20th Gathering of Edinburgh and Glasgow Discussion

First topic message reminder :

Edinburgh Squad

LH's: Schoeman, Dell, Marfo, Sutherland
Hookers: McInally, Ford, Fenton, Cherry
TH's: Nel, Berghan, McCallum, Ceccarelli
Second Row: Gilchrist, Toolis, McKenzie, Carmichael, Hunter-Hill
Back Row: Barclay, Hamilton, Crosbie; Watson, Ritchie; Bradbury, Mata, Miller, Nayalo

SH's: Pyrgos, Fowles, Kennedy, Shiel
FH's: Hickey, VDW, McLelland, Baggott
Centres: Scott, Socino, Bennett, Dean, Johnstone, G Taylor
Back 3: Fife, VDM, Hoyland, Brown, Graham; Kinghorn

Forward Total: 26
- Internationals: 16 (14 Scots, 1 Italian, 1 Fijian)
- NSQ: 4 (1 of whom is a project)
- Under 25 (as of September 1st, 2018): 7 (2 capped)
Backs Total: 20
- Internationals: 8 (Socino lone non-Scot)
- NSQ: 4 (2 projects)
- Under 25 (as of September 1st, 2018): 10 (2 capped)

Total: 46

Glasgow Squad

LH's: Bhatti, Allan, Kebble
Hookers: Brown, Turner, Stewart, Bryce
TH's: Fagerson, Nuka, Rae, Nicol
Second Row: Gray, Swinson, Cummings, McDonald, Brian, Peterson, Davidson
Back-Row: M Fagerson, Harley; Gibbins, Smith, Fusaro; Wilson, Ashe, Tameilau, Flockhart

SH's: Price, G Horne,Frisby, Mata, Baletto
FH's: Horne, Hastings, Jackson
Centres: Dunbar, H Jones, Johnson, Dunbar, Grigg, P Kelly
Back 3: Seymour, VDM, L Jones, Masaga, Tagive, Hughes, Beattie, Nairn; Hogg, Thomson

Forward Total: 27
- Internationals: 15 (12 Scots, 2 Americans, 1 Tongan)
- NSQ: 6 (2 projects)
- Under 25 (as of September 1st, 2018): 11 (4 capped, both projects)
Backs Total: 24
- Internationals: 14 (10 Scots, 1 Fijian, 1 Kiwi, 1 Canadian, 1 Aussie)
- NSQ: 4 (No projects if Thomson is already tied to SA)
- Under 25 (as of September 1st, 2018): 8 (1 capped)

Total: 51

Overall: 97 players
- Internationals: 53 (43 Scots)
- NSQ: 19 (5 projects)
- Under 25: 36 (9 capped)

So now we are playing the Welsh Top 6 in their Premiership. Are we seeing the formation of a second division slowly develop? Ireland with their 4, Scotland and Wales. 16 sides, but don't have to worry too much about the international and European windows.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/45070550

There's still a big gap between the Super 6 and the other celtic nations - our Super 6 teams would get pumped by any of the Irish A teams (who are fully pro)  and probably lose the Welsh premiership. It is a positive step to be semi pro but there's a lot of work to do!

Definitely a move in the right direction. A long way to go, but improving the standard of competition can only help. Hopefully we can raise standards to meet the new challenge.

Well, Glasgow could be having their first injury crisis of the season. Kiran McDonald has joined Tim Swinson on the long term list: out for at least six months.


So
Jonny-Naughty Boy
Then
Cummings-Oscar Peterson

and err that really seems to be it before we are looking at academy players. (or Rob Harley)

Now, there is just a slight possibility that Young Jonny might scrape into the Scotland squad for the AI's and 6Nations which would leave us with three specialist locks. Actually two if young Cummings gets called up too.


I think Ben Toolis might fancy a trip west, what do you think?

There are a couple of academy locks that looked promising in the last couple of years like Marshall Sykes or Jamie Hodgeson. Cummings and McDonald entered the squad playing well.

Of course, Sykes needs to clean up his twitter. Having a picture in an England age grade jersey is not the best thing to see for a Scotland player

There are 2 games during the AI's thanks to that Wales game. O's and Blues.

Hairsprays and IgottheBlues could be difficult: Naughty Boy and Oscar Peterson to start and Eric Sykes to bench? You really feel that Cummings should be given a chance in the AI's, or at least in the wider training squad.

jimbopip wrote:Hairsprays and IgottheBlues could be difficult: Naughty Boy and Oscar Peterson to start and Eric Sykes to bench? You really feel that Cummings should be given a chance in the AI's, or at least in the wider training squad.

Only if he earns it. He's got a lot of competition and his form towards the end of last season didn't merit a callup - Charmichael made the most of a good end of season run.

RDW_Scotland wrote:https://www.606v2.com/t67804-biggee-charity-cycle#3724409

I've made it a global announcement across the forum 

Can all of you lunatics go into this thread and comment in order to bring it to peoples' attention?

Well guys, I have made it to Dingwall and am ready for the last push up to JOG, I have got 106 miles to go and should be there tomorrow evening.

I rolled accross the great Glen today from Onich to Dingwall. I was still suffering s bit from the previous day exertion, when I got blown to bits by the wind on top of Rannoch Moor. It was so strong I had to pedal downhill, which I can assure you is very demoralizing!

Loch Ness and the Glen were beautiful though and the weather was better today. What really made my day though was being stopped by two random strangers, one a German tourist and a man who remembered having seen me struggling over Glen Coe the previous day. Both wished me well and gave a donation to the fund.

The kindness of strangers never fails to surprise and inspire.

I will be setting off at 08.00 tomorrow morning and hope to be there at 6 or 7.

I am hoping that there is a pint of beer and/or a single malt with my name on it waiting for me in JOG.

Will update you tomorrow

BigGee wrote:I am hoping that there is a pint of beer and/or a single malt with my name on it waiting for me in JOG.

You'll have earned it mate! Good luck tomorrow

One last push biggee! 

I've sat on my arse all day so am even more impressed by your efforts.

Biggee - you are an inspiring fellow and you deserve all of the praise

Just to drag it back down to mundanity for a minute - are the soapdodgers really not going to sign any more forwards? Rennie has to have seen that this is a problem area and with Tiny Tim out, he cannot rely on the Scotland Academy Foetus Squadron to take us through the season?

Am really quite concerned underneath all this botox and stage make up.

The quality of the Glasgow pack is not bad. The coaching has not pushed them on. The Edinburgh pack has grown whereas players such as Fagerson, Gray, Allan, Rae and Cummings all stalled out last year. These are front five players who really determine how our set-piece is going to go. We can get whatever players in, but it won't matter if we can't develop our young players to the highest level. We don't have the money to do it.

First call I am making, if I am Rennie, is Andy Robinson for defence coach. Second call I make is a conference call with Jim Hamilton and Kelly Brown. Hamilton for set-piece (and aggression) and Brown to be the defence (if Robinson refuses)/forwards coach.

The Glasgow pack lacks any real depth behind first choice positions. Even decent players like Ashe are never available.

Still, Chris Fusaro has signed a contract extension so every cloud...

Can't agree Hazel - we don't have to rely on academy players.

Any pack which wants to realistically compete needs at least 2 props and 2 locks who will be around during the international window and who are test class. That's what Leinster and Scarlets can do. We should be able to as well. I can only pray that Big Brian and Ollie Kebble are back to 100% fitness because their absence killed us last year.

I find myself in agreement with GC. Glasgow rarely want for passion and spirit, and are generally well organised, but you need a certain class of player in reserve to enable you to compete well in the international window plus allow for sensible rotation throughout the season. Glasgow are too dependant on the 1st XV. That may get you to the playoffs again, but Scarlets and Leinster will be too fresh. I don't think Glasgow have recruited well enough.

Well everyone, I am posting this from my b&b in John o Groats, having got here at 18.30 this evening.

My last day in the saddle ended up being 111 miles, but actually was one of the easier days of the whole trip. You do get days like that on a bike where it all seems quite effortless, just not very often.

I think the sense of emotion carried me along. I was thinking about my dad and all the people that have supported me along the way and it was a very good feeling.

I meet another end to enter at JOG who had finished just before me and we ended up going for a fee beers and sampling the Old Poultney, the local malt, which I can highly recommend.

Time for sleep and rest now and tomorrow the long journey home and time to reflect upon this amazing journey on my bike.

Thanks once again for all your support

superb achievement, congratulations BigGee!

Legend! 

You are a shining example for the rest of us sluggards. Have a and a long rest.

George Carlin wrote:Can't agree Hazel - we don't have to rely on academy players.

Any pack which wants to realistically compete needs at least 2 props and 2 locks who will be around during the international window and who are test class. That's what Leinster and Scarlets can do. We should be able to as well. I can only pray that Big Brian and Ollie Kebble are back to 100% fitness because their absence killed us last year.

Front 5 caps who should be available in international windows

Scarlets - Elias and Kruger. Beirne replaced by Thompson who will play for Scotland if he is as good

Leinster - Bent, Tracy and Fardy (lost Porter to Ireland bench)

Glasgow - Bhatti, Allan, Turner, Nuka and Swinson (may be adding Z Fagerson after Berghan's development)

Edinburgh - Sutherland, Ford, McCallum, Ceccarelli, Toolis and Carmichael

I will agree that depth could be better, but that comes at a price financially and in developing the younger guys (especially with 2 Scots sides).

Leinster and Scarlets are successful because they developed their young guys. I go the other way in that the first choice front 5 of Scarlets and Leinster are much better than Glasgow's.

Congratulations BG!

Gee - you should be very proud indeed.

I'm surrounded by keyboard warriors day to day who turn the air blue with what they are convinced they could have done with themselves. Bores the @rse off me. Very few people have the motivation to do something like this. It's just much easier not to but claim that you could have. Everyone who knows you and has sponsored you is very proud.

Hardie is having a trial with Clermont to prove his fitness.

https://www.lamontagne.fr/amp/clermont-ferrand/sports/rugby/2018/08/07/exclusif-un-international-ecossais-debarque-a-l-asm_12944824.html?__twitter_impression=true

Love the translation! "This beautiful 30 year old baby"

RDW_Scotland wrote:Hardie is having a trial with Clermont to prove his fitness.

https://www.lamontagne.fr/amp/clermont-ferrand/sports/rugby/2018/08/07/exclusif-un-international-ecossais-debarque-a-l-asm_12944824.html?__twitter_impression=true

Love the translation! "This beautiful 30 year old baby"

I hope that he does well because he deserves a club that good and most French sides wouldn't know a traditional openside if he bit them on the @rse in a kebab shop queue.

New Edinburgh kit


http://edinburghrugby.org/news/18/08/09/edinburghs-volcanic-heritage-shapes-rebranded-kits-macron

I really like the home one, the orange in the away one is a bit much!

It's a bit boring in my opinion. After all the talk about blue and white I was expecting blue and white hoops, which would have been a significant change and a bit more unique than just a solid colour with some artistic dots.

It just looks like they've taken a running t-shirt design and whacked a club badge and sponsor on it. It's like when Wasps went for completely black, was just a bit boring really although at least that wasn't as bad as the underarmor sports bra kit a couple of seasons ago.

Both the home and away shirts are also available in a replica version with a supporter fit.

Edinburgh are diplomatically telling us we all need to get into the gym

I think I actually prefer the away one, I must be more tolerant to orange than RDW!

NeilyBroon wrote:It's a bit boring in my opinion. After all the talk about blue and white I was expecting blue and white hoops, which would have been a significant change and a bit more unique than just a solid colour with some artistic dots.

It just looks like they've taken a running t-shirt design and whacked a club badge and sponsor on it. It's like when Wasps went for completely black, was just a bit boring really although at least that wasn't as bad as the underarmor sports bra kit a couple of seasons ago.

Blue and white hoops would have been nice, with orange socks for pure shock value?

But do any of the premiership teams in Edinburgh play in blue and white stripes? Accies? nobody would really care but some would moan about a bias or some terrible thing like that. The facebook chat would explode!

Where was blue and white hoops mentioned? I'm sure the old Edinburgh region colours was plain dark blue.

Apologies, Neily Broon mentioned that he was expecting blue and white hoops, which would look really good and different from anything else in the league but I can already envision all the bufties at every single club in edinburgh grumbling in to their pints

Tramptastic wrote:

NeilyBroon wrote:It's a bit boring in my opinion. After all the talk about blue and white I was expecting blue and white hoops, which would have been a significant change and a bit more unique than just a solid colour with some artistic dots.

It just looks like they've taken a running t-shirt design and whacked a club badge and sponsor on it. It's like when Wasps went for completely black, was just a bit boring really although at least that wasn't as bad as the underarmor sports bra kit a couple of seasons ago.

Blue and white hoops would have been nice, with orange socks for pure shock value?

But do any of the premiership teams in Edinburgh play in blue and white stripes? Accies? nobody would really care but some would moan about a bias or some terrible thing like that. The facebook chat would explode!

Orange, white and blue vertical striped socks. Like a 70s wallpaper.

I just think they missed a chance to make something memorable, that's all and they talked all the talk about blue and white being traditional but I just find what they've actually done really underwhelming and more blue or white.

I'm with Llama in that I actually prefer the away kit, if they did something a bit more along those lines with the home kit then I'd be more interested!

On a side-note, the sponsor logo really looks bloody awful!

Yeh I'd agree

I was actually quite fond of the old strips, that mental block of years from 2010(?) to 2015(?) where every season the new strip was ludicrous - I think we had a biohazard symbol pattern at one point???

It stood out at least!

Maybe this will grow as the season goes on - It'll look fantastic in the context of Glasgow getting beaten by Edinburgh in the 1872 again

Yeah the sponser looks crud

Is anyone on here playing in the amateur leagues this season? At Lismore RFC we embark on the newly reformed East Region League 3 with high hopes of finishing mid table!

NeilyBroon wrote:On a side-note, the sponsor logo really looks bloody awful!

I don't mind it - it actually blends in to the strip with matching colours (i'm going all Gok Wan here!). Some of the other sponsors logos are bloody awful and stand out a mile (the point of them I suppose).

I quite like it.

It's not in your face which is what Edinburgh are about these days. We're more stable. Basic. No nonsense.

For once the strip follows the ethos of the club so I'm all for it.

http://edinburghrugby.org/news/18/08/10/wood-latest-back-new-edinburgh-era

Unfortunate new sponsor name! 

Excellent.

Wood for the forwards: easier to say than, two short planks.

Always for the girls in the backs.

Excellent.

Most forwards already have wood anyway as soon as it gets wet and muddy outside

Well if I did not know it before, I certainly do now, that John o Groats really is a long way from anywhere. Getting home involved a 24 hour journey that started with a 20 mile ride into a howling gale, which the patron of the B&B described as a slight breeze! Then followed a 5 hour train journey from Wick to Inverness and finally the overnight sleeper back to the smoke and another 10 mile ride home from Euston. My daughter recently made it back from SE Asia in about half the time!

I am feeling a bit stiff and sore and still quite tired and I need to try and get my act together over the weekend as I am back at work on Monday night. It is nice to get back into your own bed though after some time on the road. More positively, my fund is edging slowly towards my target amount of £3000 and I am reasonably confident of making it now, once I get back to work and call in a few IOUs.

On a even more positive note, the government today announced an extension of bowel cancer screening in England and Wales, taking the age limit down to 50 and bring the rest of the country into line with Scotland. I was very pleased to hear that.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/aug/10/bowel-cancer-screening-age-england-lowered-50

In other, more rugby related news, it seems in my absence, that the news of new signings for Glasgow has been deafening. I am still not sure how DR came to the 6-7 new players number that he was talking about at the end of last season. I guess the existing squad have their chance to step up and prove themselves. The big American did arrive in Glasgow today though, maybe he will prove to be the hidden gem that we have been waiting for.

Anyway, ever the optimist, I have just bought some tickets for the Northampton pre season game, two weeks today. A first time at Franklin Gardens and a nice excursion to get the rugby season off and running again. It is almost that time of year again.

Your train to London was quicker than your train from Wick to Inverness! It really is the arse end of nowhere.

Great effort Biggee - enjoy your rest this weekend

Gee, I am swithering as to whether to drive up to Northampton

Mrs Pip and I are at The Globe midweek to see Othello, which will require a hotel afterwards and visit to Borough Market next morning. It isn't easy being married sometimes.

However, if I make it there we should catch up.

jimbopip wrote:Gee, I am swithering as to whether to drive up to Northampton

Mrs Pip and I are at The Globe midweek to see Othello, which will require a hotel afterwards and visit to Borough Market next morning. It isn't easy being married sometimes.

However, if I make it there we should catch up.

Beware Jim. Mrs Pip might think that standing on the prom (ground floor pit) is what she wants to do at the Globe but if you think that she'll be knackered standing the whole time, then spring for seating in the lowest tier that you can afford.

The other message is not to wear high heels. And tell your wife that about her shoes too.

Timehop has reminded me of an incredibly random team we put out 3 years ago in a world cup warmup game against Ireland

15 Jackson
14 Lamont
13 Vernon
12 Horne
11 Visser
10 Tonks
9 Pyrgos

8 Denton
7 Blake
6 Cowan
5 Gilchrist
4 Hamilton
3 Welsh
2 Brown
1 Grant

Probably about 4 of those players at best would be in the Scotland squad today, it shows what an amazing turnover in players we have had over the past three years.

GC, have no fear we are not Groundlings.
For my birthday back in July the Princess Daughter and Feckless Rogue announced they would get us tickets for "Motown because that's your era, all that old music", all we had to do was pick a date that suited us. Last week princess flounced in and handed me the tickets for Othello saying we obviously weren't that keen on popular music and dancing and that homicidal domestic tragedy was more in keeping with my outlook on life. So, we're sitting front and centre looking down on the plebs in the pit. I shall insist that Mrs Pip calls me FES for the evening.


RDW, I am assuming you would have Tonks, Visser, Gilchrist and Henners from that team?

Jackson at full back Whatever next?


p.s. I was looking at an old Wales v Scotland programme last night: G-Dog and Schlong in the centres Schiz and Bru could have played on the wings for all the ball they'd see. Just to rub it in Shane Williams gave a masterclass that day.

jimbopip wrote:GC, have no fear we are not Groundlings.  
For my birthday back in July the Princess Daughter and Feckless Rogue announced they would get us tickets for "Motown because that's your era, all that old music", all we had to do was pick a date that suited us. Last week princess flounced in and handed me the tickets for Othello saying we obviously weren't that keen on popular music and dancing and that homicidal domestic tragedy was more in keeping with my outlook on life. So, we're sitting front and centre looking down on the plebs in the pit. I shall insist that Mrs Pip calls me FES for the evening.


RDW, I am assuming you would have Tonks, Visser, Gilchrist and Henners from that team?

Jackson at full back Whatever next?


p.s. I was looking at an old Wales v Scotland programme last night: G-Dog and Schlong in the centres Schiz and Bru could have played on the wings for all the ball they'd see. Just to rub it in Shane Williams gave a masterclass that day.

You confusing me for Biggee again?

Sorry Admin Boy, it's my advanced years.

Brown, Gilchrist, Denton and Horne

and none of them would be definite starters.

BigGee wrote:Brown, Gilchrist, Denton and Horne

and none of them would be definite starters.

Presumably in order of size.