Scotland 2020 Internationals

by bsando Sun 23 Aug 2020 - 16:02

First topic message reminder :

With club rugby in Europe back up and running I thought it might be time to begin a new International thread.

Scotland's Upcoming 2020 International Fixtures

Warm Up

Scotland vs Georgia 23rd October BT Murrayfield (KO TBC)

6 Nations

Wales vs Scotland 31st October 2.15pm KO (venue TBC)

Eight Nations Tournament pool games

Italy vs Scotland November 14th November 12.45pm KO (Venue TBC)

Scotland vs France 22nd November 3pm KO BT Murrayfield

Scotland vs Fiji 28th November 1.45pm KO BT Murrayfield

December 5th Eight Nations play-off matches (1st vs 1st, 2nd vs 2nd, 3rd vs 3rd, 4th vs 4th)

by bsando Sat 7 Nov 2020 - 12:50

NeilyBroon wrote:
Highland Shaun wrote:
bsando wrote:It was more just the imagination running wild, no one really suggested he should start at 10. I just think he is so similar to Mckenzie he could probably manage a game if he was forced to train and start at 10 (which won't happen).

If anything this is a good moment to lose both fly halves and test depth a bit and figure out who can step up to that position after 3rd choice Weir. P Horne should be fourth choice but Toonie hasn't called him up so who will be covering Weir for Italy? Must be Hogg, Lang or Kinghorn I guess.

Imaginary Dreamland Scottish backline

9 Christie
10 Graham
11 VDM
12 Johnson
13 Jones
14 Maitland
15 Hogg

Its funny that you mention Christie because I've been doing some digging on him. I'm a member of a New Zealand fans group on Facebook (I have family that lived there for a while),I have notid that in every Australia test up to now, he's not been in the matchday squad or replacement bench so that prompted me to ask if he really is on NZl radar. One member jokingly said he would be because its been ages since a "blonde born Scot has been picked by them", another sounded more serious and basically said that "if Scotland called him up or approached him, he'd choose Scotland in a heartbeat" .

My reckoning is, the longer he's overlooked by Foster then the chances of him playing for us increase.

Because of the nature of world rugby at the moment it could be a good while before he's called up for Scotland as logistically speaking it's become a lot trickier due to the C virus.

By this point he may have got a run off the bench for NZ or for the Maori ABs, tying him to them.

However you're right as long as he's not capped by Foster the chance he comes to Scotland increases! I only hope they do what Rennie did so well at Glasgow and alienate their Scottish qualified young talent!

Yeah Weber snuck in ahead of him as third choice 9 for the Champions Cup. I think if he had been called up he wouldn't have turned that down, still very much up in the air if you ask me. A man can dream though

by **NeilyBroon** Sat 7 Nov 2020 - 13:05

bsando wrote:
NeilyBroon wrote:
Highland Shaun wrote:
bsando wrote:It was more just the imagination running wild, no one really suggested he should start at 10. I just think he is so similar to Mckenzie he could probably manage a game if he was forced to train and start at 10 (which won't happen).

If anything this is a good moment to lose both fly halves and test depth a bit and figure out who can step up to that position after 3rd choice Weir. P Horne should be fourth choice but Toonie hasn't called him up so who will be covering Weir for Italy? Must be Hogg, Lang or Kinghorn I guess.

Imaginary Dreamland Scottish backline

9 Christie
10 Graham
11 VDM
12 Johnson
13 Jones
14 Maitland
15 Hogg

Its funny that you mention Christie because I've been doing some digging on him. I'm a member of a New Zealand fans group on Facebook (I have family that lived there for a while),I have notid that in every Australia test up to now, he's not been in the matchday squad or replacement bench so that prompted me to ask if he really is on NZl radar. One member jokingly said he would be because its been ages since a "blonde born Scot has been picked by them", another sounded more serious and basically said that "if Scotland called him up or approached him, he'd choose Scotland in a heartbeat" .

My reckoning is, the longer he's overlooked by Foster then the chances of him playing for us increase.

Because of the nature of world rugby at the moment it could be a good while before he's called up for Scotland as logistically speaking it's become a lot trickier due to the C virus.

By this point he may have got a run off the bench for NZ or for the Maori ABs, tying him to them.

However you're right as long as he's not capped by Foster the chance he comes to Scotland increases! I only hope they do what Rennie did so well at Glasgow and alienate their Scottish qualified young talent!

Yeah Weber snuck in ahead of him as third choice 9 for the Champions Cup. I think if he had been called up he wouldn't have turned that down, still very much up in the air if you ask me. A man can dream though

My dream is that Horne becomes first choice to start! Then if Christie comes over they battle it out for the starter shirt.

by Hazel Sapling Sat 7 Nov 2020 - 18:03

NZ have two games against Argentina over the next month. I would suspect that Christie will get capped during one of those two games.

by **NeilyBroon** Sat 7 Nov 2020 - 19:18

Hazel Sapling wrote:NZ have two games against Argentina over the next month. I would suspect that Christie will get capped during one of those two games.

Alas, wouldn't surprise me but as bsando says, it's nice to dream!

Dobbie looks like he'll be the mutts nuts anyway, and sheil isn't a shabby option at all, we're looking pretty set up for the next few years!

by tigertattie Sun 8 Nov 2020 - 0:36

I still don’t get why Horne isn’t the starting 9 for Scotland and Glasgow.

His service is quicker. His passing is more accurate. His running game faster and more effective.

He’s basically just better than Price who blows hot and cold.

by tigertattie Sun 8 Nov 2020 - 0:45

I’m actually thinking the next game should have Horne starting and SHC on the bench covering 9/10

Price needs “a rest” and Horne is just looking sharper and shaper all the time. SHC looking good with his service too. Steele. Erm, not so much.

by Highland Shaun Sun 8 Nov 2020 - 2:19

tigertattie wrote:I’m actually thinking the next game should have Horne starting and SHC on the bench covering 9/10

Price needs “a rest” and Horne is just looking sharper and shaper all the time. SHC looking good with his service too. Steele. Erm, not so much.

But harsh on Steele, surely he was called up on merit due to an excellent season at Quins?

Fwiw, regarding FC, I am not to bothered if he chooses us or NZL, I just posted what New Zealand fans told me :-P.

I would prefer Callum Hunter-Hill, Cammy Redpath or Ben Vellacott (latter two unlikely, unless they keep getting overlooked by Mr Jones) capped more than I want Christie capped.

I'm actually tempted to ask your opinions on who you THINK will be capped next, that's not been capped yet?

I'd say Hunter-Hill :-D.

by Hazel Sapling Sun 8 Nov 2020 - 12:33

Vellacott has little to no chance with England at this moment in time. For one, he is under the age of 30. He is probably competing for our 4th scrum half spot (Steele, Dobie, Shiel) so he will have to say to Scotland I want to play for you rather than us making big overtures to him.

Redpath is not interested in us. If he was, he would likely be our second choice 12 and make the RWC squad the way things are going. He is likely banking that he can impress on a summer tour for England.

Hunter-Hill is likely the one to get a fair number of caps for us, he was playing well for Sarries. Maybe he gets on a 2021 summer tour if there are injuries in the second row. Otherwise, he will have to wait until Sarries are in the Premiership to prove he is the 3rd/4th choice lock ahead of Skinner, Toolis, Gilchrist, R Gray and Davidson. At the minute though, he is playing at a stacked position that should clear out a bit after the RWC2023 with Toolis, Gilchrist and R Gray in their 30's.

by TJ Sun 8 Nov 2020 - 18:07

tigertattie wrote:I still don’t get why Horne isn’t the starting 9 for Scotland and Glasgow.

His service is quicker. His passing is more accurate. His running game faster and more effective.

He’s basically just better than Price who blows hot and cold.

He is still prone to the rush of blood to the head and trying to win the game everytime he gets the ball

by bsando Mon 9 Nov 2020 - 15:04

It was a strange scenario last season where Rennie would start Horne but Toonie would start Price for Scotland. Seems as though Wilson and Toonie are more on the same page.

by **NeilyBroon** Mon 9 Nov 2020 - 16:12

I think Horne is the more talented player for sure. It reminds me a lot of Blair Vs Cusiter when Blair was out of form, Cusiter was in hot form yet still didn't get picked to start. I think they're both quite similar players, zippy service with sharp passing, versus slightly less zippiness but some game management

by **NeilyBroon** Mon 9 Nov 2020 - 21:56

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/54880284

Our hero in waiting. Really hope he does well this autumn, he comes across as a nice humble guy who loves playing for Scotland. Either way it's great to have him back!

by Anglobraveheart Mon 9 Nov 2020 - 22:21

I hope he enjoys himself and has an absolute stormer with Johnson and Jones in the centres outside him.

by formerly known as Sam Mon 9 Nov 2020 - 22:40

NeilyBroon wrote:https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/54880284

Our hero in waiting. Really hope he does well this autumn, he comes across as a nice humble guy who loves playing for Scotland. Either way it's great to have him back!

He's been reliably good for Worcester since joining them. Performed a lot better for them than I thought he would. Not eye catching stuff but the right decisions at the right time, his kicking off the tee has been good as well. Should be a safe pair of hands for Scotland until the dynamic duo return.

Who's going to be the back up option to Weir?

by **NeilyBroon** Mon 9 Nov 2020 - 22:45

formerly known as Sam wrote:
NeilyBroon wrote:https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/54880284

Our hero in waiting. Really hope he does well this autumn, he comes across as a nice humble guy who loves playing for Scotland. Either way it's great to have him back!

He's been reliably good for Worcester since joining them. Performed a lot better for them than I thought he would. Not eye catching stuff but the right decisions at the right time, his kicking off the tee has been good as well. Should be a safe pair of hands for Scotland until the dynamic duo return.

Who's going to be the back up option to Weir?

Looks like Lang is in the first instance, Toonie has also pulled in Sam HC with the 10 backup role in mind imo. Kinghorn also is an option if needs must.

by **BigGee** Tue 10 Nov 2020 - 1:41

https://www.606v2.com/t69827-italy-v-scotland-autumn-nations-cup-saturday-14th-november-2020#3935375

by Guest Tue 10 Nov 2020 - 10:13

NeilyBroon wrote:https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/54880284

Our hero in waiting. Really hope he does well this autumn, he comes across as a nice humble guy who loves playing for Scotland. Either way it's great to have him back!

What is that lid...?

by **RDW** Tue 10 Nov 2020 - 21:07

RRB - he's growing it until Christmas for charity.

In other news, Duncan Taylor has been pictured at Scotland team training. He's not in the official squad, and I'm not sure if he's even fit, but he's obviously still in GT's thoughts if he's being kept involved.

I'm not sure his body has what it takes anymore given how little rugby he's actually been able to play for years!

by **BigGee** Tue 10 Nov 2020 - 21:20

Well it is not as if the Sarries players have anything else to do?

by **NeilyBroon** Tue 10 Nov 2020 - 21:33

BigGee wrote:Well it is not as if the Sarries players have anything else to do?

Good point, probably there just to help with the training!

by Hazel Sapling Tue 10 Nov 2020 - 21:56

NeilyBroon wrote:
BigGee wrote:Well it is not as if the Sarries players have anything else to do?

Good point, probably there just to help with the training!

And organising the meals out...... Run

by **RDW** Tue 10 Nov 2020 - 22:08

Hazel Sapling wrote:
NeilyBroon wrote:
BigGee wrote:Well it is not as if the Sarries players have anything else to do?

Good point, probably there just to help with the training!

And organising the meals out......

I bet there's a lot of players glad they didn't get picked for that game, as they know fine well they would have gone on the night out as well!

by **NeilyBroon** Tue 10 Nov 2020 - 22:18

RDW wrote:
Hazel Sapling wrote:
NeilyBroon wrote:
BigGee wrote:Well it is not as if the Sarries players have anything else to do?

Good point, probably there just to help with the training!

And organising the meals out......

I bet there's a lot of players glad they didn't get picked for that game, as they know fine well they would have gone on the night out as well!

Plenty of places for spaghetti and coffee in Florence...

by **RDW** Wed 11 Nov 2020 - 21:32

Ryan Wilson on the rugby pod talking about 'tunnel-gate' before that famous win against England. Basically sounds like he was noising up Ford when going down the tunnel, Farrell didn't like it (understandable) and pushed Wilson in the back. What then followed was lots of argy bargy as everyone had a bit of handbags before going into the changing rooms.

What's funny is he ended up banned from appearing at Twickenham because of it! Not sure they could ban him as a player but he was due to do a corporate gig there and was told he's not welcome.

Probably fair to say he's not looked on fondly by his opposition, but he definitely got under the skin of the English that day and it helped contribute to a famous win.

by bsando Thu 12 Nov 2020 - 8:25

Seems so petty to ban him from Twickenham. Very funny though

Farrell's reaction was immature. Sticks and stones as they say, it played right into Scotland's hands. England were probably at their lowest point under Eddie Jones going into that game, they looked fatigued and had been getting away with some pretty sub par wins.

by bsando Thu 12 Nov 2020 - 8:29

https://shows.acast.com/squidge-rwc/episodes/2011-28-scotland-12-13-argentina-with-graham-love

If anyone wants to delve deeply into Scotland's RWC 2011 defeat vs Argentina (why I'm not sure) then this is quite good. Shame it is 9 years too late. Ex forum member Glove39 (you never know he might come back one day Wink

) is interviewed by Squide Rugby.

I probably say it a lot but we've come a long way since then, thank god!

by **RDW** Thu 12 Nov 2020 - 11:03

I was there in Wellington Sad

Absolutely pishing down all night. Great night out after though - cured our jetlag!

Those were the days when Max Evans was literally the only threat we had in attack. In hindsight he was incredibly average, and could just sidestep a few times.

Dan parks was absolutely robbed though - Contepomi was at least 5m offside to deny the DG attempt. That's when my hatred of Wayne Barnes as a referee began (which has actually softened over the years)

by bsando Thu 12 Nov 2020 - 15:07

Ah wow, bad luck! Sure it was a fun experience otherwise.

I couldn't stand Barnes for years but I think he is a very good referee now. They have a lot of backup from the TMO these days which is great.

Contepomi wouldn't have got away with that today. I went back and rewatched the moment and it was pretty ridiculous. No one moves at all apart from him and by the time the ball is in flight heading towards Dan Parks he is right out of the line ahead of everyone else. To be fair though, Parks was daft to try the drop goal attempt, he should have played what was in front of him instead of being so robotic. It was almost like he had to give it a go because they'd practiced thousands of times in training.

by **NeilyBroon** Thu 12 Nov 2020 - 16:03

RDW wrote:I was there in Wellington

Absolutely pishing down all night. Great night out after though - cured our jetlag!

Those were the days when Max Evans was literally the only threat we had in attack. In hindsight he was incredibly average, and could just sidestep a few times.

Dan parks was absolutely robbed though - Contepomi was at least 5m offside to deny the DG attempt. That's when my hatred of Wayne Barnes as a referee began (which has actually softened over the years)

Max Evans was definitely the brother with less talent. Was Rory Lamont still playing at that point or was he permacrocked? He was a good battering ram and surprisingly quick!

by Hazel Sapling Thu 12 Nov 2020 - 16:47

bsando wrote:Ah wow, bad luck! Sure it was a fun experience otherwise.

I couldn't stand Barnes for years but I think he is a very good referee now. They have a lot of backup from the TMO these days which is great.

Contepomi wouldn't have got away with that today. I went back and rewatched the moment and it was pretty ridiculous. No one moves at all apart from him and by the time the ball is in flight heading towards Dan Parks he is right out of the line ahead of everyone else. To be fair though, Parks was daft to try the drop goal attempt, he should have played what was in front of him instead of being so robotic. It was almost like he had to give it a go because they'd practiced thousands of times in training.

I remember shouting at the tv over that. I reckon he thought he may get a penalty he was so offside. As much as Barnes was reffing, where were the assistants flagging it?

Of course there was 2015. At least in 2019, it was not poor reffing, only an act of nature and poor play.

by EST Fri 13 Nov 2020 - 10:12

RDW wrote:I was there in Wellington

Absolutely pishing down all night. Great night out after though - cured our jetlag!

Those were the days when Max Evans was literally the only threat we had in attack. In hindsight he was incredibly average, and could just sidestep a few times.

Dan parks was absolutely robbed though - Contepomi was at least 5m offside to deny the DG attempt. That's when my hatred of Wayne Barnes as a referee began (which has actually softened over the years)

I was there too, although at the other end of the stadium from where the Contempomi offside happened - was so gutted. Is that the game where we dropped Kellock (?) who was our captain going into the game?

by tigertattie Fri 13 Nov 2020 - 10:42

bsando wrote:https://shows.acast.com/squidge-rwc/episodes/2011-28-scotland-12-13-argentina-with-graham-love

If anyone wants to delve deeply into Scotland's RWC 2011 defeat vs Argentina (why I'm not sure) then this is quite good. Shame it is 9 years too late. Ex forum member Glove39 (you never know he might come back one day ) is interviewed by Squide Rugby.

I probably say it a lot but we've come a long way since then, thank god!

He's an absolute fraud

1. He's nerd. He talks about having a "girlfriend" which is debateable
2. He claims to be from Aberdeen but has as accent that FES's Morningside born butler would be proud of!

by **LondonTiger** Fri 13 Nov 2020 - 15:28

tigertattie wrote:
bsando wrote:https://shows.acast.com/squidge-rwc/episodes/2011-28-scotland-12-13-argentina-with-graham-love

If anyone wants to delve deeply into Scotland's RWC 2011 defeat vs Argentina (why I'm not sure) then this is quite good. Shame it is 9 years too late. Ex forum member Glove39 (you never know he might come back one day ) is interviewed by Squide Rugby.

I probably say it a lot but we've come a long way since then, thank god!

He's an absolute fraud

1. He's nerd. He talks about having a "girlfriend" which is debateable
2. He claims to be from Aberdeen but has as accent that FES's Morningside born butler would be proud of!

He stillplays with lego, so..........perhaps he built a girlfriend?

Run

by **RDW** Fri 13 Nov 2020 - 20:26

Glove is a legend, and the most famous person to come from this forum!

by jimbopip Fri 13 Nov 2020 - 20:33

You think so do you?

by bsando Sat 14 Nov 2020 - 8:37

LondonTiger wrote:
tigertattie wrote:
bsando wrote:https://shows.acast.com/squidge-rwc/episodes/2011-28-scotland-12-13-argentina-with-graham-love

If anyone wants to delve deeply into Scotland's RWC 2011 defeat vs Argentina (why I'm not sure) then this is quite good. Shame it is 9 years too late. Ex forum member Glove39 (you never know he might come back one day ) is interviewed by Squide Rugby.

I probably say it a lot but we've come a long way since then, thank god!

He's an absolute fraud

1. He's nerd. He talks about having a "girlfriend" which is debateable
2. He claims to be from Aberdeen but has as accent that FES's Morningside born butler would be proud of!

He stillplays with lego, so..........perhaps he built a girlfriend?

Scotland 2020 Internationals - Page 11 D1fa9710

by **RDW** Sat 14 Nov 2020 - 8:50

I'm going to tweet him - I really want him to see this.

by GLove39 Sat 14 Nov 2020 - 10:39

bsando wrote:
LondonTiger wrote:
tigertattie wrote:
bsando wrote:https://shows.acast.com/squidge-rwc/episodes/2011-28-scotland-12-13-argentina-with-graham-love

If anyone wants to delve deeply into Scotland's RWC 2011 defeat vs Argentina (why I'm not sure) then this is quite good. Shame it is 9 years too late. Ex forum member Glove39 (you never know he might come back one day ) is interviewed by Squide Rugby.

I probably say it a lot but we've come a long way since then, thank god!

He's an absolute fraud

1. He's nerd. He talks about having a "girlfriend" which is debateable
2. He claims to be from Aberdeen but has as accent that FES's Morningside born butler would be proud of!

He stillplays with lego, so..........perhaps he built a girlfriend?

Dawww, properly buckled at that!!!
Especially the line about the voice, so very true.

Funnily enough, this is amazing timing, today’s actually our one year anniversary. And I promise she’s not made of lego!

P.s. thanks to RDW for coaxing me back. Nice to see so many old usernames still active on here.

by **RDW** Sat 14 Nov 2020 - 10:41

Great to hear from you Glove! I thought we were beneath you know you were famous Laugh

P.s. love your work

by jimbopip Sat 14 Nov 2020 - 10:52

Morning peeps, Shocked

Trump...fecced
Cummings ...fecced off
The Adulterer In Chief...the buzzards are circling and his fiance is running the country now
All Blacks ...on a losing streak
Scotland footballers ... on a record breaking unbeaten streak AND qualify for a major tourney
Lazarus returns...with a Lego Mary Magdalene. ( Which I'll wager FES pronounces as maudlin')

It's the end of days I tell you. The END OF DAYS.

by TJ Sun 15 Nov 2020 - 9:24

Afromans interview. ( meatball)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S-xnlg3J-M

by 123456789. Sun 15 Nov 2020 - 16:33

I rang my brother last night to discuss the game. I tried to say that Weir was not up to task, as much as it hurt to say, in the first half but improved in the second. My brother is usually insightful on these things. Instead he kept commenting on how Weir was the 'Perfect 10'. So thanks for that GLove, I regret ever showing him your video.
Kebble seems to be one of those rare players who suits international rugby almost better than club rugby. I've been very impressed with him. Next week is the real test on that score against the French. With Ritchie presumably out injured I'd be tempted to bring Wilson back just to wind the French up. The one-on-one tackling has to be better against France.

by **NeilyBroon** Sun 15 Nov 2020 - 19:01

123456789. wrote:I rang my brother last night to discuss the game. I tried to say that Weir was not up to task, as much as it hurt to say, in the first half but improved in the second. My brother is usually insightful on these things. Instead he kept commenting on how Weir was the 'Perfect 10'. So thanks for that GLove, I regret ever showing him your video.
Kebble seems to be one of those rare players who suits international rugby almost better than club rugby. I've been very impressed with him. Next week is the real test on that score against the French. With Ritchie presumably out injured I'd be tempted to bring Wilson back just to wind the French up. The one-on-one tackling has to be better against France.

Agree the Italians look like they did their research and used it in the first half to cause us problems. France will definitely take note and pepper us with little chips over the top and play an offloading game for fun. Need to be on it with the first up tackles!

by bsando Mon 16 Nov 2020 - 13:19

I'm not sure how much longer Scotland can keep doing those team mauls but they're a really nice bit of play. Worst that can happen is an opposition player somehow turns the ball over and gets it out to their backs who would have a lot of space to counter attack. More likely scenario is a collapsed maul and turnover so it is a risk worth taking. I'm sure we'll see other teams copying this soon as it clearly provides an advantage. It seems almost stupid that no one else has been doing this sooner.

by **NeilyBroon** Mon 16 Nov 2020 - 13:31

bsando wrote:I'm not sure how much longer Scotland can keep doing those team mauls but they're a really nice bit of play. Worst that can happen is an opposition player somehow turns the ball over and gets it out to their backs who would have a lot of space to counter attack. More likely scenario is a collapsed maul and turnover so it is a risk worth taking. I'm sure we'll see other teams copying this soon as it clearly provides an advantage. It seems almost stupid that no one else has been doing this sooner.

Agree, we need to rediscover the back attacking threat, it's not as if we don't have the players. I know a lot of people thought Harris played his best game on Saturday but I think it's definitely time to swap him for Jones. At the very least Jones should be covering from the bench because running straight at the opposition just doesn't work when both centres are doing that. We need a lot more than that to get behind the French. Edwards will have our number in attack, and I think is largely creditable for Wales' wins over us over the years. It's far too predictable right now and we can't just depend on Finn or have Hogg trying too hard.

by TheMildlyFranticLlama Mon 16 Nov 2020 - 14:23

bsando wrote:I'm not sure how much longer Scotland can keep doing those team mauls but they're a really nice bit of play. Worst that can happen is an opposition player somehow turns the ball over and gets it out to their backs who would have a lot of space to counter attack. More likely scenario is a collapsed maul and turnover so it is a risk worth taking. I'm sure we'll see other teams copying this soon as it clearly provides an advantage. It seems almost stupid that no one else has been doing this sooner.

It's definitely not a new thing, there are a few examples from other teams I can remember from the last few years. For example from https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/47345818

Jones' men set up a 12-man driving maul that rumbled to the Welsh five-metre line, but Farrell opted to cross-kick to Jack Nowell in the right-hand corner and George North managed to snuff the danger out.

by 123456789. Mon 16 Nov 2020 - 16:32

I think by the time the backs pile in any hope of a legal steal is out the window. The only chance the defence has got at that juncture is to stop the maul with power alone. Something they're less likely to do against such odds. Equally piling in numbers of their own to defend it doesn't seem wise as it will leave 40 metres of try line scarcely covered. What I would like to see is our track record of scoring maul tries against Tier One teams, Italy aside. I may be wrong but it seems our maul notches up tries with ease against the Tier Two teams and has been less effective against the big beasts of international rugby.

by bsando Tue 17 Nov 2020 - 8:33

TheMildlyFranticLlama wrote:
bsando wrote:I'm not sure how much longer Scotland can keep doing those team mauls but they're a really nice bit of play. Worst that can happen is an opposition player somehow turns the ball over and gets it out to their backs who would have a lot of space to counter attack. More likely scenario is a collapsed maul and turnover so it is a risk worth taking. I'm sure we'll see other teams copying this soon as it clearly provides an advantage. It seems almost stupid that no one else has been doing this sooner.

It's definitely not a new thing, there are a few examples from other teams I can remember from the last few years. For example from https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/47345818

Jones' men set up a 12-man driving maul that rumbled to the Welsh five-metre line, but Farrell opted to cross-kick to Jack Nowell in the right-hand corner and George North managed to snuff the danger out.

Possibly just a new tactic for Scotland in the pro era then. I'm sure I've seen a few classic 70's, 80's, 90's games where it looks as if whole teams are contesting mauls and rucks.

by **RDW** Tue 17 Nov 2020 - 10:03

Someone fancy making a match thread?

by sensisball Tue 17 Nov 2020 - 10:10

Ntamack out of France squad with an undisclosed injury. Replaced by Lionel Carbonel of Toulon, with zero caps.

Also Raka, the only ASK player in the training squad of 31, has played about two games so far this season having just finished serving a 5 five week suspension for a high tackle. Might be nice for us if Galthie picks him.

by Sponsored content