

If he does try to come back, he may be physically fit, but would any normal person be mentally prepared to go in as hard to contact as is needed in the pro game having been through what he has endured?

How often do you see it in players who have suffered bad, but not life-threatening injuries that they are not the same afterwards as before? Their subconscious wont let them commit as much, especially in a situation similar to what caused the injury.

Sorry Thom, leave us - and yourself - with the good memories, and not having to look away every time you take a tackle.

[funnyExiledScot]

Well it's great to hear that he's recovered from a physical perspective, although I do wonder whether his confidence on the rugby field will be an issue after an injury like that. It certainly shows courage to come back like this - perhaps LS or the 7's would be a good way of introducing him back into things.

Presumably Lamont will retire at the end of this season so there could certainly be an openning at Glasgow. I doubt Big T will hang around either.

[jimbopip]

Thom Evans is looking to make a comeback!

I know he's 30, but he's had 5 years off (as opposed to Schlong who's now 34 but has played non-stop) and apparently is in pretty good nick.

Margot Wells said:

The surgeon was amazed at his recovery but it is not as if there was any physical damage to his body,

It is now as strong as it has ever been, he is as fast as he has ever been, as powerful as he has ever been and there is no area of weakness at all. I would actually say he is better now than when he got hurt.

There's a long way to go but could a Glasgow comeback be on the cards? Edinburgh desperately need good backs. He could even start off for his old club London Scottish and see where he goes from there.

http://www.espn.co.uk/rugby/story/_/id/14228454/thom-evans-set-dramatic-return-rugby-following-spinal-injury

If he does try to come back, he may be physically fit, but would any normal person be mentally prepared to go in as hard to contact as is needed in the pro game having been through what he has endured?

How often do you see it in players who have suffered bad, but not life-threatening injuries that they are not the same afterwards as before?  Their subconscious wont let them commit as much, especially in a situation similar to what caused the injury.

Sorry Thom, leave us - and yourself - with the good memories, and not having to look away every time you take a tackle.

If he went to the Luvvies he could fill the "non-tackling, rucking optional winger" role recently vacated by Tim McMisser.

[IanBru]

If Thom's good enough, he's good enough, and I don't think we're in danger of throwing him in before he's ready - there'll be quite a few more levels of progression to complete before he's turning out for Glasgow's 1st XV.

In terms of his willingness to play again, it's really up to him. I've suffered injuries that now rule me out of all contact sport and which, strangely, stop me eating a well-done steak. Bloody-as-hell (to quote Pulp Fiction) is the only way that doesn't hurt to eat. So I make the judgement that playing those sports are not worth the risk. For Thom Evans, it's a judgement that only he can make, and I think he's pretty damned brave.

[madmaccas]

How often do you see it in players who have suffered bad, but not life-threatening injuries that they are not the same afterwards as before?  Their subconscious wont let them commit as much, especially in a situation similar to what caused the injury.

Sorry Thom, leave us - and yourself - with the good memories, and not having to look away every time you take a tackle.

Tell that to David Pocock!

I know what you're saying, but everyone's different. Let's see how he goes with the 7's, but you never know. He seems to have drifted slightly over the past few years (abortive sprinting, acting and 'reality' careers) so a return to rugby could be just what he needs.

[funnyExiledScot]

Thom Evans is looking to make a comeback!

I know he's 30, but he's had 5 years off (as opposed to Schlong who's now 34 but has played non-stop) and apparently is in pretty good nick.

Margot Wells said:

The surgeon was amazed at his recovery but it is not as if there was any physical damage to his body,

It is now as strong as it has ever been, he is as fast as he has ever been, as powerful as he has ever been and there is no area of weakness at all. I would actually say he is better now than when he got hurt.

There's a long way to go but could a Glasgow comeback be on the cards? Edinburgh desperately need good backs. He could even start off for his old club London Scottish and see where he goes from there.

http://www.espn.co.uk/rugby/story/_/id/14228454/thom-evans-set-dramatic-return-rugby-following-spinal-injury

If he does try to come back, he may be physically fit, but would any normal person be mentally prepared to go in as hard to contact as is needed in the pro game having been through what he has endured?

How often do you see it in players who have suffered bad, but not life-threatening injuries that they are not the same afterwards as before?  Their subconscious wont let them commit as much, especially in a situation similar to what caused the injury.

Sorry Thom, leave us - and yourself - with the good memories, and not having to look away every time you take a tackle.

If he went to the Luvvies he could fill the  "non-tackling, rucking optional, try scoring winger" role recently vacated by Tim McMisser.

Fixed for you.

[21st Century Schizoid Man]

Just to have Thom Evans back at Scotstoun (I know he played at Firhiil mostly but you know what I mean ) would be massive boost to the players and support - he is still the top try scorer for The Warriors with DTH. Could we get DTH back too ?

[funnyExiledScot]

Agree with you Schiz, although I'm surprised to hear you speak so fondly of perhaps the most "metro" rugby player of them all!!

When you think of DTH, Evans x2, Rory Lamont and Maitland all leaving the club, the soap dodgers really have let/lost some top wing talent out the door in recent times.

[21st Century Schizoid Man]

This is the world of pro sport we are now in - players come and go and good luck to them - maximise their talents because as TE found out is could be very short. On that if Thom Evans is sure about this great but as Risky put it it may be he is still searching for a career. Still there is always Kelly Brook on his ahem ....headboard

[RDW]

How often do you see it in players who have suffered bad, but not life-threatening injuries that they are not the same afterwards as before?  Their subconscious wont let them commit as much, especially in a situation similar to what caused the injury.

Sorry Thom, leave us - and yourself - with the good memories, and not having to look away every time you take a tackle.

Tell that to David Pocock!

I know what you're saying, but everyone's different. Let's see how he goes with the 7's, but you never know. He seems to have drifted slightly over the past few years (abortive sprinting, acting and 'reality' careers) so a return to rugby could be just what he needs.

To be fair, as bad as Pocock's injuries were that weren't life threatening / risk of paralysis!

[IanBru]

This is the world of pro sport we are now in - players come and go and good luck to them - maximise their talents because as TE found out is could be very short.   On that if Thom Evans is sure about this great but as Risky put it it may be he is still searching for a career.   Still there is always Kelly Brook on his ahem ....headboard

Using my too-oft-quoted sports analogies from Moneyball, the quality of a player's girlfriend can translate to the quality of a player.

"He passes the eye candy test. He's got the looks. He's great at playing the part. He just needs to get some playing time."
"I'm just saying his girlfriend is a 6 at best."

Well, we all know that Kelly is no 6.

[RDW]

He's playing in Dubai 7s this weekend

http://www.espn.co.uk/rugby/story/_/id/14228454/thom-evans-set-dramatic-return-rugby-following-spinal-injury

[21st Century Schizoid Man]

This is the world of pro sport we are now in - players come and go and good luck to them - maximise their talents because as TE found out is could be very short.   On that if Thom Evans is sure about this great but as Risky put it it may be he is still searching for a career.   Still there is always Kelly Brook on his ahem ....headboard

Using my too-oft-quoted sports analogies from Moneyball, the quality of a player's girlfriend can translate to the quality of a player.

"He passes the eye candy test. He's got the looks. He's great at playing the part. He just needs to get some playing time."
"I'm just saying his girlfriend is a 6 at best."

Well, we all know that Kelly is no 6.

Finn R's response, on Warrior TV, is a classic when asked "Whats it like dating Miss Scotland?". The bold boy replies "Brilliant" a la Fast Show

[Majestic83]

Good luck to Thom if he does plan on making a full comeback. Suffered a similar injury to Thom when I was about 19 and it did take a long time to make a playing comeback. More so because of the mental side than anything. My neck & back are certainly a lot stronger now than before the injury but it did take a long time before I was going into a game 100% confident & playing at 100%.
He has gotten the rugby bug again after playing in the charity game a couple months ago where he looked in fairly good form & was going hard in to the tackles and rucks as well.
Not sure how well he will go at 15s but can certainly see him playing on the 7s circuit for Scotland again.

[jimbopip]

This is the world of pro sport we are now in - players come and go and good luck to them - maximise their talents because as TE found out is could be very short.   On that if Thom Evans is sure about this great but as Risky put it it may be he is still searching for a career.   Still there is always Kelly Brook on his ahem ....headboard

Using my too-oft-quoted sports analogies from Moneyball, the quality of a player's girlfriend can translate to the quality of a player.

"He passes the eye candy test. He's got the looks. He's great at playing the part. He just needs to get some playing time."
"I'm just saying his girlfriend is a 6 at best."

Well, we all know that Kelly is no 6.

No, no, young Padwan; Kelly Brown is a no.6.
Kelly Brook with her ball handling skills is a 10.

[RDW]

Glasgow's game agsint Racing has been scheduled for 8/9/10th January so their game away to Zebre will have to be re-scheduled.

[cakeordeath]

Glasgow's game agsint Racing has been scheduled for 8/9/10th January so their game away to Zebre will have to be re-scheduled.

That works well couple of easy warm up games (AKA 1872 cup) to work off that Xmas bloat. Boys should be confident and fit

[EWT Spoons]

Was speaking to someone allegedly in the know last night at the game. Apparently most of the players on the list RDW posted have either signed or in the process of signing new contracts.

Roddy apparently has retired
Ben toolis has a new contract and is likely to sign, Alex toolis has been offered a new contract as well but isn't likely to sign. He apparently feels he too far down the pecking order (once everyone is fit) so is considering other options. One of them being a move to Ireland as he is also Irish qualified so I'm led to believe.

This might all be rubbish but it's what I was told.

[RDW]

These kind of rumours are often true so positive to hear. Much better to hear that than none of them have signed!

[VinceWLB]

Thanks for those neat inside infos Spoons!

Positive news all round and hope they make good use of the money saved and gained by offloading Denton.

Alex Toolis was okay yesterday but he showed he has still quite a long way for making up the lost ground on his twin brother.

[RDW]

Alex looks like a big lump - not as mobile as Ben.

There is always room for big lumps in a squad though, and he showed a nice offload after Burleigh's break

[VinceWLB]

Alex looks like a big lump - not as mobile as Ben.

There is always room for big lumps in a squad though, and he showed a nice offload after Burleigh's break

Looked not quite as effective in his carries too, even the lineout work wasn't as prominent but he is definitely a great player to have around as a 5th choice option!

[BigGee]

I recorded and watched the London Scottish v Bristol game this morning. Both Horne and Ferguson had pretty good games.

Horne, a very good eye for a break and has some pace.

Fergy, great distribution, made the 2 LS tries and showed good feet on the break as well. Both of them look well able to make the step up.

[George Carlin]

https://www.606v2.com/t61435-ulster-rugby-v-edinburgh-rugby-4-december
https://www.606v2.com/t61436-glasgow-warriors-v-leinster-rugby-5-december

Innit.

[funnyExiledScot]

Alex looks like a big lump - not as mobile as Ben.

There is always room for big lumps in a squad though, and he showed a nice offload after Burleigh's break

Looked not quite as effective in his carries too, even the lineout work wasn't as prominent but he is definitely a great player to have around as a 5th choice option!

I was quite impressed with Alex Toolis on Friday. Big guy with decent hands. I agree he lacks the dynamism of his brother, but I left the ground thinking that the pair of them would make a pretty decent combination. We are lucky at the moment, having those two plus Bresler, McKenzie and Gilchrist.

[EWT Spoons]

Seems like Denton didn't enjoy a great debut. Sin binned 6 mins into his first appearance off the bench.

Haven't seen the incident, but was binned for pulling down a maul apparently.

[RDW]

One of the main reasons Bath lost that game because they brought on a lot of subs at a crucial time, especially in the forwards, and they lost all momentum. Denton was brought on with 15 minutes to go or something like that.

Tigers were trundling towards the Bath line at pace with a rolling maul and I guess Denton was just the unlucky one that had to go!

[RDW]

Niko was also his usual self – a complete handful for both the opposition and his own team!

At 11-11 and in horrible weather conditions Bath were camped on the Leicester line and set up a rolling maul, which was heading towards the Leicester line, only for Niko to rip the ball from Francois Low at the back of the maul and spin it out wide.

The backs knocked on and Niko was subbed immediately after.

I’d hate to hear what Low said to him in the changing room after!

[RDW]

Some promising news on the signing front - Dickinson is keen to stay, and claims everyone else wants to stay too (which doesn't necessarily mean they will all stay)

WITH more than half their squad and their head coach, Alan Solomons, out of contract in the summer, Edinburgh Rugby have a lot of negotiating and number-crunching to do over the coming months. The compensation paid by Bath for the early release of David Denton will only go so far. Some tough choices will have to be made, and the budget could be tested to destruction if they are to succeed in holding on to key assets such as WP Nel.

One piece of good news for the team is that Alasdair Dickinson is eager to extend his stay. And, if the loosehead prop sees a future for himself in the capital at a time when he is playing the best rugby of his career, perhaps Nel, who is increasingly being recognised as a world-class tighthead, will be more inclined to stay.

Along with hooker Ross Ford, the two props are part of an increasingly feared front row for both Edinburgh and Scotland. They scrummaged the Dragons into the ground in Friday night’s 32-13 league win at Murrayfield, with the Welsh side receiving four yellow cards as they resorted to illegal methods to prevent a humiliation.

As if to demonstrate that they can do a lot more than dominate the set piece, Nel and Dickinson scored their team’s first two tries, with backs Tom Brown and Matt Scott joining in later as Edinburgh secured their first bonus point of the season. Nel had another touchdown disallowed for a double movement, and after the game Dickinson praised both of his front-row colleagues.

“WP almost got about four tries - he’s a bulldozer when it comes to a couple of metres out,” Dickinson said. “He’s so good at that and has scored so many tries for us.

“He was outstanding against Dragons. And Ross Ford is just consistently world class. Playing alongside those guys is a pleasure.”

It is a pleasure that Dickinson plans to prolong, although, with characteristic humility, he accepted that his employers would first have to decide that they wanted him to stay. “It’s up to the powers that be,” the 32-year-old continued. “I keep my head down and work hard.

“I love playing for Edinburgh; it’s my home club. I went away, got experience, came back and I love it. Hopefully I’ll be able to stay. But it’s up to the head honchos what happens.

“It would be great if we can keep the pack together, because we’ve grown in the last couple of years. Fingers crossed.

“The players don’t want to leave. Some probably will; that’s just pro sport. But as far as I’m aware, everyone wants to stay. We’re a pretty close team, we’ve gone through some tough times together. We’ll see what happens.”

When Grant Gilchrist returns from injury shortly to call the shots in the lineout, Edinburgh should become even more dominant up front, at least for the rest of the season. How they fare after that will depend less on hard work on the training field, and more on hard bargaining around the boardroom table.

[EWT Spoons]

Sounds good news and is pretty much in line with what I was told.

Hopefully we start hearing some announcements soon about key players signing up.

[RDW]

They usually save the big announcements to around season ticket renewal time, unless it is to quash rumours in the press.

I'd be surprised if we heard anything until after the 6N anyway.

[EWT Spoons]

True. It just would seem quite late to tie players down, so even if it's not officially annoucned, as long as the players are signing up before then.

[RDW]

The player negotiations will be done around now - I was just meaning they won't announce it until later most likely.

[funnyExiledScot]

The big one is WP Nel. Get him on board and the rest will know that we are serious about building something.

[21st Century Schizoid Man]

If you don't sign Nel can we have him ?

[funnyExiledScot]

If you don't sign Nel can we have him ?

Sure, but you have to give us Dunbar, Bennett and Hogg in return. Seems about fair, although Nel scores more tries.

[RDW]

If you don't sign Nel can we have him ?

Sure, but you have to give us Dunbar, Bennett and Hogg in return. Seems about fair, although Nel scores more tries.

I'd probably take that to be fair!

Although we don't really need Dunbar - we've got Strauss.

[funnyExiledScot]

If you don't sign Nel can we have him ?

Sure, but you have to give us Dunbar, Bennett and Hogg in return. Seems about fair, although Nel scores more tries.

I'd probably take that to be fair!

Although we don't really need Dunbar - we've got Strauss.

Both are human beings who purport to play professional rugby. There the similarity ends.

We do however have Matt Scott - 12, who is showing signs of rediscovering his mojo. We also have Burleigh, a better 12 than a 10. Solomons would probably put Dunbar on the wing. Get him chasing those high balls.

[EWT Spoons]

If you don't sign Nel can we have him ?

Sure, but you have to give us Dunbar, Bennett and Hogg in return. Seems about fair, although Nel scores more tries.

I'd probably take that to be fair!

Although we don't really need Dunbar - we've got Strauss.

You boys haven't thought this through, without Nel then we play Andress, who lets face it hasn't exactly set the heather alight.  Also our backs purpose is to tackle and discuss grooming techniques, certainly not to actually pass the ball and score tries.  Dunbar, Bennett and Hogg would be wasted

For clarity, when I say "grooming" I don't mean what RDWs Mrs believes happens on this site!

[funnyExiledScot]

Well I'd like to think that letting go of Nel would result in the signing of a replacement tighthead. Andress does a pretty handy impression of a Glasgow forward at scrum time.

I think Owen Franks should sign up. He must be bored winning all the time and cementing his place in All Blacks history.

[RDW]

For clarity, when I say "grooming" I don't mean what RDWs Mrs believes happens on this site!

1 - it is Mrs RDW-to-be (although it is getting very close now )

2 - she is yet to see anything on this site to persuade her otherwise

[funnyExiledScot]

For clarity, when I say "grooming" I don't mean what RDWs Mrs believes happens on this site!

1 - it is Mrs RDW-to-be (although it is getting very close now )

2 - she is yet to see anything on this site to persuade her otherwise

When's the big day? Make sure you send GC the gift list. He'll be able to handily locate that diamante studded toaster that Mrs RDW has her eye on.

[RDW]

The 100 day countdown has begun. Which means I'm about to spend a hell of a lot of money!

[funnyExiledScot]

Ermm, this is embarrasing but the 606v2 invitations haven't arrived yet....GC will need to book flights, and Schizoid will need to start thumbing a lift shortly.

[EWT Spoons]

For clarity, when I say "grooming" I don't mean what RDWs Mrs believes happens on this site!

1 - it is Mrs RDW-to-be (although it is getting very close now )

2 - she is yet to see anything on this site to persuade her otherwise

Nothing says "I'm not being groomed" quite like inviting a bunch of near strangers from an internet forum to your wedding...just saying.

[RDW]

Just to clarify:

1 – None of you are invited, so no turning up on the day please (Security will be warned)

2 – I certainly don’t like any of you enough to want to spend so much money on you being there

3 – Can you imagine inviting Glaswegians to a fancy venue in central Edinburgh??  

[Sponsored content]