Glasgow and Edinburgh: Ongoing Banter Thread XI - The Undiscovered Country

[IanBru]

First topic message reminder :

A Brief History of Time-Wasting


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/t56913-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/t59409-glasgow-and-edinburgh-ongoing-banter-thread-ix
https://www.606v2.com/t60764-glasgow-and-edinburgh-ongoing-banter-thread-x-rated

Edinburgh

1872 Champions

Glasgow

1872 Runners-up

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's THE RUN IN!

[IanBru]

Hmmm... a 23-year-old you say... Is the wobbly arm of Police Scotland pointing at Hugh Blake? Alex Alan? Finn Russell? .... Stuart Hogg???

[EWT Spoons]

I forgot Hogg was still only 23. Can't believe he's had a kid, I couldn't imagine being a dad at 23.

[RDW]

I forgot Hogg was still only 23. Can't believe he's had a kid, I couldn't imagine being a dad at 23.

That's ancient for Glasgow!

[George Carlin]

I forgot Hogg was still only 23. Can't believe he's had a kid, I couldn't imagine being a dad at 23.

That's ancient for Glasgow!

, but obviously also

[EWT Spoons]

I forgot Hogg was still only 23. Can't believe he's had a kid, I couldn't imagine being a dad at 23.

That's ancient for Glasgow!

Valid point, he should be looking to be a granddad in the next couple of years. He's letting the side down.

[funnyExiledScot]

We went to the Sun Inn in Richmond after the game which was a good boozer. That's where the majority of punishments were dished out - I'm sure the locals were bemused why so many Scotsmen were randomly getting down on the floor doing press-ups then downing their drinks!

Glad to hear you had a good one RDW.

I had a particularly embarrassing team initiation there. Can't remember much (and thankfully this was in the days before smartphones) but it involved singing 'All By Myself' naked on the table with nothing but a fez and yard of ale. The ale was very good though.

To be clear that was "fez" rather than "fes".

[EWT Spoons]

funnyExiledZulu?

[Majestic83]

Glasgow have just tweeted that they are going to announce a new signing in the next hour.

Anyone got any ideas who it could be?

[Hazel Sapling]

Top quality tighthead. Probably WP Nel

[Majestic83]

my guesses are either Moray Low who is out of contract at the end of the season or Adam Hastings.

[EWT Spoons]

Glasgow have just tweeted that they are going to announce a new signing in the next hour.

Anyone got any ideas who it could be?

No idea, but the tweet they retweeted just before that one caught my eye.

"Johnny Gray has missed just 17 tackles of the 789 he has attempted in his career for Glasgow & Scotland."

That's a cracking effort

[RDW]

[George Carlin]

Glasgow have just tweeted that they are going to announce a new signing in the next hour.

Anyone got any ideas who it could be?

If there's a god in heaven, they will have drafted in Scotland's new 6 Nations team rep full time:

[Nematode]

It would make sense if they were in the Scotland squad.

Given there hasn't been too much news about it, I can't see it being a major signing like a Hardie or Maitland.

[VinceWLB]

Wouldn't even surprise me looking at Glasgow recent signings.

[Nematode]

[RDW]

NZ prop Jarrod Firth....

[Majestic83]

Well it is a prop.....not one I have ever heard of though. Jarrod Firth, a kiwi.

[EWT Spoons]

Not exactly an exciting signing. Apparently made 2 appearances for the Chiefs last season. Only 24, so still young.

[Majestic83]

Just googled him, has been in the chiefs squad and plays his rugby for counties manukau. Counties are one of the top itm cup teams so he should be of a decent standard hopefully.

[RDW]

Signed straight away which is useful given the 6N period coming up.

[Nematode]

[RDW]

Glasgow Warriors have signed New Zealand-born prop Jarrod Firth on a two-and-a-half-year contract from ITM Cup side Counties Manukau, subject to visa.

The 24-year-old tighthead, who arrived in Scotland at the weekend, will be staying at Scotstoun until at least May 2018.

Firth, who made two appearances for the Chiefs in Super Rugby last season, is highly regarded in New Zealand.

He was born in Auckland and has made 25 appearances for Counties Manukau over the last three seasons.

Speaking to glasgowwarriors.org, Jarrod Firth said: "This is a great opportunity for me and I'm delighted to sign a long-term contract with the Warriors.

"Everyone I spoke to had great things to say about the club and the city, so I jumped at the chance to get over here.

"Glasgow have had a few Kiwis before and they've always done well, so there is no reason why I can't be successful too.

"I played against Grayson (Hart) in my younger days and it's good to see him doing well here.

"It's good to get in and meet everyone and I'm here now and ready to go and hopefully I can earn the chance to pull on the jersey."

Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend said: “We’ve been tracking Jarrod for some time in the ITM Cup and he’s built a very good reputation as a strong scrummager.

"We're looking forward to seeing him involved with us this week.

"Initially he’ll be working with our conditioning staff as we start to get him integrated into the rugby we aspire to play.

“Jarrod has made a big commitment in coming to Scotland and we believe he’ll fit in really well at Scotstoun and add further competition in our front-row.”

[Nematode]

Hopefully he can help the Glasgow scrum - does this maybe indicate time's up for Cusack?

[Majestic83]

http://www.steelers.co.nz/steelers/index.php?contentid=65&profileid=106

This is his player profile from the counties manukau page. One of his favourite things is the bagpipes. Cant find if he is SQ or not but with the surname of Firth and a liking for the bagpipes I am verging on he could be.

[RDW]

You'd think Glasgow would have mentioned it if he was SQ

[VinceWLB]

Hopefully he can help the Glasgow scrum - does this maybe indicate time's up for Cusack?

Must be, i have a lot of sympathy for him but he has been a huge waste of space and wage. Hope he gets a last appearance with Glasgow though.

[IanBru]

Guys, you're all getting the wrong end of the stick.

Glasgow haven't signed Jarrod Firth, they've merely re-signed Rossouw de Klerk.



Wouldn't we all fake a New Zaaalund accent to get our old job back?

[Majestic83]

In other player news. Murray Douglas has been named in the Melbourne Rebels squad for their first pre season game against Auckland Blues.
Pretty much the Rebels first choice squad as well with all their Wallabies included.

[RDW]

In other player news. Murray Douglas has been named in the Melbourne Rebels squad for their first pre season game against Auckland Blues.
Pretty much the Rebels first choice squad as well with all their Wallabies included.

He must be SQ with a name like that!

[EWT Spoons]

In other player news. Murray Douglas has been named in the Melbourne Rebels squad for their first pre season game against Auckland Blues.
Pretty much the Rebels first choice squad as well with all their Wallabies included.

He must be SQ with a name like that!

Murray Douglas the former heriots player?

[Majestic83]

In other player news. Murray Douglas has been named in the Melbourne Rebels squad for their first pre season game against Auckland Blues.
Pretty much the Rebels first choice squad as well with all their Wallabies included.

He must be SQ with a name like that!

Murray Douglas the former heriots player?

Yep that's the one, played for Aberdeen and Heriots for many years, the Scottish club XV and played for Edinburgh of the bench a couple seasons back too.
Moved to Australia last year and played for the Melbourne Rising in the Australian Championship, playing 2nd row and blindside.

[cakeordeath]

I noticed another news story, while reading about the signing. So apparently a petition has been started to get the Warriors removed from Scotstoun.

[RDW]

He's had quite a rise then from amateur player in Scotland to a SR team!

[EWT Spoons]

I noticed another news story, while reading about the signing. So apparently a petition has been started to get the Warriors removed from Scotstoun.

Removed, or moved to a different ground?

Removed suggests they've been up to no good.

[Majestic83]

He's had quite a rise then from amateur player in Scotland to a SR team!

He was always a very good player over here, know a few of the coaches he played for couldn't understand how he didn't get a full time contract with Edinburgh or Glasgow.

[RDW]

A PETITION which questions whether Glasgow Warriors rugby club should be allowed to use Scotstoun Stadium has attracted almost 1000 signatures since being launched on Friday evening.

It will eventually be sent to the leader of Glasgow City Council, Frank McAveety.

John Coyle, a financial manager, says he was motivated to start the petition by an article which appeared in the Herald ten days ago. It outlined the concerns of Victoria Park Glasgow athletics club that they are being squeezed out of the stadium which has been their base for over 85 years.

The wider Scottish athletics community has also expressed dismay at the increasing perception that Scotstoun primarily exists to serve the Warriors. The professional rugby club, which is fully owned by the SRU, moved their home games from Firhill to the council-owned stadium in 2012.

The Warriors' recent successes, including winning the Pro12 title last season, have delivered bigger crowds - but the necessity for temporary stands has caused problems for the athletics club, while local residents have complained about disturbance issues on match evenings.

Advanced discussions about installing an artificial surface at Scotstoun to accommodate the Warriors has led to the athletics club making their concerns public.

Mr Coyle, who is a member of Cambuslang Harriers, says he was motivated to start the petition because his children are members of VPG. "You see what is going on at Scotstoun and it really does rankle," he said.

"I'm not a member of Victoria Park, so I shouldn't really care less, but my three daughters run for the club. It's open to anyone and everyone from all backgrounds, rich and poor, with the kids coming from all over Glasgow.

"It's a brilliant club, very friendly, and the council aren't helping.

"The track is often closed at the bends when there are matches on because of the advertising hoardings. Quite often the track only has two straights available, which is not much use when you're trying to do laps."

More seriously, Mr Coyle says the movement of the temporary stands across the track, as well as heavy vehicles transporting equipment, is causing damage.

"The track was only re-opened in 2010 but it's getting torn up," he claimed. "Lanes one and two are in pieces."

Mr Coyle, a Partick Thistle fan, says he admires what the Warriors have achieved but feels their needs are incompatible with those of the athletics club and the many community users of the stadium.

"The current set up is not working - probably not working for either the rugby club or the athletics club," he said.

"The SRU must have made an awful lot of money from the Rugby World Cup. They could put some of that towards a stadium of their own - it's not as if Glasgow is short of derelict land.

"There is no parking provision for games at Scotstoun. There was never any thought given for these sort of crowds being there every two weeks, nine months of the year.

"There is a general feeling that athletics is a poor cousin when it comes to sports provision in Scotland. Glasgow doesn't have a proper, full time, athletics stadium."

Mr Coyle admits he doesn't know if his petition, on the 38 Degrees website, will have any effect.

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"I just wanted to put it out there and see how it went." he said. "To be honest I'm not one of these professional protesters - I'm not particularly adept at this.

"I will be forwarding all the commentary and results to Frank McAveety.

[Eejit]

I noticed another news story, while reading about the signing. So apparently a petition has been started to get the Warriors removed from Scotstoun.

Removed, or moved to a different ground?

Removed suggests they've been up to no good.

Just seen it myself, there's something in the Herald about it. The athletics club feel like they're being turfed out their stadium apparently.

[EWT Spoons]

I guess I can see their point, it does seem that priority is being given to the warriers.

Had the misfortune of listening to Beattie & Hastings answering twitter questions during the Scarlets game and, whilst they seem to be two of the worse informed pundits going, they spent a lot of time talking about how the SRU should install a 3g/ hybred pitch in Scotston. Clearly ignoring it doesn't belong to the SRU.  I think Hastings even suggested they should sell the ground and move somewhere bigger.

[RDW]

Beattie and Hastings are very enthusiastic but they aren't the most informed!

[EWT Spoons]

It was painful. Hastings has clearly taken too many blows to the head. Beattie was asking fairly straight forward questions (from twitter) and Hastings just clearly didn't understand and answered a totally different question.

I switched back to Hugh Dan, I assume he know's what he's talking about.

[Tattie Scones RRN]

It's this kind of insular attitude that hinders sport in Scotland.

Instead of trying to work out a solution, or approaching the SRU to voice concerns, it's straight to a petition.

[funnyExiledScot]

"The SRU must have made an awful lot of money from the Rugby World Cup. They could put some of that towards a stadium of their own - it's not as if Glasgow is short of derelict land."

We should build the man his running track just for that comment!

[MacKnocked-on]

Beattie and Hastings are very enthusiastic but they aren't the most informed!

I hear Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels will be playing Beattie and Hastings in the biopic

[Eejit]

Just had a wee read of the comments attached to the petition. According to one lady the Warriors are stealing from the children of Scotstoun.

[funnyExiledScot]

Just had a wee read of the comments attached to the petition. According to one lady the Warriors are stealing from the children of Scotstoun.

What goes around comes around.

[Majestic83]

Glasgow have just tweeted that they are going to announce a new signing in the next hour.

Anyone got any ideas who it could be?

If there's a god in heaven, they will have drafted in Scotland's new 6 Nations team rep full time:

George, who is that??

[thegreenhat]

hi - long time reader, first time poster. big fan of the Warriors and Scotland, and occasionally attend the games of both (including this weekend!   ) but as a former athlete including sprints and javelin, i can totally sympathise with the athletics club here.

a 3g pitch sadly would not work for the field events - in particular, hammer and javelin. so these events would presumably need to be relegated to some back field away from the main stand - hardly inclusive for what is a very inclusive sport.

i understand that the main beef is that the track has more or less been made unavailable to the athletics club and the general public as it has a whacking great "temporary" stand on the back straight for the majority of the year.

moreover, there hasn't been any international athletics meet held at Scotstoun for a number of years, not least presumably as Warriors has had first dibs.

the SRU (as tenant) and the council (as owner) need to come up with a viable solution which works for all stakeholders, including the local community and other less well off sports that rely upon this public resource. not saying SRU is rolling in it, but athletics is an amateur sport at the grass roots, particularly at City of Glasgow/Victoria Park AAC (or whatever name(s) they go by these days).

Also, Warriors market themselves pretty heavily as a community/family oriented club - if they're pushing for 3g without considering the valid concerns of the community they're based in it hardly fits with that claim.

I want Warriors and Scottish rugby to succeed, but not at the expense of the less well resourced sports which have as much right to support (financial or otherwise).

as for "the children of Scotstoun" - if you haven't had the experience of running at Crownpoint in the East End whilst dodging pot shots from weans with air rifles, you haven't lived...

[EWT Spoons]

Welcome thegreenhat, well I say welcome you've been here a while, but you get my point.

I don't think Glasgow themselves have been pushing for 3g/hybrid pitch, but fans & ignorant tv rugby commentators have.

I think this could be fairly easily sorted, as tattie says, just getting them all to talk to each other, but I think the Warriors are looking to be getting too big for Scotston already and they might need to move on to something bigger in the near future. Which would be unfortunate.

[RDW]

I think it is also worth mentioning that the Council will be earning a lot of money from Glasgow being there, so it's not as if it is all Glasgow taking and not giving back.

The Council will lose a lot of money if the Warriors move elsewhere. Money which is no doubt used to help fund said athletics in some way!

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