6N 2018: Scotland v France, 11th February

by **BigGee** Sun 04 Feb 2018, 1:36 pm

6N 2018: Scotland v France, 11th February France10

SCOTLAND v FRANCE
11 February 2018
KO: 15:00 GMT
BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh

Live on [BBC Jockland]

Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant 1: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant 2: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)

A. Head to Head

91 Played 91
35 Won 53
3 Drawn 3
53 Lost 35
1,118 Points 1,302

B. Recent Form

8 March 2014
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
17 – 19 to France

7 February 2015
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
15 – 8 to France

5 September 2015
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
19 – 16 to France

13 March 2016
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
29 – 18 to Scotland

12 February 2017
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
22 – 16 to France

C. Teams

SCOTLAND
6N 2018: Scotland v France, 11th February Scotty11

6N 2018: Scotland v France, 11th February Scotty11

Stuart Hogg, Tommy Seymour, Huw Jones, Peter Horne (all Glasgow), Sean Maitland (Saracens), Finn Russell (Glasgow), Greig Laidlaw (Clermont Auvergne); Gordon Reid (London Irish), Stuart McInally, Simon Berghan, Grant Gilchrist (all Edinburgh), Jonny Gray (Glasgow), John Barclay (Scarlets, capt), Hamish Watson (Edinburgh), Ryan Wilson (Glasgow).

Replacements: Scott Lawson (Newcastle), Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow), Jon Welsh (Newcastle), Ben Toolis (Edinburgh), Dave Denton (Worcester), Ali Price (Glasgow), Chris Harris (Newcastle), Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh).

FRANCE

Palis; Thomas, Doumayrou, Lamerat, Vakatawa; Beauxis, Machenaud; Poirot, Guirado, Slimani, Itturia, Vahaamahina , Lauret , Tauleigne.

Replacements: Pelissie, Ben Arous, Gomes Sa, Gabrillagues, Serin, Belleau, Fall.

***

What is worse? Getting utterly thrashed by a rampant Welsh team away from home, when everyone (except the Welsh clearly) saw Scotland as the up and coming team about to do great things in this tournament; or to lose a game with a drop goal on the last kick of the game to an Irish team who had just kept the ball for 31 phases!

Answers on a postcard please!

The truth is neither scenario is a good one and it is hard to guess how they will play on the minds of the respective teams over the coming week.

The good thing is that in the 6N, redemption is potentially only a game away and both teams have another chance at it this coming weekend.

Both teams look like they will have to make significant changes, France due to injury and Scotland because they were so cr*p yesterday. How that will pan out on the game is anyone's guess.

I am not however expecting to hear to many optimistic noises coming from the Scotland camp or their fans and media this week. Let us go back to being the underdogs, it seems to be the only mindset that can get us to play well!

by SecretFly Sun 04 Feb 2018, 1:52 pm

Damn Townsend. He's made it very difficult now in that score prediction thread. We're back to square one. We don't know what to expect - and I'm not talking about France like usual.

Scotland could destroy France and all would be wellish again. I wouldn't discount it simply because of that Welsh game. Wales are different - mostly because they firmly believe they are different - which makes it true. It's never just a game with them and they take years of baggage to the parties with them to psyche themselves up.
Scotland might be allowed to play more this time around, and if they then get into this 'organised chaos' mood and they get some adrenalin off it, then it could be a long day for the travelling French.

Townsend won't change his approach because I don't think he can. He'll want to make the game work again, he won't want a plan B. He'll just keep trying to get back the rhythm through this season.

Too early for me to sense how this will go. Mid week might give me a better feeling.

by **BigGee** Sun 04 Feb 2018, 2:00 pm

I don't necessarily want him to change our approach, just to temper it a little bit (well maybe a lot). You don't have to play like that in the first five minutes, chose your moments better. Don't be so predictable!

As Fly says, France will be a very different test and they might revert to type against Scotland and try and steam roller us (which could work). They need a win as badly as we do!

by **RDW** Sun 04 Feb 2018, 3:17 pm

England's first try today showing everything Scotland didn't do yesterday:

- Stable set piece, midfield runner getting the team over the gainline (we never managed that)
- Quick ruck ball (we never managed that)
- midfield runners fixing their man and running hard decoy lines (we didn't do that)
- skills executed right on the gainline (we failed miserably at that)
- leads to an overlap on the wing and an easy score in the corner

Again all of the above is taught at rugby training sessions up and down the country at all levels and all abilities. Granted it is more difficult to achieve at top level but they've got to do something at training all day!

by whocares Sun 04 Feb 2018, 3:18 pm

Picamoles and Beauxis (!!) in

by **BigGee** Sun 04 Feb 2018, 3:24 pm

whocares wrote:Picamoles and Beauxis (!!) in

Hard to see how that is going to weaken France!

by whocares Sun 04 Feb 2018, 3:27 pm

True - luckiky Freddy Michalak retired last year

by mikey_dragon Sun 04 Feb 2018, 4:06 pm

Unless Scotland bring in some big physical forwards it's hard to see how they'll shut France out. All France need to do is manage the set-piece, defend well and counter-attack; they have the players to do all that but they aren't playing well right now and I'm not sure about their coaching. France are away in Murrayfield though so this one is hard to predict.

by RuggerRadge2611 Sun 04 Feb 2018, 4:26 pm

mikey_dragon wrote:Unless Scotland bring in some big physical forwards it's hard to see how they'll shut France out. All France need to do is manage the set-piece, defend well and counter-attack; they have the players to do all that but they aren't playing well right now and I'm not sure about their coaching. France are away in Murrayfield though so this one is hard to predict.

I agree with this, Denton has been playing very well for Wuss, hes a big physical unit, that plus a returning Dunbar or Taylor should give us the power we sorely lacked in Cardiff.

by mikey_dragon Sun 04 Feb 2018, 5:27 pm

If Denton has been playing well I'd say get him in at 6, with Barclay at 8. If Picamoles starts for France then these two need to shut him down. Do that and France's options seem limited. If your starting props can hold their own again then you're in with a good shot.

by **RDW** Sun 04 Feb 2018, 5:37 pm

mikey_dragon wrote:If Denton has been playing well I'd say get him in at 6, with Barclay at 8. If Picamoles starts for France then these two need to shut him down. Do that and France's options seem limited. If your starting props can hold their own again then you're in with a good shot.

Denton shouldn't be picked anywhere other than at 8 - if he's going to be in the team it will be with the sole purpose of carrying hard and giving us go forward. He's not a 6!

by mikey_dragon Sun 04 Feb 2018, 5:40 pm

Could have Denton at 8 with Barclay at 6 then...

by SecretFly Sun 04 Feb 2018, 5:57 pm

mikey_dragon wrote:Unless Scotland bring in some big physical forwards it's hard to see how they'll shut France out. All France need to do is manage the set-piece, defend well and counter-attack; they have the players to do all that but they aren't playing well right now and I'm not sure about their coaching. France are away in Murrayfield though so this one is hard to predict.

Scotland will more than likely ask more attacking questions of France than Ireland. Now that might fall even further into the hands of France who still have a hidden desire for unstructured counterattack rugby when given the chance. But if Scotland get leverage there, France could become frustrated and that fragile better structure they seem to have, at least in defence, could break down completely. Both sides fragile when under the stress of being behind. Nope, I still don't know how I feel this one will go yet.

by **George Carlin** Mon 05 Feb 2018, 5:08 am

Great thread Gee. Hug

Can't wait to move past the willy waving from the previous game and get into this one.

No reason whatsoever why Toonie should change the gameplan - this was only one abhorrent game and does not wipe out the real progress that they have made over the past year. He does, however, need to take some responsibility for his team clearly not being in the correct mindset for the first game. They are back at home now and France are without their hot young playmaker. What I have noticed over the past few years is how close these games have been on the scoreboard. This should be close too.

I never thought I would find myself writing this but if Richie Gray is still not fit then this might be the game in which Glass Gilchrist starts, with Toolis benching for impact later on. Everyone knows my thoughts about Denton - Strauss is better but I would much rather Wilson starts with Barclay and Watson.

It is imperative that Scotland wins this game. It will be a very cold and quiet place indeed over the mid tournament break if we don't.

by majesticimperialman Mon 05 Feb 2018, 6:46 am

It used to be said the game all depends on what French team turn up, will depend on the out come of the game....If the same French team turn up as did for the Ireland game, and the same Scots team turn up then i think France will win. And Scotland will be in a bad place.

France ran Ireland ruggid for most of the game, as Wales all most did not get have to take a second breath against Scotland.

Scotland will have to play alott better this week, they are at home and in front of their home fans...If Scotland do loose, then it will be a bad 6ns for them in my opinion.

by **RDW** Mon 05 Feb 2018, 7:12 am

There's a lot of pressure on this - if we lose this we're odds on the be facing a wooden spoon showdown with Italy. That would be a very disappointing 6N indeed!

by **NeilyBroon** Mon 05 Feb 2018, 8:18 am

To be honest I'd take a one point steal in this game. After Saturday the objective should be simple. To win.

It's a shame vern isn't involved any more, I feel we could use more pragmatism at the moment. Chaos makes sense when it's on to counter, but otherwise there's no shame in phase based attack.

I think we bring Jacko on to the bench. I know he blew hot and cold at the best of times but itd be reassuring to have experienced fly half cover should finn go a bit mental. We need Horne to cover the centres.

As i said before the most worrying thing is our lack of a plan B and an alternative to FR. The sooner Hastings gets more experience the better. If weir could have a renaissance even that would make me happier.

by **RDW** Mon 05 Feb 2018, 8:25 am

George Carlin wrote:Great thread Gee.

Can't wait to move past the willy waving from the previous game and get into this one.

No reason whatsoever why Toonie should change the gameplan - this was only one abhorrent game and does not wipe out the real progress that they have made over the past year. He does, however, need to take some responsibility for his team clearly not being in the correct mindset for the first game. They are back at home now and France are without their hot young playmaker. What I have noticed over the past few years is how close these games have been on the scoreboard. This should be close too.

I never thought I would find myself writing this but if Richie Gray is still not fit then this might be the game in which Glass Gilchrist starts, with Toolis benching for impact later on. Everyone knows my thoughts about Denton - Strauss is better but I would much rather Wilson starts with Barclay and Watson.

It is imperative that Scotland wins this game. It will be a very cold and quiet place indeed over the mid tournament break if we don't.

If you mean our general approach to rugby I would agree, if you mean our tactics from Saturday I would vehemently disagree!

by EST Mon 05 Feb 2018, 9:25 am

Well, Toonie and the boys need to earn their brass this weekend.

Our tactical naivety and lack of on-field leadership was brutally exposed. I actually don't think I have ever been as disappointed in a Scottish rugby performance, and I travelled to NZ for the 2011 WC.

Looking ahead, I don't necessarily think we need to change our overall approach, but we need to be pragmatic and frankly smarter about how we play.

I feel that the weekend was something of a watershed moment for Finn. He is a wonderfully gifted rugby player, but he lived up to every one of his (negative) stereotypes - its time he stepped up and show some tactical smarts in high pressure situations.

by **BigGee** Mon 05 Feb 2018, 9:49 am

RDW_Scotland wrote:There's a lot of pressure on this - if we lose this we're odds on the be facing a wooden spoon showdown with Italy. That would be a very disappointing 6N indeed!

There will be just as much pressure on the French, if either side goes two down from two games, it will be a long tournament and the knives (or the guillotine) will be out.

There is a big danger in this game that both sides will be trying not to lose the game, rather than trying to win it!

by **BigGee** Mon 05 Feb 2018, 9:57 am

EST wrote:

I feel that the weekend was something of a watershed moment for Finn. He is a wonderfully gifted rugby player, but he lived up to every one of his (negative) stereotypes - its time he stepped up and show some tactical smarts in high pressure situations.

and this is why the move to France may well be the best thing for him and for the Scotland team.

Do you think if he has a game like that playing for Racing, the coach, the owner, the fans and the rest of his team mates will turn around and say 'well that's just Finn' the way we tend to do as Glasgow and Scotland fans? I don't think so. You would think that he will get told in no uncertain terms that it was rubbish and not good enough.

There are a long list of talented but flakey FHs that could have joined the ranks of the greats. Finn is still young enough to raise himself above such a status, but the clock is ticking.

I think the move to Paris will either make him into the player that he really can be, or will massively expose his limitations. The choice of which may be with him.

by SecretFly Mon 05 Feb 2018, 10:03 am

Despite Brunel's former job, I have to say that yes, it's early early days!, but I think he might be good for France. I think his time away with Italy has given the French something they rarely have - an outside perspective on how they were seen................ from the outside........... by a French man............. who had a team that challenged them over a few 6Ns.

I think he'll be more pragmatic about what works in rugby because, let's face it, with Italy he needed all the pragmatism he could get to keep them as competitive as he could. France seem to have always struggled with the discipline of becoming more pragmatic to get what they want. When they are held off they get frustrated and the urge is to do the Harlem Globetrotter stuff - and they can still kill you with jabs of it.
But I think Brunel might have more success mixing school yard fun with technical bookwork and homework.

by **BigGee** Mon 05 Feb 2018, 10:16 am

Hard to know what to make of Brunel.

I don't think he really did much of a job with Italy and looked like he gave up during the course of his tenure.

Some of his decisions so far leave a little bit to be desired as well. Chucking a 19 year old FH into a game like that against a very good Irish team, first up in the championship. He looked out of his depth even before he got injured. You wonder what effect that might have on him longer term?

Now the pressure is on him (it does not take to long in France) the old guard are being brought back in and you would imagine that France will set up against Scotland like a top 14 side coming to play Glasgow, score points when they can get them, then park the bus!

At the end of the day, Brunel and Noves are chips off the same block, old school French rugby. I am not sure that we are going to get any great surprises with him in charge.

by EST Mon 05 Feb 2018, 10:25 am

BigGee wrote:
EST wrote:

I feel that the weekend was something of a watershed moment for Finn. He is a wonderfully gifted rugby player, but he lived up to every one of his (negative) stereotypes - its time he stepped up and show some tactical smarts in high pressure situations.

and this is why the move to France may well be the best thing for him and for the Scotland team.

Do you think if he has a game like that playing for Racing, the coach, the owner, the fans and the rest of his team mates will turn around and say 'well that's just Finn' the way we tend to do as Glasgow and Scotland fans? I don't think so. You would think that he will get told in no uncertain terms that it was rubbish and not good enough.

There are a long list of talented but flakey FHs that could have joined the ranks of the greats. Finn is still young enough to raise himself above such a status, but the clock is ticking.

I think the move to Paris will either make him into the player that he really can be, or will massively expose his limitations. The choice of which may be with him.

I totally agree Gee. He is going to have expectation and pressure every week, without the comfort blanket he has in Scotland. Perhaps more importantly, he is going to have some serious competition for the first time in his career, in the shape of Pat Lambie. I still believe he has it within him to become a truly world class player, but as you say, he needs to go out and show it.

by bsando Mon 05 Feb 2018, 11:00 am

Some thoughts on the Wales game having rewatched the first half.

1) First and foremost, the game plan was 100% wrong. Kicking for territory via deep restarts, grubbers to the corner, kicks from Hogg, Russell, McGuigan, Jones didn't work. It allowed Wales to implement everything they had obviously been practising in attack (which wasn't even well executed by them at times, ie the knock ons close to the line, forward pass for Evans try). It is also not how Scotland played against NZ and Aus and was clearly Townsend thinking he could pin Wales back and keep them under pressure in their own half and force some mistakes out of them.

2) Wales did one simple thing that really threw off Scotland, they kept the ball in play and forced Scotland to attack on their terms This really unsettled the Scottish attack as there were numerous occasions where Wales were under pressure in the first half, stuck in their 22. But instead of panicking and going for a clearing kick to touch they said "Hey Scotland! Try that again!" and Davies would kick to keep it in play whilst the Welsh defence pushed up. This prevented Scotland from forming their attacking line and they got rattled and made lots of mistakes (Jones forward pass, Du Preez panicked pass backwards when under pressure, the list goes on).

The solution (in hindsight) was for the Scottish player who collected it to say "Cheers Wales! let's run it up straight!" and take the direct route and keep possession in the Wales 22 and reform the attack on Scotland's terms. The one positive attacking play came from Seymour deciding to do this instead of looking to find a way around or passing to Russell. By doing this Scotland form their attack from the resulting ruck and Jones gets the ball and makes a good kicking decision that results in Halfpenny chasing the ball and grounding over the line giving Scotland an attacking scrum 5m out from the Welsh tryline.

3) Russell wasted good ball and was impatient in attack By which I mean, the impossible pass, the risky offload and/or kick, the missed kick to touch when we had a penalty, it's a long list. It put his team mates under pressure and made the Scottish attack look weak or disjointed.

4) Lack of composure and nervousness against an organised Welsh defence. Wales were far from magical but they did the little things well. Scotland had opportunities but they allowed Wales to get under their skin. Why did they need to panic? A ball goes loose, the crowd yell "wheeyyyy!" all that was required was for the player in question (Du Preeez I'm thinking of in this instance) to regather it and take the tackle.

5) No points for Scotland during the purple patch From the 2nd Welsh try up until half-time, believe it or not, Scotland were dictating nearly all of the plays and had a lot of opportunities to get back into the game. Missed opportunities...

1) Russell missed a penalty kick to touch.
2) MacInally threw a squint lineout in attacking position near 22.
3) 3rd penalty lineout in Wales 22 resulted in a driving maul that wasn't going anywhere, but there was an opportunity to go down the blindside with only Davies keeping a slight eye on what was a large piece of open ground to defend. Instead Price passes right and Navidi turns over McGuigan as no one is there to clear out the ruck for Scotland.
4) Scotland have an attacking 5m scrum and blow it on the first pass to Harris who knocks on.
5) The last attacking opportunity of the half was the elaborate set piece move where two dummy runners (Watson then Harris) fly up at different times (Watson first, then Harris) which should then create a two on one situation with McGuigan and Hogg on the Welsh left wing (nice idea!). But Harris runs too early and McGuigan sits back a little too far for the pass from Russell which means Moriarty has time to see whats up and instead of going for a tackle on Harris's poor dummy run, he ignores him and moves across to tackle McGuigan (it's now turned into a two on two situation) who is tackled and knocks on in the tackle. 14- 0 halftime soon after.

Scotland are still a great team, but they are rusty as hell and need to iron these mistakes out. Selection wasn't quite right I think. If Harris was in, McGuigan should have been out. Harris and McGuigan should probably both be dropped for either Dunbar, Bennett, Taylor or Horne with a straight swap of Maitland in for McGuigan.

The last team we lost to at home in the 6N was England in 2016 and the two losses since then have been against Aus 22-23 and NZ 17-22. I hope it remains that way by late March!

For France...

Bhatti
MacInally
Berghan
Gilchrist
Gray
Barclay
Watson
Wilson
Laidlaw
Russell
Maitland
Dunbar
Jones
Seymour
Hogg

Lawson
Bhatti
Welsh
R Gray (Toolis if Gray not available)
Denton
Price
Horne
Taylor (Jones if Taylor not available)

by RuggerRadge2611 Mon 05 Feb 2018, 11:24 am

I take comfort in the fact there is no way we can play that badly again. I do think Price, Jones and Harris need a week on the naughty step Laidlaw, Dunbar and Taylor come in. I'd do the same with Russell but we have no other alternatives.

CDP is also on the naughty step. Let Dozer have a chance again, he's been playing well for Wuss and we don't need him to be offloading harlem globe trotter style, just some front foot ball from our number 8 would be nice.

by **RDW** Mon 05 Feb 2018, 11:26 am

If Richie is fit he should start IMO - he plays against French forwards week in week out and gives us the most ballast out of any of our locks. I think it leads to a better balance too - Gray and Toolis are too similar as locks.

by **BigGee** Mon 05 Feb 2018, 11:29 am

RDW_Scotland wrote:If Richie is fit he should start IMO - he plays against French forwards week in week out and gives us the most ballast out of any of our locks. I think it leads to a better balance too - Gray and Toolis are too similar as locks.

Mark Palmer tweeted last night that Gray coming over this week, but unlikely to be fit for sunday. Hopefully we will have him back for the England game.

Same with Duncan Taylor, very unlikely to be fit.

by **NeilyBroon** Mon 05 Feb 2018, 12:00 pm

BigGee wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:If Richie is fit he should start IMO - he plays against French forwards week in week out and gives us the most ballast out of any of our locks. I think it leads to a better balance too - Gray and Toolis are too similar as locks.

Mark Palmer tweeted last night that Gray coming over this week, but unlikely to be fit for sunday. Hopefully we will have him back for the England game.

Same with Duncan Taylor, very unlikely to be fit.

Matt Scott to come in I think. As far as underrated players go, in recent years I feel Scott hasn't been used enough.

Is Bresler injured? He may add a bit of grunt - though I profess I've not watched much Edinburgh so can't really say for sure.

by **LondonTiger** Mon 05 Feb 2018, 12:05 pm

bsando wrote:
For France...

Bhatti
MacInally
Berghan
Gilchrist
Gray
Barclay
Watson
Wilson
Laidlaw
Russell
Maitland
Dunbar
Jones
Seymour
Hogg

Lawson
Bhatti
Welsh
R Gray (Toolis if Gray not available)
Denton
Price
Horne
Taylor (Jones if Taylor not available)

Is that the Bhatti twins?

by EWT Spoons Mon 05 Feb 2018, 12:10 pm

NeilyBroon wrote:
BigGee wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:If Richie is fit he should start IMO - he plays against French forwards week in week out and gives us the most ballast out of any of our locks. I think it leads to a better balance too - Gray and Toolis are too similar as locks.

Mark Palmer tweeted last night that Gray coming over this week, but unlikely to be fit for sunday. Hopefully we will have him back for the England game.

Same with Duncan Taylor, very unlikely to be fit.

Matt Scott to come in I think. As far as underrated players go, in recent years I feel Scott hasn't been used enough.

Is Bresler injured? He may add a bit of grunt - though I profess I've not watched much Edinburgh so can't really say for sure.

I'd be amazed if Matt Scott came in. Cotter & Toonie gave him defensive work to focus on because they felt that was a weakness in his game. He's been injured for most of the time since that happened so I'm not sure how much he's been able to work on that.

Bresler isn't Scottish Qualified anymore as he left the country before he was capped.

by **NeilyBroon** Mon 05 Feb 2018, 12:12 pm

LondonTiger wrote:
bsando wrote:
For France...

Bhatti
MacInally
Berghan
Gilchrist
Gray
Barclay
Watson
Wilson
Laidlaw
Russell
Maitland
Dunbar
Jones
Seymour
Hogg

Lawson
Bhatti
Welsh
R Gray (Toolis if Gray not available)
Denton
Price
Horne
Taylor (Jones if Taylor not available)

Is that the Bhatti twins?

Yes, the infamous Bhatti bois

by SecretFly Mon 05 Feb 2018, 12:13 pm

LondonTiger wrote:
bsando wrote:
For France...

Bhatti
MacInally
Berghan
Gilchrist
Gray
Barclay
Watson
Wilson
Laidlaw
Russell
Maitland
Dunbar
Jones
Seymour
Hogg

Lawson
Bhatti
Welsh
R Gray (Toolis if Gray not available)
Denton
Price
Horne
Taylor (Jones if Taylor not available)

Is that the Bhatti twins?

No...it's another of those HIA knee injuries, in advance planning stage.

by **NeilyBroon** Mon 05 Feb 2018, 12:18 pm

SecretFly wrote:
LondonTiger wrote:
bsando wrote:
For France...

Bhatti
MacInally
Berghan
Gilchrist
Gray
Barclay
Watson
Wilson
Laidlaw
Russell
Maitland
Dunbar
Jones
Seymour
Hogg

Lawson
Bhatti
Welsh
R Gray (Toolis if Gray not available)
Denton
Price
Horne
Taylor (Jones if Taylor not available)

Is that the Bhatti twins?

No...it's another of those HIA knee injuries, in advance planning stage.

Like bloodgate, except eyedrops to dilate the pupils - I'd like to see a conspiratorial wink after that!

by Tramptastic Mon 05 Feb 2018, 12:53 pm

Eurgh we got beat badly

I would advocate getting Dunbar and Maitland back in to the side ASAP

We missed Dunbars defensive leadership in midfield and direct ball carrying. He's one of the only backs Scotland has that has the weight/strength to carry the ball forward over the gainline and straighten the attack. I'd suggest bringing Denton in on that same logic but his hands are really just awful. It's like watching Abu Hamza play rubgy.

Wilson needs to be our 8, he's apparently our nasty, niggly player since Jim Hamilton/Hines retired.

CDP was so awfully passive. The epitomy of meh.

Give Price and Russell another shot at fixing things. If we had good replacements for both I would advocate replacing both but we don't so we shouldn't. They will be Scotlands redemption arc in our six nations narrative, guiding us to 80 point wins over the rest of the teams and a retroactive victory over the Welsh by finishing higher than them in the table - you read it here first.

by **NeilyBroon** Mon 05 Feb 2018, 1:06 pm

We can still win. Just have to nil every team we play now

by **George Carlin** Mon 05 Feb 2018, 1:46 pm

Tramptastic wrote:Eurgh we got beat badly

I would advocate getting Dunbar and Maitland back in to the side ASAP

We missed Dunbars defensive leadership in midfield and direct ball carrying. He's one of the only backs Scotland has that has the weight/strength to carry the ball forward over the gainline and straighten the attack. I'd suggest bringing Denton in on that same logic but his hands are really just awful. It's like watching Abu Hamza play rubgy.

Wilson needs to be our 8, he's apparently our nasty, niggly player since Jim Hamilton/Hines retired.

CDP was so awfully passive. The epitomy of meh.

Give Price and Russell another shot at fixing things. If we had good replacements for both I would advocate replacing both but we don't so we shouldn't. They will be Scotlands redemption arc in our six nations narrative, guiding us to 80 point wins over the rest of the teams and a retroactive victory over the Welsh by finishing higher than them in the table - you read it here first.

by highland_scot Mon 05 Feb 2018, 3:26 pm

George Carlin wrote:
Tramptastic wrote:Eurgh we got beat badly

I would advocate getting Dunbar and Maitland back in to the side ASAP

We missed Dunbars defensive leadership in midfield and direct ball carrying. He's one of the only backs Scotland has that has the weight/strength to carry the ball forward over the gainline and straighten the attack. I'd suggest bringing Denton in on that same logic but his hands are really just awful. It's like watching Abu Hamza play rubgy.

Wilson needs to be our 8, he's apparently our nasty, niggly player since Jim Hamilton/Hines retired.

CDP was so awfully passive. The epitomy of meh.

Give Price and Russell another shot at fixing things. If we had good replacements for both I would advocate replacing both but we don't so we shouldn't. They will be Scotlands redemption arc in our six nations narrative, guiding us to 80 point wins over the rest of the teams and a retroactive victory over the Welsh by finishing higher than them in the table - you read it here first.

maybe we should play him at hooker? Sorry

by Tramptastic Mon 05 Feb 2018, 3:36 pm

highland_scot wrote:
George Carlin wrote:
Tramptastic wrote:Eurgh we got beat badly

I would advocate getting Dunbar and Maitland back in to the side ASAP

We missed Dunbars defensive leadership in midfield and direct ball carrying. He's one of the only backs Scotland has that has the weight/strength to carry the ball forward over the gainline and straighten the attack. I'd suggest bringing Denton in on that same logic but his hands are really just awful. It's like watching Abu Hamza play rubgy.

Wilson needs to be our 8, he's apparently our nasty, niggly player since Jim Hamilton/Hines retired.

CDP was so awfully passive. The epitomy of meh.

Give Price and Russell another shot at fixing things. If we had good replacements for both I would advocate replacing both but we don't so we shouldn't. They will be Scotlands redemption arc in our six nations narrative, guiding us to 80 point wins over the rest of the teams and a retroactive victory over the Welsh by finishing higher than them in the table - you read it here first.

maybe we should play him at hooker?

by jimbopip Mon 05 Feb 2018, 5:54 pm

Well, Saturday was an absolute shocker.

For the first five minutes I thought we were going to win easily. Unfortunately fifteen Welshmen and Aldi Price disagreed with me.

When you have a ruck immediately beneath the posts and your nine suffers whiteline fever, gets isolated and gives away a penalty, then from the next phase throws an interception. You know it's going to be along day.
When that's followed by your 10 throwing a pass to no-one in your 22, but you regather it enough to be awarded a scrum but your 9 gives away a free kick by feeding squint and they score off the resulting scrum. You know it's going to be a VERY long day.
Those two scores meant that Wales could defend and pick us off on the break. Had we gone ahead early then the game would probably have turned out very differently.
However, our defending was really quite poor. We seemed to defend very narrow and the Welsh wingers had acres of space. The Welsh made a couple of breaks up the 13 channel mainly because the defence were rushing across to cover the winger and all the penultimate man had to do was run straight. In the second half when we tried to hold our line the Welsh simply passed across the front of our defenders to the winger who made hay in a channel as wide as the M4.
Changes
Second row; needs more grunt, who is our Mr Nasty? If Rithie G is fit I'd start him. Probably with GG.
Back Row. Batman for CDP.
9. Aldi P back to Glasgow. He can sit on that step and think about what he did. Henners and Frodo in the 23.
Centres; I think Furra Linee at 12, another playmaker might help take the pressure off Dancer. Jones back to 13. Dunbar to bench.
Wings. McGuigan looked poor but how much was down to the quality of ball?

So, changes at 8,9 and 12. but the philosophy will stay the same. In fact Toonie may even bring in George Horne to inject extra insanity just to annoy his critics.

p.s. If any of you gentlemen ever get the chance to have a small refreshment with Mr Scones...do. it's good for what ails you. However, if you ever get the chance of a b&b in Tremorfa....as my taxi driver said on Saturday night, "Really? mate you do know that's the roughest area in Cardiff?"

by mikey_dragon Mon 05 Feb 2018, 6:34 pm

I always thought Ely was the roughest place in Cardiff, Llanishen not too far behind! Next time just stay in Newport Smile

.

by **RDW** Mon 05 Feb 2018, 6:56 pm

McGuigan, Richie and Taylor ruled out of this weekend

by **RDW** Mon 05 Feb 2018, 7:10 pm

On the plus side in assuming that means Dunbar is fit, or at least doing the return to play protocol!

by jimbopip Mon 05 Feb 2018, 7:10 pm

Ah gentlemen, Crying or Very sad

Barry The Ex-Nippy scrum half (who shall hereafter be known as Barry The Kidneystone) has just phoned me to tell me he has the date for his long awaited operation. THE THURDAY BEFORE WE ARE DUE TO FLY UP.
picard

So, the bottom line is...
I have two tickets for the match which need a good home. Face value obviously. PM me if interested.

by **BigGee** Mon 05 Feb 2018, 8:05 pm

McGuigan being injured is a blessing in disguise, saves Toonie having to sharpen the knife.

Maitland will surely come into that slot and Jones/Kinghorn onto the bench. Jones is maybe the safe option, but I would like to see him roll the dice and give Kinghorn a run.

A lot of our prospects in this game must surely rest upon Dunbar being fit now. Hopefully Taylor will be back in the equation by the England game, Dunbar never seems to last more than a game or two before getting inured again as well.

by jimbopip Mon 05 Feb 2018, 8:42 pm

Taylor is Donald Ducked.
Ritchie Gray is also hors de combat, as they say in Govan.

by sensisball Mon 05 Feb 2018, 9:49 pm

The only part of Scotland's game that was half way decent was the scrum. The thought of starting Bhatti against Slimani sends a shiver down my back, and not in a good way. He has Healy under loads of pressure so much so that he caved in on at least three occasions. However his blushes were saved by Nige screaming "ball is available" as soon as Healy hit the turf! Unless Nige is reffing on Sunday i dont think we will be so lucky. Whilst Welsh didnt dominate the scrums, he didnt go back or collapse. To rush Berghan back in to the team would also be suicidal against firstly Poirot and then Prizo.

by **BigGee** Mon 05 Feb 2018, 9:59 pm

sensisball wrote:The only part of Scotland's game that was half way decent was the scrum. The thought of starting Bhatti against Slimani sends a shiver down my back, and not in a good way. He has Healy under loads of pressure so much so that he caved in on at least three occasions. However his blushes were saved by Nige screaming "ball is available" as soon as Healy hit the turf! Unless Nige is reffing on Sunday i dont think we will be so lucky. Whilst Welsh didnt dominate the scrums, he didnt go back or collapse. To rush Berghan back in to the team would also be suicidal against firstly Poirot and then Prizo.

Can't see Berghan starting, bench probably, though McCallam did ok in his 12 mins. Bergs has not played for 4 weeks but he is currently a better scrimmaging option, so against France, will be what we need. McCallam one for the future though.

Whatever our tactics are in the scrums in this match though, it must involve getting the ball quickly out of the scrum.

by **RDW** Mon 05 Feb 2018, 10:08 pm

BigGee wrote:
sensisball wrote:The only part of Scotland's game that was half way decent was the scrum. The thought of starting Bhatti against Slimani sends a shiver down my back, and not in a good way. He has Healy under loads of pressure so much so that he caved in on at least three occasions. However his blushes were saved by Nige screaming "ball is available" as soon as Healy hit the turf! Unless Nige is reffing on Sunday i dont think we will be so lucky. Whilst Welsh didnt dominate the scrums, he didnt go back or collapse. To rush Berghan back in to the team would also be suicidal against firstly Poirot and then Prizo.

Can't see Berghan starting, bench probably, though McCallam did ok in his 12 mins. Bergs has not played for 4 weeks but he is currently a better scrimmaging option, so against France, will be what we need. McCallam one for the future though.

Whatever our tactics are in the scrums in this match though, it must involve getting the ball quickly out of the scrum.

In a way the new law saying you have to hook will help us - should mean getting the ball quickly to 8

by Maine man Mon 05 Feb 2018, 10:36 pm

Is matt scott available? Didn't he play for Gloucester at the weekend? Must be an option instead of Harris

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