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

Needless. Brainless. Wish they'd done this against england!

This is ridiculous.

Yeah. Wish theyd done this against england.

Hard to argue with that one either, good reffing

Well that’s deffo game over

Holy Poopie

Was just thinking that Lavanini had been keeping a low profile.
He never lets you down

No 7&1/2 wrote:Yeah. Wish theyd done this against england.

And you think England would have (a) noticed their advantage, and (b) done something with it?

Only Scotland could mess up like that!

That was terrible attacking from Scotland.

Wow. We’re pish

Hats off to Argentina for playing with absolute guts

doctor_grey wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:Yeah. Wish theyd done this against england.

And you think England would have (a) noticed their advantage, and (b) done something with it?

Tbh yes. Scotland haven't as yet though. They're playing stupidly.

Crazy. Commentators have it spot on, that there’s no need for Scotland to play like that.

Can't be many teams that have scored a try with 12 v 15!

Just absolutely classic classic classic Scotland
What a bunch of characterless, composureless muppets

Any stat geeks?

Has there ever been an international game where 12 men have scored against 15???

Hell, has there been a pro club game where it’s happened?

That's better and how you should play against 12 men!

Feck me have Argentina not just imploded

We still have serious issues with our top 2 inches.

Just silly silly decisions being made here

Heuer27 wrote:Feck me have Argentina not just imploded

Correct. They haven't

Scotland have characteristically kept them in the game

Right we get to see the Redpath-Tuipolotu centre combo at last

more cards coming?

Stupid play from Darcy there

That's better, playing simple seems to work, who knew!

TJ wrote:more cards coming?  

could easily have been two each

Looks like Argentina finally run out of gas

Russell MoM

Hard to argue with that

BigGee wrote:Russell MoM

Hard to argue with that

Toonie will never hear the end of this now

How can we have scored 8 tries and I still feel a touch of the dry boak?

Good win Scotland. Arg were slightly better this week but also bottled it on a few occasions. You can’t argue with a 50+ pointer, take it and keep moving forward.

So Toonie has said the 10 shirt is Russell's to lose. Would we have been sitting 3 from 4 if he'd been here from the start? There's a good chance.

That sounds an absolutely mad game btw??

Just watched Ireland defend 20 phases and not even give a hint of giving a penalty away, picking their moment to go for the ball. Remarkable discipline and organisation.

Discipline being our major work on in 2023!

RDW wrote:Just watched Ireland defend 20 phases and not even give a hint of giving a penalty away, picking their moment to go for the ball. Remarkable discipline and organisation.

Discipline being our major work on in 2023!

Easy fix though. Could be a lot worse.

RiscaGame wrote:

RDW wrote:Just watched Ireland defend 20 phases and not even give a hint of giving a penalty away, picking their moment to go for the ball. Remarkable discipline and organisation.

Discipline being our major work on in 2023!

Easy fix though. Could be a lot worse.

We've got plenty other things to work on too!

I would love to be in that position and have that and still have had a relatively successful Autumn

RiscaGame wrote:I would love to be in that position and have that and still have had a relatively successful Autumn

You're in a safe space here mate - us Scots have been through many dark days. We know exactly how the Welsh are feeling right now!

We have not had a "relatively successful autumn" Its been well below par. One acceptable performance

Just watched the game, and will attempt to sum up our year

The good

- We have to be all in on Finn now. Hastings and Kinghorn as backup but no more messing around please Gregor

- We have one of the most potent winger combos in world rugby. Darcy has to be up there as one of the best wingers in the world this year (Cheslin who?), and the more we give Duhan the ball the more damage he does (funny that)

- Ritchie is the long-term captain. A natural leader

- For all he's a bit limited, Tuipolotu has actually been one of the players of the AIs for us. With Finn putting players in space, a physical, aggressive lump is no bad thing maybe?

- Schoeman has cemented his place as first choice LH and is top international class

The bad

- Still huge inconsistency in our performances. We have always been able to put in one off performances like against the ABs, but when it really matters we let ourselves down.

- Lineout is a real problem. Has been all year. The one time it wasn't, Ritchie Gray was playing - surely not a coincidence.

- Defence - we've gone from one of the best defences in the world to having major issues. A major work on for the 6N

- Impact off the bench, particularly up front. In short, we don't have any

- Discipline, discipline, discipline

- Building depth. If Fagerson, Ritchie, Fagerson, Price, Harris, Duhan, Hogg etc go down injured we have very little experienced depth to replace them. Plenty players who have had the odd scrap of gametime, but we have missed a real opportunity this year to build real backup options in key positions. I read on Twitter recently that for 100 of the last 114 Scotland games, the 9 shirt has either been Laidlaw or Price!

- Off field dramas - would be nice to have a 2023 just talking about the rugby, not which players went out for a drink or more Toonie -Russell melodramas


Anything else?

Caught the replay, that was a pretty mad game. Up until the red card Arg were doing quite well I thought. but it was a solid Scotland win despite some players getting a bit excited at times in attack, even conceding 7 points when Arg had 12 players on the field. Regardless, Russell was supreme once again. He brings the best out of the players around him and it would be absurd to assume he was anything other than Scotland’s first choice 10 now. Major mess up by the coaching team to not name him in the initial squad and they rightly deserve criticism for that.

I agree RDW, Darcy has been Scotland’s best player this autumn. I hope Edinburgh can keep hold of him but he could quite easily play for any club in Europe considering his form this season.

I thought Dempsey got Scotland over the gain line a bit better than when Fagerson was at 8 but they’re pretty similar players.

White and redpath looked great when they came on. I’m still team Redpath but Tuipilotu had a much better game today in attack. His yellow was pretty brainless though. Meant nothing as time was up but in a different scenario that would have been costly. Some great link play with Russell though and some excellent line breaks.

Beating a 14-12 man pumas side at home doesn’t really give a very clear indication of where Scotland are at. Saying that certain players have really grown into this side over the past 12 months and it is exciting. So hopefully we’ll see further improvements in the 6N.

RDW wrote:Just watched the game, and will attempt to sum up our year

The good

- We have to be all in on Finn now. Hastings and Kinghorn as backup but no more messing around please Gregor

- We have one of the most potent winger combos in world rugby. Darcy has to be up there as one of the best wingers in the world this year (Cheslin who?), and the more we give Duhan the ball the more damage he does (funny that)

- Ritchie is the long-term captain. A natural leader

- For all he's a bit limited, Tuipolotu has actually been one of the players of the AIs for us. With Finn putting players in space, a physical, aggressive lump is no bad thing maybe?

- Schoeman has cemented his place as first choice LH and is top international class

The bad

- Still huge inconsistency in our performances. We have always been able to put in one off performances like against the ABs, but when it really matters we let ourselves down.

- Lineout is a real problem. Has been all year. The one time it wasn't, Ritchie Gray was playing - surely not a coincidence.

- Defence - we've gone from one of the best defences in the world to having major issues. A major work on for the 6N

- Impact off the bench, particularly up front. In short, we don't have any

- Discipline, discipline, discipline

- Building depth. If Fagerson, Ritchie, Fagerson, Price, Harris, Duhan, Hogg etc go down injured we have very little experienced depth to replace them. Plenty players who have had the odd scrap of gametime, but we have missed a real opportunity this year to build real backup options in key positions. I read on Twitter recently that for 100 of the last 114 Scotland games, the 9 shirt has either been Laidlaw or Price!

- Off field dramas - would be nice to have a 2023 just talking about the rugby, not which players went out for a drink or more Toonie -Russell melodramas


Anything else?

I would add our attack to the negative column too because we have butchered a lot of tries this year, 3 in one game last weekend. We seem to get into good positions then get pinged or an unforced error (Hogg v Ireland comes to mind) occurs at the wrong time!

As for players I'd like to see get a chance in the 6Ns or world cup earm ups: Callum Hunter-Hill, Fin Smith (if he chooses us) and perhaps John Cooney too (if he also chooses us) and Cameron Henderson.

It would also be good to see Hutch, Huw Jones etc get more minutes under their belt leading up to the world cup, especially if they are going to be in the world cup squad.

Overall, I'm satisfied with our 2022 but there are games that really frustrated me, eg Wales in 6N and Australia a few weeks ago so I am expecting better consistency next year, in terms of form/results and even selection!

Good point Highland - our attack has massively regressed in the last year. For a lot of the games our entire attacking strategy was just give it to Duhan or Darcy.

Finn coming back has massively improved that if course.

Btw to give Kinghorn a shout out - for Darcy's 3rd try he hit the line hard in the wide channel, drew the man and gave the try scoring pass. His threats could be a real asset late in games - there must be a way we can use him better? I wonder if it's worth trying him at fullback - has he played there before...?

TJ wrote:We have not had a "relatively successful autumn"  Its been well below par.  One acceptable performance

Very unlucky against Australia. Could’ve beaten NZ too. Two wins. I think it’s okay.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/63691553

A good article from Rafio Scotland commentator Andy Burke. Well worth a read imho.

Nice article. Hopefully this generation can go out with a bang. We've all been here before though and definitely am not forgetting how awful this year has been on the back of a good win against a poorly disciplined and knackered Argentina. It's very easy to get carried away when you've had dross the rest of the year.

Looking ahead I'd rather Toonie doesn't tinker that much any more and makes sensible decisions with less of the dogmatic selections or non-selections.

To have a remote chance in the group stages of the WC we need to be settled on a gameplan in attack that works with or without Finn. Even if he's on storming form, we need to be able to play without him from a pragmatic perspective of injury cover.

I'd give us a C+ for this series, not the best but solid enough. Hopefully we pull out our best performances in the 6Ns where the games really matter. 3 home games, 2 against our recurring bogeymen, Wales and Ireland, gives us a great opportunity.

RiscaGame wrote:

TJ wrote:We have not had a "relatively successful autumn"  Its been well below par.  One acceptable performance

Very unlucky against Australia. Could’ve beaten NZ too. Two wins. I think it’s okay.

Unlucky and nearly does not count. 2 wins from 4 with the teams we played is not good enough.

I've updated the OP to show all of our 2022 results.

It doesn't look all that awful until you realise that Ireland won a test series in NZ this summer and France won a 6N grand slam.

Our 2 problems: (a) we do not have the temperament, fitness and/or impact off the bench to close out close games and (b) we are not improving as consistently as other teams are - intuitively you would put this down to chopping and changing the selection all the time.

I think yesterday was an interesting reveal. I don’t think finn has ever been positioned anywhere other than first choice by GT and was probably hoping not to be needed to be used. BK cameos were to see if he can cover 10 and the rest of the backline from a 6/2 bench slot, he probably can at a push, 12/wing/FB he adds value for sure. Hastings showed more at 10 so edges it for me there but BK better in the backfield. Ritchie gray was immense and will be needed in the pack. I liked dempsey’s smarts (bar a wild moment vs 12 when going to ground was the right choice) and extra metres in the carry. Ritchie is the captain for me for a decade, really getting to grips with the job. Redpath was great to see and the wc backline will see him at 12 for me. It’s a good place when we are moaning about missed wins vs aus and ABs while wales lose to georgia and england to argentina. Not sure if GT will go for broke in the 6n with out best combos but i would rather he did. Overall a decent autumn.

Another thought. I read that the Toonbola has selected 50+ players in the last year - so surely that means we have some depth and some fringe players getting experience?

Front row still is a bit thin but other than that its more a case of who to leave out not who can we pick. should do us well for the WC assuming he can actually pick the right players this time?

Yes it is interesting the outcome of all this.

We certainly got a fired up and motivated Finn playing for us in his games this series. let's not forget that in the last 6N he did not always look like that!

Did Toonie dropping him from the squad play a part in that?

Not something we will ever know for sure or until more autobiographies get written in a few years' time.


For what it's worth, Toonie never said that he was our 4th choice FH, which is what all the Toonie out journos and fans claimed but said he wanted him to find some form and consistency, which he seems to have done.

So either a masterstroke, worthy of Alex Fergusson, or a stroke of luck Adam Hastings getting injured?


In terms of the rest of the squad:

1. I think Ali Price is on a shoddy peg and I do wish he had started Ben White, who to me looked the better player in the Fiji game and yesterday. George Horne looks like he is seen as a squad filler these days and you do wonder if Dobbie might even leapfrog him into the squad if he gets a run of games with Glasgow.

2. I think Redpath-Tuipolotu is where we might be heading in the centres but starting with Harris still holds its attractions due to the defensive qualities he brings. At some stage though he will start the two younger players in a tougher game and then we can really judge.

3. RG has surpassed his younger brother this series, by some distance and looks nailed on for now, GG played his usual solid series and is probably his starting partner, though Cummings might also be an option. Hard to see anyone other than the current group beaking in before the end of this WC cycle though.

4. Hooker is still a bit unclear as well. It would have been useful to see Ashman get a start but we have got to wait a bit longer for that. Brown played well against NZ, but got a case of the yips again at times yesterday. No-one has nailed down that starting shirt yet.

5. We are nearly there in the back row but need to see what kind of shape Watson comes back in and if Darge can get fit again any time soon. To me we missed Richardson from the squad this time and I hope he comes back in for the 6N. Dempsey was ok, but did not set the heather alight, an experiment worth continuing with though.

6. The back 3 pick themselves with BK providing cover. Smith is kicking around as well and looks like he could step up. Good to see Hoggy play well yesterday, his best Scotland game for a long time.

Another thing I want to add to the negative column - our attacking lineout / driving maul. The good teams score a lot of tries from driving mauls within 10m of the line. We have scored some, but we have butchered many not least against the Wallabies. Most likely we'll mes up the lineout, but even if we win it our driving maul is nowhere near as potent as it needs to be. For this to have gone on for so long that's a coaching issue for me.