RugbyRebels

For me its a Glasgow v Leinster final

Munster seem to be going from bad to worse right now but Glasgow can beat Connaught

whatisthejava wrote:For me its a Glasgow v Leinster final

Munster seem to be going from bad to worse right now but Glasgow can beat Connacht

Given their respective form it should be an awesome game/two games.

whatisthejava wrote:For me its a Glasgow v Leinster final

Munster seem to be going from bad to worse right now but Glasgow can beat Connaught

You up for going to the final? I should be knocking about Embra around then... Or are you taking any one of your 19 children?

Depends if I can get a babysitter , if I can then me and the Missus will be going, will let you know closer to the time.

hp18 wrote:Glasgow have four THs.

I'm aware of that hence the budget question. I imagine they would have to let Puafisi go but he's just signed a new deal so that won't be happening. The point remains - 3 is a position that Glasgow should be actively looking to recruit in if they want to bridge the gap between Guinness pro 12 and competing consistently in Europe. Hopefully Firth is the man that will make a difference there but you can't deny Franks would be some signing and he is on the market. You could always send Rae out on loan - Edinburgh's second choice TH is John Andress FFS.

On the topic of the games, if Glasgow make the final & have a home semi I'll likely be at both.

Mike Blair calls it a day, he'll move into coaching fully over the next season. Probably the right call given his concussion problems.

85 Scotland caps, Lions tourist, embra captain, Scotland captain. Not the worst career. Rounding it off by holding the ship together early season for Glasgow.

hp18 wrote:Mike Blair calls it a day, he'll move into coaching fully over the next season. Probably the right call given his concussion problems.

85 Scotland caps, Lions tourist, embra captain, Scotland captain. Not the worst career. Rounding it off by holding the ship together early season for Glasgow.

Fine career, at one point was right up there as one of the best 9s in the world for 12-18 months.

First glimpse of Mike Blair at Melrose sevens, ??? years ago, showed he was a class act.. Pity he had to play behind so many retreating Scottish packs..
The move to coaching will benefit many..

Big D wrote:

hp18 wrote:Mike Blair calls it a day, he'll move into coaching fully over the next season. Probably the right call given his concussion problems.

85 Scotland caps, Lions tourist, embra captain, Scotland captain. Not the worst career. Rounding it off by holding the ship together early season for Glasgow.

Fine career, at one point was right up there as one of the best 9s in the world for 12-18 months.

Yeah, I'll echo that. I figured he would retire this year. It's good that he's going into coaching, might really suit him.

Edinburgh in Exile wrote:

Big D wrote:

hp18 wrote:Mike Blair calls it a day, he'll move into coaching fully over the next season. Probably the right call given his concussion problems.

85 Scotland caps, Lions tourist, embra captain, Scotland captain. Not the worst career. Rounding it off by holding the ship together early season for Glasgow.

Fine career, at one point was right up there as one of the best 9s in the world for 12-18 months.

Yeah, I'll echo that. I figured he would retire this year. It's good that he's going into coaching, might really suit him.

He's got a good mind on him, plus he'll be learning and coaching somewhere that suits his skills.

Could be a bit crowded beyond 2017 if Toonie stays beyond then though, Murray for embra?

Right decision for the lad. He had some good performances this season.

hp18 wrote:

Edinburgh in Exile wrote:

Big D wrote:
Fine career, at one point was right up there as one of the best 9s in the world for 12-18 months.

Yeah, I'll echo that. I figured he would retire this year. It's good that he's going into coaching, might really suit him.

He's got a good mind on him, plus he'll be learning and coaching somewhere that suits his skills.

Could be a bit crowded beyond 2017 if Toonie stays beyond then though, Murray for embra?

It might be a topic for another thread but this is really where the SRU need to be careful and not continuing parachuting in international players/members of the coaching set up without real careful consideration. There is supposed to be a pathway for coaches from domestic level and Murray is the only coach at both teams who really has followed this through, so far we have:

Glasgow
Townsend - did his apprenticeship at Scotland.
Murray - Came from the domestic game.
Taylor - Queensland Reds?
MacFarlane - Westies
Monaghan - Elite Dev - Came through domestic channels

Edinburgh
Solomons - SA
Scott - Sale/Scotland
Hodge - Scotland
Wilkins - English but came from Oz - He's done a fantastic job btw.

Now look at those who have had the McPhail scholarship of coaching:
.2015 Ben Cairns (coach) Currie and Duncan Hodge (coach) Edinburgh
2014: Don Caskie (coach) Dollar and Kenny Murray (coach) Glasgow
2013: Shade Munro (coach) Scotland Women? and Alex Duncan (coach) Grammar? Aberdeenshire?
2012: Chris Paterson (coach) Media/ some 1 to 1 coaching and Ben Fisher (coach) Academy/National age grade
2011: Iain Monaghan (coach) academy/national age grade?

And those who have taken their level 4 UKCC badges:
Kenny Murray (Glasgow Warriors), Stevie Scott (Edinburgh Rugby), Ben Fisher (Edinburgh Academy Skills Coach, Boroughmuir and Scotland under-18), John Dalziel (Melrose and Scotland under-20), Phil Smith (Heriot’s, Glasgow Academy and Scotland Club XV), Calum Forrester (Ayr and Scotland under-19), Stevie Lawrie (Heriot’s, Stewart’s Melville College and Scotland under-16)

I think Murray would be a good candidate for Edinburgh but I also think that Stevie Scott would equally be a good candidate. He has done a good job with the Edinburgh forwards. The lists above show that we do have some coaches with good qualifications, so I think it is time that we use them. I could see Scott moving up and say Fisher or Dalziel maybe taking over the forwards role for Edinburgh.

Blair would be well served to possibly be a specialist 9 coach for all age grades + Glasgow and earn his way to an bigger role. Ben Cairns for example is clearly being marked as a future Edinburgh coach, and perhaps a similar plan for Blair is a good idea?

Embra could maybe do without a forwards coach calling the shots. Murray has been at Glasgow 2/3 years now, runs the 7s and A teams and has been learning in a 'total rugby' environment. His record as a head coach at club level is pretty good too iirc.

hp18 wrote:Embra could maybe do without a forwards coach calling the shots. Murray has been at Glasgow 2/3 years now, runs the 7s and A teams and has been learning in a 'total rugby' environment. His record as a head coach at club level is pretty good too iirc.

I wasn't meaning to compare 1 v the other. As I said I think it is time we use the coaches we have spent money and time developing. To me the next Edinburgh head coach should be Murray or Scott with a Scot replacing them. I would probably end up sharing your opinion but both have merits.

My main point was that of the 8 people involved in the day to day coaching the pro sides only 1 has followed the supposed pathway for coaches and if the SRU/pro clubs continue to parachute pro players/coaches who were gifted international coaching experience (Hodge I am looking at you) then the quality coaches (and some of them are) that are being developed could become disillusioned. I have since noticed that Blair has his UKCC3 but still not convinced the right move would be to have him immediately come in as a backs coach.

Over the last few years Craig Chalmers, Ally Donaldson and the like have all felt there has been a glass ceiling for domestic coaches and that is age grade internationals with the occasional A game.

It's a tricky one as I think you want a bit of both. Blair is someone it would seem foolish to let go whereas I cant really imagine Paterson as a great coach although I could be wrong. Personally I like the way Cairns is doing it. He has the pro experience and is now getting head coach experience.

Really hope next Edinburgh coach has some background though as apart from anything else Townsend has shown that there are some decent players worth looking at.

What makes you think Paterson wouldn't be a good coach?

OptimisticJock wrote:What makes you think Paterson wouldn't be a good coach?

To be fair I have no real basis just a feeling. I liked him as a player but unlike blair I don't think his rugby brain really stood out and I also don't find him particularly insightful as a pundit. Very committed player and I'm sure he had a good attitude but again not sure if I can imagine him being that inspiring. Maybe he is a good kicking coach but I think he was very effective rather than technically perfect as a kicker.

All that sounds quite harsh when I couldnt possibly know having never met him and you wouldnt believe I was one of his biggest backers as a ten for years.

Cameo wrote:

OptimisticJock wrote:What makes you think Paterson wouldn't be a good coach?

To be fair I have no real basis just a feeling. I liked him as a player but unlike blair I don't think his rugby brain really stood out and I also don't find him particularly insightful as a pundit. Very committed player and I'm sure he had a good attitude but again not sure if I can imagine him being that inspiring. Maybe he is a good kicking coach but I think he was very effective rather than technically perfect as a kicker.

All that sounds quite harsh when I couldnt possibly know having never met him and you wouldnt believe I was one of his biggest backers as a ten for years.

I remember finding him very inciteful on a couple of occasions when given the chance to talk about something in depth. For some reason I always remember him talking about how hesitant Scottish players are in all their actions and how the mindset of "make your decision and do it with some pace/power/venom/whatever" seemed to me like it would make an enormous difference to the way we play. This was a while ago, it's less of an issue with this new lot, but it seemed like an incredibly obvious thing for the then-coach to have not managed to introduce.

This certainly doesn't qualify him as a coach. I just remember feeling we didn't have many thinkers involved.

Mikey Brown wrote:

Cameo wrote:

OptimisticJock wrote:What makes you think Paterson wouldn't be a good coach?

To be fair I have no real basis just a feeling. I liked him as a player but unlike blair I don't think his rugby brain really stood out and I also don't find him particularly insightful as a pundit. Very committed player and I'm sure he had a good attitude but again not sure if I can imagine him being that inspiring. Maybe he is a good kicking coach but I think he was very effective rather than technically perfect as a kicker.

All that sounds quite harsh when I couldnt possibly know having never met him and you wouldnt believe I was one of his biggest backers as a ten for years.

I remember finding him very inciteful on a couple of occasions when given the chance to talk about something in depth. For some reason I always remember him talking about how hesitant Scottish players are in all their actions and how the mindset of "make your decision and do it with some pace/power/venom/whatever" seemed to me like it would make an enormous difference to the way we play. This was a while ago, it's less of an issue with this new lot, but it seemed like an incredibly obvious thing for the then-coach to have not managed to introduce.

This certainly doesn't qualify him as a coach. I just remember feeling we didn't have many thinkers involved.

What your talking about there is confidence though. Being wrong with conviction is a great skill to instil but not an easy one in a losing team. Recognising it is only the first step.

I could easily be wrong on Paterson though. I just remember a vague feeling that it was a case of "our most capped player is retiring, itd be a waste to lose him but we dont really know what to do with him".

I personally think he had a better rugby brain than most.

Cameo wrote:

Mikey Brown wrote:

Cameo wrote:
To be fair I have no real basis just a feeling. I liked him as a player but unlike blair I don't think his rugby brain really stood out and I also don't find him particularly insightful as a pundit. Very committed player and I'm sure he had a good attitude but again not sure if I can imagine him being that inspiring. Maybe he is a good kicking coach but I think he was very effective rather than technically perfect as a kicker.

All that sounds quite harsh when I couldnt possibly know having never met him and you wouldnt believe I was one of his biggest backers as a ten for years.

I remember finding him very inciteful on a couple of occasions when given the chance to talk about something in depth. For some reason I always remember him talking about how hesitant Scottish players are in all their actions and how the mindset of "make your decision and do it with some pace/power/venom/whatever" seemed to me like it would make an enormous difference to the way we play. This was a while ago, it's less of an issue with this new lot, but it seemed like an incredibly obvious thing for the then-coach to have not managed to introduce.

This certainly doesn't qualify him as a coach. I just remember feeling we didn't have many thinkers involved.

What your talking about there is confidence though. Being wrong with conviction is a great skill to instil but not an easy one in a losing team. Recognising it is only the first step.

I could easily be wrong on Paterson though. I just remember a vague feeling that it was a case of "our most capped player is retiring, itd be a waste to lose him but we dont really know what to do with him".

I think it's more than that actually. I think the wrong decision quickly made and executed is often bette than the right decision made slowly. It's slightly dependent on having support but it's a decent place to start, particularly in a limited team.

1 year extensions for Junior and Hughes.

hp18 wrote:1 year extensions for Junior and Hughes.

Wise decisions, adds depth to back 3 spots and they can play a bit of 7s in between time if need be.

What's the script with Jarrod Firth? Is he just getting up to speed at Stirling County?

hp18 wrote:1 year extensions for Junior and Hughes.

Just as well the bird bought me a Glasgow top for my birthday.


I only wear it when she's there, honestly EinE.