6N starting team

[Mikey Brown]

Yeah I still think McGuigan is Simon Webster mk2.

[OptimisticJock]

Nah. Webster was a decent player just didn't get paid enough to buy studs.

[Edinburgh in Exile]

It’s exactly this sort of shite from Tom English that I’m referring to

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/42937248

[OptimisticJock]

I detest that twat but he's right, his article* is spot on.



*By article I mean headline as in true internet fashion I've not read it and have no intention of reading anything spouted by that fucknut.

[Edinburgh in Exile]

I detest that twat but he's right, his article* is spot on.



*By article I mean headline as in true internet fashion I've not read it and have no intention of reading anything spouted by that fucknut.

Hahaha

[hugh_woatmeigh]

It’s exactly this sort of shite from Tom English that I’m referring to

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/42937248

Bang on the money. Nothing wrong with that at all.

[Donny osmond]

Well I just read it, and yeah the guy's a hubristic overly dramatic shite merchant... but he's not wrong either

They were out-thought, out-fought, out-played, out-coached. The creative, defensive and leadership function of this team broke down under pressure. A rugby house of cards. On Saturday they came up against a team that shut them down, beat them up and embarrassed them in the most public way.

The gulf, in microcosm, was Ross Moriarty versus Cornell du Preez, the respective number eights. Moriarty, just back from an injury and with little rugby under his belt, versus Du Preez who's been playing nicely for Edinburgh. Moriarty, who was hungry, intense, influential and borderline demonic, versus Du Preez who was a bystander, a nice footballer pitched into a war, a guy who brought a peashooter to a gun fight.

Sent from my HUAWEI VNS-L31 using Tapatalk

[OptimisticJock]

I feel my earlier post is vindicated.

[Wylie Coyote]

It’s exactly this sort of shite from Tom English that I’m referring to

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/42937248

Bang on the money. Nothing wrong with that at all.

It's the glee he shows when Scotland play badly. Most intelligent observers realised that all of Scotland's issues were not solved in the Autumn, but similarly we can't say not turning up vs Wales means that Scotland have not improved at all from the days of Hadden, Johnson etc.

Oh for a "Scottish" rugby correspondence who would fight our corner rather than relish putting the boot in at a level that would make Stephen Jones proud.

[Edinburgh in Exile]

It’s exactly this sort of shite from Tom English that I’m referring to

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/42937248

Bang on the money. Nothing wrong with that at all.

It doesn’t remotely surprise me you agree with hyperbolic flitting to extremes.

As you were then. Worstest team ever.

Fuck it. I give up.

[OptimisticJock]

Scotland on for the WS here. Italy playing with the passion Scotland seemed to have mag to grid yesterday.

[hugh_woatmeigh]

It’s exactly this sort of shite from Tom English that I’m referring to

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/42937248

Bang on the money. Nothing wrong with that at all.

It doesn’t remotely surprise me you agree with hyperbolic flitting to extremes.

As you were then. Worstest team ever.

Fuck it. I give up.

It's the second worst performance in living memory for me after the England one last year. And you know full well I have been around Scottish rugby a while. What exactly do you find unreasonable about his claims?

It is not hyperbolic. They were defensively disorganised, there were mismatches and gaps in defence off second and third phase ball that the Welsh had not even created? Bad coaching. At no point did they try to truck the ball up phase after phase and exploit the gaps that appeared. Well not until Horne's try which was created by Laidlaw's marshalling IMO. They were playing hail mary, basketball rugby from the get go - looking for some kind of miracle, high risk score. This was not the dying seconds of a knockout match in which we were behind by just a score, this was early on when the game was still within our reach.

Here... if we'd lost that game 34-28 or something, I'd understand your defence. But there was never any indication that plan A was working in that game. Plan B only seemed to be adopted in the dying minutes once Laidlaw took the game into his own hands. Where were the management instructions onto the pitch to deploy plan B? Was there one?

Either way I think those boys are mentally soft and the coaches, the leadership group and the players must carry the can for that. It was apparent last year and nothing has been done about it. World class performance against Wales followed by a prison shaming from England, historic away win over Australia followed by a loss to Fiji and then a win against Aus that probably broke a multitude of Scottish rugby records to a prison shaming against Wales. Those hot and cold performances are all consecutive games FYI. I cannot think of a more inconsistent top flight rugby team. At the end of the day if the team want to dish out such 'extreme' performances then you have to expect that the emotions and the opinions of the fans and media will follow suit.

As I said last year after the loss in Twickenham. I have absolutely no problem with a loss it's the not showing up that cuts me deep.

[Edinburgh in Exile]

I appreciate you bothering to type that out. Forgive me though cat man, having baited you into it, I honestly can’t be fucked arguing with you about it. Points taken, although I don’t agree.

[OptimisticJock]

Bang on the money. Nothing wrong with that at all.

It doesn’t remotely surprise me you agree with hyperbolic flitting to extremes.

As you were then. Worstest team ever.

Fuck it. I give up.

Either way I think those boys are mentally soft and the coaches, the leadership group and the players must carry the can for that.

This is a huge point for me.

[Big D]

Right seeing as we are discussing leadership, control etc.

Russell gets away with a lot because we have no viable alternative. When games call for someone to step up and show some game awareness in adversity he can't or doesn't step up. He goes the opposite and gets a bit flappy.

The missed touch at 7 or 14-0 is a prime example. Your teams feeling the pressure and needs to get a hold of the ball and the 10 can't find touch.

In many ways I think Russell is the personification of the Scotland team. When everything goes their way they look great but in real adversity and pressure comes on they are found wanting.

[Big D]

English is a fucking throbber. We were gash but there's no way Hill looked 10x the player of Gray.

Talks about the players Wales were missing without really crediting Scotland missing the defensive lynch pin.

It's also cunts like him that build up a frenzy around this team because it's easy and lazy journalism. We all knew the big test for "Toonyball" and any plan B/C/D was the 6N not the AIs.

[Cameo]

The praise Italy now get is a bit ridiculous too. If we collapsed like that in the last ten and made so many basic errors in the previous 70, we'd be raging at our players.

[Chunks Baws]

The praise Italy now get is a bit ridiculous too. If we collapsed like that in the last ten and made so many basic errors in the previous 70, we'd be raging at our players.

It's a touch over the top. But we've been written off again. Good. Being optimistic and favourites going into games doesn't sit well with me. And the team clearly can't hack the pressure.

[Mikey Brown]

The praise Italy now get is a bit ridiculous too. If we collapsed like that in the last ten and made so many basic errors in the previous 70, we'd be raging at our players.

It's a touch over the top. But we've been written off again. Good. Being optimistic and favourites going into games doesn't sit well with me. And the team clearly can't hack the pressure.

Isn’t that the entire problem with this team getting to the next level? Come up against England/Saracens/Munster or even a big, crap French/Welsh side and it always seems to look the same.

[OptimisticJock]

The praise Italy now get is a bit ridiculous too. If we collapsed like that in the last ten and made so many basic errors in the previous 70, we'd be raging at our players.

It's a touch over the top. But we've been written off again. Good. Being optimistic and favourites going into games doesn't sit well with me. And the team clearly can't hack the pressure.

Isn’t that the entire problem with this team getting to the next level? Come up against England/Saracens/Munster or even a big, crap French/Welsh side and it always seems to look the same.

Exactly. If they keep shying away from being the "big team" they'll never be the "big team". They can't be constant underdogs as it means they're never actually achieving anything.

[whatisthejava]

Every great team starts with a great backs against the wall win, once again we failed to deliver it on Saturday and we will roll on until we do it

I am now really not looking forward to the England game as I think Toonie will stick with the plan and we will get munched

[Big D]

Did we really stay in Edinburgh for the captain's run on Friday?

Fucking daft.

[Chunks Baws]

Did we really stay in Edinburgh for the captain's run on Friday?

Fucking daft.

Yep. What a fuckin idiotic decision.

[Big D]

McGuigan injured. Gray and Taylor not ready for the weekend.

[hugh_woatmeigh]

McGuigan injured. Gray and Taylor not ready for the weekend.

You have to wonder why they were called up. Surely Toony would have known this? Decision to omit Scott & a 4th lock is looking silly now.