Scotland World Cup buildup

First topic message reminder :

Scotland v Italy
Saturday 29 July

Scotland v France
Saturday 5 August

France v Scotland
Saturday 12 August

Scotland v Georgia
Saturday 26 August

I think it's only fair to start another thread for this topic because I can see it being a popular topic in terms of discussion .

First things first is that 3 wins from 5 and a 3rd place finish probably exceeded expectations because most would have said 2 wins and the 4th place win, the one that most would have called was England to beat us as they were at home so imho we certainly deserve enormous credit for that one because we played very well against an England team that also had their moments, in fact I could already see improvements from the Eddie Jones era during that game and until DVDM clinched it at the death, I was still pretty worried we wouldn't win so was understandably over the moon that we did win.

The Wales and Italy matches were mixed bags tbh but we did get 5pts from both which was crucial, the Welsh game we didn't really perform first half and were in fact fortunate to go in at half time ahead but second half we were excellent and deserved the bonus point win.  The Italy game was a mixed bag in terms of; we had patches where we did well and others where we were hanging on, such as the last 2mins, I also felt that in that game our top centre pairing of Huwipulotu were quiet in attack though DVDM was a bit more involved that he had been in the previous few weeks before.

The France game was bloody frustrating because we showed glimpses of how well we can play especially in the second half for large parts but we were guilty of missing key opportunities and indiscipline from the captain of all people was our undoing which is where the frustration comes because as fans, we expect our captain to know what the ref will tolerate in terms of backchat!

The Ireland game was a game of 2 halfs, in the first half we were going toe to toe with them, it was probably the best we've played against them in a very long time; second half was a completely different story, we basically just capitalutated and handed the game to them with basic errors and more stupid indiscipline.

In terms of the coach, I have made my feelings known and really hope that the situation is resolved by at least mid to late April as we really need clarity on the situation!

Finally, for the summer warm up matches I'd like to see fringe players like Cameron Henderson, Ben Healy, Stafford McDowall, Kyle Rowe and Ollie Smith get some game time to see what they can offer either at the world cup (unlikely) or next 6N in 2024 .

Well the Wallabies have certainly shown Scotland how not to play against the Springboks. Physically dominated, passive defence, poor discipline and poor kicking = getting humped.

The first one is certainly the one I'm most worried about as we probably have the most lightweight pack of any Tier 1 nation (particularly backrow). We've managed in the past by scavenging, disrupting breakdowns and generally being a pain in the arse to play against but we've not managed to beat a physical team like SA or Ireland in a long time.

That's the challenge!

The Boks and their commentators went off in mostly glowing terms about how they are evolving their game into a more balanced, ball in hand attacking style. And they pulled it off. So we now have a more balanced Bok side, having lost none of their physicality.

Hogg retires with immediate effect!

He was done unfortunately, his performances recently suggested that, so better to walk now rather than face the ignominy of not making the final squad when it gets announced.

What a player he has been though, through some pretty bad times for Scottish rugby as well. I am glad that he got to get a few great moments to remember in the blue shift and finally got his starting slot for the Lions which he did completely deserve.

A once in a generation player, we will miss him.

So this makes it pretty plain there was some truth to the rumours of another bust up with Townsend. Given past behaviour I'm #teamtownsend

Guess we'll have to wait for the autobiographies for all the details, but if he was on the piss when he shouldn't then he can't complain.

That may just have been his way of dealing with the disappointment, knowing he was not going to make it.

I woulx not be to hard on him in the circumstances

BigGee wrote:That may just have been his way of dealing with the disappointment, knowing he was not going to make it.

I woulx not be to hard on him in the circumstances

Indeed - this is likely news a long time in the making. Indeed he may have only have been named in the training squad as a long shot and to avoid distracting press. Based on all the social media coverage of all the training camps I don't think he's been been there!

Crikey, looks like the rumour mill on Reddit was right. Can't see him being just told by Toonie, you've had your tea.
Surely he would have been given his opportunity to gain selection in the warm up games?

We are now left with can't tackle, won't tackle Kinghorn as our most experienced 15 to play against Ireland and South Africa. Definitely a better attacking threat than Hogg, but tackles like a wheezy, arthritic octogenarian.

Smith is a far better all-round player than Kinghorn, having the ability to tackle well and being sound under a high ball, but has a tiny amount of international experience for a world cup.

I think this quote sums it up;

"I fought with everything I had to make the Rugby World Cup, but this time my body has not been able to do the things I wanted and needed it to do," he said.

Hogg has been pretty open about the fact his knees are screwed.

I don't think there is any profit in speculating about a Toonie/Hogg spat.

Hoggy has been a true great for Scotland

Young Pipetto's forst trip to Murrayfield saw Huw Jones score twice with his first two touches. Dancer gave a master class of creative, skillful play.
But our abiding memory is of 80 000 people rising from their seats and holding their collective breath every time Hoggy fielded a kick. There have been very few sportsmen in any discipline who could captive a crowd like he could.

We have been lucky to have had him for as long as we did. but

This probably makes it more likely that both Healy and Kinghorn will make the final cut as well. Kinghorn will likely go as our only specialist FB. Lack of experience will unfortunately likely curtail Ollie Smith's chances, baring injury.

With players like Hastings and Huw Jones who can also play FB, I don't imagine he will be bringing anyone else into the squad at this stage, especially as he has already said that he will be keen to cut it down to the final size as soon as possible.

Jeez you guys are quick, I thought I was quick to spot this news. His new business venture must be quite lucrative. A shame to see a world class player go when he had more left to give. Happy retirement Hoggy.

jimbopip wrote:There have been very few sportsmen in any discipline who could captive a crowd like he could.

That pretty much sums him up.
One of my favourite players.

So much for my prediction. There are a couple of additions to the squad. Sounds like Christie is out for this WC as well, Hastings injured as well, he is not having a good run of it.



The Scotland team will continue their preparations for the Rugby World Cup tomorrow in St Andrews for a three-day training camp with Bath Rugby duo Ruaridh McConnochie and Josh Bayliss joining the group.

Bayliss replaces Andy Christie who is unable to train currently following an arm injury and will remain at his club to undergo rehabilitation. McConnochie steps in for the retired Stuart Hogg.

Adam Hastings continues his recovery from his leg injury sustained in the World XV v Barbarians match at the end of the season and will remain in the squad, meeting up with the team in St Andrews.

Favourite Hogg moment?

His try from inside the halfway against Ireland - just because it looked epic as much as anything.

His late break against the ABs will be a standout for most but that memory is tempered by the fact he wasn't ever really going to score from there. Saying that, I was at the opposite end of the stadium when it happened and it was incredibly exciting when it happened - I don't think I've heard a noise like it at Murrayfield.

It's a shame his legacy is tarnished a bit by off field behaviour but he's not the first top sportsman to be like that!

Some player really. Wasn’t sure of him defensively sometimes, if he was to be a Lions 15 before the last Mickey Mouse tour, but he was undoubtedly class. Think he will be a big loss to Scotland too, even with just being a popular squad player and a social legend too seemingly.

Like a few Welsh players, it seems a bit mad that he pulled himself out now and didn’t try to be managed up to the next RWC.

Reading the Tom English article on the BBC, this seems to hsve come as no surprise to him.

He has not been at the recent WC camps and it does seem to those in the know, the writing was already on the wall.

His try against Ireland from 50m - when he split Mike Ross and Rory Best - was good. I was in a clubhouse in Warwickshire then watching with a touring Irish team from Wexford. The place was going nuts - they had all put a tenner on Hogg to score the first try.

I think his early days with Glasgow were incredible; just standout performances every week almost. I remember he scored a brace against Munster away, or his chip and chase v Ulster, or his antics with Matawalu. So many memories.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtfceIt-Fvs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrRMVbr2WSw

I took young Pipetto to Scotstoun V Ulster and it was a "keenly contested" match: on the 80th minute Glasgow were ahead but Ulster had the consolation of the LBP. Glasgow were awarded a penalty on the halfway line. Step forward Hoggy. The noise from te crowd, and the players, when it went over was wonderful. Hoggy loved that as much as anyone in the ground.

I remember the try that really announced him as a potentially very special player, when he ran one in from his own 22 against England A.

Think VDMs recent effort with about 5 more defenders beaten. It was probably the first time he really came to my attention and I was like, Wow!

The Mark Palmer article in the Times




The walls had been closing in on Stuart Hogg for some time. If it was a shock for the wider world when Scotland’s all-time leading try-scorer announced his intention to retire back in March, anyone who had been watching and listening to him with any real care could not have claimed surprise.

The signs had all been there, from his regular expressions of frustration about the mental toll he was experiencing due to constant scrutiny of both his game and his appearance, to the almost total absence of that trademark zip and pep in his Test displays.

These substantial clues — scattered over a couple of seasons — strongly suggested a man and a player who felt old before his time. Hogg only turned 31 last month, but in an interview with The Times a couple of days after he said he was going to call it a day following the World Cup later this year, his brother Graham — a former Scotland sevens international who coached Hawick to a historic double last season — said the full back had been considering quitting for almost two years.


Hogg later confirmed this in conversation with his former team-mate Ryan Wilson on the Offload podcast, saying: “I did everything to get there [the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour, his third]. I’ve got patellar tendonitis in both knees, worse in the right than the left. I remember speaking to older boys who said you get to a certain point in your career, and it just hits you. Bang, it just hits you. I was like, ‘nah, that will never happen to me’. But in 2021, after the Six Nations [in which he captained Scotland to historic away wins over England and France], that time came. It hit me like a ton of bricks ? I was like, ‘holy Poopie, what has happened here?’

“Game on game, I was trying to do everything I possibly could to build up to play. I went on the Lions tour, came back, had extended time off, didn’t do any pre-season training, just wanted to mentally switch off and recharge. I came back in, did a couple of weeks of training and was straight back into playing. I played a lot of rugby that season.

“The body just started to break down. I work closely with Steve Haw, our physio at the club, and he has been absolutely outstanding. I’m literally spending hours on end every single day on the physio bed to get right. It breaks my heart when my son comes up to me and says, ‘Dad, do you want to go play football’ in the garden after training, and I’m absolutely knackered and in too much pain that I can’t even go outside. I’m like, ‘nah, enough’s enough’. Family is my priority and rugby is starting to become a job.”

This decision — to retire now rather than in three or four months’ time — is an admission too that he is no longer able to do what he did; what he made his name doing.

If you are accustomed to excelling at the very top level, there is little to no pleasure or satisfaction to be found in coming along for the ride. As Hogg struggled through this summer’s first World Cup preparatory camp, it became increasingly clear that this would be just about as much as he could hope for in France, due to a combination of his own travails and the rise and rise of Blair Kinghorn and Ollie Smith.

While it would still have been a surprise not to see Hogg find a place in the 33-man final squad, it was becoming increasingly apparent that the World Cup would be nothing like the fairytale finish, the glorious cavalcade, that he had long imagined and which the centurion would have richly deserved.

By the end of the most recent Six Nations, it became clear that Gregor Townsend simply has to find a spot for Kinghorn in his starting XV, while, for the first time in more than a decade, the same could not be said of Hogg.

Barring injury to Finn Russell and Adam Hastings, Kinghorn should not be starting at fly half, while Duhan van der Merwe, Darcy Graham and Kyle Steyn are all ahead of him in the wing queue. Full back is where Kinghorn belongs and where most will now expect him to be come the opening tournament fixture against South Africa in Marseille on September 10.

Smith, meanwhile, is a sublimely talented player who is well liked by the Scotland coaches and has shown a welcome desire to add layers to his game. The 22-year-old has improved his upper body strength to the point where he is now comfortable taking the ball into contact as well as using his excellent footwork to evade defenders. The Glasgow Warrior’s ability to play outside centre as well as 15 should ensure he earns a seat on the plane at the very least.

All told, everything was against Hogg, from his own body and mind to the progress of his rivals. Judged in this context, there is no paradox in the ultimate competitor choosing not to compete at all.

Neither Kinghorn nor Smith will strike fear into opponents in the same way that prime Hogg routinely did. But that, sadly, is the point — we are no longer dealing with prime Hogg or anything like it.

There will be a strangeness in seeing someone else wearing that number 15 shirt, but it does feel like a clean break might be preferable to trying to wean ourselves off.

Indeed, while there is considerable sadness about such a brilliant innings ending in such unremarkable fashion, everyone concerned can now treasure the memories without worrying about what comes next.

Yep - this probably more than any other the try that no other Scotland player for the past 3 generations would have seen, never mind could have actually scored:



I'm in my mind 40s and so have a reasonable frame of reference for how special he was. He made the entire team watchable at times of real dross.

The passed through his Gobsh!te Phase (the one Keith Earls and Johnny Sexton never left) with ne'er a scratch and seems to have turned into a genuinely decent family man. Good luck to him.

BigGee wrote:Reading the Tom English article on the BBC, this seems to hsve come as no surprise to him.

He has not been at the recent WC camps and it does seem to those in the know, the writing was already on the wall.

Other than that piece of new information, I reckon 90% of that article is regurgitated word for word from his previous articles!

RDW wrote:

BigGee wrote:Reading the Tom English article on the BBC, this seems to hsve come as no surprise to him.

He has not been at the recent WC camps and it does seem to those in the know, the writing was already on the wall.

Other than that piece of new information, I reckon 90% of that article is regurgitated word for word from his previous articles!

Definitely a bit of cut and paste there

There was in the Mark Palmer one as well.


They may have known what was going on, but the late sunday afternoon timing of the announcement, which does seem a bit odd and makes you wonder if something else was going to break first, clearly csught them both out!

Stuart Hogg...the gift that keeps giving

Now that he has retired he has left us with a jolly good excuse to fill acres and acres of posts debating who will be 15 for the World Cup.

Here's my initial thoughts about the squad. Alternative positions in italics

10's.. Dancer only plays 10, will play all the important matches.
Healey lacks international experience, but is ahead of the others because (a) Blairhorn is not an internatiol standard 10,
(b)Haircut is not fit and is still Haircut.

12's... Shona also plays 13
Redpath also plays 10, Toonie rates him, but he was fairly anonymous for most of the season at Bath

13's Harris we don't want to see him at 13
Shug also 15, 12

wings... DVDM like Dancer and Shona immune from the vagaries of the Tombola
ADHD Kid could fill in at 15
Seaman also a very good 13

full back.... Ollie Smith can play 13, this season's top "Defenders beaten" and "Line Breals" in the URC.
Ruaridh McConnichie called up after Hoggy's retirement, probably won't make the cut
Blairhorn 10, 11,13,14, 15...plays them all but not well enough to be a starter in any of them. A very, very poor man's
Furra Linee

The consensus seems to be that we need players who are able to cover other positions and the man who can only play one position is at a disadvantage.
Like Dancer?
Or Duhan?
Or Chris...

Anyway we have a player in the preliminary squad who can play 12, 13 and 15..... Lord Stafford.

jimbopip wrote:Stuart Hogg...the gift that keeps giving

Now that he has retired he has left us with a jolly good excuse to fill acres and acres of posts debating who will be 15 for the World Cup.

Here's my initial thoughts about the squad. Alternative positions in italics

10's..  Dancer only plays 10, will play all the important matches.
         Healey  lacks international experience, but is ahead of the others because (a) Blairhorn is not an internatiol standard 10,
                        (b)Haircut is not fit and is still Haircut.

12's...  Shona also plays 13
          Redpath  also plays 10, Toonie rates him, but he was fairly anonymous for most of the season at Bath

13's    Harris we don't want to see him at 13
         Shug also 15, 12

wings...  DVDM like Dancer and Shona immune from the vagaries of the Tombola
            ADHD Kid could fill in at 15
            Seaman also a very good 13

full back.... Ollie Smith can play 13, this season's top "Defenders beaten" and "Line Breals" in the URC.
                Ruaridh McConnichie called up after Hoggy's retirement, probably won't make the cut
                 Blairhorn 10, 11,13,14, 15...plays them all but not well enough to be a starter in any of them. A very, very poor man's
                                  Furra Linee

The consensus seems to be that we need players who are able to cover other positions and the man who can only play one position is at a disadvantage.
Like Dancer?
Or Duhan?
Or Chris...

Anyway we have a player in the preliminary squad who can play 12, 13 and 15..... Lord Stafford.

Trollop I say! A clearly angled fishing hook dangled before my eyes and all I can do is bite!

As much as I am a fan of anybody from the Dumfries and Galloway playing for Scotland (former Scotland players include permanantly injured but very talented Alex Dunbar and Joe Ansbro), our best "chuck him in, it'll be fine" player is Blairhorn. Filling in at 10 against Italy, not his best position at all, and he still scored a hat trick.

Every time he came off the bench in the six nations he made a notable impact. Ollie Smith next in line, the two of them to battle for the 15 shirt for the next few years, much to Scotland's benefit.

Lord Stafford to get his chance when Toonie rolls the tombola, "Nick Grigg" falls out, Toonie realises he's the worst centre to play for Scotland since Hugo Southwell and picks the next best player.

Hmmm. Hogg mist still be carrying an injury.

He’s still better than any other option at 15 (if he’s not injured). You’d think he would still have gone on the world cup tour given his experience and lack of alternatives.

Wee surely looking at Kinghorn at 15 or that steady but uninspiring 15 that Glasgow have.

And then who is there?

Surely this means a squad place for maitland. Wing and 15 cover. Recent engurlund club champion. He can’t be over
looked again?

tigertattie wrote:Hmmm. Hogg mist still be carrying an injury.

He’s still better than any other option at 15 (if he’s not injured). You’d think he would still have gone on the world cup tour given his experience and lack of alternatives.

Wee surely looking at Kinghorn at 15 or that steady but uninspiring 15 that Glasgow have.

And then who is there?

Surely this means a squad place for maitland. Wing and 15 cover. Recent engurlund club champion. He can’t be over
looked again?

Maitland got crocked at the end of the season, out for 3 months. I suspect we have moved on from him as well. With DVM, Blairhorn, Steyn, Graham, Smith and Shuggy at a pinch, we have got enough in our back three drawer to get us through this WC. Unfortunately for McConnochie, unless we stack up a pile of injuries, he won't be doing much other than holding tackle bags.


The traditional Hogg was certainly better than any other option we had at FB, but that model unfortunately does not exist any more, he was playing from memories this season and he has made the right call. It would not have been unfortunate if he had embarrassed himself.

Sad to hear the news about Hogg. A true legend of Scottish rugby. Wish him the very best and he goes out head firmly held high.

I'm not concerned about the WC, as I'd have started Kinghorn anyway and Smith provides solid cover.

Ollie Smith to start at 15, Kinghorn to bench. That allows us to have a 6/2 bench option which will help us to deal with the attrition from the packs of SA and Ireland.

Starting backs - Smith, VdM, Jones, Tuipulotu, Graham, Russell, White.
Starting forwards - Schoeman, Turner, Fagerson, Cummings, Gray, Ritchie, Darge, Fagerson.  

Subs - Ashman, Sutherland, Nel, Henderson, Watson, Dempsey, Price, Kinghorn.

We can rotate others in for the other 2 games. Easy.

I'm still to be sold on Smith - he's shown up well in patches but has a lot to prove at international level. I really don't see him as genuine 13 cover at international level other than in a complete emergency.

Kinghorn was on red hot form during the 6N, noting that a lot of that was impact off the bench. He also provides the long range kicking from hand option that we've lost from Hogg. His kick offs get incredible height too.

Kinghorn to start for me.

I see my post was deleted, yet the nasty post about Sexton and Earls is kept up.

poor form.

the-goon2 wrote:I see my post was deleted, yet the nasty post about Sexton and Earls is kept up.

poor form.

Nah, not deleted...probably disappeared when Jimbo tried to use the quote function.

Fes has sub-contracted his sarcastic reply duties to me. The pay is rubbish but I get to sleep in the kennels when it's raining.

jimbopip wrote:

the-goon2 wrote:I see my post was deleted, yet the nasty post about Sexton and Earls is kept up.

poor form.

Nah, not deleted...probably disappeared when Jimbo tried to use the quote function.

Fes has sub-contracted his sarcastic reply duties to me. The pay is rubbish but I get to sleep in the kennels when it's raining.

Down boy!

the-goon2 wrote:I see my post was deleted, yet the nasty post about Sexton and Earls is kept up.

poor form.

Canni be having libellous accusations like national bias on our Scotland thread. That's almost Johnsonian in it's level of contempt for 606 moderating and Johnson reaaally isn't popular amongst the scots  - hell, even FES doesn't like Johnson and he's one monocle shy of Rees Mogg.

Sad times

Flounder will be awake soon so he can pull this down if the powers that be don’t like it.

Apparently someone went a bit overboard at the common riding and was busted shnecking aff wi a wench what Wisnae his own lumbar. Over indulgence of Finn’s favourite swally accompanied with stuff what Wisnae snuff resulted in a lack of judgement. That someone has then chosen to forgo a wee hurl to France in order to work on salvaging his marriage.

Ooops

A kind of enhanced version of the original rumours.

Anything solid to back it up?

That's getting proper tinfoil hat stuff now!

Even if there was a lack of judgement and a little bit of indiscretion along the way, I do think that physically he was done and just could not do it at the top level any more.

You could see how it might concentrate his mind on retirement though should that be true though!

BigGee wrote:A kind of enhanced version of the original rumours.

Anything solid to back it up?

No photographs but as usual “sources close to the situation say” - substance abuse is blamed as the driving factor.

I can see it being true considering that unnamed someone has a history of pursuing women outside of the boundaries of marriage but until some tangible evidence appears we kind of have to go with the official story

otherwise, currently watching the Tonga v Australia A game (full game is on youtube now), Tonga look VERY good early doors

Tonga won that game 27-21 and as much as it was an Australia "A" side it was stacked with good players (Bernard Foley, Harry Wilson, Taniela Tupou).

Tonga were excellent for the first 60 minutes, got a bit tired thereafter but were able to play in the right parts of the pitch for the latter 20 minutes to eke out the win. The nationality switch rule has really helped them out, their general phase play through the forwards combined with some serious talent in the backline was a joy to watch.

Tonga are not going to be a pushover, thats a full 80 minute blood and thunder team and if any of South Africa, Ireland and Scotland put out a 2nd string side they seriously risk getting turned over.

Scotland are in a terrifying pool but if i was a neutral I'd be looking to watch every match!

Happy retirement to Hogg, undoubtedly Scotland’s most talented fullback. Losing the captaincy seemed to me the beginning of the end. He probably felt that being captain warranted his inclusion despite his drop in athleticism. Without that it seemed as though he was questioning his role in the squad.

Moving forwards, as mentioned above we have plenty of options to choose from. It’ll add a bit more interest to these world cup warm ups. I’d like to see vdm, Steyn and Graham (fullback) for one of them. I liked the balance of the back three with Steyn involved. He had gréât six nations.

tigertattie wrote:

BigGee wrote:A kind of enhanced version of the original rumours.

Anything solid to back it up?

No photographs but as usual “sources close to the situation say” - substance abuse is blamed as the driving factor.

The amount of Dallagio's dandruff in the higher levels of sport is insane. I've seen that first hand at the higher end of the amateur game in both rugby and cricket. Fairly rubbish sportsman myself I'd add but clubs I've been in the 2s for have been in Scottish Prem/Super Six in rugby for instance. Eastern Premier League in cricket. Changing rooms, club houses, buses home, etc. It's rife well before guys reach a nightclub at the end of the night.

Some of the stories coming out of the pro game are nuts. At the end of the day these guys are in their 20s to early 30s, have significant disposable income and are renowned for liking a good time. Hell, in rugby it's basically frowned upon if folk don't subscribed to the, "work hard, play hard", culture.

In England it's hardly even punished after the players get popped for it now. Cocaine runs on a three strike policy. First time you test positive it's a tut from the coach and told you're naughty. Second time you get counselling. Third time it's a ban. Even that isn't strictly enforced though. Combined with rugby's laughable testing numbers it's practically more of a challenge to get caught than not be caught.

Interestingly it's apparently one reason the concussion lawsuit might eventually settle out of court. No one in rugby whether former players, current players or the administrations want rugby's drinking and drug culture (both PEDs and recreational) dragged out in a court. Realistically, it's the first thing a defence would raise though if trying to prove rugby itself wasn't the only thing that may have caused these poor players plight.

Comfortable win for the ABs over SA.

Not sure what I make of this. On one hand it shows the ridiculously strong SA 23 is beatable, but then on the other hand we ain't the All Blacks!

It's a reminder that our set piece has to be flawless, our penalty count in low single figures and we've got to take whatever opportunities that we can get. Easy...

I watched the game - turns out the Auckland hoodoo extends more than a few miles outside of Eden Park.

Most telling stat was that the Biltong guzzlers butchered 5 exits-from-a-restart in a row. They won't be doing that again in a hurry.

I think the ABs played with a tempo that allowed the 50/50 calls to go their way in the first half. Plus ca change, eh, Monsieur Raynal. Though Kolbe was unlucky with his disallowed try too.

Shame for SA as the script was written for them to get a result. North Auckland has a lot of SA transplants living there. NZ were just better though, and found their extra gears irresistibly,

Right folks. Can we address elephant in the room?

When BT Murrayfield change to Scottish gas Murrayfield???

Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue

Well that is Hoggy's post retirement career announced then. He is becoming a pundit with TNT (formerly BT Sport) and will cover the Premiership and the European games.

He has done a bit of TV work before, when he has been injured and has come across pretty well from what I remember. It also won't do the commentary teams any harm to have a bit of fresh blood and someone who has played the game a little more recently.

TNT also bring in Orla Chennaoui as a lead presenter, who will be familiar to anyone, as I do do, who follows the cycling coverage on Eurosport. She has certainly made an impact on their presenting format, so it will be interesting to see what she does for rugby coverage.

Kyle Rowe has been added to the Scotland training squad for the Italy match.

Join Glasgow become international class...simples.