Edinburgh Rugby v Ulster Rugby

by neilthom7 Tue 01 Nov 2016, 1:30 pm

Edinburgh Rugby v Ulster Rugby
Guiness Pro 12 Round 8
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Friday 4th November 2016, 19:35 Kick-off
Live on BBCS Alba and BBC NI

Teams
Edinburgh Rugby
(15-9): Blair Kinghorn, Damien Hoyland, Chris Dean, Phil Burleigh, Tom Brown, Jason Tovey, Sean Kennedy
(1-8): Jack Cosgrove, Neil Cochrane CAPTAIN, Murray McCallum, Fraser McKenzie, Ben Toolis, Viliame Mata, Jamie Ritchie, Magnus Bradbury
Replacements (16-23): Stuart McInally, Kyle Whyte, Felipe Arregui, Lewis Carmichael, Cornell Du Preez, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Duncan Weir, Michael Allen

Ulster Rugby
(15-9): C Piutau; T Bowe, L Marshall, S Windsor, R Lyttle, B Herron, R Pienaar;
(1-8): K McCall, R Herring (capt), W Herbst, D Tuohy, F van der Merwe, P Browne, C Ross, S Reidy;
Replacements (16-23): J Andrew, R Kane, A Warwick, R Diack, C Joyce, P Marshall, A Cairns, J Stockdale

Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Dudley Phillips (IRFU), Lloyd Linton (SRU)
Citing Commissioner: John Kirk (SRU)
TMO: Gareth Simmonds (WRU)

So Edinburgh take on Ulster this weekend in round 8.
Edinburgh come off a bad result losing to Zebre last week while Ulster also come off a loss to Munster last week.
The internationals coming up mean that squads for this could be interesting. Ulster will lose 4 players to the Ireland squad this weekend as well as their lengthy injury list.

by Guest Tue 01 Nov 2016, 1:59 pm

The good news is that we will have L Marshall available for this, but with so many injuries and with those away on Ireland duty, we are pretty much down to the bare bones in the backrow. Could be tough.

by **RDW** Tue 01 Nov 2016, 2:00 pm

If we had given Zebre a hammering last week as we really should have done I would have been quietly confident for this one given our much improved run of results of late.

That Zebre loss was one of our worst defeats in recent years so I really just don't know what to expect from this group of players anymore.

On paper we should still have a strong team given that we've not got many likely to be retained by Scotland, but we've got real issues at front row with a number of injuries. My guess for the team:

1 Dell
2 Cochrane
3 Argie bloke
5 Mckenzie
5 Toolis
6 Bradbury
7 Watson
8 Manu/CDP

9 Kennedy
10 Tovey
11 Brown
12 Burleigh
13 Dean
14 Hoyland
15 Kinghorn

I'd be inclined to make some changes to that given it is not far off the squad that lost to Zebre, but with injuries and Scotland callups there's not a lot we could change - I'd have Michael Allen at 13 though.

by Guest Tue 01 Nov 2016, 2:04 pm

The Ulster lads in the Edinburgh side will be fired up for this if they get the chance. How's Scholes doing over there?

by **RDW** Tue 01 Nov 2016, 2:07 pm

Edinburgh fans can't quite fathom it but Scholes has been given the Schweinsteiger treatment - I think he's only had one start and one appearance off the bench all season. He seems to be near the bottom of the pecking order both at wing and fullback.

I really feel for the guy as he moved here to get more gametime and if anything he's getting even less than what he got at Ultster!

Michael Allan has been very good though - one of our best backs this season (which, to be fair, isn't exactly something to shout about!)

by neilthom7 Tue 01 Nov 2016, 2:10 pm

I wonder is there any chance we could give Mr Allen a quiet word in his ear about coming back to Ulster if he does what's best for business lol
We should be down to bare bones in backs, we will have Luke Marshall but who knows what the rest will be
Pienaar will be at 9, Jackson may be able to play at 10 but given what has come out today who knows what mindeset he will be in. Outside that we are likely to have Luke Marshall, Jacob Stockdale, Tommy Bowe, Lyttle and Piatau but goodness knows in what positions

by neilthom7 Tue 01 Nov 2016, 2:11 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:Edinburgh fans can't quite fathom it but Scholes has been given the Schweinsteiger treatment - I think he's only had one start and one appearance off the bench all season. He seems to be near the bottom of the pecking order both at wing and fullback.

I really feel for the guy as he moved here to get more gametime and if anything he's getting even less than what he got at Ultster!

Michael Allan has been very good though - one of our best backs this season (which, to be fair, isn't exactly something to shout about!)

Given our injuries he probably would have started most games this year too

by **RDW** Tue 01 Nov 2016, 2:13 pm

I just don't get it - the fact that he's not even included on the bench over Glen Bryce really is a damning indictment because Bryce is incredibly average!

If this carries on I suspect Scholes will be going back to Ulster cap in hand next summer begging to be taken back. He's clearly a talented player who was highly thought of by Ulster fans but he's just not getting a chance.

by marty2086 Tue 01 Nov 2016, 2:14 pm

[quote="neilthom7"]Pienaar will be at 9, Jackson may be able to play at 10 but given what has come out today who knows what mindeset he will be in.

To be fair, Jackson was arrested at the end of June so has been playing all along with it hanging over him but Ulster may not want any distractions and keep him out of the squad

by neilthom7 Tue 01 Nov 2016, 2:18 pm

marty2086 wrote:
neilthom7 wrote:Pienaar will be at 9, Jackson may be able to play at 10 but given what has come out today who knows what mindeset he will be in.

To be fair, Jackson was arrested at the end of June so has been playing all along with it hanging over him but Ulster may not want any distractions and keep him out of the squad

Absolutely but also with it getting leaked to press and what not this week it may be a little different than before both for him and the team. I guess if he doesn't play then Heron will most likely start at 10

by Guest Tue 01 Nov 2016, 2:20 pm

Surprised about Scholes. It's ironic that he is getting less game time with Edinburgh. He would definitely have got much more game time with us. We could really use him now! I feel bad for him though, but there's plenty of time to turn things around.

I've always liked Allen. Always gave 100%, and just needed a little improvement to be a super player. I was gutted to lose Scholes though. He is just the aggressive type of player that Ulster really need and we let him go.

by marty2086 Tue 01 Nov 2016, 2:21 pm

That's what I was meaning, Im sure there'll be a lot of questions either way but without him it may not be as bad

At the same time Joe may want him playing to keep him sharp if he intends on using him

by **RDW** Tue 01 Nov 2016, 2:23 pm

Worth saying that Scholes scored 4 tries while playing amateur rugby last weekend, so he is at least playing some kind of rugby...

by Guest Tue 01 Nov 2016, 4:16 pm

Adam McKendry ‏@admckendry ·21 minutes ago

"Paddy Jackson will not be available for Ulster this weekend against Edinburgh due to IRFU player management according to Les Kiss"

So, Herron it is.

by marty2086 Tue 01 Nov 2016, 4:38 pm

Cave and Wilson are out as well

Anybody got a pair of boots and can travel to Edinburgh this Friday?

by **RDW** Tue 01 Nov 2016, 4:58 pm

Sounds like Ulster are there for the taking. Our Top 6 aspirations basically evaporated after the Zebre loss but I'm now aiming for 'finish above the Dragons' so it would be nice if we could win this!

by **Notch** Tue 01 Nov 2016, 5:11 pm

We're going to learn a lot about Ulster in this game- Les Kiss looked like a man ready to law down the law after the Munster game. He'll have demanded a reaction and whether or not the players deliver it will be a big pointer to how we'll do for the rest of the season. The team is depleted, some influential players are missing but on paper, the team we can field should be capable of dogging out an away win.

A big part of our problem, I feel, is a lack of continuity in the backs and the pack. So hopefully we keep it as close as possible to the team that finished last week.

Black Herring Herbst
Tuohy VDM
Diack Reidy Ross
Pienaar
Herron
Marshall Piutau
Gilroy Lyttle Bowe

by **RDW** Tue 01 Nov 2016, 5:14 pm

With Pieenar, Marshall, Piatau, Gilroy and Bowe in there you have more than enough fire power to run riot against our backline!

by **Notch** Tue 01 Nov 2016, 6:26 pm

And yet, running riot is the last thing we've been doing- just four tries in the last three games.

by **RDW** Tue 01 Nov 2016, 6:28 pm

We are the team that lost to zebre remember...

by clivemcl Tue 01 Nov 2016, 7:02 pm

neilthom7 wrote:
marty2086 wrote:
neilthom7 wrote:Pienaar will be at 9, Jackson may be able to play at 10 but given what has come out today who knows what mindeset he will be in.

To be fair, Jackson was arrested at the end of June so has been playing all along with it hanging over him but Ulster may not want any distractions and keep him out of the squad

Absolutely but also with it getting leaked to press and what not this week it may be a little different than before both for him and the team. I guess if he doesn't play then Heron will most likely start at 10

Do you know he was arrested in June? I assumed it was recent and the allegations had only come out. If he was arrested in June, then surely he never would have been in consideration to travel with Ireland? But in reality it seemed last minute that he was found not to be able to travel for his 'personal reasons'. Headscratch

by neilthom7 Tue 01 Nov 2016, 8:29 pm

I'm not sure if he was arrested but yeah him and Olding were questioned about this in June and the investigation has been ongoing since then. It only came out today presumably because Ireland said personal reasons yesterday and some Journo started snooping around as to what those personal reasons might be and someone talked.
Ireland might have known and never intended to take him but he was part of the squad for the Autumn Internationals so they probably wondered what the best way to explain why he would be absent when he is the most likely to deputise for Sexton and people might have asked questions, so decided to say personal reasons when in actual fact probably not saying personal reasons would have been best because then people would have just presumed he got overlooked

by marty2086 Tue 01 Nov 2016, 8:38 pm

neilthom7 wrote:I'm not sure if he was arrested but yeah him and Olding were questioned about this in June and the investigation has been ongoing since then. It only came out today presumably because Ireland said personal reasons yesterday and some Journo started snooping around as to what those personal reasons might be and someone talked.
Ireland might have known and never intended to take him but he was part of the squad for the Autumn Internationals so they probably wondered what the best way to explain why he would be absent when he is the most likely to deputise for Sexton and people might have asked questions, so decided to say personal reasons when in actual fact probably not saying personal reasons would have been best because then people would have just presumed he got overlooked

Would have been hard making out he was dropped given that the only option behind him is Carberry

Given he played last weekend and others were rested as part of the player management it would seem they knew that he wouldnt be going to the US, maybe they just hoped it wouldnt be uncovered given it hadnt come to light yet

by neilthom7 Tue 01 Nov 2016, 8:47 pm

marty2086 wrote:
neilthom7 wrote:I'm not sure if he was arrested but yeah him and Olding were questioned about this in June and the investigation has been ongoing since then. It only came out today presumably because Ireland said personal reasons yesterday and some Journo started snooping around as to what those personal reasons might be and someone talked.
Ireland might have known and never intended to take him but he was part of the squad for the Autumn Internationals so they probably wondered what the best way to explain why he would be absent when he is the most likely to deputise for Sexton and people might have asked questions, so decided to say personal reasons when in actual fact probably not saying personal reasons would have been best because then people would have just presumed he got overlooked

Would have been hard making out he was dropped given that the only option behind him is Carberry

Given he played last weekend and others were rested as part of the player management it would seem they knew that he wouldnt be going to the US, maybe they just hoped it wouldnt be uncovered given it hadnt come to light yet

Yeah they probably knew and thought we have to explain this somehow because as you say Carberry was the alternative so people would have asked questions so they went with personal reasons probably hoping everyone would leave it at that but someone decided to investigate. I guess the only things they could do was either say nothing and hope people presumed he was dropped or say that becuse anything else would have looked bad on the IRFU when it eventually came out the reason why.

by marty2086 Thu 03 Nov 2016, 12:10 pm

Ulster team
(15-9): C Piutau; T Bowe, L Marshall, S Windsor, R Lyttle, B Herron, R Pienaar;
(1-8): C Black, R Herring (capt), W Herbst, D Tuohy, F van der Merwe, P Browne, C Ross, S Reidy;
Replacements (16-23): J Andrew, K McCall, A Warwick, R Diack, C Joyce, P Marshall, A Cairns, J Stockdale

Has Cairns been playing 10 for the ~~Ravens~~ A team?

by **RDW** Thu 03 Nov 2016, 12:16 pm

Acting Head Coach Duncan Hodge has named five changes to his starting side to face Ulster in tomorrow night’s Guinness PRO12 clash at BT Murrayfield (kick-off 7.35pm) – live on BBC ALBA.

Fraser McKenzie is among five changes to the Edinburgh pack

All of the changes come in the forward pack, with Hodge refreshing the front-row and making two alterations in the back-five.

Neil Cochrane is named as captain and starts at hooker, with young props Jack Cosgrove and Murray McCallum set to join him in the front-row.

With Grant Gilchrist and John Hardie retained by the Scotland squad, Fraser McKenzie and Jamie Ritchie are named to start at lock and back-row respectively.

Scotland internationalist Duncan Weir is named as a replacement after recovering from a fractured jaw sustained against Munster in round four of the competition, with newly-signed prop Kyle Whyte set to debut if called upon from the bench.

Acting Head Coach Duncan Hodge said: “As a group we were very disappointed with the result and performance last week and we see tomorrow’s game as an opportunity to bounce back and make amends.

“We’ve taken the result on the chin, learned from the experience and worked hard in training to put things right ahead of this game.

“We know we’re facing a quality Ulster side packed with good players but we’re looking forward to running out in front of our home crowd and soaking up the challenge ahead.”

An unchanged backline sees Blair Kinghorn, Damien Hoyland and Tom Brown form as the back-three, with Chris Dean and Phil Burleigh in midfield.

Sean Kennedy and Jason Tovey continue as the half-back pairing.

Ben Toolis joins McKenzie in the second-row, while Viliame Mata and last week’s Man of the Match, Magnus Bradbury, are named in the back-row alongside the incoming Ritchie.

Unavailable due to injury: Simon Berghan (foot), Anton Bresler (groin), Kevin Bryce (shoulder), Viliami Fihaki (shoulder), Will Helu (hamstring), Nasi Manu (shoulder), WP Nel (neck), Alex Northam (ankle), Rory Sutherland (groin).

Players retained by Scotland squad: Alasdair Dickinson, Allan Dell, Ross Ford, Grant Gilchrist, John Hardie and Hamish Watson.

Edinburgh Rugby team to play Ulster in the Guinness PRO12 at BT Murrayfield tomorrow (Friday 4 November, kick-off 7.35pm)

15. Blair Kinghorn

14. Damien Hoyland
13. Chris Dean
12. Phil Burleigh
11. Tom Brown

10. Jason Tovey
9. Sean Kennedy

1. Jack Cosgrove
2. Neil Cochrane CAPTAIN
3. Murray McCallum
4. Fraser McKenzie
5. Ben Toolis
6. Viliame Mata
7. Jamie Ritchie
8. Magnus Bradbury

Replacements

16. Stuart McInally
17. Kyle Whyte
18. Felipe Arregui
19. Lewis Carmichael
20. Cornell Du Preez
21. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne
22. Duncan Weir
23. Michael Allen

Our front row and front row subs really are pretty desperate - we're going to get roasted in the scrums.

by funnyExiledScot Thu 03 Nov 2016, 12:38 pm

Yep - forwards win you matches and the backs determine by how much. Our starting front row and replacements are probably the worst I've seen from Edinburgh in the professional era. I say "seen", I haven't actually "seen" Whyte and Arregui. They could, of course, be World Class. I'm willing to assume that they are not.

Otherwise the team looks very much as you'd expect. Kennedy now looks to be the preferred choice at 9, and Dean looks to have secured the 13 jersey. Not convinced by either but willing to see them get a chance to prove me wrong.

I'm going to this. Apparently it's going to be freezing!

by marty2086 Thu 03 Nov 2016, 12:43 pm

funnyExiledScot wrote:Yep - forwards win you matches and the backs determine by how much. Our starting front row and replacements are probably the worst I've seen from Edinburgh in the professional era. I say "seen", I haven't actually "seen" Whyte and Arregui. They could, of course, be World Class. I'm willing to assume that they are not.

Otherwise the team looks very much as you'd expect. Kennedy now looks to be the preferred choice at 9, and Dean looks to have secured the 13 jersey. Not convinced by either but willing to see them get a chance to prove me wrong.

I'm going to this. Apparently it's going to be freezing!

Ill be thinking of you fES while Im sat at home with a hot meal and fire roaring Whistle

Whats happened with Hidalgo-Clyne?

Not that long ago he was looking like he might edge out Laidlaw at 9 now hes not even getting a start for Edinburgh?

by **RDW** Thu 03 Nov 2016, 12:46 pm

Sam's breakthrough season led to a world cup squad place and that seems to have ruined him - he saw very little gametime over the summer and world cup and when he came back to Edinburgh he had lost all form and confidence. A season and a bit later that has carried on.

Most Edinburgh fans would agree that he is the most talented out of the lot but he isn't getting picked regularly. When he had his breakthrough season (when he really was outstanding - one of the best 9s in the league that season IMO) he was playing week in week out, and goal kicking very well too.

by des Thu 03 Nov 2016, 12:48 pm

I can't remember when we weren't roasted in the scrum this season. I think we've missing Dickinson more than we thought.

It seems to have helped other aspects of our game though.

by **RDW** Thu 03 Nov 2016, 12:50 pm

With Sutherland and Nel we were OK - our usual destructive self - but Nel in particular has rarely played. Because the drop off after Nel is so big we have really struggled.

It is a good point though - we have had to develop our game because we can no longer rely on grinding out tries through our scrum! That is definitely a good thing, so hopefully when Dickinson and Nel return we will have an all-round package as a team.... Fingers Crossed

by **George Carlin** Thu 03 Nov 2016, 12:52 pm

3 fat rookies/journeymen against Black, Herring and Herbst.

I'm not sure that I can bring myself to watch. picard

by marty2086 Thu 03 Nov 2016, 12:57 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:Sam's breakthrough season led to a world cup squad place and that seems to have ruined him - he saw very little gametime over the summer and world cup and when he came back to Edinburgh he had lost all form and confidence. A season and a bit later that has carried on.

Most Edinburgh fans would agree that he is the most talented out of the lot but he isn't getting picked regularly. When he had his breakthrough season (when he really was outstanding - one of the best 9s in the league that season IMO) he was playing week in week out, and goal kicking very well too.

Not just Edinburgh fans who think it, I haven't seen much of him recently but in the past he always looked dangerous and had a great pass. He actually looked like he would have been a better fit at Glasgow than Edinburgh and was just being kept out of Scotlands 9s shirt by Laidlaws boot as he is/was a better 9

by **George Carlin** Thu 03 Nov 2016, 12:59 pm

marty2086 wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:Sam's breakthrough season led to a world cup squad place and that seems to have ruined him - he saw very little gametime over the summer and world cup and when he came back to Edinburgh he had lost all form and confidence. A season and a bit later that has carried on.

Most Edinburgh fans would agree that he is the most talented out of the lot but he isn't getting picked regularly. When he had his breakthrough season (when he really was outstanding - one of the best 9s in the league that season IMO) he was playing week in week out, and goal kicking very well too.

Not just Edinburgh fans who think it, I haven't seen much of him recently but in the past he always looked dangerous and had a great pass. He actually looked like he would have been a better fit at Glasgow than Edinburgh and was just being kept out of Scotlands 9s shirt by Laidlaws boot as he is/was a better 9

Yes. He's a lot like Henry Pyrgos, except younger, flightier and with better hair.

by **RDW** Thu 03 Nov 2016, 1:01 pm

marty2086 wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:Sam's breakthrough season led to a world cup squad place and that seems to have ruined him - he saw very little gametime over the summer and world cup and when he came back to Edinburgh he had lost all form and confidence. A season and a bit later that has carried on.

Most Edinburgh fans would agree that he is the most talented out of the lot but he isn't getting picked regularly. When he had his breakthrough season (when he really was outstanding - one of the best 9s in the league that season IMO) he was playing week in week out, and goal kicking very well too.

Not just Edinburgh fans who think it, I haven't seen much of him recently but in the past he always looked dangerous and had a great pass. He actually looked like he would have been a better fit at Glasgow than Edinburgh and was just being kept out of Scotlands 9s shirt by Laidlaws boot as he is/was a better 9

That was the hope but it never materialised due to his poor form of late. If he had carried out his form last season there is a fair chance he would have had more Scotland caps by now, but I don't think he would have ousted Laidlaw as his leadership skills are valued above all else by Vern Cotter it would seem.

by Guest Thu 03 Nov 2016, 1:26 pm

marty2086 wrote:Ulster team
(15-9): C Piutau; T Bowe, L Marshall, S Windsor, R Lyttle, B Herron, R Pienaar;
(1-8): C Black, R Herring (capt), W Herbst, D Tuohy, F van der Merwe, P Browne, C Ross, S Reidy;
Replacements (16-23): J Andrew, K McCall, A Warwick, R Diack, C Joyce, P Marshall, A Cairns, J Stockdale

Has Cairns been playing 10 for the ~~Ravens~~ A team?

Apparently Cairns is a 9 converted to wing.

Diack must be miffed that Browne starts ahead of him at 6. I'm looking forward to seeing how Browne plays at 6. Can't be any worse than Diack, and might actually play much better.

Not often I can say this, but our pack looks stronger than Edinburghs Smile

They will probably conspire to be bullied off the park though mad

by marty2086 Thu 03 Nov 2016, 1:41 pm

Munchkin wrote:Apparently Cairns is a 9 converted to wing.

Diack must be miffed that Browne starts ahead of him at 6. I'm looking forward to seeing how Browne plays at 6. Can't be any worse than Diack, and might actually play much better.

Not often I can say this, but our pack looks stronger than Edinburghs They will probably conspire to be bullied off the park though

Because Ulster have an abundance at 9 and are short on the wings?

Hopefully Diack is peed at it and shows it, to be fair to him he looked more aggressive against Munster, seem to remember him getting in a huge tackle in the game which isn't like him

by **RDW** Thu 03 Nov 2016, 1:47 pm

Munchkin wrote:
marty2086 wrote:Ulster team
(15-9): C Piutau; T Bowe, L Marshall, S Windsor, R Lyttle, B Herron, R Pienaar;
(1-8): C Black, R Herring (capt), W Herbst, D Tuohy, F van der Merwe, P Browne, C Ross, S Reidy;
Replacements (16-23): J Andrew, K McCall, A Warwick, R Diack, C Joyce, P Marshall, A Cairns, J Stockdale

Has Cairns been playing 10 for the ~~Ravens~~ A team?

Apparently Cairns is a 9 converted to wing.

Diack must be miffed that Browne starts ahead of him at 6. I'm looking forward to seeing how Browne plays at 6. Can't be any worse than Diack, and might actually play much better.

Not often I can say this, but our pack looks stronger than Edinburghs They will probably conspire to be bullied off the park though

And that is a real worry for us given the talents in your backline - Piatau will run riot on the wide Murrayfield pitch, especially if he runs at Hoyland (who can't tackle)!

by EWT Spoons Thu 03 Nov 2016, 1:55 pm

Am I right in saying that both Kyle Whyte & Felipe Arregui play at TH?

If so really hope nothing happens to Cosgrove.

Wow it just dawned on me how poor/inexperienced our FR is. Uncontested scrums is the best we can hope for

by Guest Thu 03 Nov 2016, 1:55 pm

Diack can be aggressive on the rare occasion. Maybe one or two games a season. His only real value to the side is at line out, and that's not enough.

True about Cairns. The one position we are in desperate need and they're converting them to wing, centre and tighthead Shocked

by **RDW** Thu 03 Nov 2016, 1:56 pm

Arregui is a tighthead that can play loosehead apparently.

Suddenly the tables have turned on the Edinburgh scrum!

by EWT Spoons Thu 03 Nov 2016, 2:07 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:Arregui is a tighthead that can play loosehead apparently.

Suddenly the tables have turned on the Edinburgh scrum!

Oh good, he apparently struggled at TH against Zebre I can only imagine at LH against Ulster he’ll thrive….

by Guest Thu 03 Nov 2016, 2:07 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:
Munchkin wrote:
marty2086 wrote:Ulster team
(15-9): C Piutau; T Bowe, L Marshall, S Windsor, R Lyttle, B Herron, R Pienaar;
(1-8): C Black, R Herring (capt), W Herbst, D Tuohy, F van der Merwe, P Browne, C Ross, S Reidy;
Replacements (16-23): J Andrew, K McCall, A Warwick, R Diack, C Joyce, P Marshall, A Cairns, J Stockdale

Has Cairns been playing 10 for the ~~Ravens~~ A team?

Apparently Cairns is a 9 converted to wing.

Diack must be miffed that Browne starts ahead of him at 6. I'm looking forward to seeing how Browne plays at 6. Can't be any worse than Diack, and might actually play much better.

Not often I can say this, but our pack looks stronger than Edinburghs They will probably conspire to be bullied off the park though

And that is a real worry for us given the talents in your backline - Piatau will run riot on the wide Murrayfield pitch, especially if he runs at Hoyland (who can't tackle)!

Not sure how much talent is in our backline. Bowe looks done, Windsor has never impressed and Herron might just pass as solid. P Marshall also passes as solid, but a different kind of solid.

On paper we look stronger, but in reality we play like headless chickens on Prozac.

by **RDW** Thu 03 Nov 2016, 2:08 pm

EWT Spoons wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:Arregui is a tighthead that can play loosehead apparently.

Suddenly the tables have turned on the Edinburgh scrum!

Oh good, he apparently struggled at TH against Zebre I can only imagine at LH against Ulster he’ll thrive….

And also

by marty2086 Thu 03 Nov 2016, 2:13 pm

Munchkin I think its too early to say Bowe is done, he still has the vision just seems to be lacking confidence in his body at the minute which could be mental or could be that his body isn't able to cope anymore

by **George Carlin** Thu 03 Nov 2016, 2:17 pm

Munchkin wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:
Munchkin wrote:
marty2086 wrote:Ulster team
(15-9): C Piutau; T Bowe, L Marshall, S Windsor, R Lyttle, B Herron, R Pienaar;
(1-8): C Black, R Herring (capt), W Herbst, D Tuohy, F van der Merwe, P Browne, C Ross, S Reidy;
Replacements (16-23): J Andrew, K McCall, A Warwick, R Diack, C Joyce, P Marshall, A Cairns, J Stockdale

Has Cairns been playing 10 for the ~~Ravens~~ A team?

Apparently Cairns is a 9 converted to wing.

Diack must be miffed that Browne starts ahead of him at 6. I'm looking forward to seeing how Browne plays at 6. Can't be any worse than Diack, and might actually play much better.

Not often I can say this, but our pack looks stronger than Edinburghs They will probably conspire to be bullied off the park though

And that is a real worry for us given the talents in your backline - Piatau will run riot on the wide Murrayfield pitch, especially if he runs at Hoyland (who can't tackle)!

Not sure how much talent is in our backline. Bowe looks done, Windsor has never impressed and Herron might just pass as solid. P Marshall also passes as solid, but a different kind of solid.

On paper we look stronger, but in reality we play like headless chickens on Prozac.

by highland_scot Thu 03 Nov 2016, 2:43 pm

funnyExiledScot wrote:Yep - forwards win you matches and the backs determine by how much. Our starting front row and replacements are probably the worst I've seen from Edinburgh in the professional era. I say "seen", I haven't actually "seen" Whyte and Arregui. They could, of course, be World Class. I'm willing to assume that they are not.

Otherwise the team looks very much as you'd expect. Kennedy now looks to be the preferred choice at 9, and Dean looks to have secured the 13 jersey. Not convinced by either but willing to see them get a chance to prove me wrong.

I'm going to this. Apparently it's going to be freezing!

What, worse than Kyle Traynor, Andy Kelly, Jack Gilding etc?!

by **RDW** Thu 03 Nov 2016, 2:45 pm

The less said about Jack Gilding the better, but Kyle Traynor is a Scotland cap...

I'll say it again - I think we were too harsh on Andress and he was not as bad as we made him out to be! He was probably an average Pro 12 level prop but that is more than what we currently have and he would have added a bit more stability to our propping resources this season.

by funnyExiledScot Thu 03 Nov 2016, 2:51 pm

highland_scot wrote:
funnyExiledScot wrote:Yep - forwards win you matches and the backs determine by how much. Our starting front row and replacements are probably the worst I've seen from Edinburgh in the professional era. I say "seen", I haven't actually "seen" Whyte and Arregui. They could, of course, be World Class. I'm willing to assume that they are not.

Otherwise the team looks very much as you'd expect. Kennedy now looks to be the preferred choice at 9, and Dean looks to have secured the 13 jersey. Not convinced by either but willing to see them get a chance to prove me wrong.

I'm going to this. Apparently it's going to be freezing!

What, worse than Kyle Traynor, Andy Kelly, Jack Gilding etc?!

Yes. Traynor and Kelly would walk into the Edinburgh XV at the moment.

I'm just really pleased that the likes of Jon Welsh and Moray Low left Scottish rugby, and that Edinburgh saw fit to hand Alex Allan to Glasgow. At least Cochrane puts himself about. He's small and a tad ineffective, but he works hard around the park.

by EWT Spoons Thu 03 Nov 2016, 3:31 pm

funnyExiledScot wrote:
highland_scot wrote:
funnyExiledScot wrote:Yep - forwards win you matches and the backs determine by how much. Our starting front row and replacements are probably the worst I've seen from Edinburgh in the professional era. I say "seen", I haven't actually "seen" Whyte and Arregui. They could, of course, be World Class. I'm willing to assume that they are not.

Otherwise the team looks very much as you'd expect. Kennedy now looks to be the preferred choice at 9, and Dean looks to have secured the 13 jersey. Not convinced by either but willing to see them get a chance to prove me wrong.

I'm going to this. Apparently it's going to be freezing!

What, worse than Kyle Traynor, Andy Kelly, Jack Gilding etc?!

Yes. Traynor and Kelly would walk into the Edinburgh XV at the moment.

I'm just really pleased that the likes of Jon Welsh and Moray Low left Scottish rugby, and that Edinburgh saw fit to hand Alex Allan to Glasgow. At least Cochrane puts himself about. He's small and a tad ineffective, but he works hard around the park.

Sounds like my dating profile..

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