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

[Tramptastic]

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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.

[profitius]

Lineouts would be a worry for me. Scotland should be looking to attack us there.

[funnyExiledScot]

Not sure our lineout will be great shakes either, although I'd imagine Cummings could make a positive impact there.

[bsando]

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

That is a good point. In the RWC many pundits said in the aftermath that it was a perfect storm in many ways. Ireland lead by 16 at halftime as Scotland failed to fire a shot, desperately chasing the game. Then the heavens came down and any chance of a comeback was off the cards.

Assuming the forecast is correct, if Scotland trail like they did in Japan, they will at least have a dry pitch to mount a come back in that 2nd half. To be honest, I think Ireland will simply aim to blast Scotland off the pitch in both halves and keep Scotland pinned in their own half.

[bsando]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/51286543

Nicol says we must keep faith in Townsend even if Scotland fail in the 6N. He goes as far as saying Townsend should be given a 2 year extension to see him through to the 2023 RWC.

[RDW]

This is the same Andy Nicol who tweeted saying he had to Google who Nick Haining was. Top punditry indeed!

He's claiming in the replies that he was joking, but I'm not so sure...

[BigGee]

Andy Nicol is a pretty hopeless pundit and journalist, but there is something in what he says that we are really up against it this year. We could play well and still only come out with 2 or 3 wins in 11 matches.

I think how we play is going to count for as much as results in some senses. If we start rolling over and taking some battering's, then clearly Toonie has lost, or maybe never had the dressing room in the first place and the players are just not buying into his style. That should become obvious over the course of this 6N.

If we can play to our potential, even with this young and inexperienced team, then we should stay in games and will eventually start to win some of them. If there are some signs of encouragement, then the SRU should probably back Toonie through the rest of the WC cycle.

This selection was encouraging but we do need a performance to back it up.

[bsando]

I definitely prefer heading into a 6N with low expectations compared with 2018 where expectations were so (unrealistically) high. Hogg seems to be brimming with confidence which is a good sign and he's had some bad luck with injuries in previous 6N matches, going off early before he could make an impact. He's definitely a target by other teams so having him as captain gives him a slightly better layer of protection as well.

[bsando]

If there are some signs of encouragement, then the SRU should probably back Toonie through the rest of the WC cycle.

This selection was encouraging but we do need a performance to back it up.

Totally agree Gee. It would be a huge plus to have a successful Scottish coach at the helm.

[123456789.]

Completely disagree with Andy Nicol's article. In the Six Nations we cannot return to accepting brave defeats against the 'Big 4' and beating Italy 3 out of 4 times in a world cup cycle. If he fails to record a win at all this Six Nations he has to go. If he beats Italy and fails to land a blow on the other 4, he has to go. It would be madness to judge him on results in the summer but there has to be signs that he's building something and the players buy into it. However we have to face the reality that the three fixtures in the summer are ones we have never won. In the autumn Nicol seems to have accepted that we are behind Japan in rugby term. In fact the entire article seems to hinge on a bizarre acceptance that what we saw last season was a fair reflection of Scotland as a rugby nation. I don't accept that results last season were commensurate with the ability of our players, if it's repeated this season (in fact in this tournament) it has to be curtains for Townsend.

[NeilyBroon]

Nicol is probably the second most irritating pundit behind Inverdale, and just as rugby illiterate. You'd think he has never commentated on a club game for either of the Scottish teams or even read the team lists. His knowledge of players is limited to Hogg and Seymour. His additions to the conversation are just benign garbage, his favourite line being "you get the feeling scotland have to score to stay in this game". At least Jiffy and Guscott, one-eyed as they are, provide a good insight and show technical understanding. Of course he'll back his mate for scotland coach.

I hope that John Barclay features more, he's a far better representative of Scotland when it comes to punditry.

[TheMildlyFranticLlama]

If Scotland win only one game in the Six Nations and then have a horror show on the summer tour, there will be huge pressure on him to replace the national coach.

But that would mean Scotland would not get the best years of Townsend, which would be wrong. If I was Dodson, I would give him a two-year extension to take Scotland through to the World Cup in 2023.

This is raving insanity. If things really go tits up let’s reward the person responsible by extending their contract. Lunacy, even by his usual standards.

[123456789.]

It does seem bizarre to me that the three main pundits from England, Wales and Scotland are Guscott, Davies and Nicol. I would disagree with the idea that somehow Jiffy is remotely passable as a pundit. I once ended up watching a Scotland-Wales game on mute because he was so unbearable, on another occasion I had the gaelic commentary on. Nicol is even worse. In a sport that evolves as quickly as rugby surely it would make sense to have freshly retired players there for the punditry. Irritating as he is James Haskell would be a better option than Guscott. John Barclay would be much better than Nicol. The only viable reason I can think of for bringing out the oldies would be because they won't be as close to the current players so can be more critical. However you don't get the impression Nicol even keeps an eye on rugby to stay up to date.

[Guest]

Did Andy Nicol play with Townsend? Is there some personal feelings behind his article?

[SecretFly]

Where did Chris Paterson go?  Did some punditry a while back.  Quiet but very good I felt.  Haven't seen him pop up anywhere in recent times though.

Not sure I enjoy pundits fresh off the professional player career.  I do like a degree of distance.  If anything recent ex-players can be even more smirky and dismissive of opposing opinions than the old boys.  Nothing worse than a smug recently retired player who thinks he knows everything.  
That's our job, damn it!

[NeilyBroon]

I dunno, I'd say BOD does a good job of it when he is on, barclay is usually fairly balanced having played outside of Scotland and getting to know other 6Ns players during his career.

However the best pundit in my opinion is Brian Moore, he at least is entertaining, and I feel I at least share his frustrations during a match, whoever I'm supporting.

[RDW]

Where did Chris Paterson go?  Did some punditry a while back.  Quiet but very good I felt.  Haven't seen him pop up anywhere in recent times though.

Not sure I enjoy pundits fresh off the professional player career.  I do like a degree of distance.  If anything recent ex-players can be even more smirky and dismissive of opposing opinions than the old boys.  Nothing worse than a smug recently retired player who thinks he knows everything.  
That's our job, damn it!

He's a very regular pundit and co commentator, especially on BBC Scotland and Premier Sports.

[SecretFly]

Oh good. Just me then who hasn't seen him.

[123456789.]

At this point I'd quite like it to be Finn Russell just so it means he's on the right continent

[SecretFly]

I dunno, I'd say BOD does a good job of it when he is on, barclay is usually fairly balanced having played outside of Scotland and getting to know other 6Ns players during his career.

However the best pundit in my opinion is Brian Moore, he at least is entertaining, and I feel I at least share his frustrations during a match, whoever I'm supporting.

Precisely.  It is also an entertainment business.  You have to have some kind of personality that kinda shines and lifts the coverage somewhat.  And to be honest, a pundit that people love to hate can be as valid in that regard as the favourites.  I've always enjoyed Jiffy, maybe for the very fact that I know lots of people can't stand him.
But it's a balance to be sure to be sure.  For example Haskell - as a character - I can only tolerate him in small doses.  Anything past 15 minutes and I'd probably start pulling my hair out at his eternal 'buzzing' persona.  Heck, we either just like or we don't.

[RDW]

I just get annoyed at how little effort or prep these guys do and it shows in their punditry. Half the time they don't know who the opposition is.

Jiffy once spent an entire Blues v Edinburgh game calling us Glasgow - he couldn't even get the team right!!

[NeilyBroon]

Aye agree RDW, its not like they pundit for multiple sports, rugby is and should be their bread and butter. However, at least Jiffy has the excuse of being Welsh not knowing Scottish rugby, he at least adds good technical analysis of back plays. Nicol doesnt even know Scottish rugby and he's feckin scottish! Its like if I turned up to a job having not read up or understood what they do for the last 20 years. I'd be fired pretty quickly, its annoying these guys get away with it! Frankly I think any of us could do a better job. Jimbo has my vote although the public would need a book of idioms and player nicknames to understand his commentary.

[RDW]

Game Day!!! No idea why I get so excited every year when it quickly leads to massive disappointment.

I don't expect us to win today - it would be a huge upset if we did - but we have a young exciting team out who I hope plays without the burdens of the past.

[NeilyBroon]

I think because expectations are so low its eased the gameday tension for me. Just looking forward to watching some good rugby!

[RDW]

https://amp.rugbypass.com/news/barclay-what-i-will-say-is-that-finn-is-a-strong-character-and-a-big-character-in-camp/?__twitter_impression=true

Another article from Barclay - similar theme to the BBC one but more detail.

[RDW]

If any Scotland fan needs brought down to earth about the magnitude of the task facing us today, Tom English is your man!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/51334642

[jimbopip]

Well lads,
Ireland are at home where they win more often than not.
They are playing Scotland, who they beat more often than not.
Ireland are playing their first match under a new coach, teams in that situation win more often than not.
Scotland's best player is in self-imposed splendid isolation, teams in that situation lose more often than not.
Scotland's two most aggressive punch your granny in the throat if she wanders into a ruck from the side no.8's (Batman and Malcolm Bradbury) are both missing and have been replaced by a journeyman pro who has fewer Edinburgh appearances than TigerTattie has pies for breakfast....teams in that situation usually lose more often than not.
Ireland's Tadgh Furlong is an excellent tight head and he will be up against someone who has 14 minutes of professional rugby over the last 5 seasons. Teams in that position....
Ireland's tight head's surname is further than Rory Sutherland has run in his professional career.
Scotland's loose head's surname covers roughly the same area as their number 8's jersey will have to.

My money is on Scotland collecting the bonus point win today: for exactly all the reasons listed above.

[tigertattie]

For the record, no player has more Edinburgh appearances than I’ve had pies for breakfast.

Like the Irish prop, many Scots fans are a “tad forlorn” (that one’s for you jimbo) so many have us written off.

Jimbo’s prediction of a Scottish win is in jest. I’m going for the Scotland win in all seriousness. We’ll put in a stormer and beat the little leprechauns, we’ll then arrive back at HQ to play the World Cup final bottling English and we’ll now be favourites (according to Facebook) to win the grand slam. We’ll then be soundly humped by Eddie Jones and co

[Pot Hale]

So Scotland by 10 according to the pundits in the pub last night.

Should be a good match.

[RDW]

So Scotland by 10 according to the pundits in the pub last night.  

Should be a good match.

How pished were they? Ireland 1/7 at the bookies.

[TheMildlyFranticLlama]

I give us no chance whatsoever, haven’t been this pessimistic at the start of a 6N is a while now. Going to be a long few weeks I fear

[George Carlin]

Hello my paddy brothers.

You will beat us like we both owe you money and duffed your wife and your sisters up the proverbial. Enjoy.

In the meantime, my fellow Scottish posters and I will strap in for yet other year of masochists’ theatre.

[carpet baboon]

Can you Scott's stop being so defeatist. It gives me a horrible feeling you will win

[tigertattie]

What odds will you give me that Scotland actually play well. On the 75th minute we’re still in it, maybe even joking a narrow lead.

But then we do something stupid. Something Ryan Wilson or Pete Horne would do, and we lose at the death?

[RDW]

Can you Scott's stop being so defeatist. It gives me a horrible feeling you will win

We're going to get beaten so badly we might as not turn up!

[RDW]

Nel replaces Berghan on the bench due to illness.

[BigGee]

Bayfield interviewing Toonie, first three questions all about Finn.

He straight batted all of them and then told him to ask him about the match.

He actually handled that very well

[RDW]

Bayfield interviewing Toonie, first three questions all about Finn.

He straight batted all of them and then told him to ask him about the match.

He actually handled that very well

Was definitely telling when he said "we'll see" when asked if he'll be back.

[SecretFly]

Excitement building to see what we have under the hood. If it's a coughing, spluttering engine so be it - at least we'll be up, running and knowing exactly where it's still all going wrong - or - hopefully - where it's all going right with just some new balances of emphasis.

Post-Schmidt era begins. Wonder if he's present in the crowd. If they do show him, hope he gets a great round of applause. He gave us overall a fine number of years.

[RDW]

Prediction time - Ireland 25 - Scotland 16

[tigertattie]

Big chance for Nel to put his hand up again and show he’s still got it

[tigertattie]

What’s with the oompa paa version of flower of Scotland?

[RDW]

Good start wasted by not committing enough numbers - they can't all stand out in the backline.

[RDW]

Some big carries from Scotland!

[BigGee]

What a start from Scotland!

[RDW]

Really good start.

Big shame about Doris - hope he's ok.

[tigertattie]

Good start. Hope the Irish fella down is ok

[BigGee]

Doris off already on his debut, that is tough luck

[TightHEAD]

I like Hastings.

Awesome for Scotland to have two quality 10s.

[BigGee]

Hastings kicks the penalty

3-0

[tigertattie]

Doris off already on his debut, that is tough luck

Real shame. That’s the end of his day.

Too soon?

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