Autumn Squad

[Big D]

In fact I think most are including Dunc and Finn.

[Croft_No.5]

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[hugh_woatmeigh]

Just how can I keep Richie Gray out of the squad this time he pondered...

[hugh_woatmeigh]

I know there are availability issues but second row & 12 a bit crap. Second row cover against Georgia should be better. Unless he's hurt himself, Richie should be on the bench bare minimum.

Not a lot to moan about otherwise.

[Big D]

Russell may win his 50th cap on Saturday.

Don't quite get the continued use of Harley but I have said my piece on him and that I'd have had someone like CHH in the squad.

Interesting bits in the rugby pod interview with Hoggy. Called the previous defence "abysmal" and at times they "didn't know what they were supposed to be doing".

[switchskier]

Time for a separate match thread?

Centres are pretty uninspiring and feels like we're playing into Georgian hands. Is there a reason that Hutchinson isn't selected?

Also surprised to see Kinghorn selected as thought that he was injured. Second row is a bit meh but with Skinner and Gray unavailable is to be expected. The drop off to the bench is significant for back 5 of the scrum and it makes no sense to me to have both Haining and CDP who are both pretty similar, especially when you add Harley to the mix.

Would have preferred Horne over Price but think that there's an opportunity for someone else to step up and make that jersey theirs. At least it should mean Dobie playing for Glasgow, and maybe we'll get Shiel starting again (though I don't have my hopes up).

[Mikey Brown]

Toolis is not exciting but I actually quite like that pack, and with his solidity in the scrum/lineout it might help things tick over.

Lang presumably in there to follow Johnson’s patterns, but it’s a big opportunity for him to show something more of his skill set. As I feel I’m always saying with GT we either take a proper look or move on, because he has skills but they barely seem to show up often enough even at club level.

Harley, Haining and CDP is weird, but maybe just insurance to to text Ritchie/Watson if needs be.

I’m not sure how much Richie Gray still offers at the top level but this seems like it would have been a good game to get him back in the mix.

I like that Duhan gets to come in with his club-mates in the back three, hopefully that makes things a bit smoother.

[General Zod]

I’m not sure how much you really select with the opposition in mind when playing at this level, but the Georgian centres look pretty weak (!) from what little I can gather, so it’s a chance for Lang and Harris to show what they can do offensively in particular.

Am predicting a good game from Toolis, particularly in the lineout, and am glad to see Brown given a go at the captaincy.

Good tip re: Hogg’s assessment of the defence. Does he name names? Will listen now...

Edit - just realised the rugby pod is one of those “top bants” type podcasts. Will still listen, but will grit my teeth!

[General Zod]

Can Lang play 10?

Edit - yes. I’ve no idea how good he is.

Without saying it in the podcast, I don’t think Hogg rated Matt Taylor too highly, or at least as highly as he rates Tandy. Good stuff, as our defence has been found wanting in the past few years at the highest level.

[Scottish Caley Fan]

Hes not in the matchday squad but good to see another youngster, Ewan Ashman in the squad now that Gilchrist and Hoyland are out injured, according to Gav Harper's tweet earlier.

[septic 9]

I know there are availability issues but second row & 12 a bit crap. Second row cover against Georgia should be better. Unless he's hurt himself, Richie should be on the bench bare minimum.

Not a lot to moan about otherwise.

what has he done to earn a spot? He used to be good and I know his name?

He has a lot to prove IMHO, injuries and form have meant he has used up loads of credit and has little to none in the bank. Needs to show he is worth a place all over again. Everyone fit at Glasgow and Richie would be lucky to make their match day 23 for a big game, never mind a Scotland squad

[Big D]

I’m not sure how much you really select with the opposition in mind when playing at this level, but the Georgian centres look pretty weak (!) from what little I can gather, so it’s a chance for Lang and Harris to show what they can do offensively in particular.

Am predicting a good game from Toolis, particularly in the lineout, and am glad to see Brown given a go at the captaincy.

Good tip re: Hogg’s assessment of the defence. Does he name names? Will listen now...

Edit - just realised the rugby pod is one of those “top bants” type podcasts. Will still listen, but will grit my teeth!

It is one of those but often their interviews are decent. Also Goode seems to be fairly honest in his assessments.

He says it was a lot better after Tandy came in. Also briefly talks about him and Finn. I think any disruption in their friendship during the 6N seems massively overblown.

We will see if Tandy and De Villiers continue to make a tangible difference. New forwards coach too.

[Big D]

Hes not in the matchday squad but good to see another youngster, Ewan Ashman in the squad now that Gilchrist and Hoyland are out injured, according to Gav Harper's tweet earlier.

Ah the old replace a lock and back 3 player with a hooker swap

[Mikey Brown]

Yeah if you ever listen to that podcast you need to be ready to skip through a shit ton of awful uber-lad banter and adverts and promotional shit, but agree lots of the interviews are worth checking out. Hamilton is often surprisingly good here.

[Scottish Caley Fan]

Yeah if you ever listen to that podcast you need to be ready to skip through a shit ton of awful uber-lad banter and adverts and promotional shit, but agree lots of the interviews are worth checking out. Hamilton is often surprisingly good here.

Is that the same lad Hamilton that is on BT Sport as a pundit and co summariser on Edinburgh or Glasgow games:-)? I like him and Chris Paterson .

[Mikey Brown]

Yeah if you ever listen to that podcast you need to be ready to skip through a shit ton of awful uber-lad banter and adverts and promotional shit, but agree lots of the interviews are worth checking out. Hamilton is often surprisingly good here.

Is that the same lad Hamilton that is on BT Sport as a pundit and co summariser on Edinburgh or Glasgow games:-)? I like him and Chris Paterson .

That’s the one. He spends so much time pissing about that it catches me off guard slightly when he is more insightful.

[Puja]

Can Lang play 10?

Edit - yes. I’ve no idea how good he is.

He's okay. It was his primary position up until a couple of years ago, so there's not a huge drop-off in performance from him playing 12, but he does start from the fairly low base of being James Lang, so I'm not sure whether you'd want a player of that quality in a pivotal position like 10 anyway.

Puja

[Cameo]

Centres not the most exciting but don't see too much to be unhappy about otherwise. I'd like to have moved on from Toolis and Harley by now but options are a bit limited with people like Carmichael still struggling (CHH could have been one). I was a big Richie Gray fan but would like to see him show something before putting him back in.

Like the back row and back 3.

[Big D]

Can Lang play 10?

Edit - yes. I’ve no idea how good he is.

Without saying it in the podcast, I don’t think Hogg rated Matt Taylor too highly, or at least as highly as he rates Tandy. Good stuff, as our defence has been found wanting in the past few years at the highest level.

He also said something interesting about playing. Said he has enjoyed playing pretty much every week rather than 2-3 then out for a couple.

Easy to say for a back 3 player but maybe some do need to play more.

[General Zod]

Can Lang play 10?

Edit - yes. I’ve no idea how good he is.

Without saying it in the podcast, I don’t think Hogg rated Matt Taylor too highly, or at least as highly as he rates Tandy. Good stuff, as our defence has been found wanting in the past few years at the highest level.

He also said something interesting about playing. Said he has enjoyed playing pretty much every week rather than 2-3 then out for a couple.

Easy to say for a back 3 player but maybe some do need to play more.

Fair point. Yeah, in some of the less attritional positions (i.e. the Jessicas), it might benefit to play more often.

[septic 9]

Can Lang play 10?

Edit - yes. I’ve no idea how good he is.

Without saying it in the podcast, I don’t think Hogg rated Matt Taylor too highly, or at least as highly as he rates Tandy. Good stuff, as our defence has been found wanting in the past few years at the highest level.

He also said something interesting about playing. Said he has enjoyed playing pretty much every week rather than 2-3 then out for a couple.

Easy to say for a back 3 player but maybe some do need to play more.

Fair point. Yeah, in some of the less attritional positions (i.e. the Jessicas), it might benefit to play more often.

most players would say they want to play every week surely. Nel benefits from playing as much as possible, always slow to get back up to speed, think he has said as much himself
Hogg I've no doubt would want to play every week. And he will play more than he would if still in Scotland, and I'd guess more than the likes of Nowell or Slade or Cowan-Dickie will - Hogg won't be covered by the England player protocols (and parallel payment in compensation to exeter)

[Soapy]

Reflecting on Townsend's selection for tonight's game keeps raising questions for me on his strategic thinking and abilities to manage his resources.

I can't see the logic in having Steele in the squad and then starting Price and having Horne on the bench. Can Steele play international level? We don't know. Will we find our tonight? No. If Price or Horne is crocked and out of the Wales game has Steele demonstrated he could cover? No.

Does Horne need to show he can start big games? Yes. Is this a chance to do that? Yes. Has Townsend had a look at that? No.

So if Price gets injured out of the Wales game we're going to have a starting scrumhalf that has limited experience of starting and a back-up with no international experience. Or SHC gets a nod and Steele is thanked for holding the tackle bags.

Similar story for whether Huw Jones can do a job at 15. I'd have given him a start but going 6/2 (why?) on the bench has scuppered that. If your picking on form, Jones is ahead of Kinghorn. Kinghorn is an ok wing but a poor fullback whose poor positional skills are even more exposed. His attacking game has been below average (admittedly outside the Edinburgh midfield ...) for the last 12 months. Looking at backups to Hogg should be a priority regardless (and especially now Maitland has been caught out on the razzle with Robshaw at the Fez Boys ...) but Townsend has passed that up. You might argue that VDM will benefit from having a familiar face at FB but if you are having to hand hold one of our outside backs against Georgia it doesn't suggest a positive mindset (and is contrary to be willing to go with Hastings covering midfield). VDW would surely benefit more from another in-form, positionally aware player in the back 3?

Without a doubt, Ritchie and Watson are our first choice 6 and 7 when fit. Ritchie needs the game time. Watson doesn't. Pick Cowan to play tonight cause he's not going to play next week unless Hamish is injured. Which he might be tonight. And we then are looking at starting Cowan with no international games in 4 years or a makeshift 7. If Thomson is behind Fagerson, Haining and Du Preez, why bother picking him in the squad?

Townsend's thinking is so hard to fathom that there is maybe a genius masterplan at work. He has got much to prove and I'm hoping this series will be the start of him demonstrating the skills of an international-level coach. For the good of Scottish rugby I hope he does that. I'm currently in hopes high/expectations low mode.

All that said, I want it all to go brilliantly tonight and a win against Wales next week would make me ecstatic.

[switchskier]

Reflecting on Townsend's selection for tonight's game keeps raising questions for me on his strategic thinking and abilities to manage his resources.

I can't see the logic in having Steele in the squad and then starting Price and having Horne on the bench. Can Steele play international level? We don't know. Will we find our tonight? No. If Price or Horne is crocked and out of the Wales game has Steele demonstrated he could cover? No.

Does Horne need to show he can start big games? Yes. Is this a chance to do that? Yes. Has Townsend had a look at that? No.

So if Price gets injured out of the Wales game we're going to have a starting scrumhalf that has limited experience of starting and a back-up with no international experience. Or SHC gets a nod and Steele is thanked for holding the tackle bags.

Similar story for whether Huw Jones can do a job at 15. I'd have given him a start but going 6/2 (why?) on the bench has scuppered that. If your picking on form, Jones is ahead of Kinghorn. Kinghorn is an ok wing but a poor fullback whose poor positional skills are even more exposed. His attacking game has been below average (admittedly outside the Edinburgh midfield ...) for the last 12 months. Looking at backups to Hogg should be a priority regardless (and especially now Maitland has been caught out on the razzle with Robshaw at the Fez Boys ...) but Townsend has passed that up. You might argue that VDM will benefit from having a familiar face at FB but if you are having to hand hold one of our outside backs against Georgia it doesn't suggest a positive mindset (and is contrary to be willing to go with Hastings covering midfield). VDW would surely benefit more from another in-form, positionally aware player in the back 3?

Without a doubt, Ritchie and Watson are our first choice 6 and 7 when fit. Ritchie needs the game time. Watson doesn't. Pick Cowan to play tonight cause he's not going to play next week unless Hamish is injured. Which he might be tonight. And we then are looking at starting Cowan with no international games in 4 years or a makeshift 7. If Thomson is behind Fagerson, Haining and Du Preez, why bother picking him in the squad?

Townsend's thinking is so hard to fathom that there is maybe a genius masterplan at work. He has got much to prove and I'm hoping this series will be the start of him demonstrating the skills of an international-level coach. For the good of Scottish rugby I hope he does that. I'm currently in hopes high/expectations low mode.

All that said, I want it all to go brilliantly tonight and a win against Wales next week would make me ecstatic.

Whilst I can see the logic in all that you say, you may have nailed it in the last point if continuity in selection pays off against a welsh side in a bit of a transition phase.

[septic 9]

Reflecting on Townsend's selection for tonight's game keeps raising questions for me on his strategic thinking and abilities to manage his resources.

I can't see the logic in having Steele in the squad and then starting Price and having Horne on the bench. Can Steele play international level? We don't know. Will we find our tonight? No. If Price or Horne is crocked and out of the Wales game has Steele demonstrated he could cover? No.

Does Horne need to show he can start big games? Yes. Is this a chance to do that? Yes. Has Townsend had a look at that? No.

So if Price gets injured out of the Wales game we're going to have a starting scrumhalf that has limited experience of starting and a back-up with no international experience. Or SHC gets a nod and Steele is thanked for holding the tackle bags.

Similar story for whether Huw Jones can do a job at 15. I'd have given him a start but going 6/2 (why?) on the bench has scuppered that. If your picking on form, Jones is ahead of Kinghorn. Kinghorn is an ok wing but a poor fullback whose poor positional skills are even more exposed. His attacking game has been below average (admittedly outside the Edinburgh midfield ...) for the last 12 months. Looking at backups to Hogg should be a priority regardless (and especially now Maitland has been caught out on the razzle with Robshaw at the Fez Boys ...) but Townsend has passed that up. You might argue that VDM will benefit from having a familiar face at FB but if you are having to hand hold one of our outside backs against Georgia it doesn't suggest a positive mindset (and is contrary to be willing to go with Hastings covering midfield). VDW would surely benefit more from another in-form, positionally aware player in the back 3?

Without a doubt, Ritchie and Watson are our first choice 6 and 7 when fit. Ritchie needs the game time. Watson doesn't. Pick Cowan to play tonight cause he's not going to play next week unless Hamish is injured. Which he might be tonight. And we then are looking at starting Cowan with no international games in 4 years or a makeshift 7. If Thomson is behind Fagerson, Haining and Du Preez, why bother picking him in the squad?

Townsend's thinking is so hard to fathom that there is maybe a genius masterplan at work. He has got much to prove and I'm hoping this series will be the start of him demonstrating the skills of an international-level coach. For the good of Scottish rugby I hope he does that. I'm currently in hopes high/expectations low mode.

All that said, I want it all to go brilliantly tonight and a win against Wales next week would make me ecstatic.

fair play that's quality bollocks

[septic 9]

Yeah if you ever listen to that podcast you need to be ready to skip through a shit ton of awful uber-lad banter and adverts and promotional shit, but agree lots of the interviews are worth checking out. Hamilton is often surprisingly good here.

Is that the same lad Hamilton that is on BT Sport as a pundit and co summariser on Edinburgh or Glasgow games:-)? I like him and Chris Paterson .

That’s the one. He spends so much time pissing about that it catches me off guard slightly when he is more insightful.

can't be arsed wading through that podcast shite. I've nee head Hamilton say anything remotely insightful, He's a clown and a gossip columnist. Mossie could bore for Scotland, in fact in his punditry that's what he does