Scotland 6N lookahead

First topic message reminder :

Results in aggregate this year for the national team were:

5 February 2022 - Scotland 20–17 England
12 February 2022 - Wales 20–17 Scotland
26 February 2022 - Scotland 17–36 France
12 March 2022 - Italy 22–33 Scotland
19 March 2022 - Ireland 26–5 Scotland
2 July 2022 - Argentina 26–18 Scotland
9 July 2022 - Argentina 6–29 Scotland
16 July 2022 - Argentina 34–31 Scotland
29 October 2022 - Scotland 15–16 Australia
5 November 2022 - Scotland 28–12 Fiji
13 November 2022 - Scotland 23–31 New Zealand
19 November 2022 - Scotland 52–29 Argentina

P 12 W 5 L 7

Gotta be a card soon

BigGee wrote:He took him in the air there

No. Good contest between the two.

Well it's a try or a YC here

Fiji captain has a good point. The Scottish loosehead is clearly running round the outside in the replay of the knock on. Not a chance he's pushing straight.

Fiji have conceded far to many penalties this half, the sin bin has been coming.

I get what you're saying formerly sam and I agree. Scotland knocked it on in the scrum. They had the penalty advantage but had that not been a penalty advantage, Fiji clear lines. If they then score its a 2 point game with 5 mins left. I think 3 points would have been a much better way to secure the match first and foremost, especially considering how poor Scotland have played overall today.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

BigGee wrote:He took him in the air there

No. Good contest between the two.

He was nowhere near the ball!

Well done Ben White, to me he should start next week, been the better SH today

BigGee wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:

BigGee wrote:He took him in the air there

No. Good contest between the two.

He was nowhere near the ball!

Bar getting a hand to the ball.

BigGee wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:

BigGee wrote:He took him in the air there

No. Good contest between the two.

He was nowhere near the ball!

The Fijian who got a hand to the ball before contact with Graham? Graham is only upset because he fumbles the catch under the pressure. It's a contact sport, he's making a clear attempt to play the ball and does so before the contact with Graham. Berry has been a little generous or Scotland but that would have been ridiculous.

BigGee wrote:Well done Ben White, to me he should start next week, been the better SH today

Very much so. Definitely increased the tempo and hasn't given penalties away for silly offsides.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

BigGee wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:

BigGee wrote:He took him in the air there

No. Good contest between the two.

He was nowhere near the ball!

The Fijian who got a hand to the ball before contact with Graham? Graham is only upset because he fumbles the catch under the pressure. It's a contact sport, he's making a clear attempt to play the ball and does so before the contact with Graham. Berry has been a little generous or Scotland but that would have been ridiculous.

I'll have another look!

Graham MoM

Would have been Richie Gray for me, had a fabulous game on his return to the team

Apparently great teams find a way to win even when playing badly.

Does this mean we’re a great team???

Big Ritchie was my motm for what it’s worth

BigGee wrote:Graham MoM

Would have been Richie Gray for me, had a fabulous game on his return to the team

Scottish pack grind down Fiji at the set piece and the commentators give man of the match to a winger...

Darcy gets an early bath

BigGee wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:

BigGee wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:

BigGee wrote:He took him in the air there

No. Good contest between the two.

He was nowhere near the ball!

The Fijian who got a hand to the ball before contact with Graham? Graham is only upset because he fumbles the catch under the pressure. It's a contact sport, he's making a clear attempt to play the ball and does so before the contact with Graham. Berry has been a little generous or Scotland but that would have been ridiculous.

I'll have another look!

Fair contest I thought

Well it was not pretty or easy, but we get over the line againgst a very game Fiji side, well played to them and at least we have a second half we can build on.

I don't see it pleasing the unconverted though, the questions persist.

Some good performances from the bench though, so maybe some more changes for next week.


Big question is though, if Hastings is injured or concussed, does he then bring Finn back?

BigGee wrote:Graham MoM

Would have been Richie Gray for me, had a fabulous game on his return to the team

Ritchie for me too. The line out was night and day from last week to this. Even disrupting the Fijian lineout throw ins.

2nd half was a different game. We tightened up and cut out the penalties using our scrum and lineout to hold the structure. The first half we were playing into Fiji’s hands. Especially with the aimless box kicks just inviting the Fijians to run at us.

Hopefully big Ritchie can take his late blooming form into the wee cup next year

Pragmatic workmanlike performance. OK. Average. Fine. Meh.

I seem to be more pessimistic than others here because whilst the pack took the heavy artillery and locked the set piece, the backs were absolutely honking. I was watching with the Saffer broadcast instead of Amazon but which idiot give Graham MoM? There were at least 3 Scots forwards and 3 Fijian forwards who deserved that much more than he did.

The backs looked like they'd just met in the car park beforehand. Proof if ever it was needed that you need to pick your backline and then leave them alone, game after game, to develop an understanding. I really wish Toonie would just stick instead of twisting more than Chubby Checker ever did. No coherence whatsoever and a genuine lack of quality in both handling and decision making. It's no excuse whatsoever to say that they were harried into mistakes with an aggressive blitz - most teams in the world do this.

What doesn't help develop fluency is this practice which I hate of keeping the ball in at scrums to draw penalties rather than using it. I saw two first phase backline moves the entire game. Yet another 80 minutes where our backline were left begging for scraps.

Forwards fronted well with Richie carrying and tackling like a demon - you can see why they miss him when he's not there. Mish fairly anonymous. Dempsey quite a splashy player but got himself isolated a couple of times. What should give is a huge sign of relief is that Tattie Scone Face and the Grays (with Ashman who was very accurate) have finally got the line out sorted.

Perhaps I just need to watch more games as a benchmark but both NZ and the Pumas will sleep soundly after watching that.

As usual, our favourite Grumpy Rugby Uncle has it right:

Sir Tom of English wrote:'More questions than answers'
FT: Scotland 28-12 Fiji

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

A win but one riddled with massive concerns and nothing to suggest that Scotland are improving. They finally managed to get a bit of ball in the second half and Fiji's horrific lack of discipline made it easy for them.

Against better sides Scotland would have lost this by half-time. The crowd's Mexican Wave told you something about what went on here.

It was dull and the All Blacks are coming next. The discipline of the home team was poor again. Double figures in penalties. Two yellow cards. More questions than answers.

No, you're right GC. I've just lowered my expectations with Toonie's Scotland. We'll lose to NZ and Argentina, come 5th in the 6 Nations and exit the WC at the group stage. Then we can get rid of him.

George Carlin wrote:As usual, our favourite Grumpy Rugby Uncle has it right:

Sir Tom of English wrote:'More questions than answers'
FT: Scotland 28-12 Fiji

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

A win but one riddled with massive concerns and nothing to suggest that Scotland are improving. They finally managed to get a bit of ball in the second half and Fiji's horrific lack of discipline made it easy for them.

Against better sides Scotland would have lost this by half-time. The crowd's Mexican Wave told you something about what went on here.

It was dull and the All Blacks are coming next. The discipline of the home team was poor again. Double figures in penalties. Two yellow cards. More questions than answers.

Uncle Tom Grumpy is usually right, but there was a little bit more to be upbeat about than that. We did play a lot better in the second half and some of our subs were good.

Was it a good performance, definitely not, but at least we won and there was something to build on for a team short of confidence. The NZ game is different gravy, no one is giving us a chance and it is a different kind of pressure on the players, we often play better in those circumstances.

NZ look pretty decent against Wales so far, no sign of them being any more beatable than usual.. gulp!

I’m no gonna lie. That felt like a loss to me. Scotland really should be able to put a scratch Fijian side to the sword without breaking too much sweat. The fact that they had to rely on yellow cards and penalties to trip over the line is unacceptable.

Toonie and his minions oot!

BigGee wrote:

George Carlin wrote:As usual, our favourite Grumpy Rugby Uncle has it right:

Sir Tom of English wrote:'More questions than answers'
FT: Scotland 28-12 Fiji

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

A win but one riddled with massive concerns and nothing to suggest that Scotland are improving. They finally managed to get a bit of ball in the second half and Fiji's horrific lack of discipline made it easy for them.

Against better sides Scotland would have lost this by half-time. The crowd's Mexican Wave told you something about what went on here.

It was dull and the All Blacks are coming next. The discipline of the home team was poor again. Double figures in penalties. Two yellow cards. More questions than answers.

Uncle Tom Grumpy is usually right, but there was a little bit more to be upbeat about than that. We did play a lot better in the second half and some of our subs were good.

Was it a good performance, definitely not, but at least we won and there was something to build on for a team short of confidence. The NZ game is different gravy, no one is giving us a chance and it is a different kind of pressure on the players, we often play better in those circumstances.

Gee - as FES mentions, whether you think it was a decent performance depends very much on what you think our standards now are. The performances that got us to where we are in the World Rankings are now nearly 3 years old. Makes me sad.

George Carlin wrote:

BigGee wrote:

George Carlin wrote:As usual, our favourite Grumpy Rugby Uncle has it right:

Sir Tom of English wrote:'More questions than answers'
FT: Scotland 28-12 Fiji

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

A win but one riddled with massive concerns and nothing to suggest that Scotland are improving. They finally managed to get a bit of ball in the second half and Fiji's horrific lack of discipline made it easy for them.

Against better sides Scotland would have lost this by half-time. The crowd's Mexican Wave told you something about what went on here.

It was dull and the All Blacks are coming next. The discipline of the home team was poor again. Double figures in penalties. Two yellow cards. More questions than answers.

Uncle Tom Grumpy is usually right, but there was a little bit more to be upbeat about than that. We did play a lot better in the second half and some of our subs were good.

Was it a good performance, definitely not, but at least we won and there was something to build on for a team short of confidence. The NZ game is different gravy, no one is giving us a chance and it is a different kind of pressure on the players, we often play better in those circumstances.

Gee - as FES mentions, whether you think it was a decent performance depends very much on what you think our standards now are. The performances that got us to where we are in the World Rankings are now nearly 3 years old. Makes me sad.

At the moment, I am just happy to take a win, albeit against a team we should beat. The first thing you need to do about a losing run is end it.

Small margins in sport as always. If BK had kicked a sitter last week we would be 2 from 2 and just about everyone would be happy. We are unlikely to be the only team to struggle a bit this autumn against Fiji, who play like no-one else on the planet, whoever is in their team.


I think this looks like the basis of our team going forward now, let's see how they get on against a much stronger team next weekend.

The blackness have rediscovered thier mojo

Ardie and Aaron smith would moonwalk into the Scotland team. The guff between them and our 8 and 9 is galactic

For me the biggest difference is NZ kick only when they want to rather than kicking for kickings sake which is what we’re doing just now

Didn't get to watch most of it but doesn't sound encouraging despite the win, which is what I expected to be honest.

Sounds like the backs were still rudderless in attack, implying this is definitely a coaching issue rather than a player issue when you consider the options that were there.

Discipline also sounds awful again, which I think for Scotland perhaps stems from a lack of understanding of the gameplan. Another coaching black mark.

At least the forwards sounded like they had a good game and Ashman has laid a marker?

Think I may just tune out of Scottish rugby until Toonie goes.

That NZ side I’m watching right now will put 60 on us unless we make an enormous improvement. You keep coming back to the fact that our coach has left our best player in France and, for what?

NeilyBroon wrote:Didn't get to watch most of it but doesn't sound encouraging despite the win, which is what I expected to be honest.

Sounds like the backs were still rudderless in attack, implying this is definitely a coaching issue rather than a player issue when you consider the options that were there.

Discipline also sounds awful again, which I think for Scotland perhaps stems from a lack of understanding of the gameplan. Another coaching black mark.

At least the forwards sounded like they had a good game and Ashman has laid a marker?

Think I may just tune out of Scottish rugby until Toonie goes.

It is not a coaching issue that some players were half a meter offside at every breakdown in the first half. Some of those players just need to be dropped.

To be fair they did sort it out, but they should never have been in that place in the first place. If we do that next week, it will be a cricket score.


Let the players who came on and made a difference start next week, what have we got to lose.

George Carlin wrote:That NZ side I’m watching right now will put 60 on us unless we make an enormous improvement. You keep coming back to the fact that our coach has left our best player in France and, for what?

Right. I am going to bite on this one

Is Finn Russell really our best player?

He may be our most creative, able to make the miracle play on occasions type of player, that is probably beyond doubt.

Is he the most valuable player to the team, in that he turns up week in week out and always puts in a performance. I would say probably not. I would have several players ahead of him on that front, Ritchie, Harris, both Fagerson's, on today's performances, both Gray's, Graham and others. At least when RG did not feel up to it, he did the right thing and opted out, no dramas.

It will be interesting if he does bring him back in next week if Hastings is crocked, will he really commit to the team in a way that he sometimes does not seem to have done in the past.

Remember all the things we found frustrating today, sloppy play. stupid penalties, sill cards given away. Probably fair to say that FR has been one of the worst offenders on that front over the past few years and yet he gets away with it because he is Finn and is our best player. I think this is the crux of what Toonie really finds frustrating about him in that sometimes he really does not seem to care. Yes everyone says that is just his way and we should not be fooled by his nonchalance. Ultimately though, that is what it looks like.

He is a rare talent no doubt, but you do have to ask yourself if he was English or Welsh or Australian or a Kiwi would any of their coaches put up with the way he behaves and comes over. There have been other mavericks over the years, Spencer, Cipriani, Cooper, Michalak and in truth they have all underachieved and you can only blame themeselves for that and not their coaches.

For the absence of doubt, I would have Russell back in a flash if he would really commit to the cause but from what I have seen over the past few years, I am not convinced that he can or even wants to and I feel for Toonie in that respect. Toonie has been far from perfect in his coaching tenure in Scotland no doubt, but I do wonder what any other coach would have made of coaching Russell in similar circumstances.

I am conflicted over Russell. He is an outstanding talent, but he also seems to have been at the centre of many off-field disciplinary issues. I am sure there is more to it than a clash of personalities.

On saying that, I am watching the Ireland vs SA game. The South African defence is quick off the line and are smothering Ireland at points. If Kinghorn or Hastings face that they will crumple. It's the type of game FR was made for, he has a good running game, and a lovely chip over, it would help keep the defence honest.

Five wasted years indulging Townsend…. Time to cut our losses and give someone else (preferably Cotter) the 6N to pull this out of the fire before the RWC.
Scotland were ranked 5th in the World when Dodson decided to move him aside for Townsend.
Now Scotland are ranked 9th.

We were a shambles at the World Cup and didn’t get out of the group…

We have more depth than we’ve ever had and yet we continue to regress.

Dodson has shown an itchy trigger finger at club level, why has he gone all in on Townsend?
He should have been binned after the World Cup debacle…

Time for a change

Biggee it's not Russell that is even the main problem, it's the apparent lack of any gameplan that bothers me. These players are on form for their clubs, there's no reason they should be playing so badly at international. I also think maintaining a line onside all comes down to leadership and planning.

That's all coached.

When Scotland had a second good spell under Townsend it's when they were given a structured defence by Tandy. I just get the impression that any good coaching work has been done by others under Toonie. VC put in the foundations for 2018 then McFarland, then Tandy. As soon as it's fully dependent on Toonie it falls apart. His original gambit was play off of Russell, which was never a legitimate gameplan. When that failed they had a lover's tiff and now we're seeing him trying to find a new prodigy to base a whole gameplan off of. Individualism just doesn't work in rugby.

Ooft after reading all these posts I think it's fair to say I'll just be watching the highlights of the first half!

NeilyBroon wrote:Individualism just doesn't work in rugby.

I do kind of agree with that, which is why i am a bit bemused as to the, bring back Finn and everything will be fine, school of though.

I am not immune to Toonie's failings as a coach but we are not going to be changing him this side of the WC, so i am more interested in maximising what we can gain from his time left in the job.

In a historical context, it is probably worth reminding everyone, that he is the most successful coach that Scotland have ever had. We have had more good times under him than anyone else, our problem unfortunately is that we have never really been that good at international rugby. In its numbers game, we just don't stack up.

BigGee wrote:

NeilyBroon wrote:Individualism just doesn't work in rugby.

I do kind of agree with that, which is why i am a bit bemused as to the, bring back Finn and everything will be fine, school of though.

I am not immune to Toonie's failings as a coach but we are not going to be changing him this side of the WC, so i am more interested in maximising what we can gain from his time left in the job.

In a historical context, it is probably worth reminding everyone, that he is the most successful coach that Scotland have ever had. We have had more good times under him than anyone else, our problem unfortunately is that we have never really been that good at international rugby. In its numbers game, we just don't stack up.

Stats can be deceptive. We've not won any silverware and have probably played more 2nd tier nations under Toonie. Certainly on summer tours that has been the case. Our success against England and Australia has been toonie's legacy but you could say a lot of that has been down to their poor form as much as our game. I think toonie's record has proven to be a bit of a false economy but I also feel we're all on the same page that he's not really that good a coach.

I just think this is as good as we're going to see. In terms of maximizing in the intermediary, just take more away from Toonie, bring in an attack coach, that's all I can think of.

We have won 3 Calcutta Cups, won away in Paris, Wales, Argentina, Australia, London

There have been plenty of highs in the Toonie era, certainly in a historical context

I don't think the stats lie, we are around a 50% team atm, which is better than we ever were in the professional era but short of the better teams

Whoever takes over from Toonie, with the resources they will have will struggle to improve on that. He has been in the job a long time and we are approaching the time for a change.

Anyone who comes in and can keep us around the level we are at, will probably be doing a decent job.

Well I must confess I only watched the extended highlights - given all the chat here I wasn't enthusiastic at watching the whole game.

A separate point - is Hamish Watson still the player he once was? I fear the years of punishment are catching up with him. When did was last see a pinball run, or even a key turnover. I'm particularly thinking how much physicality teams are able to bring. We were getting blown away by Fiji - what about SA or Ireland? Do we need to be developing a more physical 7 like Crosbie, Bayliss or Christie?

Finally - that Fiji hit was a red IMO. Sutherland didn't drop in height, he was already low and the player came charging with a swinging arm and smacked him in the face.

I would not be averse to another back row coming in next weekend

Maybe Ritchie, Dempsey and Fagerson to start and Christie/Bayliss/crosbie on bench

I personally think we missed a trick not having another out and out OS like Richardson in the squad.

The first half was hugely exciting from a Fiji perspective RDW, they looked really good I thought. Their 9 controlled things really well. Some of the hits throughout that match were pretty impressive too. I tend agree about the Sutherland incident, it was reckless but refs seem to seem any contact away from the head initially as a yellow offence going by past two weekends.

Hard to see Toonie being sacked anytime before his contract expires unless there is a player revolt or total collapse in strategy and results. We’ve just got to hope the team improve and that it remain a bit more settled going forwards.

Have to say that tackle on Hastings was a thing of beauty. Absolutely melted him. Hopefully he's OK.

I think we can all agree that Toonie won't get the welly before the next RWC.

It's almost impossible to conceive of what it would take between now and then if the last 6N wet f@rt wasn't enough by itself. Mediocrity is sufficient for Dodson at the moment.

On Russell, I'm not suggesting that if we bring him back everything will be fine. Clearly that's not true as a practical matter. However, I do believe that his inclusion is likely to make the whole team better.

Ultimately, it comes down to what you want to do and why you play sport. I would rather play with Russell and risk him costing us a try but making 3 than grind out another turd. I would rather give Hastings a chance to grow into himself, of course, but if he doesn't come through concussion protocols and Townsend chooses some 12 year old rather than Russell to make a point, then he should be ashamed of himself.

Thinking positively. The injury to Hastings may allow a way out of this situation without anyone lossing face.

Toonie gets his playermaker back and Russell, surprised by the recent course of events, knuckles down and becomes the ultimste team player.

Then i just looked out of the window and saw some pigs flying by!

Right, off of my Toonie rants because I know they're boring.

I would agree with others here that Watson needs to at least be benched. I'd imagine he'll fight for his place if he still has it but he is only 31? so wouldn't write him off yet in forward terms. Just look at Richie right now. I'd go with Dempsey at blindside for one half and either swap him to 8 and bring bayliss on at 6 or replace him with bayliss. Bayliss from what I've seen of him has the same kind of dog about him as Ritchie and Watson (on form). I'd also start Ashman as it's clear turner is the main culprit at lineout.

Price needs to be dropped at least to the bench, he is one of many out of form senior players. Hogg is a tricky one, I'd be inclined to put Smith on the bench to give him a rocket up his backside because from what I see, Smith is on better form even with less minutes played this season.

Will Toonie bring in Russell? I feel like this is a double or nothing moment for Toonie. Let's say he brings in Fin Smith who (somehow) has an absolute stormer for Scotland off the bench. I doubt we'd be complaining too much as long as we had a respectable scoreline. I also doubt Toonie is that stupid to try such a risky gamble. I imagine we'll see Russell on the bench but he'll only appear if Kinghorn gets injured. That or he'll get a token 20 minutes if we're getting hammered.

Uncle Tom Grumpy's full version of events and his take on the Russell situation from the BBC website






On Saturday evening, a few hours after Scotland had toiled in victory against Fiji, Racing 92 took to the field at their La Defense Arena for a Top14 game against lowly Perpignan.

They did so without Finn Russell, who started on the bench. Trailing 14-13 at the break and seemingly playing like the proverbial drain, they sent for the fly-half.

Within a minute of him appearing, Racing scored a try, which Russell converted. That was the beginning of what various French rugby websites later called the "Russell transformation."

By the hour-mark, Russell had scored one try and landed two conversions, then he banged over a penalty and fired over three more conversions. Racing won 44-20. "Russell changed everything," the reporter for Rugbyrama concluded. "He transformed the match and offered his teammates a breath of fresh air."

All of this happened a number of hours after Scotland coach Gregor Townsend had spoken haltingly about the fly-half in the wake of the Fiji game. Had he contacted Russell in recent weeks? "No," he replied. "Since the squad has been together? No."

With Adam Hastings carted off injured and reporting a head and knee issue after getting annihilated in a tackle by the giant lock Ratu Leone Rotuisolia, would he now think about calling up Russell?

"Well, he'll be in the mix, yes, of course," he replied. In the mix? Along with who exactly? "If we decide to bring another 10 in he'll be one of the ones we'll be looking at." One of them?

How long is this list of available Test match 10s that he has to file his way through before coming up with a replacement for Hastings, if one is required? Surely it rans the gamut from Russell to Russell.

How are things between them? "Fine, yeah," said Townsend. Would he not have picked up the phone to Russell in recent weeks? "During an international camp?" he asked. "Yeah, ok, could be," he continued, while giving the impression that it was a bit of a daft notion.

Then he went on to outline that he was concentrating on the players he had in camp rather than the ones outside the camp. A phone call, though? A text? A WhatsApp? Some - any - form of communication?

No, just blank space. Townsend - talented, professional and a good guy - has coached his team to a number of big Test victories in his time in charge, but this is a dicey period for him.

That entire exchange was tense and without adding new detail about why we've got to this point with Russell it illustrated how uncomfortable the whole thing is.

Townsend's quotes were later interpreted by some as him thinking about bringing Russell back in for the New Zealand. It didn't sound that way in the room.

Townsend had no idea that Russell was about to tear it up against Perpignan, but it was always a decent bet. Since the fly-half was jettisoned he has landed 18 points in a win over Montpellier and 23 points in victory last weekend against Brive.

True, he's played teams ranked 11th, 13th and 14th in that run, but he can only do what he can do - and he's done it very well.

If "form" and "consistency" was the explanation for not picking him in the Scotland squad to begin with - always a major stretch given Ross Thompson with virtually no game-time for Glasgow was in ahead of him - then it's not the case now.

As it stands, if Hastings is out then Blair Kinghorn will start at 10 against the All Blacks on Sunday and Thompson will be on the bench. That, frankly, is a madness. Thompson is nowhere near ready for a match of that intensity against a side who put 55 points on Wales on Saturday.

Bringing him in now - if he wants to come in, that is - would require some pride-swallowing from Townsend. There'd be complexities for sure. Russell wasn't around this squad on the summer tour and hasn't been in it in the autumn. He wouldn't exactly be up to speed on the way things have been done of late.

Still, if Townsend is prepared to have Russell kicking his heels in Paris in a Kinghorn-Thompson scenario against the Blacks then it would only leave you with a sense that this rift is so impossibly deep that it may never heal.

There are two sides to every story. Russell will have a version and so will Townsend. The player can be high-maintenance, no question. Townsend can be dogmatic, no doubt about that either. It's Townsend's problem to solve, though. He's the manager in this scenario and managers are paid to manage.

His backline is not firing, not possessing the threat they're capable of posing. Start Kinghorn if he must, but not having Russell as an option is utterly self-defeating at this point. Russell had a particularly poor Six Nations, but plenty of others did, too. Get over it. Move on. Unless there's something else going on. Almost certainly there's something else going on.

'More questions than answers for Scotland'
Scotland beat Fiji on Saturday. A win is a win, but this was a snack when a feast was required. The first 40 was appalling for the home team. They conceded seven penalties to Fiji's five, made 106 tackles to Fiji's 55, had 34% territory to Fiji's 66%.

It wasn't just that the visitors were dominant, it was that Scotland were so ragtag. All the forward carriers belonged to Fiji. Their back-row routed Scotland's in the first 40. Albert Tuisue, Levani Botia and Bill Mata got on ball in a way that Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson and Matt Fagerson did not.

Fagerson was the best of the Scots, but even Townsend accepted in the aftermath that his carriers are not doing themselves justice in the opening games of the autumn.

Scotland got it together sufficiently well in the end, but it was a humdrum Test. As the pressure came on them and as Fiji's energy levels dropped their discipline departed.

They had three yellow cards in total and played 27 minutes of the match with 14 men. They conceded 18 penalties, 13 of them in the second half as Scotland finally got hold of the game.

Scotland's discipline wasn't as wretched as Fiji's but it was concerning again. In two games they've given up 26 penalties and three yellow cards. They've also butchered a few try-scoring chances. A continuation of that trend and it's another half century for New Zealand on Sunday.

Townsend's players had a walkabout afterwards. Not a lap of honour, just a gesture to thank the 58,046 souls who turned up. That was a hell of a crowd given Scotland's form but most of them had exited by the time the team went to greet them. It was that kind of day.

Sunday will be an altogether different experience, a day to fear which might be enough to shake a performance of defiance out of Scotland. That's the hope of Murrayfield.

Is it still in them? The team that won in Paris and London last year and against England again this year? Are they still with us? Is there life in them or was that the best of it? Are they capable of more or are we now in the full throes of the decline?

More questions than answers. Tentative days for Townsend and his team.

He may be grumpy but he's not wrong. Glad Townsend is at least being held accountable by the media.

It's a fair point about our backline - the threat of a coherent attack has been nonexistent for a long time for now. We've papered over the cracks with moments of individual brilliance from the likes of Darcy and Duhan, which seems to be our only attacking plan just now

It seems like a very long time ago that the Toonie era was defined by real inventiveness and flair. Yes we didn't have consistency and wins then, but now we have neither an attacking threat or the big wins!

Look we know grumpy uncle Tom pines for Finn but it isn’t happening. Finn has clearly by actions or attitude made it clear to Toonie that Russel thinks he’s a muppet and shouldn’t be in the post. I think my gaffer shouldn’t be in the post they are, but I don’t say to them, I knuckle down and try to make things as easy as possible for folk that look to me.

Until Russel sends Toonie a very lengthy apology card with a picture of Gala glittering in the sunshine along with a box of very fine biscuits, Russell won’t be in a Scotland jersey.

It’s the same with the have a go heroes that have started a petition to “bring back Vern”. I’d love Vern back, he shouldn’t have been let go. But he was. He loves his life of almost semi retirement right now so why would he give all that up to help the union that knifed him in the back?

The only thing that can be changed is chucking price out the starting 9 berth. Let’s get some momentum on making that happen!