Edinburgh and Glasgow: Ongoing Banter Thread XIV (It's still personal)

by tigertattie Thu Dec 08, 2016 6:29 pm

First topic message reminder :

Edinburgh and Glasgow: Ongoing Banter Thread XIV (It's still personal) - Page 3 Jessie10

Edinburgh and Glasgow: Ongoing Banter Thread XIV (It's still personal) - Page 3 Glasgo10

Edinburgh & Glasgow Warriors

A Not So Brief History of Time-Wasting (click to show/hide):

Edinburgh and Glasgow: Ongoing Banter Thread XIV (It's still personal) - Page 3 NfPzXkF

Edinburgh and Glasgow: Ongoing Banter Thread XIV (It's still personal) - Page 3 NfPzXkF

Guinness Pro12

1872 Cup

Edinburgh and Glasgow: Ongoing Banter Thread XIV (It's still personal) - Page 3 Trophy

Champions Runner up
Edinburgh Glasgow Warriors
Edinburgh and Glasgow: Ongoing Banter Thread XIV (It's still personal) - Page 3 Images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQRwKYyik1ZsD3_NYcbnfefbOA7hTaw1Oo_88AYpdNDsajawQmV

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Edinburgh and Glasgow: Ongoing Banter Thread XIV (It's still personal) - Page 3 Images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRnVncYalRPIL7Z-Ia2Em4LrCX8uZulmt1PKHCS4z5p5kPxIEYs

1872 Cup - Past Results (click to show/hide):

2007–08
28 December 2007, Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 35–31 Glasgow Warriors
11 April 2008, Firhill Stadium, Glasgow Warriors 23–14 Edinburgh
Winner: Glasgow Warriors 54–49

2008–09
26 December 2008, Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 39–6 Glasgow Warriors
2 January 2009, Firhill Stadium, Glasgow Warriors 25–20 Edinburgh
Winner: Edinburgh 59–31

2009–10
27 December 2009, Firhill Stadium, Glasgow Warriors 25–12 Edinburgh
2 January 2010, Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 15–22 Glasgow Warriors
Winner: Glasgow Warriors 47–27

2010–11
27 December 2010, Firhill Stadium, Glasgow Warriors 30–18 Edinburgh
2 January 2011, Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 28–17 Glasgow Warriors
Winner: Glasgow Warriors 47–46

2011–12
26 December 2011, Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 23–23 Glasgow Warriors
1 January 2012, Firhill Stadium, Glasgow Warriors 17–12 Edinburgh
Winner: Glasgow Warriors 40–35

2012–13
21 December 2012, Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow Warriors 23–14 Edinburgh
29 December 2012, Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 17–21 Glasgow Warriors
Winner: Glasgow Warriors 44–31

2013–14
26 December 2013, Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 16–20 Glasgow Warriors
26 April 2014, Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow Warriors 37–34 Edinburgh (postponed from 1st Jan due to waterlogged pitch)
Winner: Glasgow 57–50

2014–15
27 December 2014, Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow Warriors 16–6 Edinburgh
2 January 2015, Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 20–8 Glasgow Warriors
Winner: Edinburgh 26–24

2015–16
27 December 2015, Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 23–11 Glasgow Warriors
2 January 2016, Murrayfield Stadium, Glasgow Warriors 11–14 Edinburgh (moved from Scotstoun due to waterlogged pitch)
Winner: Edinburgh 37–22

Winners tally
Glasgow Warriors - 6
Edinburgh - 3

Some tidying up could be required as I'm no a PC wizz!

PS - Any player from Ayr is not necessarily "World class"

by **RDW** Sun Dec 11, 2016 4:18 pm

Scotland pumped 33-14 by England in the semi final.

Great effort to get there but we've really not played well this tournament - maybe the heat?

by tigertattie Sun Dec 11, 2016 7:02 pm

WT Actually F???

Firstly, how on earth did Edinburg win that? And with 14 men???

Secondly, silly silly burleigh. Afraid it's a red! How often do we argue on here that it's the action that should be penalised and not the outcome? Throw your hand at someone's face like that and your asking for a red card.
Pape though? That's a match suspension right there for acting like a footballer.

But again how the hell did Edinburgh win???

by TJ Sun Dec 11, 2016 7:51 pm

Tiger - we had a sniper in the stands - that helped.

by Hazel Sapling Sun Dec 11, 2016 9:48 pm

Can we move the Glasgow vs Racing conversation about contracts to here?

From the sounds of that thread the key players likely to be lost are Strauss, Bennett, Gilchrist, Nel and Hardie.

450k for Strauss and Grant is way too much for 2 players that have not done anywhere near enough in the last 2 years to justify the outlay. That money will justifiably go towards Seymour, Russell, Pyrgos and Reid. Ashe is also at risk but don't think he will get much of an offer from abroad anyway. He is injury prone and if someone wants him so be it. Wynne and Fagerson are coming through.

Bennett will be lost from a position of strength which is a shame but Johnson and Grigg have developed enough that it is not a huge issue. Fergusson can be brought north at some point as well. Losing Dunbar is a bigger problem. Vernon is the closest to a big centre and he is forever hurt.

I think Swinson was mentioned as being at risk of being lost to a bigger offer and I am not too upset by that. There are enough young locks coming through in Cummings and Hunter-Hill for Scots to continue to be developed. Big Brian has a lot of potential as well and in 3 years will be SQ.

Edinburgh losing Hardie or Watson is not ideal but the other will be the big dog with Ritchie and Smith behind them. Gilchrist is a Warburton-like figure; better for the national team but not a starter at club level (Toolis and Bresler) who gets injured a lot. Nel is a big loss as McCallum and Bryce are not far enough along. Berghan could prove ready but is injured a lot.

by TJ Sun Dec 11, 2016 10:24 pm

One of the things the teams will have to do is be able to offer more than just money. Chance towin silverware ( glasgow) and good standards of living / training / medical care / assurances over number of games played / team spirit

Unfortunatly with the slaery cap in England and France being dead wage inflation is going to continue and we will find it hard to keep up with just money - so have to be able to offer more instead

by **BigGee** Sun Dec 11, 2016 11:31 pm

We can't compete with the big boys finanically, so offerring a package that suits players is a good way to go. Players like Dunbar, who take a bit of a battering and are a bit injury prone may prefer to stay in the more managed environment of the Scottish clubs and it may in fact prolong their careers.

Players are not going to do it for nothing though and even if we can't match the best offers, we are going to need to be competitive with them and vaguely in the ball park. The article was suggesting that we were a bit of a way off that for some players.

The brutal truth is that we are going to have to let some players go. It is always going to be that way for us and it is not necesserily a bad thing as it will give the next generation of players that chance to come through and expose some of our international players to different enviornments, which may serve to make them better players.

it will be a very delicate balance though to keep the teams (and I mainly mean Glasgow here) competitive and the fans on board with matching up to our financial position an the need to bring new players on. Edinburgh is currently a much harder sell with an uncompetitive team and no clear idea of where the coaching situaiton is going. Surely this needs to be resolved sooner rather than later.

Hopefully further down the line, their will be some new income lines coming the teams way via the new ownership model that Dodson was selling. No sign of that happening soon though and it probably won't be of much good to the current generation of players whose contracts are about to expire.

by **RDW** Sun Dec 11, 2016 11:49 pm

I suppose this is the 'problem' of the national team having much better depth - it means more players demanding international salaries.

No one expected Dell, Bradbury, Price and probably (soon) Kinghorn to make a breakthrough so quickly and they will be looking for un-planned for pay rises

by Lost In London Mon Dec 12, 2016 12:45 am

Not sure if this is just a case of chinese whispers...but I've heard that the SRU are looking to sell Murrayfield with the proviso of being able to lease it back picard

Can't imagine anyone wanting to buy it myself!

by TJ Mon Dec 12, 2016 1:18 am

Aye - freeing up space for talent to come thru is good - however IMO that refers to players 28 -30 yrs old not the youngsters we have
Its an issue with so many good young players coming thu at once.

another thing the players need to watch out for tho is going south to sit on the bench. Its happened to too many guys in the past.

would you rather play for Edinburgh for £150 000 a year or sit on the bench at Sarries for £250 000 a year?

by R!skysports Mon Dec 12, 2016 1:46 am

TJ wrote:Aye - freeing up space for talent to come thru is good - however IMO that refers to players 28 -30 yrs old not the youngsters we have
Its an issue with so many good young players coming thu at once.

another thing the players need to watch out for tho is going south to sit on the bench. Its happened to too many guys in the past.

would you rather play for Edinburgh for £150 000 a year or sit on the bench at Sarries for £250 000 a year?

B

(But as I am not very good it would prolong my career as nobody will find out)

by **BigGee** Mon Dec 12, 2016 1:55 am

TJ wrote:Aye - freeing up space for talent to come thru is good - however IMO that refers to players 28 -30 yrs old not the youngsters we have
Its an issue with so many good young players coming thu at once.

another thing the players need to watch out for tho is going south to sit on the bench. Its happened to too many guys in the past.

would you rather play for Edinburgh for £150 000 a year or sit on the bench at Sarries for £250 000 a year?

In a short rugby career, for a lot of players, they would probably take the 250,000!

The thing is that most of them, when they move to bigger clubs, don't necesserily expect to be sitting on the bench, it kind of just happens. Loss of form, bigger squads, falling out with the coach etc.

Most of the english clubs don't actually have as big a squad as you think. The reason the Scottish ones do is that they get decimated (Glasgow in particular) around international times and we still have to play games in those periods. The English internaitonals tend to be a bit more spread out around the league. They also have active academies attached to each club and can pull in players from there as and when they need them and many of them are kept on dual contracts with championship clubs. It wasa noticable just how many of the english international players went straight back into action as soon as the AIs were over.

The French clubs do keep bigger squads as they play more games and the league tends to be more attritional. There is still a bit of a tendancy to have a B team to play the away games as well, which culturally they still don't seem so bothered about winning.

by **RDW** Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:29 am

Out of all of the names mentioned I think Bennett would be a huge loss for Glasgow. You say that Glasgow have Grigg and Johnson coming through but they really aren't in the same league as Bennett.

He's probably getting frustrated at the lack of gametime but he could still be a key player for Glasgow.

Unless Huw Jones is coming to Glasgow I think it would leave them short of class in the centres - especially with Dunbar being such an injury liability.

12 Horne
13 Grigg

Really isn't the same as

12 Dunbar
13 Bennett

by **RDW** Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:44 am

Full Edinburgh game here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imAVynsRPt8&t=6s

I'd very much recommend avoiding the first half, but the 2nd half is well worth a watch.

by Hazel Sapling Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:54 am

RDW_Scotland wrote:Out of all of the names mentioned I think Bennett would be a huge loss for Glasgow. You say that Glasgow have Grigg and Johnson coming through but they really aren't in the same league as Bennett.

He's probably getting frustrated at the lack of gametime but he could still be a key player for Glasgow.

Unless Huw Jones is coming to Glasgow I think it would leave them short of class in the centres - especially with Dunbar being such an injury liability.

12 Horne
13 Grigg

Really isn't the same as

12 Dunbar
13 Bennett

Maybe but Jonhson and Dunbar are starting the big European games. You can see why Bennett would be miffed. The Johnson-Bennett midfield would be interesting though. As long as one of Bennett and Dunbar is around I am okay with the other leaving to get gametime elsewhere to bring through young players.

Question is will Vernon retire after all the injuries?

by demosthenes Mon Dec 12, 2016 12:10 pm

[quote="Hazel Sapling"]

RDW_Scotland wrote:Out of all of the names mentioned I think Bennett would be a huge loss for Glasgow. You say that Glasgow have Grigg and Johnson coming through but they really aren't in the same league as Bennett.

He's probably getting frustrated at the lack of gametime but he could still be a key player for Glasgow.

Unless Huw Jones is coming to Glasgow I think it would leave them short of class in the centres - especially with Dunbar being such an injury liability.

12 Horne
13 Grigg

Really isn't the same as

12 Dunbar
13 Bennett

Maybe but Jonhson and Dunbar are starting the big European games. You can see why Bennett would be miffed. The Johnson-Bennett midfield would be interesting though. As long as one of Bennett and Dunbar is around I am okay with the other leaving to get gametime elsewhere to bring through young players.

Question is will Vernon retire after all the injuries?[/quote]

Unless Vernon decides to retire, I would expect him to get a one year extension to get himself back and fit and either show he should be kept on; or to put himself in the shop window.

by **RDW** Mon Dec 12, 2016 8:09 pm

Keith Earl's has released another statement, this time saying sorry

http://www.munsterrugby.ie/mobile/news/23612.php#.WE6WacRs-oU.twitter

by cakeordeath Mon Dec 12, 2016 8:20 pm

http://i2.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/014/859/BS.jpg

by cakeordeath Mon Dec 12, 2016 8:20 pm

What an absolute load of Frak twaddle. The guy is a prize eejit and no amount of half hearted back peddling will change that

by cakeordeath Mon Dec 12, 2016 9:03 pm

Also just to continue to show how the citing process is a farce there is no sign of Pape getting hauled up.

by GLove39 Mon Dec 12, 2016 9:26 pm

Lovely to see some of the 606 solidarity over on FB earlier, cheers RDW & IanBru Hug

by TJ Mon Dec 12, 2016 9:40 pm

Facebook page for 606 v2? I can't find it

by TJ Mon Dec 12, 2016 9:41 pm

cakeordeath wrote:Also just to continue to show how the citing process is a farce there is no sign of Pape getting hauled up.

Its really only a penalty or yellow card offense so not much point really

by **RDW** Mon Dec 12, 2016 9:41 pm

In The Loose facebook, Twitter and instagram copied Glove's video without crediting him.

We've called them out on it!

by TJ Mon Dec 12, 2016 9:48 pm

by **BigGee** Mon Dec 12, 2016 11:21 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:Keith Earl's has released another statement, this time saying sorry

http://www.munsterrugby.ie/mobile/news/23612.php#.WE6WacRs-oU.twitter

Probably worth noting that KE had a bit of a prompt to make that statement from the Euro disciplinary committee who had written to him concerning the interview which did seem somewhat at odds with the statement of contrition and apology that he made to them at the time. This was just a bit of humble pie to avoid him getting another couple of weeks ban which had originally been taken off as mitigation.

He has not come out of this at all well and I bet the Munster PR department, who no doubt drafted the apology statement for him, were pulling their hair out when they read the interview.

Credit to Fraser Brown, whoes response to the interview was very measured and dignified and to the Euro disciplinary committee for following up on the interview and going back to KE for clarification of whether he was actually sorry about it and took responsibility or not.

It will be good to draw a line under this event as it was not what the day was all about, but KE will always be seen as a prize idiot by any Glasgow fans and plenty of neutrals from here on in!

by **RDW** Mon Dec 12, 2016 11:25 pm

Worth saying that at no point does he retract his ludicrous claims that Fraser Brown deliberately landed on his head to get him sent off...

by tigertattie Tue Dec 13, 2016 12:04 pm

Brown's thought process must be bloomin quick to be able to decide in mid air that he's not going to bother putting his arms out to save himself so that he'll land on his head and potentially end his rugby career or worse, be confined to a wheelchair, or even kill himself, all in the name of getting Earls red carded so his team have a better chance of winning the game!

But we've discussed this at length!

Lets get back to the proper chat!

Edinburgh only turn up and win against really good teams!
Glasgow think they are a really good team (world class in fact)
Ergo, Edinburgh will beat Glasgow again at Murrayfield!

by **RDW** Tue Dec 13, 2016 12:11 pm

Centre Phil Burleigh was issued with a red card during his club's European Rugby Challenge Cup Round 3 match against Stade Francais Paris at BT Murrayfield on Saturday, 10 December 2016.

Burleigh was sent off by referee, Craig Maxwell-Keys (England), for striking the Stade Francais Paris second row, Pascal Papé (No 5), in the 55th minute of the match in contravention of Law 10.4 (a).

Simon Thomas (Wales), Chairman, Rhian Williams (Wales) and Marco Cordelli (Italy) have been appointed as the independent Disciplinary Committee for the hearing which will take place in London tomorrow (Wednesday, 14 December).

Law 10.4 (a) Striking
Under World Rugby's Sanctions for Foul Play, Law 10.4 (a), Striking a player with a hand, arm or fist carries the following sanction entry points - Low End: 2 weeks; Mid-Range: 5 weeks; Top End: 8 to 52 weeks

Given that this is surely the lowest of the low end in terms of severity he'll hopefully only be looking at 2 weeks - reduced to 1 week for saying he's very, very sorry, so he'll be available for the 1872 game.

I don't fancy our chances with Rasolea at 12 given his terrible defencive positioning, and Glasgow's backs being some of the best in the league for exploiting that!

by EWT Spoons Tue Dec 13, 2016 12:56 pm

Been busy and missed a lot of chat here, so …

Earls – Still a t*t and this latest statement does nothing to change that. He’s blatantly been told he needs to distance himself from the comments he made in that interview. I don’t for one second believe he is sorry for what he did or said.

Player contracts – I think this could be quite an issue for the SRU. Edinburgh will probably get off lightly, Nel is settled and enjoys the peace and quiet of where he currently lives. He’s said the big thing for him is that his kids can go outside and play in safety, which is not something he was totally used to back in South Africa (this is not to say South Africa is in general dangerous, but I guess where Nel was was, based on his comments). I appreciate there are many other places in the UK/France that are perfectly safe for his children to be outside and given the money he could likely command he could easily afford to live in some of the nicer areas, but I think he really appreciates what he has and I’m not sure he’ll be agitating for a move. That’s not to say he won’t go, but I don’t think it’s a forgone conclusion. Hardie I think is likely to move on, Edinburgh don’t need (or more accurately afford) two international 7s. In terms of the rest I think playing for Edinburgh will actually help us keep them, mainly because we’re at the lower end of the pro12 and a lot of the bigger teams will dismiss our players because of that.

Glasgow on the other hand could have issues. They do have the advantage that they are winning stuff (or at least challenging) and with Dave Rennie coming in a number of players might be incentivised to hang around to see what he can bring, but conversely their players are probably held in higher regard due to their success. If Clermont come back in for Bennett he could be keen to give French rugby another crack, to prove he is capable. Dunbar might be similar to Scott in that he’s had a number of injuries and this could be his chance to get a big pay day to help him when his playing days are over. I think Glasgow would also be happy enough to get rid of Grant, he’s been a shadow of the player he was and unless he takes a huge pay cut, I can’t see them renewing his deal.

Will be interesting to see how it all pans out

With regards to Burleigh, I can’t imagine he’ll get a sizable ban, but I guess it depends on how much of a statement they citing commission want to make. He struck a player in the face and if they really want to stop this type of thing then he could be looking at a couple of weeks (even after the biscuits/tie/apology factor), but given how soft it was, I think a 1 week ban after the good behaviour etc is taken into account would seem fair.

by Welly Tue Dec 13, 2016 1:04 pm

Kinghorn being EQ makes him interesting esp since XV is prob our biggest weakness as a Country currently Haley is the only regular XV that is coming up.

Will Eddie have a word?

by **RDW** Tue Dec 13, 2016 1:08 pm

I really hope the Kinghorn to England chat is a load of rubbish - he's an Edinburgh lad who really should still just be an apprentice if it wasn't for Edinburgh's chronic lack of depth at 15, which has given him exposure at a young age. He has had a great season but is very early in his development.

I'd be utterly amazed (and bitterly disappointed) if he was to choose England at this stage. He is likely to travel on Scotland's summer tour and may even make it to the next world cup, and even if he continues his current fast rate of development he'd unlikely get capped for England for another 2 to 3 years given their relative strength in depth there.

by Welly Tue Dec 13, 2016 1:10 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:I really hope the Kinghorn to England chat is a load of rubbish - he's an Edinburgh lad who really should still just be an apprentice if it wasn't for Edinburgh's chronic lack of depth at 15, which has given him exposure at a young age. He has had a great season but is very early in his development.

I'd be utterly amazed (and bitterly disappointed) if he was to choose England at this stage. He is likely to travel on Scotland's summer tour and may even make it to the next world cup, and even if he continues his current fast rate of development he'd unlikely get capped for England for another 2 to 3 years given their relative strength in depth there.

I'm not saying there is anything in it. (I doubt it).

BUT his Agent will be licking his lips no doubt.

by EWT Spoons Tue Dec 13, 2016 1:32 pm

I can't see Kinghorn playing for England, but as you say Welly his agent wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't use it to his advantage.

by Hazel Sapling Tue Dec 13, 2016 1:33 pm

Welly wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:I really hope the Kinghorn to England chat is a load of rubbish - he's an Edinburgh lad who really should still just be an apprentice if it wasn't for Edinburgh's chronic lack of depth at 15, which has given him exposure at a young age. He has had a great season but is very early in his development.

I'd be utterly amazed (and bitterly disappointed) if he was to choose England at this stage. He is likely to travel on Scotland's summer tour and may even make it to the next world cup, and even if he continues his current fast rate of development he'd unlikely get capped for England for another 2 to 3 years given their relative strength in depth there.

I'm not saying there is anything in it. (I doubt it).

BUT his Agent will be licking his lips no doubt.

He is in an interesting position. At the moment he is nowhere near the England set up although he could leverage the EQ and the potential rewards (financially) are higher. On the other hand he starts for Edinburgh now (he will not be a starter for many Aviva teams (maybe Gloucester, Worcester, LI and Bath)) and is probably 2nd/3rd choice for Scotland as Tonks and Murchie are way off the pace with Jackson maybe ahead of him for now. Hogg disappearing on the Lions in some capacity means this summer he will almost certainly play against Australia in at least 1 test (If Seymour and Maitland both are unavailable, he is the probable starter) and he is 2 injuries away (Maitland and Hogg) from potentially playing in the 6 Nations. To me it seems silly for him to leave just now but if he can turn his offer from 60k to 80k then good on him.

by **RDW** Tue Dec 13, 2016 1:36 pm

Hazel Sapling wrote:
Welly wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:I really hope the Kinghorn to England chat is a load of rubbish - he's an Edinburgh lad who really should still just be an apprentice if it wasn't for Edinburgh's chronic lack of depth at 15, which has given him exposure at a young age. He has had a great season but is very early in his development.

I'd be utterly amazed (and bitterly disappointed) if he was to choose England at this stage. He is likely to travel on Scotland's summer tour and may even make it to the next world cup, and even if he continues his current fast rate of development he'd unlikely get capped for England for another 2 to 3 years given their relative strength in depth there.

I'm not saying there is anything in it. (I doubt it).

BUT his Agent will be licking his lips no doubt.

He is in an interesting position. At the moment he is nowhere near the England set up although he could leverage the EQ and the potential rewards (financially) are higher. On the other hand he starts for Edinburgh now (he will not be a starter for many Aviva teams (maybe Gloucester, Worcester, LI and Bath)) and is probably 2nd/3rd choice for Scotland as Tonks and Murchie are way off the pace with Jackson maybe ahead of him for now. Hogg disappearing on the Lions in some capacity means this summer he will almost certainly play against Australia in at least 1 test (If Seymour and Maitland both are unavailable, he is the probable starter) and he is 2 injuries away (Maitland and Hogg) from potentially playing in the 6 Nations. To me it seems silly for him to leave just now but if he can turn his offer from 60k to 80k then good on him.

I know you've probably just used those figure as examples but £20k would easily be swallowed up in bonuses for playing for Scotland. If he moved to an AP team and saw his gametime limited his chances of playing for Scotland will surely reduce.

He needs to stay in Scotland as he is on course to become an international next year - hopefully he's got good people around him telling him that, and not a money grabbing agent.

by tigertattie Tue Dec 13, 2016 1:42 pm

anyone know how much the AP teams get from the RFU for playing EQ players? Are they even paid ona per player basis?

by Welly Tue Dec 13, 2016 1:56 pm

tigertattie wrote:anyone know how much the AP teams get from the RFU for playing EQ players? Are they even paid ona per player basis?

They have to have an average by the end of season of I think 16 EQP in the match day squad to get £380,000+.

by **BigGee** Tue Dec 13, 2016 4:14 pm

Henry P signs up for Glasgow for another 2 years. That's a decent start to the squad conundrums for next year.

I fancy Hart and the Fijian will be off next year and we will be left with Henry and Ali P as our main SHs. Surely George Horne is now worth a contract as the 3rd one, he played well with London Scottish last year and looked very lively in the sevens over the past few weeks.

There would be room for another academy youngster if one puts their hand up as well or maybe a SH import that Rennie chooses to bring along with him.

by R!skysports Tue Dec 13, 2016 5:19 pm

So what you think the result will be for the Racing match this week

(putting here as someone too lazy to create one for me Very Happy

) (Or I missed it)

by EWT Spoons Tue Dec 13, 2016 6:03 pm

Trying something out..

https://www.606v2.com/t64716-racing-vs-glasgow-stade-vs-edinburgh#3485248

by cakeordeath Tue Dec 13, 2016 10:06 pm

I can't make up my mind if this is a bit of satire

https://twitter.com/buzzdotie/status/808713588538048513

http://buzz.ie/comment-epcrs-humiliatio ... -of-order/

by des Tue Dec 13, 2016 11:59 pm

Can I suggest a new chant for our West coast chums to the rhythm of "We are warriors, we are warriors"?
"Keith Earls is a chump, Keith Earls is a chump".
If you want to occasionally swap chump out with something more vaginal make sure there aren't any kids about.

The pish about Stander backing him up is sickening. CDP needs to get his mojo back pronto and show CJ what a real project player is come the 6N.

I think it'll be a nasty game.

by des Wed Dec 14, 2016 12:01 am

On a more pleasant note.

Has anyone else registered interest in the chartered flight to Parma for the Edinburgh game?

by EWT Spoons Wed Dec 14, 2016 9:59 am

Des - Can't say I have.

In other positive news O'Halloran has turned down the lions to focus on Glasgow.

BBC wrote:Scotland backs coach Jason O'Halloran has ruled out the possibility of joining the British and Irish Lions coaching team for the New Zealand tour.

O'Halloran held talks with Lions head coach Warren Gatland over the prospect of working with Rob Howley as a secondary attack coach.

But the Kiwi has opted to focus instead on pre-season with Glasgow, whom he will join at the end of the season.

It follows Gregor Townsend's decision to turn down a role on the Lions staff.

The Warriors head coach, who will replace Vern Cotter as Scotland coach at the end of the season, chose to decline Gatland's invitation to join his back-room team in favour of leading the Scots on their summer tour of Australia.

England forwards coach Steve Borthwick, interim Wales head coach Rob Howley (attack) and Ireland defence coach Andy Farrell have already been confirmed asassistants to Gatland for the three-Test tour next June and July.

O'Halloran is thought to have been tempted by the possibility of a role with the Lions, but felt his Glasgow commitments made it an impossibility.

The New Zealander will work under Townsend's successor Dave Rennie at Warriors, but his compatriot's delayed arrival in Glasgow means O'Halloran and fellow assistant Jonathan Humphreys - also making the move from the national coaching staff to Scotstoun - will effectively have to lead the club's early pre-season schedule.
Depending on the progress of his current side Waikato Chiefs, Rennie could be tied up in New Zealand until 5 August when the Super Rugby final is played.

Gatland spoke on Tuesday about the importance of having a Scottish coach on his staff next summer, and hinted that a lack of Scottish representation could negatively impact their players' chances of making his squad to take on the All Blacks.

"The ideal scenario from my point of view would be having someone from Scotland to give some representation, to push the Scottish cause, to push some of their players," he told BBC Wales.

"That's important. Someone from within the Scottish system will know their players a lot better than we do, they'll know the characters and the individuals and potentially push them on a 50/50 decision.

"My ideal scenario would be to have someone from Scotland. If that happens, that would be great."

With Townsend rejecting an offer to join the tour and O'Halloran ruling himself out of contention, that possibility now appears remote.

Speaking about the possibility of adding further specialist coaches, Gatland added: "I've got one or two people in mind. Hopefully, that can get sorted out early in the New Year.

"I'd spoken to a couple of people originally and they'd made themselves unavailable, which was disappointing but I understand and respect the decisions they've made and the focus that they wanted to have."

by TheMildlyFranticLlama Wed Dec 14, 2016 10:18 am

I wonder if Richie Gray (of the coaching variety, not the giraffe) would fancy being the Scottish coaching representative, going along as a breakdown specialist? There may be too much overlap with Borthwick and Farrell already in place though I guess.

Other option being Chris Paterson as kicking coach, but is he doing that role full time at the moment or just a bit of consultancy here and there?

by EWT Spoons Wed Dec 14, 2016 10:35 am

Is Gray attached to Scotland after the 6 nations? I seem to recall his contract was only short term. if not, it might be useful to keep him with the Scotland team to offer some consistency, given after the 6 nations it'll be a whole new coaching team.

Not sure what Paterson is up to, I think he was supporting Edinburgh & Glasgow with kicking, but I believe that was in an ad-hoc/part time capacity

by Tattie Scones RRN Wed Dec 14, 2016 10:37 am

I think Neil Jenkins has been pencilled in for that Mildly.

Gatland is a total pumpkin head.

"Gatland spoke on Tuesday about the importance of having a Scottish coach on his staff next summer, and hinted that a lack of Scottish representation could negatively impact their players' chances of making his squad to take on the All Blacks.

"The ideal scenario from my point of view would be having someone from Scotland to give some representation, to push the Scottish cause, to push some of their players," he told BBC Wales.

"That's important. Someone from within the Scottish system will know their players a lot better than we do, they'll know the characters and the individuals and potentially push them on a 50/50 decision."

That's what training sessions are for you utter tube, in addition to observing matches beforehand in order to pick your squad.

by Hazel Sapling Wed Dec 14, 2016 10:54 am

If he really wanted a Scottish coach, he would have offered one a significant role, not as subservient to one of his main guys. There is a big tour in Aus (for Scotland) in June with changes in head coach for all 3 SRU sides. This is the wrong time to offer SRU coaches Lions roles when they are adapting at home.

by **RDW** Wed Dec 14, 2016 11:02 am

Is this a sign that the Lions are no longer held as the pinnacle of a player or coaches career, or is it just the sign of the professional game and the fact that both club teans and the national team are having a complete overhaul of their coaching staff, so it is just bad timing?

I know the job would be Howley's tea making bitch but it really doesn't sound right for someone to rather not miss the start of a club team's pre-season than coah with the best players in the UK and Ireland against one of the best teams ever!

by tigertattie Wed Dec 14, 2016 11:03 am

Shows what an utter Sack of Baws Gatland is that he comes out with such nonsense comments!

He needs to realise that he is now the Lions coach and not the Wales coach! He should be the one looking at all available players. Not looking at the available Welsh monkeys and leave the Scots to be looked after by someone Scottish!

Just adds further reasoning to my view that the Lions coach shouldn't be a current (or recent) coach from any of the Unions that make up the Lions!

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