Road to RWC 2023

[Donny osmond]

I mean I like Watson, and if there's form/fitness/squad rotation issues going on then fine, but he's not there as our strongest 7

[Mikey Brown]

If that is our new first team then yeah, but I wouldn’t assume it it. Fagerson and Dempsey are still fighting for the 8 spot and it makes sense to see how Watson’s form compares to Darge.

Seems fair enough really.

I’d like to see Redpath get a start (I thought his passing really made a difference off the bench actually) but equally would like McDowall to get a run alongside the first choice midfielders, but happy with either on the bench.

I guess Jones is fullback cover, providing 10 cover via Kinghorn.

*somehow missed Smith on the bench. I’m not quite sure how to gauge him at this level at the moment but I think he’s the long term future at 15.

[Donny osmond]

I'm liking making Russell captain too

[francoisfou]

Here's the far from first choice French team for Saturday,
First caps for Emilien Gailleton (20 two weeks ago who plays for Pau), Louis Bielle-Biarrey (20 in June - Bordeaux-Bègles) and Paul Boudehent (23 and a regular for La Rochelle)
Ridiculous strength in depth for Fabien Galthié for a starting XV and the bench is strong too.

15. Dulin (cap.) ; 14. Bielle-Biarrey, 13. Gailleton, 12. Moefana, 11. Dumortier ; 10. Jalibert, 9. Couilloud ; 7. Macalou, 8. Tanga, 6. Boudehent; 5. Chalureau, 4. Woki ; 3. Bamba, 2. Bourgarit, 1. Gros.

Remplaçants : 16. Mauvaka, 17. Wardi, 18. Falatea, 19. Willemse, 20. Cretin, 21. Serin, 22. Hastoy, 23. Vincent.

[Big D]

Ropey kick chase - check
Being second to every ball on the ground - check*
Sloppy ball handling- check
Not working hard enough in defence** - check

Must be world cup season.
* Watson not diving or trying to dive on the ball lead to the sequence White got hurt.
** for their second try Watson was beaten for pace but that was partly down to not working hard enough to get in position.

[Mikey Brown]

Yeah this is very frustrating to watch.

[Mikey Brown]

Fucking hell.

[Big D]

The Fagerson penalty show with it's recurring guest stupid penalty os back up and running.

[francoisfou]

I was hoping for tougher opposition than this, but you can only play what’s in front of you so it’s a satisfactory start.

[francoisfou]

That’s better !

[Big D]

He's thick. That's the only excuse for it.

[francoisfou]

That’s better !

+1!

[Big D]

The issue with Fagerson isn't the number of penalties, it is the stupid penalties.

1. Taking the guy out past the ruck.
2. Flopping on the ruck.
3. That head contact.

Idiotic penalties.

[Big D]

French player made a meal of it but a 6 week ban will mean missing SA.

[francoisfou]

French player made a meal of it but a 6 week ban will mean missing SA.

Agreed, and if the collision was as bad as he made it look, he should have left the field for an HIA.

[Big D]

French player made a meal of it but a 6 week ban will mean missing SA.

Agreed, and if the collision was as bad as he made it look, he should have left the field for an HIA.

That should be automatic procedure from world rugby.

[normanski]

Well done! I thought after your lethargic first half you were going to be slammed. Brilliant second half. Great game of rugby.

[Big D]

Good second half against a second string French side.

First half wasn't close to acceptable but given its preseason and the second half performance does provide mitigation.

7 penalties from Fagerson and Gray skew the penalty count but we can't afford daft penalties and suspensions.

[Mikey Brown]

First half felt like a reality check, but I still enjoyed that.

Red card indicent had a look of the hooker seeing him coming and knowing he could probably take a donk on the head for the team.

Fagerson truly is an idiot. How many of those is it now? Every time he goes in to a ruck I’m worried we’re going a man down.

[francoisfou]

The Murrayfield crowd will head for the pubs in good spirits ! An excellent match !

[Mr Mwenda]

French player made a meal of it but a 6 week ban will mean missing SA.

Agreed, and if the collision was as bad as he made it look, he should have left the field for an HIA.

Totally agree, but don't doubt it was a heavy collision. He felt it even if he made sure everyone knew. Appalling he wasn't taken off.

Well done Scotland, that was fun for the neutral. The turnaround at halftime made me wonder if one side of murrayfield is uphill.

[Banquo]

helluva comeback. Not sure France were at full strength but even so

[Big D]

helluva comeback. Not sure France were at full strength but even so

Nowhere near full strength,

[Banquo]

helluva comeback. Not sure France were at full strength but even so

Nowhere near full strength,

was being nice

[Cameo]

Interesting game. Worrying in parts but also enough in there to suggest we can be dangerous. Back three in particular looked very sharp.

It will be a real test for teams this World Cup whether they can stop some of the huge runners that dance, South Africa, and to a lesser extent Australia have. Against Australia the last two weeks, NZ have bent but not broken. We looked to struggle more but, actually, the tries came from broken play rather than the phases where France seemed to be inevitably moving forward. Hard to know where our defence stands, but next week will help.

A big thing, though, will be to reduce the unforced errors. We will always be, and need to be, a risk taking team. We cannot compete just by grinding it up. But we can't afford so many sloppy passes and dropped balls. Even when they don't lead to a turnover, they kill all momentum and lead to us doing something rash.