Scotland 2017 6N debrief and Lions/Summer Tour lookahead

by **RDW** Mon Mar 20, 2017 10:02 am

First topic message reminder :

Results

Scotland 27 - Ireland 22 Yahoo

France 22 - Scotland 16 Crying or Very sad

Scotland 29 - Wales 13 Yahoo

England 61 - Scotland 21 Shocked

Scotland 29 - Italy 0 Yahoo

Some stats:

- First time with 3 wins since 2006
- First opening round win and win over Wales in over a decade
- 14 tries scored - our best ever
- Our highest points tally (in 2014 we scored 45 points Shocked

)
- Up to 5th in the World Rankings

Verdict
Bar Twickenham this was a fantastic 6N where we won our games playing great rugby. It was a huge monkey off our back to beat Wales and the Ireland game was a huge result for us. The Twickenham game was a complete embarrassment but I'd like to think that was a freak result for this team as opposed to a sign that our wins over Wales and Ireland were 'lucky'. It should keep the players grounded going forward, which is no bad thing.

All in all I'll give our 6N a 8/10

Lions hopefuls?

Pr - can't see any travelling
H Fraser Brown stands an outside chance, and could be injury cover
L - Jonny or Richie Gray stand a chance in the most competitive position
BR - I don't see any of our backrows going
SH - Laidlaw is down the list in terms of ability at 9 but may be picked as a good tourist/leader for the squad
FH - Finn Russell certainly divides opinion but personally I don't think he will travel
C - Dunbar and Jones are outside bets in what isn't actually a great position of depth for the Lions, but again may find themselves as injury cover
FR - Hogg is a near certainty and I can see another winger getting picked, probably Seymour

My prediction:

J Gray, Hogg, Seymour in the squad, Brown, Laidlaw and Jones as first choice injury cover.

by RuggerRadge2611 Tue May 09, 2017 2:46 pm

Why did Adam Hastings not get a call? Capping him in Samoa would be a good move IMO or against italy.

by **RDW** Tue May 09, 2017 2:47 pm

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:Why did Adam Hastings not get a call? Capping him in Samoa would be a good move IMO or against italy.

That would be some achivement given that the rest of the team will be in Fiji!

by RuggerRadge2611 Tue May 09, 2017 2:51 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:
RuggerRadge2611 wrote:Why did Adam Hastings not get a call? Capping him in Samoa would be a good move IMO or against italy.

That would be some achivement given that the rest of the team will be in Fiji!

At the risk of sounding mildly racist and horrible I should have just said random pacific island nation that plays rugby (Fiji/Samoa/Tonga). laughing

That still hasn't answered the question Administration Boy.

Scotland 2017 6N debrief and Lions/Summer Tour lookahead - Page 8 201dae75018e7032ee2a61223a9b78cf

Scotland 2017 6N debrief and Lions/Summer Tour lookahead - Page 8 201dae75018e7032ee2a61223a9b78cf

by **RDW** Tue May 09, 2017 2:54 pm

No need to get huffy just because I pointed out your mistake!

Hastings has played a handful of professional games and we have Russell, Horne and Jackson to cover this tour - there is no need to rush him in.

by jimbopip Tue May 09, 2017 3:07 pm

Am I the only one here who can see Toonie going "off message" for the final game and attempting to beat Fiji at their own game?
Allan
Brown
Fagerson
Toolis
Swinson
Batman
Bluto
Hamish From The Glen
Aldi Price
Dancer
Tackling Tim
Furra Linee
Grigg
Hoyland
NoMaits

Predicted score? Either 97-99 or a 3-3 draw.

by tigertattie Tue May 09, 2017 3:15 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:No need to get huffy just because I pointed out your mistake!

Hastings has played a handful of professional games and we have Russell, Horne and Jackson to cover this tour - there is no need to rush him in.

Is there a chance that the smelly English could cap him?

by **RDW** Tue May 09, 2017 3:18 pm

tigertattie wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:No need to get huffy just because I pointed out your mistake!

Hastings has played a handful of professional games and we have Russell, Horne and Jackson to cover this tour - there is no need to rush him in.

Is there a chance that the smelly English could cap him?

With Big Gav his father and him playing for Glasgow now there's more chance Nicola Sturgeon wearing a Ginger Spice style Union Jack dress than that happening.

by tigertattie Tue May 09, 2017 3:21 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:
tigertattie wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:No need to get huffy just because I pointed out your mistake!

Hastings has played a handful of professional games and we have Russell, Horne and Jackson to cover this tour - there is no need to rush him in.

Is there a chance that the smelly English could cap him?

With Big Gav his father and him playing for Glasgow now there's more chance Nicola Sturgeon wearing a Ginger Spice style Union Jack dress than that happening.

It burns!!!

by RuggerRadge2611 Tue May 09, 2017 3:21 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:
tigertattie wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:No need to get huffy just because I pointed out your mistake!

Hastings has played a handful of professional games and we have Russell, Horne and Jackson to cover this tour - there is no need to rush him in.

Is there a chance that the smelly English could cap him?

With Big Gav his father and him playing for Glasgow now there's more chance Nicola Sturgeon wearing a Ginger Spice style Union Jack dress than that happening.

Thanks for ruining one of my teenage fantasies...

by **RDW** Tue May 09, 2017 3:22 pm

Someone really needs to photoshop this...

by RuggerRadge2611 Tue May 09, 2017 3:24 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:

Someone really needs to photoshop this...

If they do I will seriously hunt them down and feed them their own heart with chips.

by **RDW** Tue May 09, 2017 3:25 pm

Where's GLove when you need him!

by EWT Spoons Tue May 09, 2017 3:46 pm

by RuggerRadge2611 Tue May 09, 2017 4:06 pm

to be honest that's not as bad as nicola...

Scotland 2017 6N debrief and Lions/Summer Tour lookahead - Page 8 Geri

That's better I can purge those horrible images from my brain.

by **BigGee** Tue May 09, 2017 5:57 pm

Maitland out for the rest of the season and the tour with an ankle ligament injury. That's the tour off to a good start.

Will they replace him? There are probably enough other backs to cover wing, Jones, Visser and Hoyland and Jacko and Taylor can both play full back. Maitland was the only one likely to get a Lions call up.

Is it just me or does Maitland seem to get injured a lot?

by **RDW** Tue May 09, 2017 9:00 pm

Baws - there goes our only other international class fullback. The other options are barely Pro 12 class!

Maitland is our best defensive back 3 player too - I'm not looking forward to Folau and Nadolo running down our wide channels.

by Anglobraveheart Wed May 10, 2017 6:48 am

Hughes should come in as a wing replacement, but utilise Jackson as first FB option with Taylor as back up. Taylor is likely to be starting or benching, so he is there if Jackson gets injured or needs to be replaced.
Alternatively, Lee Jones at FB?

by EWT Spoons Wed May 10, 2017 8:28 am

One last send off for Lamont? Wink

by **RDW** Wed May 10, 2017 8:42 am

Will be interesting to see how we get on without our first choice back 3 - they are our game breakers and have been the difference between winning and losing these big games of late.

Visser
Jones
Jackson

Isn't nearly as impressive as

Seymour
Maitland
Hogg

by **BigGee** Wed May 10, 2017 9:39 am

I would not be surprised to see Duncan Taylor come in as FB, he has played there for Sarries a few times and looked very assured when I saw him. He usually does wherever he plays.

by **BigGee** Wed May 10, 2017 9:41 am

In other news, we have drawn Ireland, Japan, Romania/Germany and one other (tbc) in the Japan WC draw.

To be honest, that was about as good as we could have hoped for. They are all winnable games. Japan in Japan won't be easy, but still easier than NZ in Japan I would say.

by RuggerRadge2611 Wed May 10, 2017 9:54 am

Fully agree, we have beaten Japan in Japan before and beaten Ireland only a few months ago. Nothing to fear there.

by IanBru Wed May 10, 2017 11:14 am

I think Europe 1 has actually been confirmed now as Romania.

The final team in the group, the 'Playoff Winner', will be the winner of a home-away playoff series between (probably) Tonga and whoever wins from (probably) Portugal and Spain.

Simple?

Errr yeah.

by jimbopip Wed May 10, 2017 11:44 am

OK guys, here's my rather downbeat take on the draw.

Japan will put in at least one big performance and will probably win against either us or Ireland.
We could very easily lose to Ireland; I don't see much in it. Unless Ireland have their traditional World Cup No Show.

If we win the group we most likely get the Boks.
If we come second we get the Blackness.

I can't see the Boks continuing to disintegrate, they must surely be back to their old selves by 2019. So even if we win the group we will probably be trampled underfoot by the green giants.
If we come second then the All Blacks will thump us.

We're doomed, doomed I say.

by jimbopip Wed May 10, 2017 11:45 am

OK guys, here's my rather downbeat take on the draw.

Japan will put in at least one big performance and will probably win against either us or Ireland.
We could very easily lose to Ireland; I don't see much in it. Unless Ireland have their traditional World Cup No Show.

If we win the group we most likely get the Boks.
If we come second we get the Blackness.

I can't see the Boks continuing to disintegrate, they must surely be back to their old selves by 2019. So even if we win the group we will probably be trampled underfoot by the green giants.
If we come second then the All Blacks will thump us.

We're doomed, doomed I say.

by RuggerRadge2611 Wed May 10, 2017 11:50 am

so grim he posted it twice.

Anyone would think that Glasgow just got pumped by Edinburgh or something...

by **RDW** Wed May 10, 2017 12:02 pm

I'm siding with Jimbo here for once - Japan in Japan during a world cup is going to be a nightmare. Beating then twice on a summer tour (when they were missing key players) means bugger all - they are going to be absolutely gunning for this game.

Saying that, we've drawn the best first seed that we could have hoped for so I don't think we can have too many complaints.

by jimbopip Wed May 10, 2017 12:13 pm

On the positive side, we have a squad of players who should be hitting their best years in 2-3 years time. IF this squad keep improving then we should be going into the tournament feeling reasonably confident.
Mind you; two years ago Scott-Dunbar was going to be the future of Scottish rugby. Or was it Dunbar-Bennett?
If we had everyone fit then at least two of the above would struggle to make a match day fifteen. And I'm increasingly concerned that we've seen the best of Alex Dunbar.
I'll stop now because ...we're doomed. Doomed I say.

by funnyExiledScot Wed May 10, 2017 12:49 pm

BigGee wrote:I would not be surprised to see Duncan Taylor come in as FB, he has played there for Sarries a few times and looked very assured when I saw him. He usually does wherever he plays.

Agreed - I pointed this out earlier in the thread. It also allows Scott/Dunbar to play together in the centres (or Peter Horne), where we have a bit more depth (despite Bennett and Jones being injured).

Still, grim timing for Maitland. I get the sense that he's been keen to have a crack at fullback, and with Hogg away being 4th choice fly half for the Lions this was a great opportunity for Maitland.

by funnyExiledScot Wed May 10, 2017 12:53 pm

I think the draw is kind on Scotland. We basically need to beat Japan, who no longer have Eddie Jones and Steve Borthwick to organise them. I think we'll progress. The real question is whether we can beat Ireland to avoid losing to the ABs in the next round.

by **George Carlin** Wed May 10, 2017 1:08 pm

funnyExiledScot wrote:I think the draw is kind on Scotland. We basically need to beat Japan, who no longer have Eddie Jones and Steve Borthwick to organise them. I think we'll progress. The real question is whether we can beat Ireland to avoid losing to the ABs in the next round.

I think that between Scotland and Ireland, it's only fair that the team with the most recent success in beating the All Blacks should have to play them in the second round.

by 123456789 Wed May 10, 2017 2:17 pm

jimbopip wrote:On the positive side, we have a squad of players who should be hitting their best years in 2-3 years time. IF this squad keep improving then we should be going into the tournament feeling reasonably confident.
Mind you; two years ago Scott-Dunbar was going to be the future of Scottish rugby. Or was it Dunbar-Bennett?
If we had everyone fit then at least two of the above would struggle to make a match day fifteen. And I'm increasingly concerned that we've seen the best of Alex Dunbar.
I'll stop now because ...we're doomed. Doomed I say.

Given last season was more or less a write off for Dunbar I'd hold your horses on that, a knee injury like his takes a long time to recover from physically and even longer mentally. Just watch one of Halfpenny's recent interviews, hopefully he'll be back next year to his 2015 six nations form. He was also very good for Glasgow in the Champions cup this year. He was very much so in the group of players who went into the England game one big match away from being a Lion by the end of the game Gatland had hidden his passport just in case. It's amazing really to think just how one bad game has impacted the careers of some of our best players, if that game had resulted in a narrow win Dunbar, Russell, Maitland, Watson, the Grays and maybe Brown or Fagerson would be sat at home as Six Nations champions and as British Lions, one shocker and it's fourth place and Italy in Singapore.

Also if South Africa continue their disintegration it'll be Italy in the quarters. The SRU have reportedly clamoured for Italy to be removed from the Pro12 leaving them with no full time pro teams. It's a very cunning plan but if it comes off Dodson could find himself as a bizarre mixture of the fat controller from Thomas the Tank Engine and William Wallace.

by nickj Wed May 10, 2017 2:22 pm

123456789 wrote:
jimbopip wrote:On the positive side, we have a squad of players who should be hitting their best years in 2-3 years time. IF this squad keep improving then we should be going into the tournament feeling reasonably confident.
Mind you; two years ago Scott-Dunbar was going to be the future of Scottish rugby. Or was it Dunbar-Bennett?
If we had everyone fit then at least two of the above would struggle to make a match day fifteen. And I'm increasingly concerned that we've seen the best of Alex Dunbar.
I'll stop now because ...we're doomed. Doomed I say.

Given last season was more or less a write off for Dunbar I'd hold your horses on that, a knee injury like his takes a long time to recover from physically and even longer mentally. Just watch one of Halfpenny's recent interviews, hopefully he'll be back next year to his 2015 six nations form. He was also very good for Glasgow in the Champions cup this year. He was very much so in the group of players who went into the England game one big match away from being a Lion by the end of the game Gatland had hidden his passport just in case. It's amazing really to think just how one bad game has impacted the careers of some of our best players, if that game had resulted in a narrow win Dunbar, Russell, Maitland, Watson, the Grays and maybe Brown or Fagerson would be sat at home as Six Nations champions and as British Lions, one shocker and it's fourth place and Italy in Singapore.

Also if South Africa continue their disintegration it'll be Italy in the quarters. The SRU have reportedly clamoured for Italy to be removed from the Pro12 leaving them with no full time pro teams. It's a very cunning plan but if it comes off Dodson could find himself as a bizarre mixture of the fat controller from Thomas the Tank Engine and William Wallace.

On that note, I thought this was a decent article http://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/features/columnists/brendan-gallagher/28295/brendan-gallagher-scots-unlucky-that-twickenham-defeat-was-not-considered-a-blip/

by 123456789 Wed May 10, 2017 2:36 pm

nickj wrote:
123456789 wrote:
jimbopip wrote:On the positive side, we have a squad of players who should be hitting their best years in 2-3 years time. IF this squad keep improving then we should be going into the tournament feeling reasonably confident.
Mind you; two years ago Scott-Dunbar was going to be the future of Scottish rugby. Or was it Dunbar-Bennett?
If we had everyone fit then at least two of the above would struggle to make a match day fifteen. And I'm increasingly concerned that we've seen the best of Alex Dunbar.
I'll stop now because ...we're doomed. Doomed I say.

Given last season was more or less a write off for Dunbar I'd hold your horses on that, a knee injury like his takes a long time to recover from physically and even longer mentally. Just watch one of Halfpenny's recent interviews, hopefully he'll be back next year to his 2015 six nations form. He was also very good for Glasgow in the Champions cup this year. He was very much so in the group of players who went into the England game one big match away from being a Lion by the end of the game Gatland had hidden his passport just in case. It's amazing really to think just how one bad game has impacted the careers of some of our best players, if that game had resulted in a narrow win Dunbar, Russell, Maitland, Watson, the Grays and maybe Brown or Fagerson would be sat at home as Six Nations champions and as British Lions, one shocker and it's fourth place and Italy in Singapore.

Also if South Africa continue their disintegration it'll be Italy in the quarters. The SRU have reportedly clamoured for Italy to be removed from the Pro12 leaving them with no full time pro teams. It's a very cunning plan but if it comes off Dodson could find himself as a bizarre mixture of the fat controller from Thomas the Tank Engine and William Wallace.

On that note, I thought this was a decent article http://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/features/columnists/brendan-gallagher/28295/brendan-gallagher-scots-unlucky-that-twickenham-defeat-was-not-considered-a-blip/

I think the reason it's not considered a blip is simply because of all this the Lions is the ultimate rhetoric we get every four years. In building up the importance of the Lions we have to build up the quality of the opposition too. So despite the fact that every British and Irish player tends to play the All Blacks at least once every two years we sit and question whether a player is good enough to even play rugby in New Zealand. As a consequence, many, especially the Welsh on here, have determined that the only games that matter are the do or die ones. As such the game Scotland's players were assessed on was the one when they went to, arguably, the form team in international rugby, a team made up of players who had won on the big stage before and also spectacularly choked on it in a winner takes all match. In that match we did not have our captain a player was yellow carded within 5 minutes (and easily could have been a red), our best player was injured not long after by half time and many followed him throughout the game. And on that game and, singularly on that game, it was determined that just two (now three) of our players were amongst the best 41 in Britain and Ireland. On the contrary when Wales came up to Scotland and conceded 20 points unanswered in the second half it didn't matter because it wasn't an "important game" by that stage in the competition, in the same way being humped by Australia at home did not matter, in the same way nearly losing to Japan at home did not matter. In other words Wales had been so poor throughout the tournament that they had nothing to play for. Why were they so poor? Because they were poorly coached. Who was their head coach? The Lions backs coach. Ireland on the other hand lost to Scotland (who are woeful), lost to Wales (who were poorly coached and had suffered unlucky defeats) but when it mattered they beat England and therefore their players were selected too. In other words Gatland picked and chose the games that he felt mattered and used that to justify selecting who he was always going to select.

Hopefully that was a cathartic experience and I can now go on and support the Lions irrespective of the nationalities of those involved.

by jimbopip Wed May 10, 2017 5:57 pm

gentlemen, at the risk of asking a stooped question; are the matches against Italy, Oz and Fiji being shown on the tellybox?

It's probably been asked and answered before but GC has probably forgot, it's his age, so I'm asking for him. As it were.

by **George Carlin** Wed May 10, 2017 6:10 pm

jimbopip wrote:gentlemen, at the risk of asking a stooped question; are the matches against Italy, Oz and Fiji being shown on the tellybox?

It's probably been asked and answered before but GC has probably forgot, it's his age, so I'm asking for him. As it were.

What are you saying?
Scotland 2017 6N debrief and Lions/Summer Tour lookahead - Page 8 Uncle_10

by jimbopip Wed May 10, 2017 6:20 pm

Oh God, do we have to type in BLOCK CAPITALS in order that the elderly Ayrshire gentleman can hear us?

p.s. So Sarf Effrika continue going anti-clockwise down the plug hole, we beat the tattie howkers and the Cherry Blossoms and after Italy who do we get in the semi? See me? See my feet firmly on the ground? See George Carlin? See the bus pass and SAGA travel brouchure?

by Gwlad Wed May 10, 2017 6:21 pm

123456789 wrote:
nickj wrote:
123456789 wrote:
jimbopip wrote:On the positive side, we have a squad of players who should be hitting their best years in 2-3 years time. IF this squad keep improving then we should be going into the tournament feeling reasonably confident.
Mind you; two years ago Scott-Dunbar was going to be the future of Scottish rugby. Or was it Dunbar-Bennett?
If we had everyone fit then at least two of the above would struggle to make a match day fifteen. And I'm increasingly concerned that we've seen the best of Alex Dunbar.
I'll stop now because ...we're doomed. Doomed I say.

Given last season was more or less a write off for Dunbar I'd hold your horses on that, a knee injury like his takes a long time to recover from physically and even longer mentally. Just watch one of Halfpenny's recent interviews, hopefully he'll be back next year to his 2015 six nations form. He was also very good for Glasgow in the Champions cup this year. He was very much so in the group of players who went into the England game one big match away from being a Lion by the end of the game Gatland had hidden his passport just in case. It's amazing really to think just how one bad game has impacted the careers of some of our best players, if that game had resulted in a narrow win Dunbar, Russell, Maitland, Watson, the Grays and maybe Brown or Fagerson would be sat at home as Six Nations champions and as British Lions, one shocker and it's fourth place and Italy in Singapore.

Also if South Africa continue their disintegration it'll be Italy in the quarters. The SRU have reportedly clamoured for Italy to be removed from the Pro12 leaving them with no full time pro teams. It's a very cunning plan but if it comes off Dodson could find himself as a bizarre mixture of the fat controller from Thomas the Tank Engine and William Wallace.

On that note, I thought this was a decent article http://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/features/columnists/brendan-gallagher/28295/brendan-gallagher-scots-unlucky-that-twickenham-defeat-was-not-considered-a-blip/

I think the reason it's not considered a blip is simply because of all this the Lions is the ultimate rhetoric we get every four years. In building up the importance of the Lions we have to build up the quality of the opposition too. So despite the fact that every British and Irish player tends to play the All Blacks at least once every two years we sit and question whether a player is good enough to even play rugby in New Zealand. As a consequence, many, especially the Welsh on here, have determined that the only games that matter are the do or die ones. As such the game Scotland's players were assessed on was the one when they went to, arguably, the form team in international rugby, a team made up of players who had won on the big stage before and also spectacularly choked on it in a winner takes all match. In that match we did not have our captain a player was yellow carded within 5 minutes (and easily could have been a red), our best player was injured not long after by half time and many followed him throughout the game. And on that game and, singularly on that game, it was determined that just two (now three) of our players were amongst the best 41 in Britain and Ireland. On the contrary when Wales came up to Scotland and conceded 20 points unanswered in the second half it didn't matter because it wasn't an "important game" by that stage in the competition, in the same way being humped by Australia at home did not matter, in the same way nearly losing to Japan at home did not matter. In other words Wales had been so poor throughout the tournament that they had nothing to play for. Why were they so poor? Because they were poorly coached. Who was their head coach? The Lions backs coach. Ireland on the other hand lost to Scotland (who are woeful), lost to Wales (who were poorly coached and had suffered unlucky defeats) but when it mattered they beat England and therefore their players were selected too. In other words Gatland picked and chose the games that he felt mattered and used that to justify selecting who he was always going to select.

Hopefully that was a cathartic experience and I can now go on and support the Lions irrespective of the nationalities of those involved.

perhaps, but what does your cat think?

by 123456789 Wed May 10, 2017 7:20 pm

Gwlad wrote:
123456789 wrote:
nickj wrote:
123456789 wrote:
jimbopip wrote:On the positive side, we have a squad of players who should be hitting their best years in 2-3 years time. IF this squad keep improving then we should be going into the tournament feeling reasonably confident.
Mind you; two years ago Scott-Dunbar was going to be the future of Scottish rugby. Or was it Dunbar-Bennett?
If we had everyone fit then at least two of the above would struggle to make a match day fifteen. And I'm increasingly concerned that we've seen the best of Alex Dunbar.
I'll stop now because ...we're doomed. Doomed I say.

Given last season was more or less a write off for Dunbar I'd hold your horses on that, a knee injury like his takes a long time to recover from physically and even longer mentally. Just watch one of Halfpenny's recent interviews, hopefully he'll be back next year to his 2015 six nations form. He was also very good for Glasgow in the Champions cup this year. He was very much so in the group of players who went into the England game one big match away from being a Lion by the end of the game Gatland had hidden his passport just in case. It's amazing really to think just how one bad game has impacted the careers of some of our best players, if that game had resulted in a narrow win Dunbar, Russell, Maitland, Watson, the Grays and maybe Brown or Fagerson would be sat at home as Six Nations champions and as British Lions, one shocker and it's fourth place and Italy in Singapore.

Also if South Africa continue their disintegration it'll be Italy in the quarters. The SRU have reportedly clamoured for Italy to be removed from the Pro12 leaving them with no full time pro teams. It's a very cunning plan but if it comes off Dodson could find himself as a bizarre mixture of the fat controller from Thomas the Tank Engine and William Wallace.

On that note, I thought this was a decent article http://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/features/columnists/brendan-gallagher/28295/brendan-gallagher-scots-unlucky-that-twickenham-defeat-was-not-considered-a-blip/

I think the reason it's not considered a blip is simply because of all this the Lions is the ultimate rhetoric we get every four years. In building up the importance of the Lions we have to build up the quality of the opposition too. So despite the fact that every British and Irish player tends to play the All Blacks at least once every two years we sit and question whether a player is good enough to even play rugby in New Zealand. As a consequence, many, especially the Welsh on here, have determined that the only games that matter are the do or die ones. As such the game Scotland's players were assessed on was the one when they went to, arguably, the form team in international rugby, a team made up of players who had won on the big stage before and also spectacularly choked on it in a winner takes all match. In that match we did not have our captain a player was yellow carded within 5 minutes (and easily could have been a red), our best player was injured not long after by half time and many followed him throughout the game. And on that game and, singularly on that game, it was determined that just two (now three) of our players were amongst the best 41 in Britain and Ireland. On the contrary when Wales came up to Scotland and conceded 20 points unanswered in the second half it didn't matter because it wasn't an "important game" by that stage in the competition, in the same way being humped by Australia at home did not matter, in the same way nearly losing to Japan at home did not matter. In other words Wales had been so poor throughout the tournament that they had nothing to play for. Why were they so poor? Because they were poorly coached. Who was their head coach? The Lions backs coach. Ireland on the other hand lost to Scotland (who are woeful), lost to Wales (who were poorly coached and had suffered unlucky defeats) but when it mattered they beat England and therefore their players were selected too. In other words Gatland picked and chose the games that he felt mattered and used that to justify selecting who he was always going to select.

Hopefully that was a cathartic experience and I can now go on and support the Lions irrespective of the nationalities of those involved.

perhaps, but what does your cat think?

Please enlighten me, is trawling the internet for suggestions that your beloved Warren may not be the messiah/ Wales might not be New Zealand of the north and reacting with startling and at points frightening immaturity a fulfilling hobby?

by Gwlad Wed May 10, 2017 7:36 pm

Crumbs, clever cat. Shocked

by RuggerRadge2611 Wed May 10, 2017 9:11 pm

Gwlad wrote:Crumbs, clever cat.

Do you ever have anything constructive to add here? Or do you purposefully target reasonable and good rugby debate in order to turn it into dirge?

by **George Carlin** Thu May 11, 2017 11:53 am

jimbopip wrote:Oh God, do we have to type in BLOCK CAPITALS in order that the elderly Ayrshire gentleman can hear us?

p.s. So Sarf Effrika continue going anti-clockwise down the plug hole, we beat the tattie howkers and the Cherry Blossoms and after Italy who do we get in the semi? See me? See my feet firmly on the ground? See George Carlin? See the bus pass and SAGA travel brouchure?

I don't think I'm out of date.

And neither does my blacksmith.

by jimbopip Thu May 11, 2017 1:04 pm

George, I was in a Year 11 pre-study leavers' assembly yesterday and the Head Of Year was giving tips on how to cope with exam stress. He was pointing out that stress affects everyone differently..

"I once sat an exam at uni and it wasn't until I left the hall that it dawned on me that I had written my whole answer in block capitals. Now, you may be thinking' 'So what?' Well, ten percent of the marks in that paper were for : Spelling, Grammar and Punctuality." picard

P.E. teachers...doncha just love them?

by funnyExiledScot Thu May 11, 2017 1:49 pm

I threw up before my first uni exam, convinced that I was about to be found out!!

by **RDW** Thu May 11, 2017 1:51 pm

During the techy drawing part of my Higher graphics exam (where you stand at drawing boards) the guy next to me fainted and clattered into his own desk. We all stood staring at him worried that intervening or saying anything would be classed as cheating!

by jimbopip Thu May 11, 2017 2:52 pm

funnyExiledScot wrote:I threw up before my first uni exam, convinced that I was about to be found out!!

Apart from the throwing up that pretty much describes most days of my life.

by funnyExiledScot Thu May 11, 2017 3:36 pm

jimbopip wrote:
funnyExiledScot wrote:I threw up before my first uni exam, convinced that I was about to be found out!!

Apart from the throwing up that pretty much describes most days of my life.

by funnyExiledScot Thu May 11, 2017 3:37 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:During the techy drawing part of my Higher graphics exam (where you stand at drawing boards) the guy next to me fainted and clattered into his own desk. We all stood staring at him worried that intervening or saying anything would be classed as cheating!

Is that a thing?

by **RDW** Thu May 11, 2017 3:44 pm

It was when I left school 12 years ago!

I suppose product design is the closest thing you could compare it to - lots of 3d modelling with drawing software and also did 2d and 3d drawings by hand too.

I suppose other people would call it 'Techy'.

by IanBru Thu May 11, 2017 4:00 pm

When I was at Uni, I used to try to walk to the exam hall behind someone who smoked, hoping that the slight dash of nicotine would calm my nerves. At one point, I realised that I was just walking back and forth in front of my house looking for a smoker (it's not normal for it to take that long in Southampton), and not actually making any headway to the campus!

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