The London Scottish thread

by Eejit Tue 26 Jan 2016, 5:27 pm

As discussed on the other topic, popular demand was for a thread for the best dressed of all the Scottish teams.

The London Scottish thread London11

"Richmond - making Edinburgh look like a slum".
The London Scottish thread Image11

SEPTEMBER 2015

Fri 4 Sep 19:45 CHAMP London Scottish 19 - 23 Moseley Athletic Ground
Sat 12 Sep 15:00 CHAMP Ealing Trailfinders 17 - 37 London Scottish Vallis Way
Sat 19 Sep 14:30 CHAMP London Scottish 24 - 12 Bedford Blues Athletic Ground
Sat 26 Sep 18:00 CHAMP Yorkshire Carnegie 27 - 30 London Scottish Headingley Carnegie

OCTOBER 2015

Sat 3 Oct 14:30 CHAMP London Scottish 11 - 10 London Welsh Athletic Ground
Sun 11 Oct 15:00 CHAMP Cornish Pirates 21 - 17 London Scottish Mennaye Field
Fri 16 Oct 19:45 CHAMP London Scottish 17 - 18 Nottingham Athletic Ground
Sat 24 Oct 14:00 CHAMP Doncaster 19 - 10 London Scottish Castle Park

NOVEMBER 2015

Sat 7 Nov 14:00 CHAMP London Scottish 5 - 20 Jersey Athletic Ground
Fri 13 Nov 19:45 B&I Cup-P3 London Scottish 27 - 25 Munster A Athletic Ground
Fri 20 Nov 19:45 B&I Cup-P3 Ospreys Premiership Select 16 - 23 London Scottish Talbot Athletic Ground
Fri 27 Nov 19:45 CHAMP Bristol Rugby 37 - 13 London Scottish Ashton Gate

DECEMBER 2015

Sat 5 Dec 15:00 CHAMP London Scottish 21 - 16 Rotherham Titans Athletic Ground
Sun 13 Dec 14:30 B&I Cup-P3 Yorkshire Carnegie 56 - 7 London Scottish Silver Royd
Sat 19 Dec 15:00 B&I Cup-P3 London Scottish 24 - 29 Yorkshire Carnegie Athletic Ground
Sat 26 Dec 15:00 CHAMP London Scottish 22 - 28 Ealing Trailfinders Athletic Ground

JANUARY 2016

Fri 1 Jan 15:05 CHAMP Bedford Blues 31 - 19 London Scottish Goldington Road
Sat 16 Jan 15:00 B&I Cup-P3 London Scottish 49 - 7 Ospreys Premiership Select Athletic Ground
Sat 23 Jan 14:00 B&I Cup-P3 Munster A 11 - 21 London Scottish CBC Lansdowne
Sat 30 Jan 15:00 CHAMP London Scottish 22 V 20 Yorkshire Carnegie Athletic Ground

FEBRUARY 2016

Sat 6 Feb 14:00 CHAMP London Welsh V London Scottish Old Deer Park
Sat 13 Feb 15:00 CHAMP London Scottish V Cornish Pirates Athletic Ground
Sun 28 Feb 15:00 CHAMP Nottingham V London Scottish Ladybay

MARCH 2016

Sat 5 Mar 15:00 CHAMP London Scottish V Doncaster Athletic Ground
Fri 25 Mar 15:00 CHAMP Jersey V London Scottish St Peter's

APRIL 2016

Sat 2 Apr 15:00 CHAMP London Scottish V Bristol Rugby Athletic Ground
Sat 16 Apr 15:00 CHAMP Rotherham Titans V London Scottish Clifton Lane
Sat 23 Apr 15:00 CHAMP Moseley V London Scottish Billesley Common

by MacKnocked-on Tue 26 Jan 2016, 5:34 pm

Well done Eejit. I'll kick this thread off on the subject of Alex Grove. Got to be a good signing for LS, a player I would think could consider himself very unlucky to only have 2 or 3 caps, especially considering some of the players who kept him out of the Scotland team. I'm sure he will be an excellent addition to LS and obviously a good bit of Lineen business straight away.

by yappysnap Tue 26 Jan 2016, 5:36 pm

Why's he gone to Scottish? Surely a Robo/Aviva team would want him?

by Hazel Sapling Tue 26 Jan 2016, 6:07 pm

yappysnap wrote:Why's he gone to Scottish? Surely a Robo/Aviva team would want him?

http://www.skysports.com/rugby-union/news/12547/10143625/worcester-centre-alex-grove-joins-london-scottish

No idea why he did not get snapped up by a Aviva team. Glasgow could have done with him on loan over the 6 nations and Edinburgh could use a decent centre next season when Scott is off, but he struggled when he went to Edinburgh in 2010-2011 so maybe he got put off by the SRU.

London Scots fans, if I were to be attending a London Scots match what kind of ticket should I be getting? The 1872, Highlander and Clan thing gives me zero idea of where I would be located and I have never been to the Athletic ground.

by Eejit Tue 26 Jan 2016, 9:55 pm

Grove is very well thought of by the Worcester fans I spoke to. Fantastic piece of business for Scottish.

Hazel, clan is standing round the pitch (which most opt for) Highlander is sitting in the stand at the sides and 1872 is in the middle.

by Hazel Sapling Tue 26 Jan 2016, 10:24 pm

Eejit wrote:Grove is very well thought of by the Worcester fans I spoke to. Fantastic piece of business for Scottish.

Hazel, clan is standing round the pitch (which most opt for) Highlander is sitting in the stand at the sides and 1872 is in the middle.

Thank you Eejit! thumbsup

by **George Carlin** Wed 27 Jan 2016, 8:16 am

Well done, Eejit.

Really hope Scottish kick on under Lineen.

So they've now got Jazzy Geoff Cross, Cosgrove, Horne The Younger, Robbie Fergusson, Alex Grove and Rory Hughes on their books. There's no way they should be in the lower half of the table with guys like that.

by Eejit Wed 27 Jan 2016, 12:04 pm

Yes indeed, some disappointing results this season with a difficult game at the weekend against Carbegie who are sitting third in the table this season. Hopefully we'll see some of the B&I cup form translate to the league.

Interestingly one Tom Ryder now plays for Carnegie.

by funnyExiledScot Wed 27 Jan 2016, 1:39 pm

This is a great thread - I've only just noticed!

Grove is a great signing for LS, and I hope fringe players at Edinburgh/Glasgow also start to view LS as a viable option to get exposure to a different league.

From Edinburgh there are a few players who could do a job for LS: George Turner (hooker), C Bachurzewski (prop), J Cosgrove (prop - already on loan to LS), Fraser McKenzie (lock - although query whether we can spare him), James Ritchie (flanker - would be a great option for a season loan), Jade Te Rure (fly half), Andries Strauss (centre), S Beard (centre) and N McLennan (fullback).

by Eejit Fri 29 Jan 2016, 12:20 pm

Team's up for the Carnegie game on Saturday.

15. Lydon
14. Packman
13. Fergusson
12. Grove
11. Harries
10. Newton
9. Heeks

1. Cosgrove
2. Cherry
3. Maidment
4. Carrick Smith
5. Thomas Brown
6 Clarke
7. du Plessis
8. Bright (c)

Bench: Moran, Hallam, Shields, Bartle, Treadwell, Horne, Turner

In seems Rory Hughes has returned to Glasgow unfortunately.

by Dim Fri 29 Jan 2016, 12:28 pm

How has Carrick Smith been for you guys? He's a massive unit but didn't really seem to kick on much when he was at Exeter

by madmaccas Fri 29 Jan 2016, 1:06 pm

Great job Eejit.

Hazel Sapling wrote:
yappysnap wrote:Why's he gone to Scottish? Surely a Robo/Aviva team would want him?

http://www.skysports.com/rugby-union/news/12547/10143625/worcester-centre-alex-grove-joins-london-scottish

No idea why he did not get snapped up by a Aviva team. Glasgow could have done with him on loan over the 6 nations and Edinburgh could use a decent centre next season when Scott is off, but he struggled when he went to Edinburgh in 2010-2011 so maybe he got put off by the SRU.

London Scots fans, if I were to be attending a London Scots match what kind of ticket should I be getting? The 1872, Highlander and Clan thing gives me zero idea of where I would be located and I have never been to the Athletic ground.

As he's been loaned I can't see Ryan willing to lend Grove to one of his Aviva rivals. He's had a dip in form and injuries, so LS is probably the perfect place as he has his brother there.

In regards to the seating, to be honest as long as the weather is good I just get a standing ticket. Makes it easier to go to the bar and you can follow the game (plus as a filthy smoker I can puff away to my heart's delight). There's only one stand at present (they occasionally put up temporary stands) and all fun is had closer to the bar. The stand is generally for the old boys who've been going since the 40's.

It's a pretty tasty team out this week. The back row looks particularly strong with Namibian hardman du Plessis impressing already. Still missing some key men in the back 3 which is making it difficult to play our brand of running rugby. Sorry that the Grove brothers won't be playing together this week, that'll be a great sight when it happens.

The Yorkshire team, coachedby Bryan Redpath, are very strong and have their tails up at the moment.

15. Jonah Holmes
14. Seb Stegmann
13. Pete Lucock
12. Tom Casson
11. Taylor Prell
10. Kevin Sinfield
9. Chris Pilgrim
1. Charlie Beech
2. Phil Nilsen
3. Ben Hooper
4. Dean Schofield
5. Chris Jones (c)
6. Richard Beck
7. Andy Saull
8. Ryan Burrows

16. Jack Walker
17. Lee Imiolek
18. James Tideswell
19. Mike Myerscough
20. Josh Bainbridge
21. Max Green
22. Harry Leonard

Sad to see Harry Leonard losing his spot to a new, but ageing, rugby league convert. Maybe it's indicative of why he was never able to kick on in the Scottish game.

Should be a good game, we're definitely underdogs but hopefully we'll have drawn confidence from beating Munster A and the Ospreys select.
Unfortunately got a friend's birthday so going to miss it.

by madmaccas Fri 29 Jan 2016, 1:52 pm

Dim wrote:How has Carrick Smith been for you guys? He's a massive unit but didn't really seem to kick on much when he was at Exeter

Yeah he's been alright. Not barnstorming yet but seems pretty solid and is gratuitously tall.

by funnyExiledScot Fri 29 Jan 2016, 1:58 pm

Eejit wrote:Team's up for the Carnegie game on Saturday.

15. Lydon
14. Packman
13. Fergusson
12. Grove
11. Harries
10. Newton
9. Heeks

1. Cosgrove
2. Cherry
3. Maidment
4. Carrick Smith
5. Thomas Brown
6 Clarke
7. du Plessis
8. Bright (c)

Bench: Moran, Hallam, Shields, Bartle, Treadwell, Horne, Turner

In seems Rory Hughes has returned to Glasgow unfortunately.

Is that Robbie Ferguson at 13? He was supposed to be a real talent.

by madmaccas Fri 29 Jan 2016, 2:21 pm

Yeah he's been looking pretty handy so far and has locked down his place ahead of some stiff opposition.

by MacKnocked-on Sat 30 Jan 2016, 5:17 pm

Amazing win for LS today against Leeds, scoring a try and touchline conversion in the last minute. Final score 22-20. Puts them 10 points away from the bottom team now I think.

by Eejit Sat 30 Jan 2016, 5:42 pm

Great game today. Thought we had thrown it away after the try went in at the start of the second half - expect Carnegie will go away wondering what happened in the last 10 minutes.

Anyone else notice Scott Johnson standing pitch side earlier?

by yappysnap Sat 30 Jan 2016, 5:52 pm

Great to see two ex Quins boys in the Leeds team, Stegmann and Casson. Also good to see Andy Saull, funny how careers can pan out, 4 years ago he was Will Greenwoods player to watch, Greenwood had him down to break into the England side at 7, he was a young standout at Sarries at that time too. Now he's in the Championship, either way I hope he's enjoying his rugby. Itoje and Clifford take note.

by **George Carlin** Sun 31 Jan 2016, 1:31 pm

funnyExiledScot wrote:
Eejit wrote:Team's up for the Carnegie game on Saturday.

15. Lydon
14. Packman
13. Fergusson
12. Grove
11. Harries
10. Newton
9. Heeks

1. Cosgrove
2. Cherry
3. Maidment
4. Carrick Smith
5. Thomas Brown
6 Clarke
7. du Plessis
8. Bright (c)

Bench: Moran, Hallam, Shields, Bartle, Treadwell, Horne, Turner

In seems Rory Hughes has returned to Glasgow unfortunately.

Is that Robbie Ferguson at 13? He was supposed to be a real talent.

Very much so. Seems the small matter of Hodgkin’s lymphoma isn't going to stop him making a run of it professionally either - great lad.

I wonder which sort of world class town could have given birth to a young man with those personal attributes? Very Happy

by yappysnap Sun 31 Jan 2016, 7:22 pm

Norfolk?

by madmaccas Mon 01 Feb 2016, 10:09 am

Cracking win this weekend. Just what the doctor ordered.

They've just announced the signing of Canadian international Evan Olmstead. Didn't watch any of Canada's game during the RWC, so can anybody give us a rundown?

Either way there's some real beef in the 2nd row with him, Scottish Qualified Josh Thomas Brown and Neale Patrick, the 6'11 beast that is Will Carrick Smith and rising star that is Rory Bartle.

by madmaccas Mon 01 Feb 2016, 10:16 am

Gutted to see that Chevvy Pennycook has been forced to retire, he was a real beast in the backrow.

Here are highlights of the match (with quite some comeback!).

by Coleman Mon 01 Feb 2016, 10:29 am

How is Bartle doing? Really nice chap and a player I would like to come back to Wales one day.

by funnyExiledScot Mon 01 Feb 2016, 10:41 am

George Carlin wrote:
funnyExiledScot wrote:
Eejit wrote:Team's up for the Carnegie game on Saturday.

15. Lydon
14. Packman
13. Fergusson
12. Grove
11. Harries
10. Newton
9. Heeks

1. Cosgrove
2. Cherry
3. Maidment
4. Carrick Smith
5. Thomas Brown
6 Clarke
7. du Plessis
8. Bright (c)

Bench: Moran, Hallam, Shields, Bartle, Treadwell, Horne, Turner

In seems Rory Hughes has returned to Glasgow unfortunately.

Is that Robbie Ferguson at 13? He was supposed to be a real talent.
Very much so. Seems the small matter of Hodgkin’s lymphoma isn't going to stop him making a run of it professionally either - great lad.

I wonder which sort of world class town could have given birth to a young man with those personal attributes?

I'll save myself the bother of looking it up. Well done Ayr - once again.....

Joking aside, seriously impressive to come back from that.

by **RDW** Mon 01 Feb 2016, 1:55 pm

Just noticed this thread!

For those of you not on the ongoing banter thread, I had my stag do this weekend down in London and we went to the LS-Yorkshire game on Saturday afternoon followed by several drinks in the Sun Inn afterwards.

Was great fun and LS have a really good set up.

Couldn't have asked for a better game too with the last kick of the game winning conversion!

Will definitely try and get to more games whenever I'm in London.

by demosthenes Mon 01 Feb 2016, 2:01 pm

Defo a very English game that - three tries from driven mauls!

by **RDW** Mon 01 Feb 2016, 2:06 pm

The standard of play did seem a good way below the Pro 12. There were some massive units in both teams but there wasn’t much in the way of dynamic play and quick ball. I think both teams would have been comprehensively beaten by Edinburgh or Glasgow.

Was still an entertaining game though!

Lydon at 15 looked a big strong runner and obviously nailed the important kicks – he needs to work on his kicking to touch though with a few in the first half straight out on the full.

The LS backrow looked to have a blatant disregard for their own wellbeing, which was good to see.

The scrum half is a right yappy so and so– he must wind up the opposition (and refs!)

by funnyExiledScot Mon 01 Feb 2016, 2:48 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:The standard of play did seem a good way below the Pro 12. There were some massive units in both teams but there wasn’t much in the way of dynamic play and quick ball. I think both teams would have been comprehensively beaten by Edinburgh or Glasgow.

Was still an entertaining game though!

Lydon at 15 looked a big strong runner and obviously nailed the important kicks – he needs to work on his kicking to touch though with a few in the first half straight out on the full.

The LS backrow looked to have a blatant disregard for their own wellbeing, which was good to see.

The scrum half is a right yappy so and so– he must wind up the opposition (and refs!)

Hang on there. We don't score more than 3 tries in any game. It's a house rule.

by Eejit Mon 01 Feb 2016, 9:33 pm

Gutted for Chevvy Pennycook. Great servant to the club and good to see he got a wee send-off after the game.

by Eejit Tue 02 Feb 2016, 12:21 pm

Anybody ever been to Old Deer Park before? We've got a couple of standing tickets but need to know if they have a bar that will be showing the Calcutta cup game after, or if there is anywhere better to watch it.

by MacKnocked-on Sun 07 Feb 2016, 12:08 pm

Another last minute touch line conversion win yesterday, this time against LW. Also Mitch Eadie had another two tries for Bristol yesterday.

by Eejit Fri 12 Feb 2016, 5:56 pm

Copied from the LS website. I'm unable to attend this one as I'm away this weekend.

London Scottish have made five changes to their starting line-up for the match against Cornish Pirates at the Athletic Ground tomorrow afternoon.
The Scots are on a four match winning run in all competitions and secured another last-gasp win last weekend, with a Tinus du Plessis try and Peter Lydon conversion giving them a 19-17 victory in the Exile Derby against London Welsh.

Canadian International Evan Olmstead will make his first start for the club after coming off the bench at Old Deer Park, and Peter Lydon will earn his 50th cap for the Scots, totalling 422 points during his time in Richmond so far.

James Gibbons, Adam Kwasnicki and Max Maidment start in the front-row, with Rory Bartle being joined by the returning Neale Patrick, who makes his first appearance since Boxing Day in the second-row.

Evan Olmstead starts at blind-side flanker, beside Chris Walker at open-side, and Mark Bright captains the side at number eight.

The back-line is unchanged for the third match in succession, Matt Heeks and Dan Newton continue as half-backs, with Scottish pair Alex Grove and Robbie Fergusson extending their centre pairing.

Jason Harries starts on the right wing, with Howard Packman on the left wing and Peter Lydon making his 50th appearance at full-back.

James Hallam, Tyrone Moran and Matt Shields will give the Scots another front-row option from the bench. Josh Thomas Brown is also among the substitutes, as well as Freddie Clarke who will look to make an impact across the back-row when called upon.

George Horne is also on the bench, and Alec Coombes could make his first appearance of the season, the Scotland Under-20 international has recovered from injury and will be looking to have a positive influence in the final seven games of the campaign.

London Scottish team to play Cornish Pirates on Saturday, 6th February at 15:00 in the Greene King IPA Championship at the Athletic Ground.

15 Peter Lydon 14 Jason Harries 13 Robbie Fergusson 12 Alex Grove 11 Howard Packman 10 Dan Newton 9 Matt Heeks 1 James Gibbons 2 Adam Kwasnicki 3 Max Maidment 4 Rory Bartle 5 Neale Patrick 6 Evan Olmstead 7 Chris Walker 8 Mark Bright (c)

Replacements:
16 Tyrone Moran 17 James Hallam 18 Matt Shields 19 Josh Thomas Brown 20 Freddie Clarke 21 George Horne 22 Alec Coombes

by **George Carlin** Tue 16 Feb 2016, 3:52 am

Great win - what is that, five on the bounce?

by funnyExiledScot Tue 16 Feb 2016, 11:12 am

Great win, although I struggle to comprehend that Tinus du Plessis isn't an Edinburgh player.

by Eejit Fri 04 Mar 2016, 11:50 pm

First loss last week away to Nottingham since January 1st last week.

Donny tomorrow afternoon, team below:

15 Peter Lydon 14 Sam Smith 13 Robbie Fergusson 12 Alex Grove 11 Jason Harries 10 Dan Newton 9 Matt Heeks 1 Jack Cosgrove 2 Adam Kwasnicki 3 Matt Shields 4 Rory Bartle 5 Josh Thomas Brown 6 Evan Olmstead 7 Tinus du Plessis 8 Mark Bright (c)

Replacements:
16 Tyrone Moran 17 James Hallam 18 Max Maidment 19 Neale Patrick 20 George Horne 21 Oli Grove 22 Howard Packman

by **George Carlin** Sat 05 Mar 2016, 9:17 am

Woah - Bristol and Doncaster miles ahead on points.

Eejit - are they really so much better than everybody else?

by Eejit Sat 05 Mar 2016, 12:38 pm

I think Bristol are certainly a cut above and are likely to go up. Donny not so sure about, but we'll find out later today. Part of the issue is that Scottish or Welsh haven't kicked on this season.

by Eejit Mon 25 Apr 2016, 12:37 pm

Good end to a bad season then as Scottish hammered Moseley 75-24. There's a video floating be around that I'll post it up when I get home.

Will attempt to keep this thread updated next season.

by **RDW** Mon 25 Apr 2016, 12:42 pm

Has it been that bad a season? Given LS' current level of resources they are unlikely to mount a serious promotion challenge, so you could probably class a season that doesn't leave them in a relegation dogfight as a reasonably successful season. Saying that, they did manage the playoffs last season so it probably has been a backwards step in comparison.

Hopefully with the new interest from the SRU they can start working their way up the league.

by **George Carlin** Mon 25 Apr 2016, 2:57 pm

I think that we placed 8th this year. I wonder how many of the 8 games that we won happened when all of the former pros and internationalists came down. If we can keep them, then presumably we will place much better next year.

Bristol absolutely smashed everyone this year and finished miles ahead of the pack. Are there still playoffs? I would be royally urined off if I was Andy Robinson and had to run the gauntlet of his players having an off day and the other side stealing someone that properly belongs to the men of Brizzle.

by **RDW** Mon 25 Apr 2016, 3:03 pm

Bristol generally have been by far the best team in the league for a number of years now but for something like 5 years in a row have lost the playoff.

Must be incredibly frustrating!

by funnyExiledScot Mon 25 Apr 2016, 3:53 pm

Really hope Bristol go up this year. Proper rugby club and, despite a few odd selections in his day, I still have a fair bit of respect for Andy Robinson.

by Hazel Sapling Mon 25 Apr 2016, 4:09 pm

Bristol need to go up. Got a proper ground, decent backers, good coaches and have plenty of local rivals in Gloucester, Worcester, Exeter and Bath.

London Scots are, sadly, unlikely to get the stadium together for a run in the Aviva as currently constituted. Aviva requiring 10,000 never made much sense. Really 5,000 made sense back a decade ago and even now 7,500 would be plenty. Instead you got London Irish playing in a football stadium in Reading, Wasps moving to Coventry and London Welsh going to play in Oxford. Newcastle, Carnegie and Sale were/are not exactly filling their grounds week in, week out either.

I hope though that with some loan signings and SRU coaching exchanges that in the next 3-5 years, LS are consistent playoff contenders. That should be the goal. Get players from 20-24 years old to learn their trade. Feel there is talent in the u20's but need some quality game time to kick on and make it.

by **George Carlin** Mon 25 Apr 2016, 7:42 pm

Agreed Hazel. I always felt that London Scottish should be treated the same way as Scottish club sides and receive an allocation of players from the two pro teams to be used when the the players are not selected in the matchday 23 by their pro sides. [Please don't tell me that already happens and I just didn't know...]

It's better than them sitting on the bench eating a square slice each week only for to them to be fed through the standard funnel to London Irish or Newcastle.

by MacKnocked-on Tue 26 Apr 2016, 10:33 am

LS have signed former Scotland U20 and Edinburgh development prop Phil Cringle from Carcassonne for next season, at 22 he could be a prospect worth keeping an eye on.

by Hazel Sapling Tue 26 Apr 2016, 10:54 am

MacKnocked-on wrote:LS have signed former Scotland U20 and Edinburgh development prop Phil Cringle from Carcassonne for next season, at 22 he could be a prospect worth keeping an eye on.

Good thing his parents did not name him Chris. Being a prop he would be sorted for his post rugby career....

by funnyExiledScot Tue 26 Apr 2016, 12:08 pm

MacKnocked-on wrote:LS have signed former Scotland U20 and Edinburgh development prop Phil Cringle from Carcassonne for next season, at 22 he could be a prospect worth keeping an eye on.

I've been to Carcassonne. It's lovely. He's giving up a fair bit to return to London!

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