6N starting team

[whatisthejava]

So got a ticket to the game and got a bit pissed on the bus home with the slagging off of certain players and the ref so rewatched it last night.

<preparefortheworst>I hate John Lacey, he is a twat and totally out of his depth at this level but yesterday he was fantastic
I thought he was consistent to both teams although he favoured us slightly at a couple of times, he reffed the breakdown in the following way that if replicated we would do alot better

jackler putting hands on deck and dragging back was penalised
players grabbing the ball before the ruck were quickly rewarded with penalties for holding on
players arriving at the ruck and putting hands on the ball were correctly penalised

A couple of times he missed us coming in the side at the mauls but to be fair he was at the wrong side and the touch judge couldnt help him

I think his only mistake was penalizing Wilson for obstruction but the french player wouldnt of caught Hogg but Wilson was a bit of a twat
</>

On Denton - he actually passed a ball that hit its mark, played a very simple but effective game
On Finn - some good and bad stuff but mostly positive if oyu take away the kicking
On Hogg - probabbly should have offloaded or kicked ahead, i think he looks a little bit conservative this 6N
On Gilchrist - great game
On Berghan - TH of the weekend for me in the loose and milked 2 penalties from the french scrum
On Gordon Reid - Times up


Difficult to pick the team but id go with mostly the same but maybe have Bhatti and Denton starting to try and give us some parity in the first 60

[Mellsblue]

I think your best chance in this game is to play at 100mph, so keep Laidlaw on the bench. He does steady the ship and it worked well for you yesterday. But he doesn't challenge defences in the same way and I don't see you getting too many chances, the English defence is good.

Whilst there might be an argument for solidity and then bring on Russell or Price later on when players are tiring, you might find your self a bit behind by then and forcing the game too much. Far better to have England being wary of the Scottish attack from the off.

If England want to let Russell/Hogg rub themselves ragged from the start

Not before the watershed.

[Mikey Brown]

Yeah. Meant to say Bhakti looked good because I was busy being annoyed that Gilchrist came off. Maybe it was easier to make an impact late on but I certainly didn’t see much from Reid.

[switchskier]

Here bloody here. Russell is always going to be a player where you take the rough with the smooth but there still isn't anyone in Scotland that can realistically push him for the jersey. I also love to see him trying stuff at odd times in the game, the unpredictability is needed. The missed kicks to touch were annoying but I'd have been a lot more worried if he'd retracted into his shell afterwards rather than grinning and expecting to get the next one. He doesn't look like someone who's lost confidence to me.

The amount of territory scotland lose after winning a penalty due to Russell's inability to find touch is unacceptable. If it was the odd one here and there there would be an argument for him trying to over extend himself but it's not.

I agree that his unpredictability is what makes him such a good player but you still have to be pulling off more than you fuck up and he's not done that this tournament. As a consequence he shouldn't be given a free ride either.

Perhaps I expect higher standards from a professional. Everyone else seems to be too nice and just want to pat wee Finn on the head and give him a sticker for doing His best.

Most sensible post in the thread so far IMO. Nobody is suggesting Finn stops trying things but someone who is about to be paid 350k or whatever it is at Racing has got to be nailing the basics like a simple touch finder. Even a prop would nail it - they know their limits.

A lot of people here are underestimating what that shift in momentum, territory and possession can do to a team physically and mentally. England will bury us if we play like we did yesterday. They certainly won't be giving up that many kickable penalties.

You see I remember Dan Parks (greatest kicker ever apparently) missing kicks to touch fairly regularly and no one making a big deal of it. Now that may be because we were rubbish and focused on the fact that he was stood so far behind the gain line that he was practically playing on the reserve pitches but because he was viewed as a good kicker it didn't get a lot of play. Russell misses more but he also brings more and plays in a better team when we're not so desperate. He can undoubtedly improve but now is not the time to throw him under the bus for doing what brought him here in the first place.

[hugh_woatmeigh]

The amount of territory scotland lose after winning a penalty due to Russell's inability to find touch is unacceptable. If it was the odd one here and there there would be an argument for him trying to over extend himself but it's not.

I agree that his unpredictability is what makes him such a good player but you still have to be pulling off more than you fuck up and he's not done that this tournament. As a consequence he shouldn't be given a free ride either.

Perhaps I expect higher standards from a professional. Everyone else seems to be too nice and just want to pat wee Finn on the head and give him a sticker for doing His best.

Most sensible post in the thread so far IMO. Nobody is suggesting Finn stops trying things but someone who is about to be paid 350k or whatever it is at Racing has got to be nailing the basics like a simple touch finder. Even a prop would nail it - they know their limits.

A lot of people here are underestimating what that shift in momentum, territory and possession can do to a team physically and mentally. England will bury us if we play like we did yesterday. They certainly won't be giving up that many kickable penalties.

You see I remember Dan Parks (greatest kicker ever apparently) missing kicks to touch fairly regularly and no one making a big deal of it. Now that may be because we were rubbish and focused on the fact that he was stood so far behind the gain line that he was practically playing on the reserve pitches but because he was viewed as a good kicker it didn't get a lot of play. Russell misses more but he also brings more and plays in a better team when we're not so desperate. He can undoubtedly improve but now is not the time to throw him under the bus for doing what brought him here in the first place.

You're quite right but he did not miss as much as Russell in such a short space of time.

Doing it once in a while - no bother. It happens sometimes. But we're talking a few times this season alone. He has not addressed the issue and neither have Toony, Rennie or the captain. That is unacceptable from all involved.

[normanski]

Congratulations you feckers. I knew that we beat a good and talented Scotland side in Cardiff. You proved your quality again on Sunday.

Just do the same to England in a fortnight. We’ve softened them up for you and put doubts in their minds. They were scoreless for the last sixty minutes and we only conceded two penalties to them the whole game.

They’re ripe for the picking. Think of 1990!

[Sandydragon]

And Bannockburn.
And Rob Roy.
And Culloden.
And every deep fried mars bar joke.


That should be enough motivation for now.

[SerjeantWildgoose]

Surprised there's been no mention of this, yet?

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... -bar-fight

So there are what appears to be unfounded allegations of sexual assault and bar fights between French players and Scotland fans. At what point does giving a pissed-up and gloating Jock a belt in the gub conflate into sexual assault?

[General Zod]

For me, a significant motivating factor is that road maps of the uk all begin in the south of the country, usually in Cornwall or London. If you go to any other country in the western world they lay out their land in logical “reading-order” progression from top left (north west) to bottom right (south east).

It’s arrogance cartographised, and they’ve been getting away with it for years. Now it’s time to say enough is enough.

It begins with Scotland.

[SerjeantWildgoose]

According to other sources, all but 4 of the French squad are currently 'helping police with their enquiries' following a bit of a kerfuffle in the Tigerlily Bar on George Street.

1. Sounds like a bar that might be frequented by men in women's clothing;
2. What were the posh feckers doing up on George Street when the bars on Rose Street must have been bouncing; and
2. Where was Baz?

[SerjeantWildgoose]

For me, a significant motivating factor is that road maps of the uk all begin in the south of the country, usually in Cornwall or London. If you go to any other country in the western world they lay out their land in logical “reading-order” progression from top left (north west) to bottom right (south east).

It’s arrogance cartographised, and they’ve been getting away with it for years. Now it’s time to say enough is enough.

It begins with Scotland.

This is a very valid point, General. Maybe the AA is merely a front for those right-to-left-reading Islamist fundermentalists?

[SerjeantWildgoose]

[SerjeantWildgoose]

OI!!! The English feckers are even having a pop at our John O'Sullivan!

[SerjeantWildgoose]

[hugh_woatmeigh]

[OptimisticJock]

According to other sources, all but 4 of the French squad are currently 'helping police with their enquiries' following a bit of a kerfuffle in the Tigerlily Bar on George Street.

1. Sounds like a bar that might be frequented by men in women's clothing;
2. What were the posh feckers doing up on George Street when the bars on Rose Street must have been bouncing; and
2. Where was Baz?

Not guilty boss. Working today so couldn't have been pished and sexually assaulted if I wanted to.

[francoisfou]

According to other sources, all but 4 of the French squad are currently 'helping police with their enquiries' following a bit of a kerfuffle in the Tigerlily Bar on George Street.

1. Sounds like a bar that might be frequented by men in women's clothing;
2. What were the posh feckers doing up on George Street when the bars on Rose Street must have been bouncing; and
2. Where was Baz?

3.?

[SerjeantWildgoose]

Don't be trying to foist your fancy metric counting system on us Frankie!

[Stones of granite]

Well, it it seems that if there was no crime of passion committed, Jacques Brunel thinks there should have been and has suspended the players that didn’t do it.

[Big D]

Well, it it seems that if there was no crime of passion committed, Jacques Brunel thinks there should have been and has suspended the players that didn’t do it.

Seems like a coach trying to show who is boss over a squad that perhaps a bit of discipline.

[Stones of granite]

Well, it it seems that if there was no crime of passion committed, Jacques Brunel thinks there should have been and has suspended the players that didn’t do it.

Seems like a coach trying to show who is boss over a squad that perhaps a bit of discipline.

Falls into the category of “trying too hard” for me.

Unless, of course, he knows something....

[Big D]

Well, it it seems that if there was no crime of passion committed, Jacques Brunel thinks there should have been and has suspended the players that didn’t do it.

Seems like a coach trying to show who is boss over a squad that perhaps a bit of discipline.

Falls into the category of “trying too hard” for me.

Unless, of course, he knows something....

That's exactly my thoughts

[hugh_woatmeigh]

Inappropriate behaviour isn't ruled out just because no crime was committed. I'm sure he wouldn't do it without good reason.

Bradbury was not charged, remember that...?

[Stones of granite]

Inappropriate behaviour isn't ruled out just because no crime was committed. I'm sure he wouldn't do it without good reason.

Bradbury was not charged, remember that...?

Now you’ve gone an introduced another variable - whether someone is charged or not. Someone not being charged is no indication of whether or not a crime took place. In fact I can’t ever remember an allegation of an incident being reported where the Police have stated that “no crime took place”. Police public statements are normally much more circumspect than this. It’s all a bit strange

[Big D]

Inappropriate behaviour isn't ruled out just because no crime was committed. I'm sure he wouldn't do it without good reason.

Bradbury was not charged, remember that...?

Yes and the Bradbury suspension was a number of things; he injured himself, had recently been appointed captain and a new coach was looking to establish a new culture within the club.

From reports the players were interviewed as witnesses rather than suspects and have been banned for boozing.