Glasgow and Edinburgh 29 - Buckfast & Bollinger

First topic message reminder :

29 threads. There is officially something wrong with us.

https://www.606v2.com/t70624p1000-glasgow-and-edinburgh-28-and-counting-the-banter-goes-on?ns=7ndk62cdm0w%3D#4069230

I thought he would stay at Exeter. His wife likes horses I believe so Japan seemed very odd to me.

Saw Price, Bhatti, Berghan and Dempsey starting for Glasgow this weekend. Could wee Horne be in line to start for Scotland? Or will it be White or Price?

Edinburgh side vs Sharks

Venter - McBurney - McCallum (De Bruin - Cherry - Atalifo)
Sykes - Young (Hodgson)
Haining - Mata - Watson (Muncaster)

Vellacott - Savala (Shiel - VDW)
Lang - Bennett (Hutchison)
Blain - Immelman - Goosen

Unavailable: Nick Auterac, Emiliano Boffelli, Matt Currie, Chris Dean, Darcy Graham, Stuart McInally, Harry Paterson, Angus Williams

International camp: Luke Crosbie, Grant Gilchrist, Blair Kinghorn, Duhan van der Merwe, WP Nel, Jamie Ritchie, Pierre Schoeman, Sam Skinner

Well we get to see Watson back in action at long last. I don't see him playing for Scotland next weekend, but could come into the reckoning later in the competition if he can prove his fitness and form.

Well just to show off, I'm off to th Sydney 7s this weekend with temperatures in the 30s and high humidity. I can barely walk to the bar in that heat never mind play rugby.

There's a few Scots involved as part of Team GB.

So what? I'm just about to get dressed and drive three and a half hours to sunny west Wales to watch the Warriors slay some Dragons.

West Wales

I wish I could hammer you for predicting a Glasgow win too.

RiscaGame wrote:West Wales

I wish I could hammer you for predicting a Glasgow win too.

Jim used to teach English, not Geography

Mea culpa. I meant heading west to Wales.

Car died!!! Not heading anywhere.
If anyone wants three tickets for the Compeed stand contact me.

This Edinburgh v Sharks game is a cracker as well, so physical

Edinburgh 14 nil down and now scored twice

14 all

Very sloppy match but Sharks seem to be good at disrupting Edinburgh structure. Two driving mauls close to Sharks line literally got chewed up and munched by the Sharks.

The Sharks scrum half is electric! Amazing reactions around the ruck. Has their backline fizzing

Wow gutsy effort from Edinburgh after a wonderful Sheil break but Sharks defence was very good. Eventually a knock on after what felt like 20+ phases going across both sides of the Sharks 22.

Wish we could implant Sheil's knack for a break into Price's stability behind the rucks. He's been incredible at finding gaps today.

What a mad finish to this game!

What a game!  No softies in Edinburgh shirts today.  sharks defense off set piece was immense and that was the differnce. By 'eck that was a hard game but no cheap shots or thuggery.

mention for the ref for a really good match.

Well done Sharks that was some of the best defence I've seen for a long time. Deserved victors.

bsando wrote:Wish we could implant Sheil's knack for a break into Price's stability behind the rucks. He's been incredible at finding gaps today.

I think the problem is that neither of them are great behind the rucks, both are indecisive and just don't get the ball away, neither of them box kicked well either. That was particularly obvious today against a counter rucking side like the Sharks.

Having said that Sheil deserves a lot of credit for the yards he made and if Blain could have got his pass away, they would have likely won the game.

SH is a problem for Edinburgh though.

Still it was a pulsating game and a lot of really good performances from an Edinburgh second string.

Sharks try sounds controversial with the ref and TMO giving it even though you couldn't actually see if it was grounded?

RDW wrote:Sharks try sounds controversial with the ref and TMO giving it even though you couldn't actually see if it was grounded?

It was, I thought it looked held up, but ref said on field try and the replays showed nothing.

Edinburgh can't complain about losing though, they certainly had there chances and could have taken a kick to draw the match.

Yeah fair enough. Sounds a good game so going to watch it back in full.

Had a great day at the Sydney 7s yesterday - was feckin hot. GB men did pretty well then beaten by Fiji in the quarters. Tries from Robbie Ferguson and Max McFarland (who really is electric). Femi Sofilarin looks a big strong runner but we've had plenty of those who never then make it in XVs.

In truth you probably couldn't say that the 7s is a development pathway for Scotland anymore, not least because these guys will be contracted to GB 7s this year.

BigGee wrote:

RDW wrote:Sharks try sounds controversial with the ref and TMO giving it even though you couldn't actually see if it was grounded?

It was, I thought it looked held up, but ref said on field try and the replays showed nothing.

Edinburgh can't complain about losing though, they certainly had there chances and could have taken a kick to draw the match.

I was right down where that try was scored and he immediately signaled for held up, I guess he changed his mind. To be fair the officials had a nightmare all evening from what i could tell, but obviously that is taken from a limited view from one side of the pitch.

Did they look at what looked like a clothesline on Immelman?

EWT Spoons wrote:

BigGee wrote:

RDW wrote:Sharks try sounds controversial with the ref and TMO giving it even though you couldn't actually see if it was grounded?

It was, I thought it looked held up, but ref said on field try and the replays showed nothing.

Edinburgh can't complain about losing though, they certainly had there chances and could have taken a kick to draw the match.

I was right down where that try was scored and he immediately signaled for held up, I guess he changed his mind.  To be fair the officials had a nightmare all evening from what i could tell, but obviously that is taken from a limited view from one side of the pitch.

Did they look at what looked like a clothesline on Immelman?  

Yes they looked without stopping play, said no foul play, he just ran into the big SA prop. The TV replay was not very conclusive on it

To be fair the officials had a nightmare all evening from what i could tell, but obviously that is taken from a limited view from one side of the pitch.

I thought they had a good game. But then I had watched the Glasgow game earlier with Frank Murphy!

He signalled time off for that try not held up but its a very similar signal :-)

TJ wrote:

To be fair the officials had a nightmare all evening from what i could tell, but obviously that is taken from a limited view from one side of the pitch.

I thought they had a good game.  But then I had watched the Glasgow game earlier with Frank Murphy!

He signalled time off for that try not held up but its a very similar signal :-)

Fair enough, I was looking through a number of pillars but it really looked like he signaled held up. Watching it back I still can't see how he could have seen that as a try, I know he said on-field decision was a try, but I'm amazed if he could actually see that.

EWT Spoons wrote:

TJ wrote:

To be fair the officials had a nightmare all evening from what i could tell, but obviously that is taken from a limited view from one side of the pitch.

I thought they had a good game.  But then I had watched the Glasgow game earlier with Frank Murphy!

He signalled time off for that try not held up but its a very similar signal :-)

Fair enough, I was looking through a number of pillars but it really looked like he signaled held up.  Watching it back I still can't see how he could have seen that as a try, I know he said on-field decision was a try, but I'm amazed if he could actually see that.

I'm amazed too. Only the ref will truly know if he actually saw that ball on the line. If he did, fair enough but he had about 3 players in the way when the ball went down. He signed held up first then in talking to the TMO said try. Based on the reaction of the players on both sides it looked clearly held up.

I do think he had a decent game apart from that though.

BigGee wrote:

EWT Spoons wrote:

BigGee wrote:

RDW wrote:Sharks try sounds controversial with the ref and TMO giving it even though you couldn't actually see if it was grounded?

It was, I thought it looked held up, but ref said on field try and the replays showed nothing.

Edinburgh can't complain about losing though, they certainly had there chances and could have taken a kick to draw the match.

I was right down where that try was scored and he immediately signaled for held up, I guess he changed his mind.  To be fair the officials had a nightmare all evening from what i could tell, but obviously that is taken from a limited view from one side of the pitch.

Did they look at what looked like a clothesline on Immelman?  

Yes they looked without stopping play, said no foul play, he just ran into the big SA prop. The TV replay was not very conclusive on it

Sharks player grabbed his shirt as he ran past. Definitely a pen (albeit a soft one)

RDW wrote:

EWT Spoons wrote:

TJ wrote:

To be fair the officials had a nightmare all evening from what i could tell, but obviously that is taken from a limited view from one side of the pitch.

I thought they had a good game.  But then I had watched the Glasgow game earlier with Frank Murphy!

He signalled time off for that try not held up but its a very similar signal :-)

Fair enough, I was looking through a number of pillars but it really looked like he signaled held up.  Watching it back I still can't see how he could have seen that as a try, I know he said on-field decision was a try, but I'm amazed if he could actually see that.

I'm amazed too. Only the ref will truly know if he actually saw that ball on the line. If he did, fair enough but he had about 3 players in the way when the ball went down. He signed held up first then in talking to the TMO said try. Based on the reaction of the players on both sides it looked clearly held up.

I do think he had a decent game apart from that though.

I'm going to need to watch the game back, as from the stadium it looked like he and his officials had a mare.

Well I've just watched the full game. Despite the loss I'm pleased with the reaction from Edinburgh following the limp 1872 period. Whilst Glasgow have been playing touch rugby against the diddy teams Edinburgh have really fronted up in some epic contests with huge physicality and intensity. All that's been missing is the wins, although they have been close. That was a brutal contest and you could see at the end how happy Sharks were to win that. The URC is a bloody tough league now!

It does feel like Edinburgh are building real solid foundations. The new stadium is now absolutely rocking (dare I say it - like Scotstoun in the glory days) and we've shown we can compete against anyone. We just need consistency and a run of wins to take it to the next level.

Vellacott didn't have a great game but I thought Shiel did well - great breaks obviously but his box kicking was much better. I like the look of Savala - he very much plays like a RL convert but there are a lot of strong parts to his game, mainly running, physicality and he's a decent goal kicker. He's got a lot of rough edges but at 22 has plenty time to learn (although with Healy and Kinghorn he may have limited opportunity next season).

Immleman put in a strong performance too wand will be a miss when he leaves.

Haining put in a big shift - it's a shame he's always injured.

It's not an easy run in for Edinburgh and there's a chance we'll only win a few games before the end of the season. But there are positive signs for the future. Pressure will be on Blair next season (a WC disrupted season) to move past the building phase and into delivering.

Good summary, was great to see Watson play a full 80 mins as well. He was very physical when going into contact. Crosbie should surely start for Scotland but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Watson involved against Wales or France.

McCallum did well too despite looking pretty buggered just before he came off. Glad he’s back at Edinburgh.

Cherry throws really well but compared to Brown, Ashman and Turner his game in the loose is not quite as impressive. Perhaps that is why his opportunities with Scotland have not been as frequent. Brown is a test match animal despite his occasional blunder.

And where was Goosen? He has been pretty quiet for Edinburgh. I don’t even recall him getting the ball yesterday, only Blain. He nearly did enough to win it. I hope the goose can start to click and we can see the best of him because he was a very impressive player for Hurricanes.

Goosen has been very underwhelming. I was excited when he arrives given how good he looked in Super Rugby, but this isn't Super Rugby. He's showed up well in individuals moments but struggles to get into games. There no doubt out gameplay doesn't suit our right winger but that doesn't seem to cause Darcy any issues getting involved.

Hope he's not on a big salary...

Yeah I agree, and when you see how good Cancilerri has been for Glasgow Goosen’s poor form really sticks out. It’s probably been a slightly tricky transition for him and also because Edinburgh have a stacked back three (until recent injuries). VDM wasn’t supposed to be in Edinburgh and that’s probably dented his game time. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him leave at the end of his contract if things continue this way. He would probably still be snapped up by another club in Europe for good money (which he’s surely on at Edinburgh).

Goosen has been injured a fair bit to be fair, not sure you have seen the best of him yet.

Hopefully he'll get a run of games now.

Edinburgh attack is still a bit blunt though and that is not the winger's fault. The problems largely lie at half back

Glasgow got the job done but did not kill the game off and allowed the Dragons a bonus point. Edinburgh...could have won, should have won, didn't. The Sharks full back is some defender with those tackles. At the same time, it really hurts their season

Glasgow have a strong shot at a home quarter final in the playoffs. Home games vs Ulster and Zebre with the away trip to the Lions in between during the Six Nations. Away to Munster before home games against Scarlets and Connacht to finish. Last year it took 58 points and Glasgow are currently on 39.

Edinburgh...that loss just kills them. Probably need 15 (maybe even 20) points to make the playoff from Scarlets (A), Leinster (H), Connacht (A), Ospreys (H) and Ulster (A). I just don't see it. Six losing bonus points so far this season. Half of them turn to wins and they are fighting for top four.

When did Edinburgh last have a decent 10? Have they ever?

TJ wrote:When did Edinburgh last have a decent 10?  Have they ever?

I think Tovey was the closest to a half decent 10 in recent years. Chamberlain looked promising but they quickly fobbed him off!

VDW 4 years ago was on great form and looked like he was going to step up to International class. It was around the time he had Simon Hickey for company - everyone assumed Hickey would be first choice but VDW held him off with a run of great performances.

The last few years have been a bit of a sharp drop off and he's most likely going to be let go at the end of his contract.

Other than that, (good)Godman was probably the best 10 of the pro era. Like De Luca he was pretty pish for Scotland but a top club player for Edinburgh.

I was so annoyed that Edinburgh couldn't close that game out.

It's the difference between teams in the mix at the end of the season and those which aren't.

Edinburgh are a season away from being a really great team and they absolutely have to sort out the halfback hinge. That Paddy feller needs to embed himself.

We probably shouldn't understate how tough a test that was for Edinburgh. The reaction in the SA media says it all - their owner even said it was their greatest ever win (a bit OTT, but gives a flavour of their reaction). The Sharks came over meaning business and Edinburgh gave as good as they got.

It's a shame we didn't kick for points at the end as a draw probably would have been a fair result!

It looks to me like Edinburgh have already outgrown their new stadium, I don't see many empty seats whenever I see them playing at home. Is there ways to expand capacity in the coming seasons if they want to?

LeinsterFan4life wrote:It looks to me like Edinburgh have already outgrown their new stadium, I don't see many empty seats whenever I see them playing at home. Is there ways to expand capacity in the coming seasons if they want to?

A bit premature I think. Crowds have been good but only had a few sellouts since moving in. It took a lot of investment to get the stadium up and running I can't see the SRU splashing the cash to upgrade it. There's then planning permission issues etc.

Saying that, it wouldn't cost a lot as the stands are basically glorified marquees!

RDW wrote:

LeinsterFan4life wrote:It looks to me like Edinburgh have already outgrown their new stadium, I don't see many empty seats whenever I see them playing at home. Is there ways to expand capacity in the coming seasons if they want to?

A bit premature I think. Crowds have been good but only had a few sellouts since moving in. It took a lot of investment to get the stadium up and running I can't see the SRU splashing the cash  to upgrade it. There's then planning permission issues etc.

Saying that, it wouldn't cost a lot as the stands are basically glorified marquees!

That's fair, I suppose yous might be content with the situation anyway with having Murrayfield there for the bigger games. Would it be fair to say that the stadium has been a resounding success? The atmosphere was brilliant for the Sharks game.

When the stadium was built there was permission to expand the capacity, but when this was discussed at fan forums, held by the club prior to moving in, they did make it very clear it would need to sell out consistently to make it something they would consider.  They wanted to first and foremost build a fear of missing out situation which was never an issue at BTMF, so its very much a mindset change for ‘casual’ Edinburgh fans

I think we’ve only had one sell out this season (Sarries last weekend) but we are flirting with sell outs more and more, so hopefully we’ll get another before the season ends.

I think the permission on the stadium was to expand it up to around 10k by building on top of the Lothian stand, after that I think they start moving into the territory of more permanent structures and as a result far more costs, which at the moment is not something the club can realistically afford with the price of everything going up and up.

If they can get to 10k selling out regularly, then there might be the money to justify going to permanent structures. Aren't Edinburgh doing around 5-6k regularly?

At least Edinburgh have a pathway to expansion. Scotstoun got priced up rather than expanded due to the lack of stadium growth.

Yeah, if demand reaches 10k then there would be a case for looking to spend money.  However, the stadium capacity is around 7.7k currently and we’ve only managed to hit that once, so as things stand there’s no requirement to upgrade.  

Aye I think we normally get in the region of 5-6k but it does seem to be creeping up.  I think what’s working in our favour is whilst the results on the pitch haven’t been as good this year, that atmosphere has been better off it and despite the games not always going to plan, you can’t call them boring, so I think it’s bringing fans back.  If we could marry the two by winning and playing well, then we might be on to something…hot take!

Loving the Calcutta Cup thread. I've completely forgotten about the standard assumption that we will get an @rse kicking from whomever we play against.

Let's see.

Hard to argue that we'll win this one though!

Never know, tbh it'll probably be tighter than some of us think but I also think we're overdue a Twickenham erse kicking, I get the horrible feeling there'll be a card or something and we'll be on the receiving end of a hammering.

Neily, you have just evoked memories of Chuckles getting yellow carded at Twickers and the game being over before his 10 minutes were up. That was a horrible afternoon in saarf London.

jimbopip wrote:Neily, you have just evoked memories of Chuckles getting yellow carded at Twickers and the game being over before his 10 minutes were up. That was a horrible afternoon in saarf London.

Exactly the game I was thinking of!

King Farrell of Stodge v St Russell of Funtimes.

Looking forward to seeing that again.

Hope it's not an attritional, forward dominated, pill-up-the-jumper affair. Not least because we'll lose if it is. The whole thing needs to be looser than Jim's bowels around a busload of Edinburgh supporters.