Glasgow and Edinburgh: Ongoing Banter Thread XII - Twelve Monkeys

[A Simply Mesmeric Try]

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
https://www.606v2.com/t61904-glasgow-and-edinburgh-ongoing-banter-thread-xi-the-undiscovered-country

Edinburgh

1872 Champions

Edinburgh's Fixtures & Results (click to show):

Glasgow

1872 Runners-up

Glasgow Warrior's Fixtures & Results (click to show):

Ladies and Gents, Girls and Boys, it's season finale!

Guinness PRO12 Play Offs
Fri 20 May 19:45 - Semi Final
Leinster Rugby 30 - 18   Ulster Rugby - RDS Arena 19,100

Sat 21 May 18:30 - Semi Final
Connacht Rugby  16 - 11   Glasgow Warriors - Galway Sportsground 7,800

Sat 28 May 17:30 - Grand Final
Leinster Rugby  10 - 20  Connacht Rugby  - BT Murrayfield - 34,550

Cinderella story or what?! Congrats to the Galway posse who were the form team of the season!

[RDW]

That's my worry for this tournament - we haven't got great strength in depth and there is only a 4 to 5 day turnaround between every game.

If we finish 2nd in our group I think the lowest we could finish is 8th place which would still be a decent result, and we would have a chance of getting a 6-8 finish.

If we beat England we'll be aiming for the top 4!

[jimbopip]

Morning lads, the whisper I'm hearing (apart from the other voices which are omnipresent, "Why do they come to me to die?") is that both Cap'n Kellock and the Toonmeister are about to receive Honorary Doctorates from Glasgow Uni.
Hmm,

Big Al awarded the Braveheart Tub, to be thumped as and when required. The Ph D will be awarded when Glasgow regain their champions status. ( Ph D = Phacepaint Dye in a striking shade of blue)

Toonie will be formally ensconced on the Machiavelli Chair of Clever Stratagems. He will of course be wearing the fox tail bunnet and Jamesie Cotter trainers, with the Emperor's New Pinstripe in between, to his award ceremony which will take place with all due solemnity on some blasted heath around a bubbling pot with Shrek, Bane and Batman filling in for the withered hags.


All of the above is 100% true. Except the bits I made up.

[George Carlin]

Morning lads, the whisper I'm hearing (apart from the other voices which are omnipresent, "Why do they come to me to die?") is that both Cap'n Kellock and the Toonmeister are about to receive Honorary Doctorates from Glasgow Uni.
Hmm,

Big Al awarded the Braveheart Tub, to be thumped as and when required. The Ph D will be awarded when Glasgow regain their champions status. ( Ph D = Phacepaint Dye in a striking shade of blue)

Toonie will be formally ensconced on the Machiavelli Chair of Clever Stratagems. He will of course be wearing the fox tail bunnet and Jamesie Cotter trainers, with the Emperor's New Pinstripe in between, to his award ceremony which will take place with all due solemnity on some blasted heath around a bubbling pot with Shrek, Bane and Batman filling in for the withered hags.


All of the above is 100% true. Except the bits I made up.

[jimbopip]

Thanks George.
As a rule I'm usually rather sceptical about honorary degrees, seeing them as free publicity for the awarding body and an ego massage for the recipient who often has absolutely no connection with the university in question. However, in this case I'll make an exception IF the award binds Toonie more tightly to Glasgow and lengthens his tenure at Scotstoun.As Groucho Marx said, "Gentlemen, those are my principles. If you don't like them ....I can get others"

I'm also hearing whispers that Glasgow may be signing a 19 year old lock from Perpignan. Scottish too, apparently. Does anyone have any info on him?

[RDW]

Adam Sinclair?

[jimbopip]

Samuel Wallace Thomson, a product of Kelvinside Academy, played for Glasgow at under-15, under-16 and under-17, North Midlands at under-20, Lydney RFC and Scottish Exiles under-18 prior to moving to Worcester, where he's currently studying outdoor adventure leadership and management at the city's university.

He's a qualified canoe/kayak instructor, has passed mountain leader training and is white water safety and rescue qualified.

Sam's dad, Bill Thomson, played for Scottish Colleges, brother Josh played for Glasgow at age grade and his cousin, Murray Smith, used to be one of the top 20 downhill skiers in Canada.

That's from the SRU site. Apparently he was at Perpignan last year on an espoirs contract (?) but is now training at Scotstoun in't 'cadamy. At 6'6 he looks to be in the Swinson mould, but maybe he's got another growth spurt in him.

[RDW]

At 6ft 6 he's taller than Swinson!

The Espoirs are the French academy teams.

[RDW]

Adam Sinclair is 23 and apparently looking for a club

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/rugby/scottish-rugby-giant-adam-sinclair-7853546

[jimbopip]

Ah, it's seems that as Humphrey Bogart said in Casablanca, "I was misinformed."

However, is he any good? At 23 why hasn't he got a pro contract if he is?

[EWT Spoons]

Adam Sinclair is 23 and apparently looking for a club

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/rugby/scottish-rugby-giant-adam-sinclair-7853546

Hope he finds a club, but I can't see a move to Edinburgh helping his chances of getting a international cap. Solly doesn't rotate and he would come in as very much lock cover rather than anything more.

Glasgow, maybe a better option given Toonie does tend to rotate his squad.

He might be better off taking a contract in France if he's had offers.

[jimbopip]

Adam Sinclair is 23 and apparently looking for a club

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/rugby/scottish-rugby-giant-adam-sinclair-7853546

Hope he finds a club, but I can't see a move to Edinburgh helping his chances of getting a international cap.  Solly doesn't rotate and he would come in as very much lock cover rather than anything more.

Glasgow, maybe a better option given Toonie does tend to rotate his squad.

He might be better off taking a contract in France if he's had offers.

And the winner of, "Understatement of the week goes to..."

[EWT Spoons]

Cheers jimbo, it's been a lifelong dream to pick up this prestigious award, I've got a few folk I'd like to thank....

:-)

[jimbopip]

Mr Spoo, I too have cherished a lifelong dream ....but it wasn't an award I was picking up.

[funnyExiledScot]

Samuel Wallace Thomson, a product of Kelvinside Academy, played for Glasgow at under-15, under-16 and under-17, North Midlands at under-20, Lydney RFC and Scottish Exiles under-18 prior to moving to Worcester, where he's currently studying outdoor adventure leadership and management at the city's university.

He's a qualified canoe/kayak instructor, has passed mountain leader training and is white water safety and rescue qualified.

Sam's dad, Bill Thomson, played for Scottish Colleges, brother Josh played for Glasgow at age grade and his cousin, Murray Smith, used to be one of the top 20 downhill skiers in Canada.

That's from the SRU site. Apparently he was at Perpignan last year on an espoirs contract (?) but is now training at Scotstoun in't 'cadamy. At 6'6 he looks to be in the Swinson mould, but maybe he's got another growth spurt in him.

...and to think I used to make fun of people who studied Geography!

[jimbopip]

Ah, outdoorsy adventurous type, leadership type....someone for Al Kellock to talk to. Best sign him, up asap.

[funnyExiledScot]

Yes I'm sure Professor Al Kellock will be able to take him under his wing, although I hope his well known paper "Rucking - the Perspective of a Conscientious Objector" doesn't influence the young lad too much.

[jimbopip]

No, no and thrice no oh Festering one. Big Al received his gown and mortar board after some strenuous backing from the Royal Society of Osteopaths for his learned dissertation, "How To lift really heavy trophies with out straining the lower lumbar regions" .
I understand that booksellers east of the vinegar/nippy sauce border have refused to stock this tome due to lack of demand (future or present) so in this instance I shall forgive your foolish ignorance.

[funnyExiledScot]

No, no and thrice no oh Festering one. Big Al received his gown and mortar board after some strenuous backing from the Royal Society of Osteopaths for his learned dissertation, "How To lift really heavy trophies with out straining the lower lumbar regions" .
I understand that booksellers east of the vinegar/nippy sauce border have refused to stock this tome due to lack of demand (future or present) so in this instance I shall forgive your foolish ignorance.

Are you suggesting that Al Kellock pulled a muscle lifting one trophy? He should have stayed true to form and asked Jonny Gray to lift it for him.

[jimbopip]

No, no and thrice no oh Festering one. Big Al received his gown and mortar board after some strenuous backing from the Royal Society of Osteopaths for his learned dissertation, "How To lift really heavy trophies without straining the lower lumbar regions" .
I understand that booksellers east of the vinegar/nippy sauce border have refused to stock this tome due to lack of demand (future or present) so in this instance I shall forgive your foolish ignorance.

Are you suggesting that Al Kellock pulled a muscle lifting one trophy? He should have stayed true to form and asked Jonny Gray to lift it for him.

Really Fes, doesn't the word "without" suggest a lack of strained musculature? Are you sure you're a lawyer? How much do you charge for reading documents? On second thoughts don't tell me; I'll be singing The Red Flag through gritted teeth all day if you do.

[funnyExiledScot]

No, no and thrice no oh Festering one. Big Al received his gown and mortar board after some strenuous backing from the Royal Society of Osteopaths for his learned dissertation, "How To lift really heavy trophies without straining the lower lumbar regions" .
I understand that booksellers east of the vinegar/nippy sauce border have refused to stock this tome due to lack of demand (future or present) so in this instance I shall forgive your foolish ignorance.

Are you suggesting that Al Kellock pulled a muscle lifting one trophy? He should have stayed true to form and asked Jonny Gray to lift it for him.

Really Fes, doesn't the word "without" suggest a lack of strained musculature? Are you sure you're a lawyer? How much do you charge for reading documents? On second thoughts don't tell me; I'll be singing The Red Flag through gritted teeth all day if you do.

Actually there was nothing in your post to suggest that Professor Kellock followed the advice of his learned dissertation and, having heard the great man speak, I had assumed an element of ghost writing in any case.

One thing us bloated, overpaid, capitalist scum bag lawyers learn early doors is that just because a document has someone's name on it (e.g. a senior partner at a law firm), does not mean that they have written (or read) it.

Anyway, I survive on a perfectly modest salary thank you very much......

[Hazel Sapling]

Speaking of degrees and their merits, it reminds me of a girl I was talking to (rare occasion) who was visiting my then housemate. She studied some artsy subject at Sussex (or somewhere south like that) where a module was dedicated to napping and at the end discussing any dreams they had whilst napping.

[RDW]

My flatmate did geography - he would complain about the one essay a semester that he had to do, and would generally only have one or two lectures a day, which he never went to. He then had one exam at the end of the year.

He is now a geography teacher to inspire the next generation to do nothing at uni for 4 years!

Worst was a town planning degree - that's just filling in forms about noise permits etc!

[jimbopip]

No, no and thrice no oh Festering one. Big Al received his gown and mortar board after some strenuous backing from the Royal Society of Osteopaths for his learned dissertation, "How To lift really heavy trophies without straining the lower lumbar regions" .
I understand that booksellers east of the vinegar/nippy sauce border have refused to stock this tome due to lack of demand (future or present) so in this instance I shall forgive your foolish ignorance.

Are you suggesting that Al Kellock pulled a muscle lifting one trophy? He should have stayed true to form and asked Jonny Gray to lift it for him.

Really Fes, doesn't the word "without" suggest a lack of strained musculature? Are you sure you're a lawyer? How much do you charge for reading documents? On second thoughts don't tell me; I'll be singing The Red Flag through gritted teeth all day if you do.

Actually there was nothing in your post to suggest that Professor Kellock followed the advice of his learned dissertation and, having heard the great man speak, I had assumed an element of ghost writing in any case.

One thing us bloated, overpaid, capitalist scum bag lawyers learn early doors is that just because a document has someone's name on it (e.g. a senior partner at a law firm), does not mean that they have written (or read) it.

Anyway, I survive on a perfectly modest salary thank you very much......

If your salary's modest it's the only thing about you that is. I'm here all week, don't forget to tip your waitress.

[RDW]

Scottish Rugby and London Scottish can confirm that a revised player development pathway will operate for the forthcoming season 2016/17.

Up to eight players will be seconded from Scotland to continue their development under the guidance of the Head of Scotland Age-Grade programme, Sean Lineen, who will continue in his part-time role with London Scottish.

The arrangements in place since January this year will now operate on a more modest and achievable scale better suited to the support available from London Scottish and will build on the success of the trial last season.

Sir David Reid, Chairman of London Scottish, commented: “We fully recognise that the concerns expressed by Scottish Rugby’s Board over the financial commitment and infrastructure needed from London Scottish under the previous arrangements were entirely legitimate.

“London Scottish will now take full financial responsibility for its areas identified in the partnership, which are designed to enhance the performance environment in which London Scottish players can train and prepare.”

Rod Lynch, President of the club, added: “We regret that our recent statements and media coverage of them may have cast a cloud over such an exciting opportunity and are grateful that Scottish Rugby was still willing to continue a dialogue with us. We are now looking to move this mutually beneficial opportunity forward and will provide young players with exposure to Championship rugby and its associated benefits.

“Championship Rugby is a challenging environment commercially and we acknowledge that the concerns Scottish Rugby’s Board voiced were valid. I am delighted we have now been able to address these.”

Mark Dodson, Chief Executive of Scottish Rugby, said: “We see this as a 12-month relationship at this time. We want to move this initiative forward to continue to give identified Scottish players the opportunity to develop into international players of the future.

“We had to satisfy ourselves that the club could deliver a performance environment suitable to enable talented young players to develop, before we committed further. We are pleased that the club has addressed our concerns and are now satisfied that the reduced scale of the programme matches the support the club can provide.”

[RDW]

Quite a lot of back tracking from London Scottish there - maybe the SRU weren't such the bad guys in all this as we first thought?

[Hazel Sapling]

Really wish they had sorted this crap out before going public, it was almost like they looked at the PRL and the Welsh of the past few years for negotiating tactics. At least they are getting sorted and the one year at a time is probably wise at the moment.

Could have given them Scott, Fife and Bordill instead of releasing them so hopefully all 3 can get a pro contract somewhere to continue. They managed to get Shiells at least. I would think all are Championship level players or higher. Who are we likely to see make the trip down?

[NeilyBroon]

SRU have done a revised deal with London Scottish - they'll still be up sh*t creek but this hopefully will help them stay in the championship.

[MacKnocked-on]

SRU have done a revised deal with London Scottish - they'll still be up sh*t creek but this hopefully will help them stay in the championship.

Common sense has prevailed thank goodness, although the statement from LS is very interesting in so much as it seems they admit blame for the initial breakdown of the relationship and are thankful the SRU have agreed to re-enter a collaboration on player development. Seems that those blaming Johnson/Dodson/SRU blazers for this debacle were wrong, in this instance...

[RDW]

I don't know if Ian Morrison has been going to journalism classes but his articles have been better of late - here's one on the LS farce

As Winston Churchill
 probably didn’t say, America always does the right thing but only after exhausting all other possibilities. So, just two weeks after walking away from the deal they had forged with London Scottish, the Scottish Rugby Union is jumping into bed with the exile club once again like an excitable newlywed.

The latest deal will see up to eight rather than 14 young players sent south from Murrayfield to turn out for London Scottish in England’s second tier Championship next season, with Sean Lineen co-opted as a part-time director of rugby. The London Scots may conclude the new deal is better than a slap in the face given they were left in the lurch when the SRU withdrew its workforce two weeks ago, leaving the club scrambling around to find adequate replacements.

This extraordinary hokey cokey by the SRU has occurred despite them releasing a statement on 30 May insisting that the “performance environment in place was not sufficiently developed” at London Scottish.

Admittedly the ramshackle Richmond Athletic Ground that London Scottish call home is due for demolition but the “performance environment” the SRU complained about was the one that had been put in place by… er, the SRU in January. According to the original agreement, Lineen would be retained as director of rugby, Roddy Grant as forwards coach, some medical backing was agreed in the form of a physiotherapist and 14 Edinburgh and Glasgow players would join up with London Scottish who would have the use of the upmarket 
Lensbury Club, with the cost of the facility split 50/50 between club and union.

But almost every statement from Murrayfield these days needs to be treated like Pravda propaganda and, whatever SRU chief executive Mark Dodson, pictured, may claim, nothing of substance has changed in two weeks.

The press release heralding yesterday’s news was a case in point with the SRU claiming benevolence and wisdom while, and this is the Orwellian bit, London Scottish issued a mea culpa. Rod Lynch, the club’s president, was quoted as expressing his “regret that our recent statements and media coverage of them may have cast a cloud over such an exciting opportunity”. Lynch was also “grateful that 
Scottish Rugby was still willing to continue a dialogue with us”.

This after the SRU ended the original deal amid an unsubstantiated report that the decision was motivated by concerns “about the business model and commercial viability” of London Scottish.

London Scottish officials were not returning calls yesterday which could be open to the interpretation by some that they have been blackmailed or bullied into silence.

The question as to why the SRU did the hokey cokey is a cloudy one but one thing we can say with certainty is that former SRU chairman David Mackay had a hand in matters. He is now president of the “Friends of Scottish Rugby” and Mackay acted as an honest broker between club and union, getting them around a metaphorical table.

The rest of the story is lot more opaque and, whatever the diplomatic skills of Mackay, you suspect that something else has been going on behind the scenes for Dodson to make such a humiliating climbdown.

It is possible that the chief executive of Scottish Rugby quietly contemplated his actions after the initial decision and arrived at the same conclusion as almost everyone else… that he had acted a little rashly.

Alternatively the London Scottish chairman Sir David Reid may have picked up the phone to his old friend Sir Moir Lockhead, the SRU chairman, and, following what was sure to be an animated conversation, Sir Moir may have kicked his chief executive in the pants.

There was also the small matter of the lease on the Lensbury Club, with a three-year contract already in place, albeit with the possibility of a one-year break clause. Dodson may have reasoned that, if the cash strapped SRU was shelling out £54,000 per annum for the use of the Lensbury facilities, London Scottish matching that sum, someone had better use them or he’d look petty as well as petulant. It may not have been a coincidence that Dodson stated the deal was for 12 months.

The whole omnishambles will have long-term repercussions, not least for the chief executive. Much of what the Mancunian has achieved in five eventful years at Murrayfield is admirable. Most notably, he brokered the BT deal which saw the communications giant pay a reported £20 million for the naming rights to Murrayfield. But the good work is undermined by an impetuous streak; this is the third time Dodson has drawn a line in the sand only to effect a reverse ferret when his feet are held to 
the fire.

Firstly he backed David Davies after revelations that the former Edinburgh Rugby managing director had alienated the playing squad with his high-handed sacking of the club’s long serving manager Lynsey Dingwall. It wasn’t until five weeks after the story broke that Dodson bowed to the inevitable and Davies left the club.

One year ago Dodson was about to pull the plug on the Scotland Sevens squad. The players were told to take any contract they could get their hands on as there was no money set aside for the short game in the original 2015-16 budget. When a brouhaha kicked up Dodson again effected a hand brake turn because the Board voted unanimously to keep the Sevens squad… and they were handsomely rewarded with a tournament win at last month’s London Sevens at Twickenham.

Now Dodson has reacted to the backlash from his decision to walk away from London Scottish by clutching them to his bosom, at least for the time being.

It is a sign of strength when the boss displays the flexibility required to change his mind but Dodson is getting the big calls wrong far too often for comfort. Sir Moir Lockhead has one year of his term as chairman of the SRU remaining and you wonder whether he will grasp this particular nettle or dump the problem in his successor’s lap?

Is it a good thing that Dodson isn't so stubborn to not backtrack on his decisions, or is the fact that he's got them 'wrong' in the first place a sign that he's not very good at his job?

[jimbopip]

It is possible (highly possible) that I am reading this all wrong but it seems to me that the pas de deux we have just witnessed was not the Hokey cokey the Hootsman is painting it to be. To put it in blunt terms it has all been about who is actually in charge. It seems to me that LS were of the opinion that the SRU would give them players and money and allow them to get on with it in their own way. The SRU were of the opinion that they could send some youngsters down to a successful, competitive Championship club for "some" playing experience.

From LS's point of view slashing the wage bill and off-loading players who would be replaced by SRU financed young prospects makes excellent sense. From the SRU's point of view, young players being used as "cannon fodder" is not player development. If these young prospects were ready for week in week out first team rugby they would be getting it at Scotstoun or wherever the MFL are renting that week.

All we have seen is the SRU saying, in effect, if you want our money you'll do as we say. He who pays the piper calls the tune, as my granny often said.

LS seem to have wanted to maintain their autonomy AND take the money. real life seldom works like that.

[RDW]

That's probably the most sensible thing you've posted on here jimbo - have you been going on courses too?

[funnyExiledScot]

What's happening on here? First of all Iain Morrison writes a piece that is both articulate and well-informed, and then Jimbo follows it up with an insightful and considered comment!

I think the negotiating technique demonstrated by the SRU leaves much to be desired, and I do wonder whether they needed to spit the dummy out in the fashion they did, but it does appear to have worked and put LS firmly back in its box.

All I care about is ensuring our young players receive the coaching and exposure to rugby that will best enhance them as players. I also have a soft spot for LS, having been an exile down there for 10 or so years. Hopefully the relationship between LS and the SRU can now proceed on a sensible footing.

[BigGee]

Neither party has come out of this shambles with any credit. Why did it ever have to go public in such an unsightly fashion, whoever was responsible for that really should be considering their position.

Anyway they have finally got to where they wanted to be and in all honesty, 8 players going down their is probably around the right amount. I am really not sure if we had 14 who were ready and would have contributed and benefitted from the experience. Maybe in the future as the academy system improves, but not at this moment in time.

The next question of course is who are they going to be. There are certainly a few of the youngsters in the U20's that I saw playing in Manchester on Wednesday who may be worth a shot. It was very obvious in that game, who were the players with the experience of playing at a higher level, Ritchie, Cummings, Kinghorn and Fargerson all really stood out.

None of them will go though, as they will be needed at home. The other two front rowers, Kerr and McCallam though might be worth a punt. Smith and Millar in the back roe and Hunter-Hill, who was put into the team of the round and was highly thought of enough to be sent off to NZ on the McPhail last year.

Pretty much all of the backs looked decent, if all a little light weight still for the full pro experience, so they are unlikely to see any pro game time in the pro 12 next year.

There is definitely some talent there though and I hope they pick wisely and thank goodness common sense has prevailed.

[jimbopip]

RDW, Fes allow me to apologise for my aberrant behaviour this morning.
Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

[Hazel Sapling]

Hopefully this is the end of the matter and over the course of the year all things patch up for a longer term deal (say 3 year contracts with a year notice).

As for Dodson, realising you have made a poor decision and changing your mind is good. Letting it leak before finalising the details is not. The mess with the managing director was the worst one. 7s was poor communication with the board. The LS issue sounds like LS were offered an inch and took a mile, but who really knows judging by the press machine.

In my mind 8 of the BT stage 3 players should go. Of the ones who I think would be available Graham (H), McConnell (LH?), Fraser (SH), Galbraith (C), Howarth (FB), McCallum (LH), Miller (8), Robbins (W), Grigg (C), McDonald (L), Hunter-Hill (L), Smith (OS), and Wynne (BR).

It stands out to me that we lack TH's and FH's at this point in the process.

[RDW]

The under 20s are playing against Australia in the 5-8th place semi final today at 19:45 with the game live stramed on the World Rugby Website (you have to find the steam through the Live Blog page, which isn't up yet)

I think it would be an even bigger achievement if we manage to beat this Australia team again but I think they’ll have too much for us – they won’t get caught cold twice.

Unfortunately that would then mean playing NZ or Wales in the 7/8th place playoff.

So the most likely scenario is we finish 8th again! That would still be a decent achievement though, albeit a bit disappointing given the fantastic start we got beating Australia.

[Hazel Sapling]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW8igWtcL_k

Russia vs Canada highlights. Taylor Paris played well and Djustice is highlighted for a big hit.

[RDW]

Djustice got MOTM when they played Japan last weekend.

[funnyExiledScot]

Good spot. Looks like the Glasgow scouting team has done well again.

I actually thought Taylor Paris looked a decent player when he was at Glasgow. Obviously not as fast as Sean Lamont, but pretty sharp.

[A Simply Mesmeric Try]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW8igWtcL_k

Russia vs Canada highlights. Taylor Paris played well and Djustice is highlighted for a big hit.

Is it me or has Taylor Paris grown taller? He was tiny IIRC.

[BigGee]

Interesting to see Big T on the bench for Aus against England on Saturday. Slightly surprising given he was not even a first choice for Glasgow for most of the season and is somewhat suspect defensively.

Maybe we will see what we missed?

[RDW]

He's also signed for Panasonic Wild Knights apparently.

[funnyExiledScot]

I think George Ford could make Big T look pretty inept in defence.

[lostinwales]

Interesting to see Big T on the bench for Aus against England on Saturday. Slightly surprising given he was not even a first choice for Glasgow for most of the season and is somewhat suspect defensively.

Maybe we will see what we missed?

Australian selections are all over the shop, but the feeling seems to be that they want some heavy duty runners to dent the English line.

[highland_scot]

I think George Ford could make Big T look pretty inept in defence.

Aussie press will then say it's playing in the Northern Hemisphere/Scotland that has made him fat and a bad defender!

[funnyExiledScot]

I think George Ford could make Big T look pretty inept in defence.

Aussie press will then say it's playing in the Northern Hemisphere/Scotland that has made him fat and a bad defender!

That's an outrageous slur! No issues with the fat bit though.....

[RDW]

[RDW]

https://www.606v2.com/t63477-scottish-rugby-end-of-season-awards#3389894

[EWT Spoons]

Apparently Edinburgh are making a new signing, and will be announced around lunchtime today

[George Carlin]

Apparently Edinburgh are making a new signing, and will be announced around lunchtime today

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