Scotland v Samoa, 10 October

by **George Carlin** Sun 04 Oct 2015, 9:06 am

First topic message reminder :

Scotland v Samoa, 10 October - Page 2 Scot_f10

Scotland v Samoa, 10 October - Page 2 Samoa_12

SCOTLAND V SAMOA
10 October 2015
KO: 14:30 BST
St. James' Park, Newcastle

Live on ITV

Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Touch judges: JP Doyle (England) & Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Television match official: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

A. Head to Head

9 Played 9
7 Won 1
1 Drawn 1
1 Lost 7
218 Points 122

B. Recent Form

8 June 2013
Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, South Africa
27 – 17 Samoa

23 June 2012
Apia Park, Apia
16 – 17 Scotland

27 November 2010
Pittodire, Aberdeen
19 – 16 Scotland

20 November 2005
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
18 – 11 Scotland

4 June 2004
Westpac Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand
3 – 38 Scotland

18 November 2000
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
31 – 8 Scotland

C. Teams

SCOTLAND
Scotland v Samoa, 10 October - Page 2 Gordon10

Scotland v Samoa, 10 October - Page 2 Gordon10

15 Stuart Hogg 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (capt); 1 Alasdair Dickinson, 2 Ross Ford, 3 Willem Nel, 4 Richie Gray, 5 Jonny Gray, 6 Ryan Wilson, 7 John Hardie, 8 David Denton.

Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Jon Welsh, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Josh Strauss, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Peter Horne, 23 Sean Lamont.

SAMOA
Scotland v Samoa, 10 October - Page 2 Jerry-10

Scotland v Samoa, 10 October - Page 2 Jerry-10

15 Tim Nanai-Williams, 14 Paul Perez, 13 George Pisi, 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 Fa'atoina Autagavaia, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i (c); 1 Sakaria Taulafo, 2 Ma'atulimanu Leiataua, 3 Census Johnston, 4 Teofilo Paulo, 5 Kane Thompson, 6 Maurie Faasavalu, 7 Jack Lam, 8 Alafoti Faosiliva.

Replacements: 16 Motu Matu'u, 17 Viliamu Afatia, 18 Anthony Perenise, 19 Faifili Levave, 20 Vavae Tuilagi, 21 Vavao Afemai, 22 Patrick Faapale, 23 Ken Pisi.

by TJ Mon 05 Oct 2015, 3:01 pm

Id much rather Weir than Rhubarb. Rhubarb makes too many mistakes and we know what his is - not up to scratch for international play. I do think you are being over harsh on Weir.

by lostinwales Mon 05 Oct 2015, 3:04 pm

InjuredYetAgain wrote:While I didn't see the Samoa game, from what I have read, we should, repeat should, beat them easily enough. Given it is their last game and looking at how disappointing they have been, I reckon they will have their eyes on the journey home.
If we are disciplined, we should have too much for them assuming we bring back the front-line players and banish Weir to the stands

You do realise that for most of them their journey home isn't actually very far?

by R!skysports Mon 05 Oct 2015, 3:06 pm

TJ wrote:According to ESPN 14 kicks 20 passes for weir which is a high % of kicks but match stats show
scot SA
29 Kicks From Hand 41
121 Passes 156
101 Runs 131

never trust ESPN - they had the Scotland VS USA game as both team with 100% line out lol

The problem with stats is it never shows the context of the aimless kick

Any momentum we might have got was snuffed out by DunkyNoNeck

by flyhalffactory Mon 05 Oct 2015, 3:12 pm

Riskysports wrote:
flyhalffactory wrote:I think he (Weir) was under instructions regarding the down their throat kicking, apart from that he made more tackles, beat more defenders, made more breaks and run more metres close to 100m (Hogg 69m, Seymour 36m, and our line-breaker Scott on 9m!).

He didn't have a bad game and he didn't change his kicking game which suggests he was under instructions

most of that was in the interception and break - which we all credit him with

the rest was him running back to the line of play from the front row of the stand were he normally waits for the ball

He was TERRIBLE -

Agree with you but there was many others who were just as gash, and a fair few who were worse.

Do you think that if he passed more to our centres/backs we would have played any better or lessened the score?, tbh it would have seen a bigger battering based on the midfield mismatch. When Scott actually made yardage he got turned over what three or four times, Seymour no better missed tackles no end, turned over three times, Hoggy dire in defence, missed three tackles and got turned over at least twice maybe three times. De Allende had a field day against Scott on the head to head confrontations and he looked almost terrified every time he had the ball, not sure it was because of concussion but it was bad.

by R!skysports Mon 05 Oct 2015, 3:16 pm

flyhalffactory wrote:
Riskysports wrote:
flyhalffactory wrote:I think he (Weir) was under instructions regarding the down their throat kicking, apart from that he made more tackles, beat more defenders, made more breaks and run more metres close to 100m (Hogg 69m, Seymour 36m, and our line-breaker Scott on 9m!).

He didn't have a bad game and he didn't change his kicking game which suggests he was under instructions

most of that was in the interception and break - which we all credit him with

the rest was him running back to the line of play from the front row of the stand were he normally waits for the ball

He was TERRIBLE -

Agree with you but there was many others who were just as gash, and a fair few who were worse.

Do you think that if he passed more to our centres/backs we would have played any better or lessened the score?, tbh it would have seen a bigger battering based on the midfield mismatch. When Scott actually made yardage he got turned over what three or four times, Seymour no better missed tackles no end, turned over three times, Hoggy dire in defence, missed three tackles and got turned over at least twice maybe three times. De Allende had a field day against Scott on the head to head confrontations and he looked almost terrified every time he had the ball, not sure it was because of concussion but it was bad.

No see here - my limited brain power only has the ability to focus on one tosh player - so DunkyNoneck it is

Maybe - just maybe if they got the ball at the right time and the right place (Gainline etc) they might not have been lined up to be smashed

(But overall it was a poor game by lots)

by EWT Spoons Mon 05 Oct 2015, 3:19 pm

TJ wrote:Id much rather Weir than Rhubarb. Rhubarb makes too many mistakes and we know what his is - not up to scratch for international play. I do think you are being over harsh on Weir.

Sorry but I thnk Weir has shown he's not up to international play either, I would genuinely struggle to remember the last time he had a decent game at international level (if ever)

Also the stats show he kicked a lot away, which didn't work, or if it did work then I fear for the rest of our campaign. Yes SA kicked away the ball more, but they had possession of the ball to allow them to kick more, they were also pretty good at winning it back off us again. They also scored 3 tries, so it was working for them, it wasn't working for us.

by **RDW** Mon 05 Oct 2015, 3:20 pm

One of the main problems with Weir standing so deep is that the opposition have time and space to line up a dominant tackle - so our midfield was smashed every time.

Russell zips the ball wide on the gainline so defenders have less time and make less dominant tackles.

You can try to get round that with more dummy runners or making the move from the 12, but we didn't really do any of that.

by TJ Mon 05 Oct 2015, 3:20 pm

Thats our issue. We have one decent 10. Next in line is a choice of a headless chicken or a dour kicker.

by EWT Spoons Mon 05 Oct 2015, 3:23 pm

TJ wrote:Thats our issue. We have one decent 10. Next in line is a choice of a headless chicken or a dour kicker.

100% agree with that

by TJ Mon 05 Oct 2015, 3:23 pm

Right - I shall watch the game again focussing on Weir. How deep is too deep? does it change in defense and attack? I'll report back what I see

by R!skysports Mon 05 Oct 2015, 3:28 pm

TJ wrote:Right - I shall watch the game again focussing on Weir. How deep is too deep? does it change in defense and attack? I'll report back what I see

I was going to Google that - but think I might get my P45

by TJ Mon 05 Oct 2015, 3:30 pm

by EWT Spoons Mon 05 Oct 2015, 3:38 pm

flyhalffactory wrote:
At 6' 5" and 17 stone I never twinkled behind the scrum but did the grunt behind the backsides of the props and at times (if I was lucky) the flanks.

HA! Sorry if I insulted you then Smile

sounds like our experiences are slightly similar in terms of flyhalf involvement, so I take it back about you having a better knowledge of his game Whistle

On your other points, (which I'm regretting deleting from this post now as I can't remember them), I agree that Scott, Vernon, Visser....sod it our backs, didn't have a good game. How much of that was down to them having limited ball, I don't know, would it have made a difference to the game had Weir been flatter and passed more rather than hoofing it to the South African in the most space, I don't know. But the tactic we employed didn't work and was clearly not working, I at least figure trying it out, if for no other reason than to give the guys a bit of a breather before they had to tackle the next massive South African coming at them, would have made sense. When we did keep the ball in hand we actually looked, at times, like we could do something, not win obviously, but at least ask them questions. With hoofing the ball down their throat the only questions we asked was A) can you catch a rugby ball without any pressure and B) how far & fast can you run it back at us again.

by TJ Mon 05 Oct 2015, 4:37 pm

Watched the first half - can't bear to watch any more.

plays by weir goes like this

1) Defensive ruck on the 22. Pass to Weir. Long infeild clearing kick. Didn't look like touch was intended. sat deep

2)Same

3) Pen kick. Made 40 yards from midfeild

4) pen kick 30 m made

5) ruck ball midfeild. lying flat. gave good pass

6) Kick off - good

7) Ruck on scotlands 10 m line. Not too deep, crisp pass

8) Long kick from inside our half. return kick made. Scotland gain 20 m

9) Defensive kick inside 22 ( passed back into 22). long but right to their winger

10) Midfeild ruck - standing not too deep. good pass

11) Midfeild lying deep, chip over line. Perfect chip but outside back offside

12) Poor kick. Missed touch

13) Ruck ball, lying flat, good flat pass

14) Ruckj halfway. Decent kick to corner, great positioning / take by SA for mark. Return kick to touch. Scotland gain 20 m

15) Ruck Scot 10m line lying flatish, good crisp pass

16) Lying flat, good pass

AS I said - I couldn't bear to watch any more. ~What was noticable Weir was not getting any ball from first phase only from ruck ball. Lying very deep in defensive positions but long kicks and no real alternative In more attacking positions he was running forward fast from ther deep position so actually taking the ball fairly flat and passing well.

One mistake in the first half - the missed touch. Gave a number of good passes and not from too deep

8

by jimbopip Mon 05 Oct 2015, 7:50 pm

TJ, thanks. Sometimes a bit of objective reality helps.

We will beat Samoa on Saturday.

We can beat Oz in the quarters.

Believe.

Schlong at 12 is as wrong as Jimmy Crankie at tight or putting Mr Chinhook in for a hooking competition.

by TJ Mon 05 Oct 2015, 8:07 pm

NOt dsure its really onbjective but I had a go. The lying deep thing was intersting 'cos as the play was set up he was lying very deep but ran at full speed as Laidlaw was about to pass so when he got the ball he was not so deep and when he passed it another step or two forward. NOne of his passes put anyone in space but given what was happening in the match even Dan Carter might have struggled. He didn't see much ball either

by flyhalffactory Mon 05 Oct 2015, 9:02 pm

Nice one TJ, I think its pretty much how it was. I just read Guscott take on the game and even he seems in suggest that Weir played too deep but that certainly wasn't the case as more often than not he hit the pass flat at speed attempting to hit the hole between the halfbacks, hence his metres made. The difference between Russell and Weir and the gulf in natural ability is that Finn even at that speed can see all the potential options, where with the wee man can only see one.

by TJ Mon 05 Oct 2015, 9:21 pm

I read the Guscott comments as well - however Weir only got 1 in 3 passes from laidlaw - the rest went to forwards

by funnyExiledScot Mon 05 Oct 2015, 10:08 pm

21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:Anyone else see the ludicrous /10 ratings in the Sunday Times. I can only take it Mark Palmer was on some sort of hallucinatory industrial strength chemicals when he was watching the match on Saturday judging by the scores allocated e.g, Laidlaw 7/10, Denton 7/10, Scott 6/10, Visser 6/10 ffs - just 4 out of many dilllusional ratings. The totals for Scotland were 95 and SA 105 Utterly laughable.

Mark, I would struggle to give Laidlaw 2/10 after that dumbass yc. Visser I would give 3/10 but only for the pass to Tommy S for the try otherwise 1/10. Scott and Denton 4 and 5/10 respectively.

I'm trying to think whether those players you've singled out have anything in common....

I do agree however that the overall ratings for Scotland are high. Richie Gray and Blair Cowan probably the only players on a 6. The rest on less.

by **RDW** Tue 06 Oct 2015, 7:44 am

Interesting comments coming out of the camp - saying they're looking forward to a 7 day turnaround so they can actually have some proper training sessions!

With a 5 then 6 day turnaround they were limited to recovery and unopposed run throughs between games.

I know between USA and SA their training week was:

Monday - recovery
Tuesday - pool and gym
Wednesday - day off
Thursday - training
Friday - captains run

They should be able to get 2 decent sessions in this week so we'll hopefully see a more coherent performance!

P.s before sine smart arse makes a comment yes other teams are in the same boat, but it is interesting to hear what the realities of short turnarounds are

by Prothero Tue 06 Oct 2015, 8:42 am

Clearly Russell is our best 10, people outside Scotland are beginning to take notice of him and talk about him being a 10 to be reckoned with.

Duncan Weir is never going to be a lion, never going to to make a 6 nation's dream team and possibly wouldn't make the Squad if there was more competition for the 10 jersey but he IS the future of Scottish Rugby in a way? I thought he played fine in a team that was second best all over the Park. Russell wouldnt have changed the outcome of the game much i don't feel.

Since the Borders began to slow down as the non public school hotbed of talent (Hogg and Dunbar excepted) the greater Glasgow area has exploded, its amazing to see the amount of international Class players coming through and its great credit to the clubs in that region. These boys have a cockiness and a certain Frak-you attitude to the accepted order of things in World Rugby that is dragging Scottish rugby out of the doldrums. Russell, Weir, Bennett and Big Gordy on Saturday in particular.

Weir is symbolic of that, a wee Gallus Weegie who never took a backward step against those huge Saffer's runner's, backed himself to make a positive change to the way the game was going, almost dragging ourselves back into it. The interception tactic is definitely a coached technique but it takes gut's to do it and risk defensive ridicule.

Russell and Weir may be competing for the 10 spot for the next two world cups or maybe Blair Kinghorn or Adam Hastings, Harry Leonard or some bought in Saffer (boooo) will come through and establish himself in the squad but again in 10 years the wee kids inspired by watching the working class glasgow boys take on the world this tournament and for the Warriors will arrive and thats Scottish rugby's benefit.

by **George Carlin** Tue 06 Oct 2015, 9:06 am

Weir is at a crossroads now. He needs to kick on and improve his skillset to challenge Russell for the Scotland 10 shirt. He is clearly not the incumbent and must know in his clogged Weegie heart that his colleague Finn Russell can do things that he can't. The good news is that at 24, he still has the time to get better.

Ruaridh Jackson left Glasgow because he was the understudy to Weir and that was not good enough for him. Prior to the injury, he was playing very well for Wasps and they like him a lot down there. Comment as you will about Jackson's shortcomings, he wanted to improve himself and at 26 knew that the time to move had come. It still takes guts to do it though and I wonder if Weir is just too comfortable at Glasgow to risk failure but also deny himself the opportunity to learn from new people in a new environment.

A lot of Jeff clubs would probably be interested in a 24 year old with 21 international caps and I hope that he has friends and representatives around him who will at least encourage him to see what's out there. I am worried that if he doesn't try something new, he's just going to stagnate and end up as a more meatbally version of Dan Parks.

by Prothero Tue 06 Oct 2015, 9:27 am

Clegg seems to be staking a claim there at Glasgow i know he is only on a short term deal, and NSQ but he may play himself into a one year deal?

Unfortunately there is a possibility it will be Russell who has his head turned after this world cup? how long does his Contract go on for? reckon Toony will want them both there in case that happens?

by **RDW** Tue 06 Oct 2015, 9:29 am

Clegg has been very solid for Glasgow - much better than Wight - and is a great goal kicker too. He'd definitely be worth a season long extension given the 6N is coming up soon.

by **George Carlin** Tue 06 Oct 2015, 9:45 am

We almost beat Munster away thanks to Clegg's kicking and he's a genuine drop goal option too in the way that Weir never has been. I would be happy to give him a one year deal.

Scott Wight shouldn't be anywhere near a Warriors jersey. He's like the uninvited guest at a party who stays to the end and then asks if anyone else is 'up for cracking open another bottle of wine'. He should stick with Sevens where I don't have to look at him failing to tackle Carlin Isles.

by **George Carlin** Tue 06 Oct 2015, 10:03 am

Hoggy's Greg Louganis impression and Owens' response has gone viral:
http://www.news.com.au/sport/rugby/nigel-owens-is-a-colloquial-genius/story-fndpt9s1-1227559303774

by funnyExiledScot Tue 06 Oct 2015, 10:08 am

Russell is head and shoulders better than Weir and Clegg, but I agree that Clegg has done enough to justify being kept through to the end of the season.

When Weir broke through I thought he would be the long term Scotland 10. He looked to have a nice balance between dropping into the pocket to control the game, and taking it flat and spinning wide. He also isn't a massive jessie in defence, whereas Dan Parks at the time was perfecting the revolving door technique.

Now my view is different. I think Weir is a dud. His much vaunted kicking game has almost no accuracy to it at all. He just hoofs the ball as far as he can and every now and then it looks deliberate, but more often than not it's out on the full or into the hands of an inviting full back or winger. His distribution skills are poor. Again he can do the basic short passing, but his long range passes are interception fodder and he has nothing like the accuracy of pass that you'll see from Russell or Jackson. His decision making is poor. He has no judgment as to when to attack and when to defend, and if he's having a poor game then his default is to sit deep and hump the ball at random.

On the plus side of the equation he has a good attitude and is a popular member of the squad. My old springer spaniel had similar attributes, but sadly no caps.

Glasgow fly half pecking order:

1.Russell
2.Clegg
3.Horne
4.Weir

by funnyExiledScot Tue 06 Oct 2015, 10:08 am

I didn't mention Scott Wight. I don't see the need.

by Prothero Tue 06 Oct 2015, 10:26 am

funnyExiledScot wrote:Russell is head and shoulders better than Weir and Clegg, but I agree that Clegg has done enough to justify being kept through to the end of the season.

When Weir broke through I thought he would be the long term Scotland 10. He looked to have a nice balance between dropping into the pocket to control the game, and taking it flat and spinning wide. He also isn't a massive jessie in defence, whereas Dan Parks at the time was perfecting the revolving door technique.

Now my view is different. I think Weir is a dud. His much vaunted kicking game has almost no accuracy to it at all. He just hoofs the ball as far as he can and every now and then it looks deliberate, but more often than not it's out on the full or into the hands of an inviting full back or winger. His distribution skills are poor. Again he can do the basic short passing, but his long range passes are interception fodder and he has nothing like the accuracy of pass that you'll see from Russell or Jackson. His decision making is poor. He has no judgment as to when to attack and when to defend, and if he's having a poor game then his default is to sit deep and hump the ball at random.

On the plus side of the equation he has a good attitude and is a popular member of the squad. My old springer spaniel had similar attributes, but sadly no caps.

Glasgow fly half pecking order:

1.Russell
2.Clegg
3.Horne
4.Weir

Spaniel's tend to be great fetcher's rather than mercurial 10's and we know Big Vern would rather play Hardie there than Bark-ley arf Whistle

edit** sorry Doh

anyone want to crack open another bottle of wine?? anyone?

by funnyExiledScot Tue 06 Oct 2015, 11:19 am

A-paw-lling......

by EWT Spoons Tue 06 Oct 2015, 12:10 pm

Oh god not more puns, I'm just getting over the cheese ones

by EWT Spoons Tue 06 Oct 2015, 12:11 pm

And that was my 1000th post. Inspirational stuff

by madmaccas Tue 06 Oct 2015, 12:28 pm

Anyone heard anything about Dunbar? The last interview I read seemed to indicate that he was pretty much there recovery wise and was hoping he may feature in the latter stages of the RWC.

Obviously someone would have to get injured for that to occur, but god he'd make such a difference!

by **George Carlin** Tue 06 Oct 2015, 12:29 pm

EWT Spoons wrote:And that was my 1000th post. Inspirational stuff

Scotland v Samoa, 10 October - Page 2 Cancan11

by **RDW** Tue 06 Oct 2015, 12:44 pm

EWT Spoons wrote:And that was my 1000th post. Inspirational stuff

Well I'm approaching 15000.

Really need to get a life!

by demosthenes Tue 06 Oct 2015, 1:02 pm

Prothero wrote:Unfortunately there is a possibility it will be Russell who has his head turned after this world cup? how long does his Contract go on for? reckon Toony will want them both there in case that happens?

I think Russell signed a contract extension just before the RWC.

by funnyExiledScot Tue 06 Oct 2015, 1:37 pm

demosthenes wrote:
Prothero wrote:Unfortunately there is a possibility it will be Russell who has his head turned after this world cup? how long does his Contract go on for? reckon Toony will want them both there in case that happens?

I think Russell signed a contract extension just before the RWC.

I think Glasgow will hold onto Russell a while longer. He was poor in the 6 Nations and hasn't yet faced one of the top sides in this World Cup. He's a long way from the finished article and the best advice he could be given at this stage is to complete a few more years at Glasgow. He'll be well looked after and has a head coach that knows a thing or two about becoming a top class fly half.

by demosthenes Tue 06 Oct 2015, 2:39 pm

madmaccas wrote:Anyone heard anything about Dunbar? The last interview I read seemed to indicate that he was pretty much there recovery wise and was hoping he may feature in the latter stages of the RWC.

Obviously someone would have to get injured for that to occur, but god he'd make such a difference!

Given he hasn't yet featured for Glasgow I doubt he would be fit for high-intensity knock-out games. Having said that I think Townsend indicated he hoped to have some players back for the next match, and expectations are that Dunbar will be one of them, but that is 17th October. So at a pinch he could come back for what, a semi-final?

by IanBru Tue 06 Oct 2015, 5:18 pm

I feel the need to bump Jimbo's unfailingly enthusiastic account of his weekend 'oop nawth', and perhaps to correct and amend certain parts of the story

jimbopip wrote:RDW, got to say that your post runs counter to everything I saw/ heard at the match.

I'm in two minds about this. I thought the atmosphere within the stadium was really positive, though perhaps there was more of an 'away team' representation than you would normally see at a match at Murrayfield. There certainly was a lot of alcohol flowing (and I'm pretty sure one Bok sitting behind me was on speed), but I never saw any trouble. The closest I saw to a fight was between two Boks in the fanzone while watching the England match:
Bok 1: OI YOU! Can you sit down please? I can't see!
Bok 2: Well stand up man!
Bok 1: No, I don't want to!
Bok 2: Well that's not my fault!
Bok 1: We can't all be giants.
Bok 2: What?
Mrs Bok 2: Leave it and watch the game Francois.
Mrs Bok 1: If you didn't drink so much, you'd be able to stand up, Petrus.
Bok 1: Thanks for your support Zelda.

Other than that, it was just a lot of good fun with the bokkies - in their own way they're some of the loveliest fans you'll meet, you just have to adjust for the 10 decibel boost they apply to everything they say. Caz the apparently quiet Bok on the Newcastle Metro: "Excuse me!! I'm so sorry, I DIDN'T MEAN TO STAND ON YOUR FOOT! No, please after you! LADIES FIRST!!!"

Then back to the Fanzone for the England game and drinking till gone midnight. No trouble, no aggro, no nonsense at all. Oh, on the way out we saw AN ENGLISH drunk being ejected. The stewards turned to us and said, "Ahm verrry sorry tha had to see that gents. Ah do hope it husn't spoiled yer evenin like."

I think the best part of that encounter was the drunk guy red-faced with rage, pointing at the steward and then failing to come up with anything resembling a witty or threatening remark. He thrust his hands in his pockets and flounced off.

There were only two unsavoury incidents in the whole day.

Firstly, a rather dusky young lady approached Bru and asked if he, "would like a guided tour of the Hagia Sophia" and Bru replied that he wasn't really a fan of "Byzantian architechture".

Jim, you're a terrible and yet wonderful person. I'm actually seeing the Hagia Sophia tonight, though more of a cinema trip. Incidentally, I can't recommend the Martian enough - not quite as good as the book, but that was always going to be a tough ask.

Secondly, a young lady from the local hospital for stray children approached me and asked, "Are you Ian's father?"

I think Man will have established a permanent colony on Mars before I stop finding that encounter funny.

Young Ian spent the rest of the evening on his mobile beseeching his mother, "Say it ain't so mom. Say it ain't so."

True story, but then that describes most conversations I have with my mother. Oh, and even when I lived in the States, she was never 'mom'.

Finally, I hope you'll indulge me for a minute while I recount the choir experience on Saturday. We arrived at the ground, entered through a weird side door marked 'Entertainers', and were ushered to the side of the pitch. Stood right there, no more than five meters away stood Francois Pienaar, Sean Fitzpatrick and Ian McGeechan. I started to gabble uncontrollably, while an old chap I sit next to in the bass section (former boy riveter in the shipyards during the war and a lifelong magpies fan) tapped me on the shoulder and said "Eeeeeee, who thar?"

We rehearsed the process for coming onto the pitch, then rehearsed the anthems with the sound system running. As we were finishing Nkosi Sikelel, Pienaar walked past and was singing it too, giving us a big thumbs-up when we finished. I swear, I didn't stop grinning for twenty minutes.

After a final rehearsal, we waited in an access tunnel for about 30 minutes along with a group of soldiers holding the two large RWC flags, then we all walked onto the field about five minutes before kickoff. By this point the noise from the crowd was pretty crazy, but it turned up to spine-tingling proportions when the players marched out. An absolute wall of sound, all-encompassing, like you could reach up and run your hands through the air, catching the noise. Put simply, when the crowd chanted " SCOTLAND... SCOOOOTLAND... SCOOOOOOOOTLAND!!!" it was one of the most intense feelings I've experienced.

Finally, singing the anthems was amazing. It all came together at the right time, and we even remembered the difficult middle portion of Nkosi Sikelel. Again, with Flower of Scotland, it was bloody loud throughout, and it was almost an out-of-body experience singing it. By the end of the second verse, my old pre-match nerves started to kick in as my right leg began shaking. Crazy times.

Without wishing to get too soppy, singing Flower of Scotland on the pitch was one of the proudest moments of my life.

Final reflections:
i) St James's Park is a great venue
ii) Be loud: Shout folks, hell, scream your voices out, because you can absolutely feel it on the pitch and I can't imagine a player failing to be affected by it.
iii) Keep your tempo up with Flower of Scotland. We use a set recording provided by the RWC2015 management, and it's about 10BPM faster than you'd normally get at Murrayfield - do your best to keep up!!

by **George Carlin** Tue 06 Oct 2015, 5:33 pm

Brilliant story Ian.

This picture of Bru and Jimbo was taken shortly after the game:
Scotland v Samoa, 10 October - Page 2 Laurel10

by **RDW** Tue 06 Oct 2015, 5:51 pm

Great story Bru!

I hope the choir came through in the stadium, because you couldn't hear it on the feckin telly!

by jimbopip Tue 06 Oct 2015, 6:06 pm

George Carlin wrote:Brilliant story Ian.

This picture of Bru and Jimbo was taken shortly after the game:

Scarily accurate George.
I'm always touched by your prescience, dear.

by IanBru Tue 06 Oct 2015, 9:18 pm

https://twitter.com/markismith50/status/651486513604231169]

Mark Smith, Newcastle Chronicle wrote:Samoa's Alesana Tuilagi misses St James' Park game v Scotland & start of Newcastle Falcons' season, banned til Nov9 for kneeing v Japan.

Well that simplifies things! Start Horne. Simple as that!

Incidentally, the Chronicle is a rather good local paper as these things go, but there's a running joke that every back page headline simply reads "Useless!", whether it refers to Newcastle United, Falcons, or Mike Ashley. Occasionally the headline shifts to the front page, when it refers to the council.

by jimbopip Tue 06 Oct 2015, 9:59 pm

There you have it guys....
Bru posting at 21:18 when he's on a date. Doh

Also, Mike Hooper has been banned for the Wales match so he'll be fit and ready for the QF against us. picard

Bru posting while on a date. FFS warning

by Cyril Tue 06 Oct 2015, 10:02 pm

The entire world is hoping Samoa win so Japan go through.

Please make it happen.

by **RDW** Tue 06 Oct 2015, 10:09 pm

Tuilagi being out doesn't give us much of an advantage - he's not been great for a while now.

There's still plenty huge Samoans left to run over the top of Horne too!

by RuggerRadge2611 Tue 06 Oct 2015, 10:09 pm

Cyril wrote:The entire world is hoping Samoa win so Japan go through.

Please make it happen.

Don't count on us to save England's blushes

by IanBru Tue 06 Oct 2015, 10:10 pm

jimbopip wrote:There you have it guys....
Bru posting at 21:18 when he's on a date.

Also, Mike Hooper has been banned for the Wales match so he'll be fit and ready for the QF against us.

Bru posting while on a date. FFS

Jim, had to cancel on the date - my cold has turned into pneumonic plague, so we've postponed to next week... boxing

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:
Cyril wrote:The entire world is hoping Samoa win so Japan go through.

Please make it happen.

Don't count on us to save England's blushes

+1

by RuggerRadge2611 Tue 06 Oct 2015, 10:12 pm

Furthermore, any team that leaks 5 tries to us doesn't deserve to make the quarter finals...

by cakeordeath Tue 06 Oct 2015, 10:13 pm

Cyril wrote:The entire world is hoping Samoa win so Japan go through.

Please make it happen.

Frak 'em
I don't mind us being the pantomime villains for once devil

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