Ireland vs Scotland 6 Nations - Saturday 1st February 2020 - Match Thread

[Tramptastic]

First topic message reminder :

IRELAND V SCOTLAND

1st of February 2020 16:45 Kick off

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant 1: Pascal Gauzere (France)
Assistant 2: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

Ireland: 15 Jordan Larmour, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jonathan Sexton (c), 9 Conor Murray, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 CJ Stander, 5 James Ryan, 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Peter O’Mahony, 21 John Cooney, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Robbie Henshaw

Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg (c), 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Blair Kinghorn, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ali Price, 8 Nick Haining, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Ben Toolis, 20 Cornell du Preez, 21 George Horne, 22 Rory Hutchinson, 23 Chris Harris

Perennial World Cup Quarter Finalists vs A Team With No Clear Strategy That Doesn't Currently Play To It's Strengths, Please Come Back Vern

Historical head to head data is useless as Scotland won for the 1st hundred years but Ireland have been dead good since the year 2000, except in 2010 at Croke Park which tells you Dan Parks is the finest rugby player Scotland has ever poached from Australia.

New head coach for Ireland in Farrell vs Townsend with new back room staff

Captain Sexton vs Captain Hogg - Eurgh, there's going to be so much moaning at the ref.

I'm looking forward to seeing a healthy amount of abuse in the thread below, please enjoy.

[RDW]

THink you're right Spoons, although I think/hope Cummings starts as that's a much better balance in the locks.

[EWT Spoons]

i was close

[RDW]

Edinburgh number 8 Nick Haining will make his Test debut in a new-look Scotland side named to face Ireland in the opening round of the 2020 Guinness Six Nations in Dublin (kick-off 4.45pm) – live on ITV / STV.
Their hosts have lost just one Test in the championship at home in the past five years – winning the tournament twice (2015 and 2018) in that time.
The fact that Scotland’s last win on Irish soil came some ten years ago underscores the magnitude of the task ahead with the opening defeat in the Rugby World Cup 2019 still fresh in the mind for many.
Scotland Head Coach, Gregor Townsend, said:

“We have managed to cover a lot of work in the two weeks we’ve been together and we’ve been impressed with how our players have taken on information and bonded as a team.

"Our goal is always to play to our potential. The challenge to do this starts on Saturday against Ireland.
“Playing to our potential starts with our collective mindset. That means being alert, focussed and resilient right from the beginning, to be ready for the physical battle that lies ahead and able to stay in the fight throughout the 80 minutes.

“We must be a relentless collective on the pitch and a nightmare for the Irish to deal with, while having the ability and awareness to impose our game at that intensity."

“As coaches, we put frameworks together and create an environment for them to thrive and reach their potential but ultimately it’s the players who go out and deliver.
"We’re looking forward to seeing them play in Dublin.”

Scotland selection

Number 8 Nick Haining at the squad's camp in Spain

There are ten changes to the starting side that faced Japan in Scotland’s final match of the Rugby World Cup, split evenly between the forwards and backs.
The pack features a Test debut for number 8 Nick Haining, who anchors an all-Edinburgh back-row with fit-again openside Hamish Watson back in the side with returning blindside Jamie Ritchie. Magnus Bradbury misses out with a thigh strain.
Glasgow Warriors lock Scott Cummings earns the chance to start his championship debut alongside clubmate and second-row stalwart Jonny Gray.
Hooker Fraser Brown retains his place at the centre of the front-row and is flanked by in-form props Zander Fagerson and Rory Sutherland, the latter featuring for the first time since the 2016 summer tour.
Captain Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs) and Glasgow Warriors centre Sam Johnson are the only players retained in a back division that sees Glasgow scrum-half Ali Price and Saracens wing Sean Maitland start in place of recent international retirees Greig Laidlaw and Tommy Seymour.

Glasgow Warriors half-backs Ali Price and Adam Hastings will link up for Scotland

Stand-off Adam Hastings has been handed the keys to number 10 for his first championship start alongside fellow Warrior, Price, with the returning outside-centre Huw Jones – alongside Johnson in midfield – adding further familiarity to the back division from the Scotstoun club.
Edinburgh back Blair Kinghorn starts in place of injured winger Darcy Graham (knee) to complete the back-three with Hogg and Maitland.
On the bench, Worcester Warriors back-row Cornell du Preez could complete an impressive return from the larynx injury he sustained representing his club in September 2018, if called upon from the bench.

​Scotland team to play Ireland in Dublin

Saturday 1 February (kick-off 4.45pm) – live on ITV / STV

15. Stuart Hogg CAPTAIN (Exeter Chiefs) – 72 caps

14. Sean Maitland (Saracens) – 44 caps
13. Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors) – 23 caps
12. Sam Johnson (Glasgow Warriors) – 9 caps
11. Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh) – 17 caps

10. Adam Hastings (Glasgow Warriors) – 16 caps
9. Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) – 28 caps

1. Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh) – 3 caps
2. Fraser Brown VICE CAPTAIN (Glasgow Warriors) – 46 caps
3. Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) – 25 caps
4. Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors) – 8 caps
5. Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors) – 55 caps
6. Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh) – 14 caps
7. Hamish Watson (Edinburgh) – 28 caps
8. Nick Haining (Edinburgh) – uncapped

Substitutes:
16. Stuart McInally (Edinburgh) – 33 caps
17. Allan Dell (London Irish) – 28 caps
18. Simon Berghan (Edinburgh) – 24 caps
19. Ben Toolis (Edinburgh) – 22 caps
20. Cornell du Preez (Worcester Warriors) – 6 caps
21. George Horne (Glasgow Warriors) – 10 caps
22. Rory Hutchinson (Northampton Saints) – 3 caps
23. Chris Harris (Gloucester) – 14 caps

[123456789.]

Team’s up:

1. Sutherland
2. Brown
3. Fagerson
4. Cummings
5. Gray
6. Ritchie
7. Watson
8. Haining
9. Price
10. Hastings
11. Kinghorn
12. Johnson
13. Jones
14. Maitland
15. Hogg

16. MacInally
17. Dell
18. Berghan
19. Toolis
20. Du Preez
21. Horne
22. Hutchinson
23. Harris

[RDW]

Big calls:

Sutherland starting - not much in it
Brown starting - good call
Fagerson starting - good call
Cummings Gray - good call
Haining starting - exciting call (Bradbury injured apparently)
Price over Horne - probably fair
SJ/Jones - good call without Russell
Berghan over Nel - the form choice
Toolis over Gilchrist - surprising but Gray won't be subbed off unless injured so makes sense
No Matt Scott - probably reasonable given the other decisions

All and all the happiest team selection we've had for a while??

[NeilyBroon]

Credit where credit's due, this is a great selection by Toonie. Whatever feelings i have about him as coach he seems to have pulled it out of the bag and changed tack somewhat, so fair play. I hope they go out and do themselves proud. A good performance is the bare minimum, it'd be nice if we compete the whole 80 minutes and this isnt just an ireland gimme. I think Toolis for his deficiencies as a starter makes a good impact sub. The rest of the bench looks decent. I would have put crosbie ahead of cdp but tbf thats a close call anyway

[SecretFly]

".... a nightmare for the Irish to deal with..... "

Yup.  Them's fightin' words, sure enough.

So Scotland wants to join the list of England, New Zealand, Wales and Japan who have manshamed us in recent times and whooped our asses plenty good.

Why don't anyone just want to simply beat us no more????

[Hazel Sapling]

Weird to see four of the front five are from Glasgow before swapping to Edinburgh with the subs. Back-row entirely Edinburgh. Edinburgh only offer one player in the backs with the rest mainly having started at Glasgow which is as expected.

Toolis is a surprise on the bench but is probably the right call to try to counteract Toner at the line-out. I suspect Skinner will either come in for England or after the break against Italy for the bench spot. Toolis is going to need to play a good game to keep that spot.

Bradbury's fall from grace must be a real kick in the teeth after being ignored for the RWC and coming in to play well. I thought at worst he would be great for a bench spot (Edit: someone saying he picked up an injury? If that is a case, hopefully we get him back quick). Haining is a big boy in his own right (Wiki is saying 6'4, 116kg) and should balance the back-row.

Hopefully PDV as scrum coach shows some dividends as Du Plessis seems to have done decent work at Glasgow, especially with Z Fagerson. There is no shortage of size in the front five compared to the Irish and yet we always seem underpowered. Berghan over Nel is a strange call for me as he has not torn up trees in the league and Nel has been solid as a scrummager for a while.

Sums up our lack of wings that our wing cover will be a centre specifically picked to be a wing and our starting wings both prefer to be FB's.

[NeilyBroon]

Well it'd either be harris or an uncapped centre-come-wing or a winger who hasnt had much time with glasgow and is also uncapped. On reflection Harris is the best bench cover we could muster for this game tbh. It does highlight our need for new wingers to come through quickly. Hopefully itll be blain in the next couple of years, he's got great mentors in Darcy and Blair at edinburgh.

I'd say Maitland is a wing who can cover fb very well rather than primarily a fb. Blair kinghorn is very good on the wing too although agree hes more a fullback.

[123456789.]

Really decent side. In December I got the “this is our year” feeling despite all indications to the contrary. Russellgate allowed me to give up hope. Townsend’s messing us about here. If he had any sense of compassion he’d have called up Pete Horne at 12, stuck Harris at 13 etc.

[Tramptastic]

".... a nightmare for the Irish to deal with..... "

Yup.  Them's fightin' words, sure enough.

So Scotland wants to join the list of England, New Zealand, Wales and Japan who have manshamed us in recent times and whooped our asses plenty good.

Why don't anyone just want to simply beat us no more????

We live in impolite times

[BigGee]

Well the Glasgow Toonie has shown up with that selection, he kept everyone guessing and more surprisingly, seems to have kept everyone happy.

He has put great faith in a few players here, who will hopefully appreciate their chances and take them with both hands.

I am certainly happy, probably is as good as we can get out for this game.

[bsando]

Bradbury has a things injury apparently

[RDW]

I kind of hoped Bradbury had just been dropped. He needs a boot up the arse.

We also need him for France and England IMO - that backrow won't work so well against their beasts.

[BigGee]

I kind of hoped Bradbury had just been dropped. He needs a boot up the arse.

We also need him for France and England IMO - that backrow won't work so well against their beasts.

The injury probably came at the right time for him, he will now have to work hard to get back in the team, especially if CDP and Haining play well.

[Tramptastic]

Im really glad Sutherland has been given a chance to start, it's a shame he doesnt get more game time at Edinburgh but this might be a tournament where he shows to Cockerill what he can bring at the highest level.

If Skinner and R.Gray were fit and on the bench I'd be overjoyed!

[BigGee]

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/i-understand-the-criticism-there-is-a-very-proud-patriotism-here-aussie-nick-haining-on-targeting-test-rugby-with-scotland/

Nick Haining story from earlier in the season if anyone missed it.

[EWT Spoons]

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/i-understand-the-criticism-there-is-a-very-proud-patriotism-here-aussie-nick-haining-on-targeting-test-rugby-with-scotland/

Nick Haining story from earlier in the season if anyone missed it.

Think at the time I suggested it was fanciful and unlikely to happen....shows what I know.

[BigGee]

Well, I am pretty sure that one of him or CDP would not have been in the squad if Matt Fagerson had been fit.

Sometimes though, it is just about getting and taking your opportunities. There are a lot of good players out there who never got a chance to play international rugby.

[EWT Spoons]

Well, I am pretty sure that one of him or CDP would not have been in the squad if Matt Fagerson had been fit.

Sometimes though, it is just about getting and taking your opportunities. There are a lot of good players out there who never got a chance to play international rugby.

I think had Bradbury not been injured Haining would have dropped out. CDP can cover the BR so a useful bench option regardless. No idea what would have happened if M. Fagerson and Bradbury been fit, I guess one of them would have taken CDP's bench spot.

[jimbopip]

I would have liked to have seen Seaman in there somewhere.

Also, in politics people often say that a budget that looks good in Spring usually proves very unpopular by Autumn, and one that looks good in Autumn usually proves very unpopular by Spring.

Toonie's selection is meeting with pretty much universal approval on here on Thursday; Saturday evening may tell a different story.

[Pot Hale]

Right - so it looks like this will be a 50/50 match after all - on enthusiasm and positivity anyway.

Not a chance that Ireland can claim to be the underdog for this one, so we'll have to see if Farrell can get them to cope with being overdogs again which never seems to sit well with Ireland.

All of the 25 bookies in Oddschecker have Ireland in 2nd spot behind England, yet the pundits seem favour both France and Wales ahead of Ireland, which I'd agree with. So is this match a battle for 4th or 5th spot? Or do the bookies know something that the rest of us don't?

[cakeordeath]

Bradbury has a things injury apparently

Sounds nasty, I had a things injury once couldn't walk for at least 15 minutes.

This is a good looking team, and I am glad Haining has been selected. It's actually given me a little bit of hope that, with a "favourable wind/bounce of the ball/ref understanding the breakdown" we might just might sneak a 1 point victory. Although as many Scottish fans on here know; it's the hope which kills you!

[RDW]

Right - so it looks like this will be a 50/50 match after all - on enthusiasm and positivity anyway.

Not a chance that Ireland can claim to be the underdog for this one, so we'll have to see if Farrell can get them to cope with being overdogs again which never seems to sit well with Ireland.

All of the 25 bookies in Oddschecker have Ireland in 2nd spot behind England, yet the pundits seem favour both France and Wales ahead of Ireland, which I'd agree with.   So is this match a battle for 4th or 5th spot?    Or do the bookies know something that the rest of us don't?  

Ah come on now none of this trying to reduce your chances of winning - Scotland haven't won in Dublin in 10 years. We're significant underdogs here and that's how we like it!

Don't mistake enthusiasm for our team selection with confidence that we're going to win....

[lostinwales]

Bradbury has a things injury apparently

[EWT Spoons]

Before I start, I still think we’ll lose, Ireland are a good team, with better players and are at home. If we win it will absolutely be an upset.

So now that caveat is out the way, I’m pretty happy with this team, obviously there are players I would have liked to see in there (Darcy, Finn, Scott) but injuries and other circumstances have ruled them out.

One of the issues we’ve had in the past is the lack of big ball carriers, Hanning, Sutherland, Cummings, Fagerson have all shown they are capable of doing this. Whether they can do it internationally is another thing mind you, but on paper they should be able to rumble forward with the ball. Which is a nice change from previous tournaments.

I’m not 100% on Johnson who I think on his day can be brilliant, but other times can be so so, but having a Glasgow 9-13 makes a fair amount of sense, so it would be a minor quibble.

Overall, pretty happy with this team.

[Tramptastic]

Well it's the week of Brexit so time for the UK teams to give those jonny Foreigners in Europe a sound thrashing

Scotland to beat Ireland
Wales to beat Italy
England to beat France

For the glory of the united kingdom, Huzzah...

But in all reality expect to see our celtic republican cousins to give us a kick in the crotch

Ireland 24 Scotland 12 (16-12 with 10 minutes to go, penalty to take it to 19-12 followed by an immediate give away at the restart, unconverted try in the corner, 24-12).

Edit: just to clarify if the sarcasm wasn't evident enough, I'm not a brexiteer.

[bsando]

Bradbury has a things injury apparently

Sounds nasty, I had a things injury once couldn't walk for at least 15 minutes.

This is a good looking team, and I am glad Haining has been selected. It's actually given me a little bit of hope that, with a "favourable wind/bounce of the ball/ref understanding the breakdown" we might just might sneak a 1 point victory. Although as many Scottish fans on here know; it's the hope which kills you!

You take of your things now boy

[bsando]

My only qualm is Horne not starting.

Hutchinson on the bench as 10 cover is interesting. If Hastings gets injured early it’ll be a really strange match with Hutchinson pulling the strings.

Big chance for Haining now, we’ve been calling out for an effective 8 since Denton so hopefully he’ll go well.

[BigGee]

Edit: just to clarify if the sarcasm wasn't evident enough, I'm not a brexiteer.

They are a bit like Tories in the 1980s, no-one will ever admit to being one, even more so if things all start to go belly up!

[BigGee]

Big chance for Haining now, we’ve been calling out for an effective 8 since Denton so hopefully he’ll go well.

and Haining can pass as well!

[tigertattie]

My only qualm is Horne not starting.

Hutchinson on the bench as 10 cover is interesting. If Hastings gets injured early it’ll be a really strange match with Hutchinson pulling the strings.

Big chance for Haining now, we’ve been calling out for an effective 8 since Denton so hopefully he’ll go well.

It worries me that we have no proper 10 cover. It really does.

If hastings goes down I'd see Toonie doing a shuffle across the whole backline with Hogg going into 10 (he did for the lions mind, even though it was poo), Blarihorn moved to 15 and harris or Hutch put onto the wing

[Tramptastic]

Did George Horne play 10 at age grade level? I thought he was only recently converted to 9?

Hutchinson spoke about playing there in training, both him and Hogg often fill in at 10 for their respective teams during certain passages of play. It'll be squeeky bum time if it comes to that but I suspect it already is squeaky bum time!

[BigGee]

I think it was pretty clear from the interview with Hutchy that he will be providing the FH cover.

He played their at u20s level, prior to Hastings coming along and he moves around the back line at Saints, including coming into first receiver inside Biggar at times. He has also got a decent boot on him.

Hopefully Hastings will played the whole game, but Hutchy will get us through if he is needed.

[EST]

Given the circumstances, I think that's the best team we can put out. Interested in how Haining plays, I have to admit I've barely seen him, but he certainly seems to have made a good impression and he is a big lad.

Toonie goning with a with a more attacking threat in midfield is a real sign he has taken on board some of the criticism, been really impressed with Jones on this run of games he has had - has looked really solid with flashes of the old attacking brilliance.

Good to see Sutherland there, before his horror injury he was the coming man - let's hope he puts in a good shift...might even persuade Cockers to play him a bit more.

Overall I can't see any way that team wins this game, the Ireland squad is considerably better in almost every position, but I really hope we put in a decent shift unlike some of our recent and relatively common no-shows. I'm heading over for the game, I bloody love a weekend in Dublin.

[sensisball]

Yes a bit of a gamble having a back up 10 who isn't really a 10! Knowing our luck Hastings will get a head knock after 10 minutes and then we are all dooommmmed!!!!!

[jimbopip]

Also, I see Toonie is saving Meatball, Seaman and the Sensible Fijian for the England game.

[funnyExiledScot]

I assume Harris is on the bench for impact.....

Look, it's not a horrible selection. Surprised about Haining but he's been a good 3rd choice number 8 for Edinburgh this season. Solid hands and whilst not the biggest he does tend to contribute. I'd have sooner had Bradbury in there, at least on the bench, but CDP is useful and has a point to prove.

I'm happy about Cummings, and thrilled for Sutherland. I wouldn't have picked him, but see the logic.

Not sure why Nel isn't involved, at least on the bench, and G Horne should be starting. Still, at least that's one impact player on the bench.

We will lose this with something to spare.

[NeilyBroon]

Haining is at least the same size as bradbury...

[123456789.]

I've not seen enough of Haining to judge him effectively but 8 has been an issue for us for a while, no one has seemed completely competent recently. Ritchie and Watson are solid on the flanks. The second-row is as good as can be expected and will only improve when Skinner and big Gray come back into the fold. I'd have preferred Horne at 9 but with Hastings coming in it makes sense to have experience at 9. Same goes with 12, I'd have preferred Hutchinson but makes sense to have Hastings around players he is familiar with. Jones is our best 13, and will provide infinitely more attacking threat than Harris. The back-three is by far the best we have available. Graham is a miss but Kinghorn is an equally competent player albeit it in different ways. The bench is solid if unspectacular.
Ireland have a better team than us. However, if things click we have the capacity with that backline to cut any team open. If we hit one of our grooves then we could see a positive result.

[TJ]

I have become "Private Frazer" We are doomed I tell you, doomed!

I will be surprised if we are within 20pts at the whistle. My prediction - a 30pt win for Ireland and we do not score a try.

there - that should mean we do OK given my record in predicting scores ;-)

[NeilyBroon]

I reckon we'll still lose but by how much depends on how much control toonie has relinquished to his assistants and, importantly, the players. If hes learnt anything from last year then we should see in attack:
Patient, well-executed play
APPROPRIATE tactical kicking
Forwards linking together to draw in defenders and give the kicker time to find space

Less of:
2 phases then kick and hope
Dropping the ball at key moments in the oppo 22

In defense I'm hoping to actually see us compete on the ground again. Its something we need for our tactics to work. Lets hope this "attack their attack" isnt just the usual 6Ns Scottish preamble.

Just because I'm sick of us being absolutely rogered by the top 10 teams, I'm going to predict just a 3-5 point win for Ireland, with a couple of nice tries from Scotland.

If we get rogered again on saturday my "Toonie oot" banner will be back out of the drawer.

[B91212]

I think it was pretty clear from the interview with Hutchy that he will be providing the FH cover.

He played their at u20s level, prior to Hastings coming along and he moves around the back line at Saints, including coming into first receiver inside Biggar at times. He has also got a decent boot on him.

Hopefully Hastings will played the whole game, but Hutchy will get us through if he is needed.

I must say as a Saints fan I'm pretty surprised by this. Not saying Hutchinson couldn't do a job but I've not seen him do it in a top level game yet that I remeber. Bit of a difference between standing in at first receiver on some plays and managing a game from there. At Saints I think he would be maybe 6th choice 10, even in an emergency-

Biggar
Grayson
Furback (moved to 10 when Bigger went off injured recently against Gloucester, looked assured)
Mallinder Jr.
Francis
Hutchinson?

The Irish backrow, and VDF in particular, won't be giving him much time on the ball if it happens. Same can be said about Hastings of course, but he plays there week in week out.

Hutchinson does remind me a little of a young Toonie in looks (when GT had hair). Maybe it's a nostalgia pick

[jimbopip]

Ireland to win comfortably. And now that we're four years away from a World Cup Ireland can safely win the Grand Slam without anyone pressuring them to actually perform on the biggest stage.

Scotland to stay in the game for 78 minutes before the French ref reverts to type and orders off our pack for "tackling with angry faces".

Toonie to persuade us all that Scotland are ready to beat England.

We all know what happens next

[NeilyBroon]

I think all of us have that in the back of our minds but I'm trying positivity for a change!

At least whatever happens we wont be disappointed... well no more than usual!

[Collapse2005]

Cant see Scotland winning this one, I mean they lost to Japan in their last game. Who loses to Japan.

[funnyExiledScot]

I would have liked to have seen Seaman in there somewhere.

Also, in politics people often say that a budget that looks good in Spring usually proves very unpopular by Autumn, and one that looks good in Autumn usually proves very unpopular by Spring.

Toonie's selection is meeting with pretty much universal approval on here on Thursday; Saturday evening may tell a different story.

Woah, that's deep man.

[tigertattie]

Not as deep as our need for a loosehead with game time, fit wingers, backup at 10 and a world class 8.

If the cheating streetwise Irish take out Hastings early then it’s a long long day at the office, and a one which will be a crushing defeat.

[RDW]

Looking forward to seeing Watson and VDF Duke it out for 80 minutes given we were robbed of the opportunity in the WC with Watson's early injury.

[NeilyBroon]

Dry and cloudy in dublin tomorrow so should hopefully be an entertaining match with dry ball!

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