Scotland 2022 summer tour

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Scotland 2022 Six Nations Lookahead

A place to discuss the rollercoaster of dark horse conversation and sheer despair. Somewhere in-between, someone will go off on a mild tangent.

Schedule
5th Feb - England (H)
12th Feb - Wales (A)
26th Feb - France (H)
12th March - Italy (A)
19th March - Ireland (A)

Scotland's recent performances
2021: 4th (3 wins, same as 2nd)
2020: 4th (3 wins, same points as 3rd)
2019: 5th (1 win, 1 draw)
2018: 3rd (3 wins, same as 2nd)
2017: 4th (3 wins, same points as 2nd)

Very classy Player is Rory. Why we've been so reluctant to play him in matches is beyond me.

It's the only criticism I have of him at 15. I'd rather have seen him in the centres where he's comfortable. I don't want him having an off day at 15 and then getting binned for future matches as a result. Hopefully, Toonie knows Rory is doing him a favour playing at 15 given Hogg is on holiday mode and Huw Jones pulled up injured in his last quins game!

For Saints, Hutch has played a fair amount as an emergency 15. In most games as 15 he did act as the second receiver and occasionally as first receiver. So don't be surprised if Toonie puts him in the same role. I would. And he can do lots of good, creative work without many (any?) of the wtf moments.

I also think that we could see Blarehorn and RH swapping roles during the game with Blarehorn dropping into the fullback role to field clearance kicks. One thing he can do is run the ball back.
Actually I wouldn't be shocked if we end the game playing;

10 Ross Thompson
12 RH
13 Shona
15 Blarehorn.

Bennett is back at 13 where he belongs, all is right in the world! I mean, apart from the fact that almost everything else in the world right now is Konnie Huq’d, but at least one thing is positive!

Scotland U 20's lost again, to Italy: 14 - 34.
Currently sitting last in pool B behind Georgia who gained a losing BP in their 24 - 30 loss to Wales.
Think that's the 12th, or maybe 13th, loss on the bounce.
Kenny Murray for head coach at Glasgow if he steps down from his current " challenging" role of head coach with the youngsters.

I forgot I’d been expecting to see Rowe fill the last spot on the bench but presumably he’ll get his chance in the second test. I’m excited see what he can do as he’s been just as effective as Arundell at Irish.

bsando wrote:I forgot I’d been expecting to see Rowe fill the last spot on the bench but presumably he’ll get his chance in the second test. I’m excited see what he can do as he’s been just as effective as Arundell at Irish.

Toonie, being follically challenged, may have taken umbrage to that Mullet!

tigertattie wrote:

bsando wrote:I forgot I’d been expecting to see Rowe fill the last spot on the bench but presumably he’ll get his chance in the second test. I’m excited see what he can do as he’s been just as effective as Arundell at Irish.

Toonie, being follically challenged, may have taken umbrage to that Mullet!

to be fair, there really is no reason for a mullet, except in a seafood restaurant.

doctor_grey wrote:

tigertattie wrote:

bsando wrote:I forgot I’d been expecting to see Rowe fill the last spot on the bench but presumably he’ll get his chance in the second test. I’m excited see what he can do as he’s been just as effective as Arundell at Irish.

Toonie, being follically challenged, may have taken umbrage to that Mullet!

to be fair, there really is no reason for a mullet, except in a seafood restaurant.  

Would Hamish Watson be the star he is today if had never had a mullet?

doctor_grey wrote:

tigertattie wrote:

bsando wrote:I forgot I’d been expecting to see Rowe fill the last spot on the bench but presumably he’ll get his chance in the second test. I’m excited see what he can do as he’s been just as effective as Arundell at Irish.

Toonie, being follically challenged, may have taken umbrage to that Mullet!

to be fair, there really is no reason for a mullet, except in a seafood restaurant.  

Don't say that to an Australian!

On the subject of Watson, he is apparently injured hence the reason why not playing.

It will be Darge first match back from injury so probably understandable why he is on the bench as well.

If there's any doubt on Watson you'd hope he doesn't play.

Always seemed a risk picking him for this tour but we have a pretty green loose forward combo without him.

RDW wrote:If there's any doubt on Watson you'd hope he doesn't play.

Always seemed a risk picking him for this tour but we have a pretty green loose forward combo without him.

Watson is one of my favourite players to watch. He doesn't spare any effort, so is he getting towards that time where his game time needs to be managed?

doctor_grey wrote:

RDW wrote:If there's any doubt on Watson you'd hope he doesn't play.

Always seemed a risk picking him for this tour but we have a pretty green loose forward combo without him.

Watson is one of my favourite players to watch.  He doesn't spare any effort, so is he getting towards that time where his game time needs to be managed?  

We have certainly got more options at OS now than we have had for a long time.

Darge looks like Watson's natural successor but Crosbie and Christie can also put in a shift there.


So yes, hopefully he won't get run into the ground in this twilight phase of his career.

Mark Palmer (who does seem to be the only journo actually out in Argentina with the squad) article in the Times about Rory Hutchinson return to Scotland colours.



Rory Hutchinson has always maintained that he would go to the ends of the earth to revive his Scotland career and here he is, almost 7,000 miles away from Murrayfield, about to make his first start in almost three years in a dusty, unloved corner of Andean Argentina.

It has not been the journey that he — nor we — expected when the now 26-year-old Northampton Saint burst on to the Test scene just before the 2019 World Cup, but that Hutchinson has finally forced his way back in is a triumph of persistence and further proof that class will always out.

The Cambridge-born player, who qualifies to wear the thistle through his Glaswegian grandmother, has not played for Scotland since a cameo off the bench against Italy in the 2020 Six Nations. He spent this year’s tournament shuttling between Edinburgh and the East Midlands without ever making a match-day squad.


His big chance comes not in the outside centre role where he forged his initial reputation, nor even in the No 12 shirt in which he has so impressed for Saints this season as a second ball-player outside Dan Biggar, but at full back, where he deputises for the rested Stuart Hogg.

Hutchinson made three Premiership starts at 15 in the most recent campaign and immediately brought to bear that compelling mix of explosive running power, clever kicking and innate game intelligence. Townsend hopes he can be just as prominent tomorrow in Jujuy, and expects him to pop up as a first or second receiver to complement Blair Kinghorn, the in-form but still inexperienced fly half.

“In games for Northampton this year, he gets 15-20 touches which is very unusual for a centre,” the coach pointed out. “Normally the 10s hover around 30-40 touches, the 15s are next with between 15 and 20 and the centres will be doing well to get ten touches. A lot of the game goes through Rory at Northampton and he’ll naturally get a lot of the game at the weekend.

“There are a lot of kicks in international rugby so he’ll have to make decisions with what he does with that ball. Once we get into our phase play, we certainly want to see him getting in there as first or second receiver. If that is because Blair has taken the ball to the line, great, because that’s what we want to encourage him to do.


“It’s a position we have chatted to him and his club about, and we feel he can bring his strengths out in that position. He’s a very good rugby player, and the more good rugby players you have in that squad [team], the better decisions you’ll have in the game.”

When it comes to defence, full back brings a different set of requirements to either of the centre roles, but Townsend has been impressed by how diligently and effectively Hutchinson has worked at the unglamorous side of the game after it was perceived to have cost him in the battle for World Cup selection last time out.

“Rory’s always been really good at taking feedback and showing us he’s determined to get back into the Scotland squad. And he’s worked on that. His form in attack has been very, very good over the last couple of years. In this year he’s been in even better form but it’s defensively where we’ve seen the big improvements and that’s made him the all-round player that can be a very good Test player.”

Similarly, Mark Bennett has re- established himself as an outside centre of the highest quality in attack but will be expected to pick up a significant portion of the defensive slack created by the absence of Chris Harris, who has led the Scotland defence effectively for the past three years.

“Sam Johnson is in our defensive leadership group as well. Both of them in the centre positions are experienced players who communicate well, can see pictures ahead of them but also can tackle themselves,” Townsend said.

After multiple complications linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, Argentina will be playing at home for the first time in almost three years, a factor which Townsend believes will only increase the intensity of the occasion both on and off the pitch.

“We flew up here [on Wednesday night] and there was a buzz around the place when we arrived. A lot of police escorts and streets being blocked as we were driving to our hotel. It reminds me of going to Tucumán [as an assistant coach] in 2010 with the local people all delighted there’s an international match in their area this weekend.

“The way Argentinians support their rugby team is very similar to how they support their football team. They’re noisy. I remember — not a great memory — being assistant coach in Wellington in 2011 during the World Cup and we lost that game in the last few minutes to Argentina. When we were still in the stadium the Argentina fans were jumping up and down. We thought the stadium was going to cave in as the plaster started dripping on to us from the ceiling.

“The venues are all football stadiums that are really close to the field, a couple of them have got fences all the way around which adds to a different occasion and environment to what you normally get playing rugby matches.”

Luke Crosbie, who captained Scotland A in their 45-5 win over Chile in Santiago last week, has been given the nod to start at openside flanker in the absence of the injured Hamish Watson. Rory Darge has recovered from his knee injury to take a place on the bench alongside Rory Sutherland, the Worcester prop who has struggled for fitness since returning from last summer’s British & Irish Lions tour.

As a Saints guy, I agree completely with the article about Hutch. His attacking skill is clearly world class. His defense is inconsistent: He falls off some tackles and doesn't always position himself well. And, he is not a 15. He does try and tough it out, is not afraid to go after kicks in heavy traffic. But still not a 15. That said, if you need to put someone at the back out of position, Hutch will give you the effort you want and will give a bit of an electrical jolt to your attack.

The decision to stick Hutch at 15 is a shocker in my view. With Kinghorn at 10, and very much still learning the ropes in the role, Hutch would be a perfect foil at 12. SJ is better defensively, and Bennett at 13 perhaps would be on the lightweight side along with Hutch, but I HATE players being chucked in out of position like this. It feels like Andy Robinson and Matt Williams had a beer together and picked the side.

Still, very pleased for Gilchrist after a big season getting to lead the side, and Crosbie is a form pick (albeit I prefer him at 6).

Should be a proper test for us this one.

It's a wee bit late in the World Cup cycle to be looking for players "who could do a job" for us.
Not for the first time Toonie's cunning plan looks like BJ's Ethics And Morality Manifesto: How to get fecced publicly and pretend it was all in the guidelines.

Our best 7? (1) Hamish (2) Darge (3) Mbawza (4) Bayliss (5) Mullet in what circumstances will we be looking beyond them?

Our best (or most likely to start) 13? (1) The Hardest Working Man blah blah (2) Seaman (3) Not A Pony (4) Shona. Yes has been enjoying an Indian Summer and he is probably going to enjoy a Heather Watson moment tonight but she won't win a Grand Slam any time soon, either.

Our best 10? Dancer by a mile. Then Haircut, who is either in the world's longest huff or Toonie caught him having a good sniff in the props laundry basket. Then??? Blarehorn Or The Once Wonder Kid Neither of whom have anywhere near enough time to gain the smarts needed to play international rugby at the highest level.

Obviously I want us to win comfortably tonight. Obviously. But if Blarehorn has a blinder then we'll suffer for it down the line. Similarly if Hutcheson score a hat-trick we're really in trouble a few months hence.

I think we may well win tonight, but imagine this side against the Boks.

Jimbo are those pills getting to you again? Bennett on current form is 2nd choice, pushing for starting 13 never mind being 5th choice

Steyn 2nd choice

RDW wrote:Jimbo are those pills getting to you again? Bennett on current form is 2nd choice, pushing for starting 13 never mind being 5th choice

Steyn 2nd choice

As I said he's enjoying an Indian Summer; but as princess NutNut often says, "One swallow does not make a summer."

Toonie has picked 54 Scotland sides without putting in. Even allowing for his rotten luck with injuries and Toonies Tombola-ish proclivities that still must tell us something.

It probably proves that Harris is just about the most nailed on player to start in the Scotland squad. He is also consistent and very resilient.

Let's see what the Messiah csn do after all thus time. I agree with RDW thst he certainly has looked the form centre in Scotland this last season.

Has he still got it internationally is another question and we should know the snswer to that soon enough

Well with Ireland, England and now Wales, just, losing its up to Scotland to restore some pride in the home nations with a vital away win against Argentina.
Prediction time gents/ ladies/Quiltbags
Quiltbags is apparently another term for LGBTQ+. In case an individual finds the usual term too political.
As taught on a course called trans101 and being delivered to a Scottish civil servant near you!

I think Argentina by 5. Something like 17-12.

Hard to call this one really

Neither side got much in the way of form and both likely to be rusty.

I suspect it will be a tight game, probably with Argentina to just shade it

Hoggy on the sofa with Big Jim providing the analysis.

They just asked him how he felt about having a summer at home and was the involved in the decision.


He was not and sounded like he was answering the questions through gritted teeth!

This game is also at altitude over 4000 ft, similar to Johanesburg

Is also a small pitch, so tactical kicking going to be everything in this game

jimbopip wrote:Toonie has picked 54 Scotland sides without putting in. Even allowing for his rotten luck with injuries and Toonies Tombola-ish proclivities that still must tell us something.

Yep, it tells us Toonie is a terrible selector. Mon the form Scottish centre

¿A qué equipo apoyaré?

doctor_grey wrote:¿A qué equipo apoyaré?

Escocia, obviamente

Better from Scotland

Starting to win the collisions

TheMildlyFranticLlama wrote:

doctor_grey wrote:¿A qué equipo apoyaré?

Escocia, obviamente

¡Los chicos de azul!

Why do backs do that? Let the ball bounce out on the full ffs

This is very bizarre: My stream has no commentator sound at all. Just the ref mic and the usual crowd noise. And I can't get a separate English audio stream and the Spanish audio stream is about 10 seconds or so after the action, so no point to that. But this allows a lot more on the field chatter to come through. And that is pretty fun.

Which channel is this game on? I am in the Yoo Kay at present.

George Carlin wrote:Which channel is this game on? I am in the Yoo Kay at present.

Is on Sky

George Carlin wrote:Which channel is this game on? I am in the Yoo Kay at present.

Sky sports main event

tigertattie wrote:

George Carlin wrote:Which channel is this game on? I am in the Yoo Kay at present.

Sky sports main event

Doh. Time for a decent illegal stream.

George Carlin wrote:Which channel is this game on? I am in the Yoo Kay at present.

Border Force now dutifully notified. In GCHQ we always listen to our customers...

doctor_grey wrote:

George Carlin wrote:Which channel is this game on? I am in the Yoo Kay at present.

Border Force now dutifully notified.  In GCHQ we always listen to our customers...

I worked on the GCHQ project!

Good job Boff left the kicking boots in Edinburgh!

Gotta admit, that lad is fast.

Well. We’re not displaying defensive genius in this game.

Gaps bigger than my lapses of concentration on show today

Well that was a bloody daft waste of possession wasn’t it. All a bit frustrating so far, some good hard carrying bin the forwards but aside from that it’s severely disjointed and some ropey defence

Well first half we were well beaten, Argentina looking dangerous on the ball and we don't seem to be able to string anything together.

So strange, I have barely noticed Rory Hutchinson. He has to be more involved if Scotland are to have a real chance.

doctor_grey wrote:So strange, I have barely noticed Rory Hutchinson.  He has to be more involved if Scotland are to have a real chance.  

Largely because the ball has rarely got beyond Kinghorn and we have not strung any phases together

doctor_grey wrote:So strange, I have barely noticed Rory Hutchinson.  He has to be more involved if Scotland are to have a real chance.  

We’re not putting any plays together.

We’re getting forwards making breaks up the middle but there’s no support and we get turned over

And I’m sorry, but if they want Kinghorn to be out next stand off, he needs to be able to pass the ball 3m to our 12.

How many chances does Kinghorn get?
Lad is a liability. At fault for the 2nd try, and nearly cost us a 3rd passing into fresh air straight after.

M Fagerson looks OK.

Maybe Tandy is the next Warriors head coach and he has forgotten about his day job on tour!

He's looking like pretty uncomfortable. Maybe even let Hutch come and take a few off 9 to give some time to process.