Glasgow and Edinburgh: Ongoing Banter Thread 17 - Almost Legal

[Hazel Sapling]

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Glasgow Warriors & Edinburgh

The Histories:

Guiness Pro 12
Edinburgh Rugby
Glasgow Warriors

Edinburgh Rugby Highlights 2016/2017
Glasgow Warriors Pro 12 Highlights 2016/2017  

[BigGee]

I'd be very surprised if D'Arcy Graham does not get more than a few 1st team games over the course of the season this year!

[BigGee]

If he does not get any serious game time with Edinburgh this year, don't be surprised to see him farmed out on one of the partnership arrangements either.

[RDW]

We're not massively stocked with wing options (especially decent wings) so he may get his chance, but this is his first year as a pro so may need a seasons worth of conditioning before he's really ready to be a regular feature. If he does get gametime I hope it is at the start or end of the season when the weather is good - no point playing him on a November night down at the Dragons.

Wing
Tom Brown
Jason Harries
Damien Hoyland
Darcy Graham
Duhan Van Der Merve

Fullback

Blair Kinghorn
Kevin Bryce

Of those lot the only player who is likely to be regular first choice is Hoyland - the rest is up for grabs.

[nickj]

Ru Jackson heading home!

[nickj]

Didnt see that coming, but a one year deal kinda makes sense, full back cover for Hogg for a year, with the potential to earn a longer deal, especially if Finn heads to Montpellier, then Hastings and Thomson could do with some experienced back up at 10 too.

[BigGee]

We're not massively stocked with wing options (especially decent wings) so he may get his chance, but this is his first year as a pro so may need a seasons worth of conditioning before he's really ready to be a regular feature.  If he does get gametime I hope it is at the start or end of the season when the weather is good - no point playing him on a November night down at the Dragons.

Wing
Tom Brown
Jason Harries
Damien Hoyland
Darcy Graham
Duhan Van Der Merve

Fullback

Blair Kinghorn
Kevin Bryce

Of those lot the only player who is likely to be regular first choice is Hoyland - the rest is up for grabs.

I think he is likely to become a quicker and more skilful version of Damien Hoyland, one that can go all the way to becoming a regular international player. Hoggy came into the Glasgow setup in a similar fashion and was a full international within the season. Admittedly the Scotland team now, is a much improved beast from back then and I agree about conditioning him and managing him carefully in his first season. I just don't think he is destined to be a fringe player!

[RDW]

Good signing for Glasgow - I can't see him becoming a regular for Scotland again but he'll do a job at 10 or 15 for Glasgow.

[BigGee]

Ru Jackson heading home!

Yes, that one definitely came from the left field but is a very decent signing. He will cover FB and FH very well when required. One year to see if he has got anything left in the tank. I suspect he has. He always looked pretty good when I saw him playing for Wasps or Quins and was probably unlucky not to get more game time with both of them. Toonie still thought he had enough left to go on tour with Scotland this summer.

The Glasgow squad definitely looking stronger and more balanced than it did last season. Ideally. I would say we are still a big back row and a LH short, but that may well have to be it now, though I still dream about Liam Messon arriving!

[RDW]

Ru Jackson heading home!

Yes, that one definitely came from the left field but is a very decent signing. He will cover FB and FH very well when required. One year to see if he has got anything left in the tank. I suspect he has. He always looked pretty good when I saw him playing for Wasps or Quins and was probably unlucky not to get more game time with both of them. Toonie still thought he had enough left to go on tour with Scotland this summer.

The Glasgow squad definitely looking stronger and more balanced than it did last season. Ideally. I would say we are still a big back row and a LH short, but that may well have to be it now, though I still dream about Liam Messon arriving!

To be fair he hardly had many other options!

[BigGee]

Ru Jackson heading home!

Yes, that one definitely came from the left field but is a very decent signing. He will cover FB and FH very well when required. One year to see if he has got anything left in the tank. I suspect he has. He always looked pretty good when I saw him playing for Wasps or Quins and was probably unlucky not to get more game time with both of them. Toonie still thought he had enough left to go on tour with Scotland this summer.

The Glasgow squad definitely looking stronger and more balanced than it did last season. Ideally. I would say we are still a big back row and a LH short, but that may well have to be it now, though I still dream about Liam Messon arriving!

To be fair he hardly had many other options!

To be fair, most other recent Scottish coaches would have taken Dunky!

[RDW]

We're not massively stocked with wing options (especially decent wings) so he may get his chance, but this is his first year as a pro so may need a seasons worth of conditioning before he's really ready to be a regular feature.  If he does get gametime I hope it is at the start or end of the season when the weather is good - no point playing him on a November night down at the Dragons.

Wing
Tom Brown
Jason Harries
Damien Hoyland
Darcy Graham
Duhan Van Der Merve

Fullback

Blair Kinghorn
Kevin Bryce

Of those lot the only player who is likely to be regular first choice is Hoyland - the rest is up for grabs.

I think he is likely to become a quicker and more skilful version of Damien Hoyland, one that can go all the way to becoming a regular international player. Hoggy came into the Glasgow setup in a similar fashion and was a full international within the season. Admittedly the Scotland team now, is a much improved beast from back then and I agree about conditioning him and managing him carefully in his first season. I just don't think he is destined to be a fringe player!

To be fair Hoggy wasn't a midget so was able to get up to speed quickly - at 5ft 7 and 12st Graham is going to be one of the smallest players in the league. If he's going to make it he needs to be that much quicker, more agile and more skillful than anyone else to make up for his diminutive stature.

I really hope he does as it will be a real shame if we lose someone of his talent just because he isn't big enough.

[jimbopip]

On the Good News side....
Glasgow signed Hastings as back up to Dancer and as cover duringthe AI and 6N's .
Glasgow signed Thompson as cover for 10 & 15.
Glasgow signed Layla Massager as a winger/full back to cover Hoggie during AI's & 6N's.
So Glasgow have three 10's and at least three 15's.
Glasgow sign Jacko to cover 10/15.

On the Bad News side...
There are still plenty of clubs (French and English) with plenty of money looking for 10's and 15's who will make a real difference to any side.

I have a bad feeling about this.

[Eejit]

On the Good News side....
Glasgow signed Hastings as back up to Dancer and as cover duringthe AI and 6N's .
Glasgow signed Thompson as cover for 10 & 15.
 Glasgow signed Layla Massager as a winger/full back to cover Hoggie during AI's & 6N's.
So Glasgow have three 10's and at least three 15's.
Glasgow sign Jacko to cover 10/15.

On the Bad News side...
There are still plenty of clubs (French and English) with plenty of money looking for 10's and 15's who will make a real difference to any side.

I have a bad feeling about this.

How could you ruin such a nice sunny day with thoughts like that.

[George Carlin]

On the Good News side....
Glasgow signed Hastings as back up to Dancer and as cover duringthe AI and 6N's .
Glasgow signed Thompson as cover for 10 & 15.
 Glasgow signed Layla Massager as a winger/full back to cover Hoggie during AI's & 6N's.
So Glasgow have three 10's and at least three 15's.
Glasgow sign Jacko to cover 10/15.

On the Bad News side...
There are still plenty of clubs (French and English) with plenty of money looking for 10's and 15's who will make a real difference to any side.

I have a bad feeling about this.

How could you ruin such a nice sunny day with thoughts like that.

Jim is dark, you know. Dark, I tell you.

It's a fair point though. I would still like to have another ball carrying blindside/8 because we are short of big fatties who like a carry.

[Hazel Sapling]

Good news on Jackson. It does make me wonder like Jimbo about if Russell is leaving a year early or what it says about Horne/Thomson/Hastings. It is likely Glasgow lose one of the four to Scotland with Russell and Hogg so our halfbacks are now a position of strength throughout international breaks.

Edinburgh would have made more sense, but I guess Cockerill has not instilled the culture yet to have a player parachuted in without harming his project of taking responsibility.

[jimbopip]

On the Good News side....
Glasgow signed Hastings as back up to Dancer and as cover duringthe AI and 6N's .
Glasgow signed Thompson as cover for 10 & 15.
 Glasgow signed Layla Massager as a winger/full back to cover Hoggie during AI's & 6N's.
So Glasgow have three 10's and at least three 15's.
Glasgow sign Jacko to cover 10/15.

On the Bad News side...
There are still plenty of clubs (French and English) with plenty of money looking for 10's and 15's who will make a real difference to any side.

I have a bad feeling about this.

How could you ruin such a nice sunny day with thoughts like that.

Jim is dark, you know. Dark, I tell you.

It's a fair point though. I would still like to have another ball carrying blindside/8 because we are short of big fatties who like a carry.

As PG Wodehouse said, "It is never difficult to differentiate between a Scotsman and a ray of sunshine."

As for your comment about "big fatties who like a carry" ...was the missing word ON or OUT ?

[George Carlin]

On the Good News side....
Glasgow signed Hastings as back up to Dancer and as cover duringthe AI and 6N's .
Glasgow signed Thompson as cover for 10 & 15.
 Glasgow signed Layla Massager as a winger/full back to cover Hoggie during AI's & 6N's.
So Glasgow have three 10's and at least three 15's.
Glasgow sign Jacko to cover 10/15.

On the Bad News side...
There are still plenty of clubs (French and English) with plenty of money looking for 10's and 15's who will make a real difference to any side.

I have a bad feeling about this.

How could you ruin such a nice sunny day with thoughts like that.

Jim is dark, you know. Dark, I tell you.

It's a fair point though. I would still like to have another ball carrying blindside/8 because we are short of big fatties who like a carry.

As PG Wodehouse said, "It is never difficult to differentiate between a Scotsman and a ray of sunshine."

As for your comment about "big fatties who like a carry" ...was the missing word ON or OUT ?

[RDW]

Fixtures are up





Decent start for Edinburgh - could go on a mini-run if we can start with a good win against the Blues. Shame we're touring South Africa straight after the AIs as the internationalists will be fairly beaten up leading into it.

The New Year's 1872 game has been restored thankfully!

[jimbopip]

I can see the Luvvies going from October to Valentines Day without a win.

[RDW]

Ah Jimbo, if you think we'll lose to Zebre and Treviso you might as well go the whole hog and say we won't win a game all season!

It's OK though - I'm looking forward to the inevitable choke from Glasgow in the 1872

[jimbopip]

Ok then RDW Hallowe'en till Valentines. I'll accept that that you might beat one of the Italians.

[RDW]

Very gracious of you Jimbo! To be fair that is a period we're likely to struggle - the SA teams are a big unknown though. All the more reason why we need a good start.

[jimbopip]

I think for both teams a good start is crucial. However, in the six years the Pro-12 ran there were 36 play-off places up for grabs, 35 of those places went to the same six teams. The only outliers were the Craggy Islanders. Can you guess which band of Kaffe Fasset wearing knitwear models have never made a play-off? ( I see all this bantering as a kind of pre-season friendly)

With the news that Huw Jones is starting in Suth Effrika this weekend I think he may well be fit for the start of the season.

backs v Mrs Doyle's Boys

9. Aldi Price
10. Jacko
11. Sarto
12. Johnson
13. Grigg/Jones
14. Selkirk Pixie
15. Layla Massager

I think that looks promising.

[EWT Spoons]

Cockerill has done an interview with the bbc

Going to have to take some of it with a pinch of salt as I don't fully believe what he's saying.

Such as having no targets and looking at it in hindsight.  I hope he's set the team/coaches targets, and just isn't sharing them in the media, but if not then that is a concern.

Also the 12 months to fix bit, we've heard this time and again, Solly rolled that line out on a number of occasions, it was one of his many excuses.  Whilst I agree it's going to take time to fix the mess he inherited, I think he may need to ramp up his timeline.

Anyway I've liked a lot of what Cockerill has said since taking the role, but this latest piece, not so much.

New Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill is not setting his side any targets other than earning the respect of their rivals during the Pro14 season.

Edinburgh have finished ninth for the past two years in the Pro12.

And Cockerill says getting the club challenging for honours will be a long term project.

"I'm not going to promise anything, I'd like us to go out and produce, and lets talk about it in hindsight," he said.

"Be consistent every week, and create a culture and environment that people want to be part of. We've not finished out of the bottom four since the Pro12 was started so we need to understand where we're at, we know where we'd like to go, but we need a better process, we need to train harder, work harder, and lets see where we get to."

The Englishman has a two-year contract with Edinburgh, but says he is already looking beyond that and wants Edinburgh to move out of the shadows of Glasgow Warriors.

"There's a lot of things to solve," said Cockerill. "One of those is culture and identity, getting the players to believe, not always being the younger brother of the two pro teams.

"Nothing gets fixed in two months, and we probably won't see the fruits of it for another 12 months of so."

After assessing the squad, the 46-year-old believes he has a strong group of players to work with.

He said: "There's a lot of international players. Scotland have clearly done very well in the last season.

"(There is) a lot of good, young Scottish players that need to come through. There's a lot of potential in the squad, but clearly it's not come to fruition in the last few years and my job is to get the potential out of this squad.

"The squad is good enough to be better than where it is."

[George Carlin]

Fixtures are up





Decent start for Edinburgh - could go on a mini-run if we can start with a good win against the Blues. Shame we're touring South Africa straight after the AIs as the internationalists will be fairly beaten up leading into it.

The New Year's 1872 game has been restored thankfully!

Nice to know that Glasgow have a guaranteed 5 points on the last day of the season.

[George Carlin]

Cockerill has done an interview with the bbc

Going to have to take some of it with a pinch of salt as I don't fully believe what he's saying.

Such as having no targets and looking at it in hindsight.  I hope he's set the team/coaches targets, and just isn't sharing them in the media, but if not then that is a concern.

Also the 12 months to fix bit, we've heard this time and again, Solly rolled that line out on a number of occasions, it was one of his many excuses.  Whilst I agree it's going to take time to fix the mess he inherited, I think he may need to ramp up his timeline.

Anyway I've liked a lot of what Cockerill has said since taking the role, but this latest piece, not so much.

New Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill is not setting his side any targets other than earning the respect of their rivals during the Pro14 season.

Edinburgh have finished ninth for the past two years in the Pro12.

And Cockerill says getting the club challenging for honours will be a long term project.

"I'm not going to promise anything, I'd like us to go out and produce, and lets talk about it in hindsight," he said.

"Be consistent every week, and create a culture and environment that people want to be part of. We've not finished out of the bottom four since the Pro12 was started so we need to understand where we're at, we know where we'd like to go, but we need a better process, we need to train harder, work harder, and lets see where we get to."

The Englishman has a two-year contract with Edinburgh, but says he is already looking beyond that and wants Edinburgh to move out of the shadows of Glasgow Warriors.

"There's a lot of things to solve," said Cockerill. "One of those is culture and identity, getting the players to believe, not always being the younger brother of the two pro teams.

"Nothing gets fixed in two months, and we probably won't see the fruits of it for another 12 months of so."

After assessing the squad, the 46-year-old believes he has a strong group of players to work with.

He said: "There's a lot of international players. Scotland have clearly done very well in the last season.

"(There is) a lot of good, young Scottish players that need to come through. There's a lot of potential in the squad, but clearly it's not come to fruition in the last few years and my job is to get the potential out of this squad.

"The squad is good enough to be better than where it is."

Fair play, but I can also understand his point of view - why set yourself up to fail.

If you don't set targets, nobody can complain if you don't hit them. If I could do that at work, then I would...

[RDW]

Fixtures are up





Decent start for Edinburgh - could go on a mini-run if we can start with a good win against the Blues. Shame we're touring South Africa straight after the AIs as the internationalists will be fairly beaten up leading into it.

The New Year's 1872 game has been restored thankfully!

Nice to know that Glasgow have a guaranteed 5 points on the last day of the season.

Didn't work out so well for you last season did it?

FFS Weir got MOTM and Bryce scored against you!

[George Carlin]

Fixtures are up





Decent start for Edinburgh - could go on a mini-run if we can start with a good win against the Blues. Shame we're touring South Africa straight after the AIs as the internationalists will be fairly beaten up leading into it.

The New Year's 1872 game has been restored thankfully!

Nice to know that Glasgow have a guaranteed 5 points on the last day of the season.

Didn't work out so well for you last season did it?

FFS Weir got MOTM and Bryce scored against you!

The last two points alone are conclusive proof that I had too much Tennants Super and fried chocolate and woke up in an alternative reality. One where I wasn't funny.

[jimbopip]

Chrimbo Eve to Valentines Day...25 points for the Once And Future Champion.

By the way George, you're always funny. Or so Mrs GC keeps telling me.

[BigGee]

Glasgow finally get a second pre-season game on the calendar with a trip down to Wales to play the Drag Queens on Friday 25th August at Ebbw Vale.

It's been a bit of a saga getting these games sorted this year, not sure why that is though there are rumours that some of the English teams we have visited over the past few seasons, Glaws and Quins in particular, reneged on an agreement to come up and play in Scotland.

Anyway we got there in the end and at least we should not be going into the season undercooked.

[George Carlin]

Saints and the Dragons. That will do nicely.

Do we think that there will be any more signings on the soapdodger side?

[jimbopip]

On the MadmentalFijian front ;

"They were a group of Exeter Chiefs players and it was a Christmas party. One of the players was Niko Matawalu who had just signed for the Chiefs from Bath. The defendant was heard to mention something like 'where are all the ladies at', in a loud comment heard by the woman.
"Her and her friends then went to the Christmas market that was on at the time before they ended up going to John Gandys bar. The defendant and his group of colleagues also ended up at the same location."
He said that the bar is somewhere that the Exeter Chiefs players often go and there was a VIP area set aside for the players on this night.
Mr Haskell continued: "The woman was standing on the ground floor near the stairs when she felt a hand from behind go up her skirt and grab her between the legs. It was under the skirt but over her tights and there was forceful touching of her vagina and he touched her in a way that it could not have been by accident. His hand then slipped backwards and he then grabbed her left bum cheek."
The footage was captured on CCTV and Mr Haskell told the jury of six men and six women that there is no dispute that the man spotted next to her in the footage is Matawalu.
He continued: "She shouted out at him something like 'what the f*** are you doing?' The defendant then walked off."
She told her boyfriend about what had happened and then they spoke to door staff in the bar, who then went over and spoke to Matawalu. As they were informing him about the allegation and one of them pointed over at her, the Fijian international had a smug look on his face and blew her a kiss across the room, Mr Haskell said.

Read more at http://www.devonlive.com/former-exeter-chiefs-player-sexually-assaulted-woman-during-club-christmas-party-court-told/story-30477228-detail/story.html#MyWDkD4PjuuphtAp.99

It seems a bit "his word against her word" but Niko wont come out of this well whatever the jury decide.

I did feel for he boyfriend when I read, "she told her boyfriend what happened". The thought of his face when faced with a group of half a dozen or so drunk gym freaks and the knowledge that one of them had, allegedly, behaved inexcusably. What would you do?

This reminded me of my student days. Mrs Pip and I used to frequent the Citizens theatre in that scenic part of Glasgow knows as the Gorbals. If we arrived early we would have a refreshment in the bar next door. One Saturday we were enjoying a cocktail and the door opened to a tsunami of Celtic scarves, with supporters attached. We had a couple more drinks, sang a few rebel songs, chatted about the game and left. At the interval Mrs Pip told me she had been relieved to leave the pub. When I asked why she replied that someone had been touching her backside in the crowd.
"Why didn't you tell me? I'd have soon sorted him out." Said I full of righteous indignation.
"You were the only man in the bar not wearing a Celtic scarf. What do think would have happened after you "sorted him out"?" was her very sensible reply.
Ah...the good old days, indeed.

[RDW]

Taking aside the series nature of the report, there's no way Radge is going to be able to read this page at work now!

It really doesn't look good for him - some of the 'smug look' claims could be a case of over exaggeration but if the incident is caught on CCTV then he's in real trouble.

[EWT Spoons]

Aye doesn't really seem to be his word against hers if it was caught on cctv.

If what is said is true then it doesn't look good for him, and rightly so.

[jimbopip]

Apparently the CCTV has her reaction but no conclusive evidence of any contact between her and anyone else.
At this point I shall stress that I do not see the incident as trivial or anything other than unacceptable.
If we accept her account then something untoward occurred. Niko's defence seems to be (a) it wasn't me, (b) I was bladdered and can't remember anything.
(b) is interesting because if it wasn't him it almost certainly was one of his team-mates. This, for me, is where it really gets messy. If they all say, "Never saw anything" then they are all, or possibly just some of them, covering up for whoever did it. So either they feel Niko should be protected, although his career at Exeter ended there and then, OR he's being made to be the fall guy. Neither of these reflect well on any of them.
So, either the jury accepts her word, and his career is probably over or they accept his and he tries to start over with a blot on his character. I don't think anyone will feel happy about ether outcome.

[RDW]

I don't know who Mr Haskell is but it sounds from the court account that he is proposing it is pretty clear it was Niko

The footage was captured on CCTV and Mr Haskell told the jury of six men and six women that there is no dispute that the man spotted next to her in the footage is Matawalu.

I suppose it then comes down to whether the CCTV showed him do it or if there are any (credible) witness.

[BigGee]

I don't know who Mr Haskell is but it sounds from the court account that he is proposing it is pretty clear it was Niko

The footage was captured on CCTV and Mr Haskell told the jury of six men and six women that there is no dispute that the man spotted next to her in the footage is Matawalu.

I suppose it then comes down to whether the CCTV showed him do it or if there are any (credible) witness.

It may just come down to who the jury believes is the most credible, him or her, it does not necessarily need to have it confirmed by video and this is where it all gets a bit messy as they had both clearly been drinking.

The standard of proof required though 'beyond reasonable doubt' does often mean that juries are often reluctant to convict on the basis of one person's word against someone else's even if, 'on the balance of probability' it seems likely that something did happen.

It is a messy old business all around.

[jimbopip]

As ever, Gee, the voice of reason. The whole thing makes me nostalgic for the old Scottish verdict of Not Proven. ( A verdict I normally abhor as it usually means, "We know you did it but we can't actually prove it." In this case it would most likely mean, "We know someone crossed the boundaries of acceptable behaviour but as the only witness "had taken drink" we're unwilling to convict on no more than her word." Which may or may not be better than the traditional alternatives.)
A few years ago Mike Phillips got into kebab shop type shenanigans in a MacDonalds well after midnight in Cardiff city centre. Eddie Butler said the blame should rest with the senior players in the Welsh squad as everybody knew Phillips should never be allowed out after dark without adult supervision.Should Niko have been sold with Caveat Emptor stamped on his forehead?

[tigertattie]

Gone are the days where this could be shrugged off as boyish behavior! Rugby lads on a night out no longer have the benefit of folk turning a blind eye to what they get up to.

On the flip side, as the world rightly becomes less tolerant to this kind of behavior, there's also been an increase in the number of people crying wolf so they can get their five minutes of fame or try to cash in on the culture of compensation claiming!

There's two old sayings, "innocent until proven guilty" and "where there's smoke, there's fire"

I'm no lawyer but it's looking like this will come down to the cctv footage!

[des]

On the MadmentalFijian front ;
...
This reminded me of my student days. Mrs Pip and I used to frequent the Citizens theatre in that scenic part of Glasgow knows as the Gorbals. If we arrived early we would have a refreshment in the bar next door. One Saturday we were enjoying a cocktail and the door opened to a tsunami of Celtic scarves, with supporters attached. We had a couple more drinks, sang a few rebel songs, chatted about the game and left. At the interval Mrs Pip told me she had been relieved to leave the pub. When I asked why she replied that someone had been touching her backside in the crowd.
"Why didn't you tell me? I'd have soon sorted him out." Said I full of righteous indignation.
"You were the only man in the bar not wearing a Celtic scarf. What do think would have happened after you "sorted him out"?" was her very sensible reply.
Ah...the good old days, indeed.

A very similar thing happened to me about 20 years ago. I was in a bar chatting to my girlfriend and she suddenly jumped up and went mental at the guy behind her. He'd been pinging her pant elastic which was sticking out the top of her jeans (and no it was not a look she deliberately was going for). I then stood up and confronted the guy, then about 8 of his pals stood up and menacingly asked what was going on. I though I was going to get smashed (this was in Negociants at Teviot, absolute dump at the time) but calmly communicated the situation to the alpha male. He then turned on the guy who had been annoying my girlfriend, confirmed the accusation and proceeded to leather him.

Back to your story though Jimbo, I don't think you'll find many groups of men that collectively think sexual assault is acceptable. Even a group of Celtic supporters.

If they'd been wearing Blue however...

[funnyExiledScot]

Woah there. I come back on here for a sneaky peek and find that the mighty Rangers are being besmirched!!

A couple of things:

Jackson is a cracking signing for Glasgow. Wish he'd come to Edinburgh.

Am getting too excited about D'Arcy Graham. He'll probably get thrown about like a rag doll and discarded by Cockerill in favour of the big Saffa lump we signed.

Sounds like Mata is in trouble.

Hope you've all had lovely summers. Now back to the business of Edinburgh underachieving in the league...

[des]

Apologies, I'd forgotten about your allegiances.  You do seem like a bit of an outlier though. What with your ability to use words and stuff like that.

More seriously, I shouldn't be so prejudiced.  I know at least 2 Rangers supporters that are genuinely lovely people.  I did used to live in a ground floor flat on Bothwell Street off Easter Road though and they were unarguably the worst set of supporters to ever pass by it.

[jimbopip]

Ah Des, your story reminded me of a lad I knew at Uni; he was very gentle and kind-hearted: his older brother was a complete heid the ba'.
So the brother had returned from the army and was finding it difficult to settle. So, my friend decides he'll go for a pint with his brother. They ended up in a rough pub near Parkhead (Is there any other kind? I hear FES asking). While they're playing pool a couple of rather large lads come in and start collecting "for the boys behind the wire". One of them then notices that the ex-squaddie had a N.I. campaign ribbon on his combat jacket. ( I never said the brother was smart)
The large lads explained that they didn't want to cause the landlord any problems but they would be waiting outside and fully intended to kill the "feccin squaddie".
As my friend was seeing his life flash before his eyes a deathly silence fell over the pub.
Then one of the locals who had been waiting to play pool said, " Haud on there! You don't come into our boozer and threaten people. That's bad grammar that is." There were shouts of agreement and a voice was heard to say, "Them boys've done nothing to upset naebody yous can Frak off."
Needless to say the IRA beat a hasty retreat and old fashioned Glaswegian hospitality carried on as before.
As far as I know he never went for a pint with his brother again.

[RDW]

I had a similar experience at Uni - it was well renowned that the Uni rugby team were a bunch of C U next Tuesdays and swanned about like they ran the place. They also got absolutely smashed after games so Wednesday nights at the Union were always full of drunk guys in chinos and the like, and they all thought they were God's gift to women.

Anyway one of them kept harassing Mrs RDW-to-be (as she was at the time) and kept trying to grab her and put his arm round her. I step in to push him away and he falls over in the middle of the dancefloor - this was done knowing that not only are all his rugby mates there but all of the bouncers are in the rugby team so I feared the worse.

Luckily his mates were all smashed too and none of them really noticed!

It is also probably fair to say that Mrs RDW is certainly no shrinking violet when it comes to these kind of altercations so it was probably good for the bloke's safety that I pushed him away before he got a knee in the chuckies!

[EWT Spoons]

Moving the topic of conversation back to rugby...Not sure if you've seen the new Glasgow shirt yet, but it's currently sponsorless, apparently the retail version is going to remain sponsorless, but the players shirt will have a sponsor on it, announced this coming Monday.

I can't think why a sponsor would be ok with not having their logo on the version sold to fans.
I can only assume they are paying less for the sponsorship because of this.

[jimbopip]

Mr Spoons; either they have an alcohol tie-in (Brew Dog, Crabbies etc) or they, contractually, had to have the jerseys made before a certain date and the sponsorship wasn't agreed in time.
I can't see it being a worse deal than the Luvvies' deal with BT so probably on Monday we'll see the players' jerseys bearing the legend "Lanliq...The Bam's Dram"

[EWT Spoons]

The rumour mill is churning that the BT deal with the SRU (and by extension pro teams) is up next year. Allianz are rumoured to be stepping in, as BT are scaling back their sponsorship/marketing side.

Allianz have close ties with that french team the SRU struck a deal with so......as I say it's just rumours so likely to come to nothing.

[EWT Spoons]

Jimbo - other option is they are paying Glasgow/SRU less for the deal, given it's not going to appear on the version sold to fans.

Also surely the alcoholic beverage of choice through the west is Buckfast?  If it's not launched with "Buckie" plastered across it, then it'll be a disappointment.  One way or another there is going to be buckfast on the majority of glasgow's shirts, they may as well get some money for it.

[jimbopip]

Spoons

[RDW]

I'm not really a fan of tartan added to clothing - to me it either looks twee or chavvy

https://www.lovell-rugby.co.uk/Rugby-Shirts/Macron/Glasgow-Warriors-2017-or-18-Players-Home-Test-S-or-S-Rugby-Shirt

This looks chavvy.

Perfect for Glasgow then!

I'm here all week.

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