Glasgow and Edinburgh 21st Century Banter

First topic message reminder :

Something is going on this year

Both Glasgow and Edinburgh are playing quite well!

Is it a dream, am I imagining it, am I going to wake up in a cold sweat and find out that we are really cr*p again?

Someone please reassure me!!

You think? I can't imagine he'll be starting. He might be on the bench but he's not played in weeks so could do with a run out.

BigGee wrote:I don't know if they will get Graham back with Hoggy's injury. He will likely be involved against France.

I'm not sure if Graham will bench for Scotland.

Back three is quite likely to be Seymour McFumble and Maitland McKnockon with Kinghorn McDroppedball at 15. I can see Harris starting with Horne the Poopie on the bench to cover.

Would be great for Graham to get a game though, telling him to chase every single high ball or chip that is launched at the French backfield. Jonny May isnt exactly the biggest and he had a field day getting into the faces of Les Bleus.

tigertattie wrote:

BigGee wrote:I don't know if they will get Graham back with Hoggy's injury. He will likely be involved against France.

I'm not sure if Graham will bench for Scotland.

Back three is quite likely to be Seymour McFumble and Maitland McKnockon with Kinghorn McDroppedball at 15. I can see Harris starting with Horne the Poopie on the bench to cover.

Would be great for Graham to get a game though, telling him to chase every single high ball or chip that is launched at the French backfield. Jonny May isnt exactly the biggest and he had a field day getting into the faces of Les Bleus.

I can see Harris starting at 13 and Horne and Graham on the bench. I am not sure he would want to risk any injuries to the two of them bearing in mind who we have already lost, we start to get a bit thin in the back three as well if anyone else goes down. Graham deserves his shot and easing him into the 6N off the bench seems the best option for the future, just like they did for Blairhorn last year.

tigertattie wrote:

BigGee wrote:I don't know if they will get Graham back with Hoggy's injury. He will likely be involved against France.

I'm not sure if Graham will bench for Scotland.

Back three is quite likely to be Seymour McFumble and Maitland McKnockon with Kinghorn McDroppedball at 15. I can see Harris starting with Horne the Poopie on the bench to cover.

Laughed a lot at this. All characters from the Harry Potter universe.

Those are appropriate nicknames!

Can someone explain to me what Chris Harris does? He was utter rubbish against Edinburgh and his international career has been far from stellar.

I'm worried about France with the options we have, I really am. The big hope is that we can get some players back in time for the World Cup. Very few countries could cope with this volume of injuries.

funnyExiledScot wrote:Those are appropriate nicknames!

Can someone explain to me what Chris Harris does? He was utter rubbish against Edinburgh and his international career has been far from stellar.

I'm worried about France with the options we have, I really am. The big hope is that we can get some players back in time for the World Cup. Very few countries could cope with this volume of injuries.

I'm hoping that Toonie will announce a call-up to replace Huw Jones. Potentially Johnstone is in with a shout, especially if he plays well this weekend (that is, if he plays). Just annoying that it's too soon for Bennett. I hope he can re-re-capture his pre injury and post-post-injury form, although knowing previous injury record he'll be back for a re-enactment of Twickenham 2017 and we'll be bemoaning our luck at centre come the world cup.

I think Harris' future in a Scotland shirt is limited, I can more likely see Toonie calling up Grigg to start.

Don't know about that, he has stuck by Harris and he has not really done much wrong in his last couple of games off the bench.

I think he probably deserves another start and we can judge him a little bit more fairly after that.

I am not sure bringining in a completely new player like Johnson is the answer at this stage, Grigg would be the more likely option, at least he has some international experience.

The left field option, that you can never discount with Toonie though is a Horne/Johnson pairing, though neither are obvious 13s.

My money is on Harris though

I agree that Johnstone shouldn't start. Too raw and hasn't been involved.

Another Glasgow signing coming up this evening.

Any thoughts?

BigGee wrote:Another Glasgow signing coming up this evening.

Any thoughts?

Alex Dunbar?

Adam Ashe has signed a new two-year deal with Glasgow Warriors until 2021.

The backrower has made 66 appearances for the club since making his debut against the Ospreys in 2012.

He has scored 13 tries for the Warriors and is in Gregor Townsend’s Scotland squad for the Guinness Six Nations.

Ashe, who is a product of Hillfoots and Stirling County, came through Scottish Rugby’s Academy Programme, which was then known as the EDP Programme.

The 25-year-old is a former recipient of the John MacPhail Rugby Scholarship and made his Scotland debut against South Africa in 2014. He has six caps for his country.

Speaking to Glasgow Warriors Official Club Podcast, Warriors Weekly, Adam Ashe said: “I’m absolutely delighted. I’m really pleased to be staying here for another two years.

"It was an easy decision for me, I’ve been here for seven years now having come through the Academy, Glasgow Warriors is my second home.

“We’re a club that has a lot of ambition and wants to grow and develop and really inspire the community around us and I’m really pleased to be staying here to be a part of it.”

Glasgow Warriors Head Coach Dave Rennie added: “We’ve been really impressed with Ashy’s form this season. He’s a good man and we’re rapt that he’s staying put for another couple of years.

“He’s a great athlete, really dynamic and has all the attributes of a top back-row forward. He’s still a young man and we believe that his best years are still ahead of him.”

Adam Ashe, a frustrating player who has never really lived up to his early potential. Some of that may be injury related, he has been unlucky on that front but he has also been inconsistent, even when fit and gets a run in the team.

The potential is still there though and as DR says, his best years may still be to come. He needs to get on and show it though as the next generation is snapping away and will leave him behind if he does not become the player he could be on a more regular basis.

Robertson I the Daily Mail, who often has the inside track on the Scotland team, suggesting Hoggy will miss the rest of the 6N and maybe the season with his shoulder injury.

Not good news for Scotland or Glasgow if that is the case.

BigGee wrote:Another Glasgow signing coming up this evening.

Any thoughts?

At this rate, it's probably a contract for an on-call ambulance service.

I'm pleased Glasgow are taking a longer look at Ashe. All the ingredients for a fine number 8; certainly his handling skills are well beyond the likes of Strauss and Denton, and he carries well. Hopefully Rennie can coax more from him. Scotland does not have an embarrasment of riches at number 8.

funnyExiledScot wrote:I'm pleased Glasgow are taking a longer look at Ashe. All the ingredients for a fine number 8; certainly his handling skills are well beyond the likes of Strauss and Denton, and he carries well. Hopefully Rennie can coax more from him. Scotland does not have an embarrasment of riches at number 8.

They are, he just needs to work on his consistency. While some of that can be attributed to his run of injuries, he does have a tendency to drift in and out of games.

RDW wrote:Sounds like there's going to be a pretty strong Edinburgh team available for the Dragons on Friday - they've certainly got a lot to prove after the Kings shambles. There's no two ways about it - we need a BP win and to beat Treviso afterwards.

1 Schoeman
2 Cherry
3 Ceccarelli
4 McKenzie
5 Toolis
6 Bradbury
7 Crosbie
8 Mata

9 Pyrgos
10 VDW
11 VDM
12 Dean
13 JJ
14 Graham
15 Fife

Subs - Sutherland, Fenton, McCallum, CHH, Millar, Fowles, Hickey, Socino

Cockers being Cockers I'd put money on that being the exact team!

Dammit I was one off! Who would have thought Ford would start.

Scotland international back-row Magnus Bradbury returns from injury to feature for the first time in four months as Edinburgh face Dragons at BT Murrayfield in the Guinness PRO14 tomorrow evening (Friday 15 February, kick-off 7.35pm).

The four-times capped back-row is one of eight internationalists named in the starting XV as recent Scotland call-ups Darcy Graham, Chris Dean, Ben Toolis and Luke Crosbie are all released for the Guinness PRO14 encounter.

Henry Pyrgos captains the side which also sees winger and top try-scorer Duhan van der Merwe return to action after missing the match against Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth last month.

Ahead of the fixture, Head Coach Richard Cockerill, said: “The next block of matches are pivotal for us and we can’t afford to slip up. Everyone is extremely close at the top of Conference B, so we know the importance of this group of fixtures.

“It starts against Dragons tomorrow night. They are a tough, competitive side with plenty of attacking threats across the park. We’re determined to get back to winning ways and we’ll have to be at our best for the full 80 minutes tomorrow evening.”

Wing pairing Graham and Van der Merwe – who have scored 70 points between them so far this season – are joined in the back-three by capped fullback, Dougie Fife.

Recent Scotland call-up Dean is partnered in midfield by James Johnstone, who returns to outside centre after featuring on the wing against Southern Kings three-weeks ago.

South African stand-off Jaco van der Walt once again links-up with experienced scrum-half Henry Pyrgos at half-back.

The inclusion of Ross Ford – who makes his 200th Guinness PRO14 appearance – is the only alteration to an otherwise unchanged front-row as the hooker packs down alongside Pierre Schoeman and Italian international, Pietro Ceccarelli.

Lock, Toolis – who featured in Scotland’s opening Guinness Six Nations win over Italy two-weeks ago – partners Fraser McKenzie in the second-row, whilst returning blindside flanker Bradbury is named in the back-row alongside Crosbie and Fijian international No.8, Viliame Mata.



Edinburgh team to face Dragons at BT Murrayfield in the Guinness PRO14 on Friday 15 February (kick-off 7.35pm) – live on Premier Sports 2



15. Dougie Fife (120)



14. Darcy Graham (18)

13. James Johnstone (35)

12. Chris Dean (81)

11. Duhan van der Merwe (34)



10. Jaco van der Walt (32)

9. Henry Pyrgos (17) CAPTAIN



1. Pierre Schoeman (15)

2. Ross Ford (191)

3. Pietro Ceccarelli (7)

4. Fraser McKenzie (109)

5. Ben Toolis (103)

6. Magnus Bradbury (59)

7. Luke Crosbie (23)

8. Viliame Mata (53)



Replacements: 16. David Cherry (13); 17. Rory Sutherland (71); 18. Murray McCallum (47); 19. Callum Hunter-Hill (12); 20. Ally Miller (5); 21. Nathan Fowles (69); 22. Simon Hickey (15) 23. Juan Pablo Socino (14)



Unavailable due to injury: WP Nel; Lewis Carmichael; John Barclay; Senitiki Nayalo; Hamish Watson; Luke Hamilton; Matt Scott; Mark Bennett; Damien Hoyland

Unavailable due to international selection: Allan Dell; Simon Berghan; Stuart McInally; Grant Gilchrist; Jamie Ritchie; Blair Kinghorn

I expect Ross Ford may be a Scotland-initiated move, possibly thinking worst case scenario that both Brown and McInally get injured, I wouldn't be surprised if Toonie was in Cockerills ear about that one.

Otherwise looks like a pretty strong squad, should be a decent showing at home.

I am not a fan of Cockerill continuing to favour Ceccarelli over McCallum. There surely has to be something behind the scenes. McCallum is the next generation of tighthead to compete with Fagerson, Rae and Nicol, and was good last season.

It is a powerful side Edinburgh have picked, shame they did not catch a Leinster or Munster who will lose more players. That pack is good enough to compete in Europe, let alone during the international window.

Agreed Hazel, but apart from that it's a really strong team, particularly that back row. Should be too much for the Dragons.

Hopefully no more injuries!!

One thing no one has discussed if Ross Ford does end up getting called up for international duties. Can he hook these days?

He has to these days - it is a free kick if you don't!

RDW wrote:He has to these days - it is a free kick if you don't!

my point exactly!

RDW wrote:He has to these days - it is a free kick if you don't!

Hasn't the rule changed to that any of the front row can hook?

EWT Spoons wrote:

RDW wrote:He has to these days - it is a free kick if you don't!

Hasn't the rule changed to that any of the front row can hook?

Yeah but it'sbloody hard (and in my opinion dangerous) for a prop to try hook it. Props are there to keep the scrum up (well they are supposed to be).

In my playing days i've been known to slap the occasional hooker (ooooo Matron), from my own team that's failed to try and hook the ball, or worse, we had one teastain that went after it two footed and nearly brought the whole lot of us crashing down on him!

Some grim viewing at Murrayfield tonight. Edinburgh making a plethora of mistakes and Dragons winning.

Pyrgos having a shocker.

JJ, Schoooo and Crosbie only players really showing up.

It was 14 all so I switched over and its been utter baws ever since I did.

That was some foot-race! Knackered just watching that.

We could come third in this contest. Pyrgos is sooooooooooo slow.

Bring back Chris Leck...

Crowd cheering mistakes now proving money doesn't give you class.

Agreed. There are frustrations with the ref but that is not a reason to cheer Dragons mistakes.

Super Gav looking fantastic as always.

Luckily I'm not watching this - sounds truly awful.

It is. We may well win this game, somehow, but this is nothing to be proud of. So many poor performances.

Bradbury just put us in front. He's been solid. Slightly off the pace, unsurprisingly.

I'm not proud of myself, but I did just cheer that Henson knock on. Sorry Eejit....

Duhan has just won us the game most likely. Awesome individual effort. We have NOT clicked today, and are lucky to be looking at 5 points.

Cheering a Henson boo boo is entirely acceptable

Graham has just knocked over a defender on the run. He is a proper livewire this lad. A bit like Jonny May, only not picked to play for his country....

Dragons don't deserve this scoreline, but some nice hands for the last try.

Also noticed hickey still hadn't come on even when we're comfortably ahead - whats going on with him??

I don't know. VDW had a mixed game as well. I thought Hickey would have made a shrewd sub. Something not quite right there.

Bradbury given MOTM but although a candidate I think that was overly generous. The best forwards were Schoooooo and Toolis, with Crosbie also busy. JJ and Duhan were excellent in the backs.

Ford and McKenzie were anonymous, and Mata had a mixed bag. Pyrgos had a poor game, and VDW was also mixed. Dean was solid, although threw a silly intercept which cost 7 points.

https://theoffsideline.com/cardiff-v-glasgow-rennie-back-zander-fagerson-for-scotland/

Glasgow injury situation should improve quite quickly hopefully.

Flockhart and Fusaro back next week and Matt Fagerson the week after, hopefully we will be back near full strength for the sarries game at the end of march.

Bradbury was everywhere last night. I do think his motm was partially because he was just back from injury, but he covered nearly every blade of grass and put in some massive hits and carries.

Will have helped his Scotland chances greatly.

Result looks healthy but it sounds like we made hard work of it! Will need to give it a watch later on.

Glad to hear Bradbury went well, I imagine he’s had an eye on how well Jamie Ritchie has been playing recently and realises that the bar has been set pretty high!

I thought Bradbury started quite slowly, but really grew into the game, and in the second half, he was everywhere. Given that was where Edinburgh won the game, the MOM call isn't ridiculous. Anyway, great to see him get 80 minutes under his belt with seemingly no ill effects (though I bet he'll be stiff and sore this morning ). Given Scotland's current injury woes in the backrow, I wouldn't be completely surprised to see Toonie at least call him into the training squad to have a look at him this week. If by some miracle Scotland have all their backrowers fit for the WC, Toonie will have some difficult decisions to make: Ritchie, Wilson and Strauss have showed up well in the 6N, Watson's a cert, and you have the likes of Barclay, Bradbury, Fagerson waiting to come back from injury.

Thought Toolis also had a very decent game. Plenty of carries, and some nice deft passes on the gainline allowed Edinburgh to get on the front foot.

D'arcy Graham also had a useful outing, picked some great lines and came in looking for work. Also remarkably strong at bouncing tacklers off him for such a wee b*gger. If we take Hogg, Blairhorn, Seymour and Maitland as a given, there's probably one back 3 spot up for grabs for the WC, so hope Toonie gives him a chance at least off the bench against France to see what he can do.