20th Gathering of Edinburgh and Glasgow Discussion

by Hazel Sapling Mon 04 Jun 2018, 11:19 am

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)

by bsando Sun 02 Sep 2018, 9:34 pm

Duncan Weir nearly snatched win over Wasps but his drop goal attempt went wide apparently. Good to see lots of Scottish internationals getting game time this weekend or their respective clubs. Poor Du Preez picked up a nasty injury though by looks of it.

by **BigGee** Sun 02 Sep 2018, 10:14 pm

bsando wrote:Duncan Weir nearly snatched win over Wasps but his drop goal attempt went wide apparently. Good to see lots of Scottish internationals getting game time this weekend or their respective clubs. Poor Du Preez picked up a nasty injury though by looks of it.

CDP fractured his larynx apparently and is in hospital awaiting further surgery. That sounds just awful, poor guy has had no luck with bad injuries.

by **RDW** Sun 02 Sep 2018, 10:32 pm

That's an awful injury. Hard to tell what this means for his future as it's such a freak injury. First and foremost it is something he can physically recover from never mind the rugby.

by funnyExiledScot Sun 02 Sep 2018, 10:37 pm

Saw the highlights and Weir had a decent game.

Just watched the Glasgow game as well. Hogg is a proper leader now, and the Horne/Hastings combo really does have great potential. Great character from Glasgow to win that, but then again, it's the people that make Glasgow....yawn...

by **George Carlin** Mon 03 Sep 2018, 9:06 am

funnyExiledScot wrote:Saw the highlights and Weir had a decent game.

Just watched the Glasgow game as well. Hogg is a proper leader now, and the Horne/Hastings combo really does have great potential. Great character from Glasgow to win that, but then again, it's the people that make Glasgow....yawn...

20th Gathering of Edinburgh and Glasgow Discussion - Page 16 Uncle_10

by jimbopip Mon 03 Sep 2018, 4:42 pm

OK lads, not quite sure how to put this. here are the salient facts.

1) princess daughter has no, none , zero, zip, interest in rugby.

2) Princess daughter and the Feckless Rogue are expecting a baby.

3) Today they found out it is a boy.

Her short list, of three, possible names; Zander, Jackson and Sebastian. Shocked

Is Seabass about to sign for The Once And Future Champions and end our search for a big ball carrying back row?

by EWT Spoons Mon 03 Sep 2018, 4:45 pm

Congratulations Jimbo, is this going to be your first grandchild?

Can I maybe suggest Chunk as a possible name? Sure the bullying and name calling will be tough at first but in time.....

by **RDW** Mon 03 Sep 2018, 4:46 pm

Has Feckless Rogue disappeared never to be seen again, likely buried in a remote forest somewhere? Whistle

p.s. on congrats on being a grandpa - I'm sure you'll have plenty wisdom to impart on young Nikola

by jimbopip Mon 03 Sep 2018, 5:06 pm

EWT, yes it he is the first. Chunk could be a most fitting sobriquet: certainly better than Thor, which is what Feckless wants to name him.

RDW, sadly MrsPip has confiscated the shovel after the sudden disappearance of the window cleaner. I still miss him, herself has no head for heights and needs "encouragement" to get out on the sill and the neighbours are begin to complain about the screaming.

by **RDW** Tue 04 Sep 2018, 8:28 am

Bradbury has returned to fitness and is playing for Melrose this weekend, which is good news..

Barclay aside Edinburgh should pretty much have a fully fit squad to pick from soon - Luke Crosbie isn't too far away either.

Someone want to get some match threads on the go?

by EWT Spoons Tue 04 Sep 2018, 9:28 am

RDW_Scotland wrote:Bradbury has returned to fitness and is playing for Melrose this weekend, which is good news..

Barclay aside Edinburgh should pretty much have a fully fit squad to pick from soon - Luke Crosbie isn't too far away either.

Someone want to get some match threads on the go?

Go on then

https://www.606v2.com/t67910-ulster-vs-edinburgh-pro14-7th-aug

by jimbopip Tue 04 Sep 2018, 7:08 pm

EWT Spoons wrote:
RDW_Scotland wrote:Bradbury has returned to fitness and is playing for Melrose this weekend, which is good news..

Barclay aside Edinburgh should pretty much have a fully fit squad to pick from soon - Luke Crosbie isn't too far away either.

Someone want to get some match threads on the go?

Go on then

https://www.606v2.com/t67910-ulster-vs-edinburgh-pro14-7th-aug

https://www.606v2.com/t67914-glasgow-v-munster-scotstoun-friday-7th-september for an unbalanced view.

by **RDW** Wed 05 Sep 2018, 9:34 pm

Duncan Taylor has been ruled out for a long period of time with an ACL injury.

Poor guy - he's barely played in two seasons. It's a long road back again - hope this isn't the one that makes him think enough is enough.

by **BigGee** Wed 05 Sep 2018, 9:40 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:Duncan Taylor has been ruled out for a long period of time with an ACL injury.

Poor guy - he's barely played in two seasons. It's a long road back again - hope this isn't the one that makes him think enough is enough.

Some players really seem to have no luck at all. Hope he manages to pull it back again, he should really have so many more caps than he has and be a shoe in at 12 for the next WC.

by **BigGee** Thu 06 Sep 2018, 8:26 am

Just to say guys, I had some good news overnight, waking up to find out that I had reached my fundraising target of £3000 for Bowel Cancer UK, it will actually be over £3500 with the addition of all the gift aid donations.

http://uk.virginmomeygiving.com/GrahameDick

My cousin in Canada, who is a bowel cancer survivor, made the donation to get me over the line. That was kind of nice and very appropriate

Thanks once again for everyone's support with this project. I am about to put it to bed now and I am beyond delighted at how it has gone.

by TheMildlyFranticLlama Thu 06 Sep 2018, 9:02 am

Great work BigGee, you should be very proud of that effort. When does the next monstrous cycle effort start? Very Happy

by **BigGee** Thu 06 Sep 2018, 9:13 am

TheMildlyFranticLlama wrote:Great work BigGee, you should be very proud of that effort. When does the next monstrous cycle effort start?

Nothing planned at the moment, but hopefully there will be some more adventures on two wheels!

by bsando Thu 06 Sep 2018, 11:06 am

What a shame about Taylor, I was really hoping he'd work his way back this season. Just hope he makes it through this new injury and doesn't call it a day quite yet.

by **BigGee** Mon 10 Sep 2018, 11:02 pm

Mark Bennett ruptured his hamstring in the match against Ulster.

No full prognosis yet, but Cockerill talking about being out until the New Year. He really has had no luck with injuries at all. It is really strange how some players are unluckier than others in that respect.

Hope he makes a good recovery in the new year.

by **RDW** Tue 11 Sep 2018, 7:17 am

'ruptured' is never a good word when it comes to injuries.

I wonder if this means we'll see more of Matt Scott (12) at 13:now - JJ's our only natural 13 left with Socino and Dean more 12s.

by EST Tue 11 Sep 2018, 10:10 am

I've always been impressed with JJ, he was brilliant for the 7's and for my money has outperformed Bennett while at Edinburgh.

by **BigGee** Tue 11 Sep 2018, 2:10 pm

So the SFA chose Hampden over Murrayfield, no great surprise there to be honest. They are going to buy it from Queens Park and some benefactor is stumping up half of the cash for that.

Still not very clear how they might raise the funds to bring it up to the standards of a 21st century stadium, but I guess that is another discussion and one I am not to bothered about.

by **RDW** Tue 11 Sep 2018, 3:23 pm

Now that the decision has been made, from a purely selfish rugby PoV I am actually quite pleased with this decision. I’m sure it would have led to more income from the SRU – they wouldn’t have been so keen for it otherwise – but also would have come with a lot of disruption and distraction as a business.

We certainly need to make more money as a business but I’m not sure that would have been best served getting into bed with Scottish football – especially given the basket case that the SFA is. Things are going very well for rugby in Scotland just now and a change of this magnitude could have led to problems down the line.

It's not good news for Scotland football fans – the SFA have taken the easy option but there’s still a lot of major issues to resolve!

by **BigGee** Tue 11 Sep 2018, 7:06 pm

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/45489635

Promising chat from Dave Rennie about the prospect of Hoggy staying in Scotland at the end of his contract. Hard to imagine he would be going public like this without some promising noises from Hoggs camp.

He is certainly one of the payers the SRU really will open the cheque book for (the other probably being Johnny Gray), which may or may not get us into the ball park. He will certainly make very decent money if he stays, though less than if he does go. He is also young enough to defer his decision for another couple of years if he fancies.

Who knows how it will pan out, but you have to be encouraged by this chat!

by **BigGee** Tue 11 Sep 2018, 8:00 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:Now that the decision has been made, from a purely selfish rugby PoV I am actually quite pleased with this decision. I’m sure it would have led to more income from the SRU – they wouldn’t have been so keen for it otherwise – but also would have come with a lot of disruption and distraction as a business.

We certainly need to make more money as a business but I’m not sure that would have been best served getting into bed with Scottish football – especially given the basket case that the SFA is. Things are going very well for rugby in Scotland just now and a change of this magnitude could have led to problems down the line.

It's not good news for Scotland football fans – the SFA have taken the easy option but there’s still a lot of major issues to resolve!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45491134

The Tom English take on it. Pretty close to the mark!

by **RDW** Wed 12 Sep 2018, 8:25 am

Any match thread taker? Might as well just do a Glasgow one covering the SA tour.

by **BigGee** Wed 12 Sep 2018, 8:57 am

https://www.606v2.com/t67937-glasgow-warriors-tour-to-south-africa-15-and-22-september#3733692

It was on my agenda to do this today in any case!

by **BigGee** Wed 12 Sep 2018, 7:06 pm

Duncan Taylor confirmed with ruptured anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments in his knee.

He will miss the whole season, though will potentially be back for the WC warm ups.

That is an absolute gutter!

by **RDW** Wed 12 Sep 2018, 7:18 pm

Ooft that's s bad one - not sure how someone copes with that mentally after so many injuries. I wonder how it will affect his Saracens future too, although I'm not sure when his contract expires.

Still, being paid a big wage to spend an entire season doing rehab isn't the worst way to earn a living!

by **RDW** Thu 13 Sep 2018, 12:07 pm

https://www.606v2.com/t67944-edinburgh-v-connacht#3733952

by **RDW** Thu 13 Sep 2018, 7:11 pm

CDP is making good progress appatently but is going to be in hospital for several more weeks - sounds like a horrific injury. I'd be amazed if he returns to rugby after this.

http://warriors.co.uk/2018/09/13/club-statement-cornell-du-preez/

by **BigGee** Thu 13 Sep 2018, 8:58 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:CDP is making good progress appatently but is going to be in hospital for several more weeks - sounds like a horrific injury. I'd be amazed if he returns to rugby after this.

http://warriors.co.uk/2018/09/13/club-statement-cornell-du-preez/

Very nasty. They must have some concerns about his airway if they are keeping him in hospital for that length of time.

He may well make a full physical recovery but whether he will ever get over it psychologically is another matter. He certainly is a tough guy though, so hope we see him back playing next season.

by funnyExiledScot Thu 13 Sep 2018, 10:30 pm

It's been a pretty rough week or two on the injury front, with Du Preez (in particular), Taylor and Bennett picking up nasty ones. That's three players who'd have accumulated 50 caps in the 2000s without breaking sweat. Got to wish them all the very best.

by bsando Fri 14 Sep 2018, 6:54 am

Yes according to the guardian Du Preez can't talk and will be in hospital for 4 more weeks as he recovers. From the article. It seems like he's in good spirits despite the awful nature of the injury and he's had a lot of support from the wider rugby community. Sure he'll come back to rugby in time if all goes well with his recovery, he's stil only 27.

by **RDW** Fri 14 Sep 2018, 8:26 am

Mark Bennett confirmed as needing surgery on his hamstring and will be out for 3-4 months.

by **George Carlin** Fri 14 Sep 2018, 9:53 am

CDP's injury sounds completely freakish - never heard of anything like this.

Presumably you can wear some sort of bespoke protection.

On an unrelated note, I weighed myself at the doctor for the first time in 2 years and apparently I'm nearly 18 stones. I am 6'3" but that's still very much Not Okay. So it's time to either diet or remove a leg. 18 stones is 2 x GLoves.

by jimbopip Fri 14 Sep 2018, 10:45 am

George Carlin wrote:CDP's injury sounds completely freakish - never heard of anything like this.

Presumably you can wear some sort of bespoke protection.

On an unrelated note, I weighed myself at the doctor for the first time in 2 years and apparently I'm nearly 18 stones. I am 6'3" but that's still very much Not Okay. So it's time to either diet or remove a leg. 18 stones is 2 x GLoves.

it's also four Bru's. Whistle

Half a Chunk.

Or three quarters of a Shrek.

by takethelongroad Sat 15 Sep 2018, 1:22 am

GC, if memory serves, Aurèlien Rougerie had a similar injury some years back. Nerve damage is one of the big worries after the airway has been made safe. The recurrent laryngeal nerve is one of the so-called ‘’million dollar’ nerves that if i rogered during an operation could generate a large compensation payout - it controls the vocal cords. I hope that this is not the case for CDP, a bad injury to hear about for sure. Thoughts are with him and his family.

by **BigGee** Sat 15 Sep 2018, 5:37 am

George Carlin wrote:CDP's injury sounds completely freakish - never heard of anything like this.

Presumably you can wear some sort of bespoke protection.

On an unrelated note, I weighed myself at the doctor for the first time in 2 years and apparently I'm nearly 18 stones. I am 6'3" but that's still very much Not Okay. So it's time to either diet or remove a leg. 18 stones is 2 x GLoves.

Have you considered taking up cycling?

by funnyExiledScot Sat 15 Sep 2018, 9:22 am

I hear you GC. I've started walking to work, swimming and trying to be less of an alcoholic!!

Who knew sitting at a computer all day eating biscuits wasn't good for you...

by jimbopip Sat 15 Sep 2018, 9:49 am

BigGee wrote:
George Carlin wrote:CDP's injury sounds completely freakish - never heard of anything like this.

Presumably you can wear some sort of bespoke protection.

On an unrelated note, I weighed myself at the doctor for the first time in 2 years and apparently I'm nearly 18 stones. I am 6'3" but that's still very much Not Okay. So it's time to either diet or remove a leg. 18 stones is 2 x GLoves.

Have you considered taking up cycling?

How can he cycle with one leg? He's not that kind of unicyclist.

by **George Carlin** Sat 15 Sep 2018, 8:30 pm

Cheetahs 24-52 Glasgow

Scoring 7 tries away from home at altitude against them Cheaters is nothing to be sniffed at. Can't wait to see the highlights.

by **RDW** Mon 17 Sep 2018, 1:24 pm

Anyone know much about this guy?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/45548491

Wouldn't surprise me to see him in the AI training squad knowing what Townsend it like.

by TheMildlyFranticLlama Mon 17 Sep 2018, 1:29 pm

I saw a bit of the Scarlets game this weekend and he was playing very well, causing all sorts of problems by running good support lines. Seemed to be thriving in the Scarlets free flowing style of play so would be right up Toonie’s street

by **BigGee** Mon 17 Sep 2018, 1:39 pm

He has actually been on the radar for a while, seemed to make no bones about his SQ credentials even before he came over from NZ. He has got a good pedigree, NZ u20s, Maoris etc but his career over there had been somewhat curtailed by a couple of bad injuries.

Kellock and Lee Byrne were waxing lyrical about him on the Pro 14 show last week, though interestingly neither seemed to have done their homework and both were talking about him being a great asset as he would be available to Scarlets for the whole season. The fact that Toonie is interested in him is no secret, some of the usual journos have been tweeting about it for a while ever since he arrived and now this has been dropped into the BBC, clearly no accident. Expect to see him in the squad for the AIs.

As a player he would certainly add something. He is a typical NZ back row and has all the basics and a bit of X factor thrown in, very quick around the pitch and a good set of hands, much better ball in hand than Denton or Hamilton and undoubtably a better rugby brain. I have seen two of the Scarlets games so far and he has played well in both.

With Barclay out and Hardie still not fit and looking like he might struggle to get back at all we are definitely short of a back row player. I am not sure if Matt fagerson will be quite ready for this WC.

by **George Carlin** Mon 17 Sep 2018, 1:53 pm

If he doesn't have hands like cold t!ts, I don't think it's accurate to describe him as a traditional Scottish loose forward.

by EST Mon 17 Sep 2018, 1:59 pm

BigGee is spot on in that summary, he was very well regarded in NZ I believe and was only really held back due to injuries - he has been very good for the Scarlets so far.

There is a big gap in our squad at eight, and he could be just the guy to step up to fill it:

6. Bradbury
7. Watson
8. Thompson

That looks very good indeed.

by IanBru Mon 17 Sep 2018, 2:52 pm

Blade Neville Thomson, eh? He certainly looks handy around the park and, as Señor Carlin has noted, his hands might be more useful than Tunnocks teacakes in the sun.

I'm always curious about these names though.
"Congratulations on your new baby, Mr Thompson, you must be delighted!"
"Cheers mate, it's a dream come true."
"What do you think you'll call him?"
"Blade."
"Oh right?"
"Yeah, something about looking into this little beautiful boy's eyes makes me think of stabbing folks with a rusty piece of metal."
"Well... quite. Any middle names?"
"Neville, for my wife's father."

by jimbopip Mon 17 Sep 2018, 4:38 pm

Ah Bru, you're showing your sheltered middle-class upbringing; what makes you think it was his father who chose his name? Most kiwi misses of my acquaintance would have happily chosen Blade as a warning to the father...come near me without a condom again and it'll be a big blade for you!

by **BigGee** Tue 18 Sep 2018, 8:56 am

Mark Bennett's injury seems to be a lot worse than originally thought. Cockers is saying it now looks like he will be out for 6 months, so no 6N for him. Pretty tough on him after all he has already been through. Hope he will get back for the end of the season and make a case for WC selection.

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