Team for Georgia

[Big D]

Rob Robertson of the mail. He usually is fairly accurate. He tweeted something like "what does Gray need to do" then followed it an hour later with "im hearing...."

[whatisthejava]

Okay, just seen Swinson's in as "training cover", so I guess the 2nd row's fixed, and no point bringing TTRI over from France just to hold a tackle bag.

And he said no.

Source?

Rob Robertson (daily mail) said it on twitter, guys just a had a new kid and wants to be with his family

Maybe explains a lot


See professionals privacy ruins a good conspiracy tale

[sharvey44]

Was supposed to be traveling with the team to Georgia. Due to plane issues they put the team on a smaller plane meaning no supporters could travel.
Didn’t find out until boarding flight from London last night after an absolute shocker of a journey to the airport.
So a complete shambles as per usual.
Flight back down to London today, now watching the game from my sofa.
Absolutely fuming.

[Mikey Brown]

Jesus. Don’t blame you.

[sharvey44]

It didn’t help that there was a massive crash on the m25 which meant I had to sprint through the airport. They couldn’t check my bag in so I had to carry it through security. Which resulted in half my toiletries being thrown out. When I finally hit the gate with 10 mins to spare, sweat pouring off me, with some questionable looks from Andy Nicol and his pal I got the email saying that the flight had been cancelled.
To be fair they have refunded me my hotel and new flight home along with a full refund for the trip.
I did get a free cap too. Silver lining and all that

I smashed through a lot of beer in the hotel last night.

[Big D]

That is awful.

I'd be fuming too.

Airplane provider or SRU to blame?

[sharvey44]

Aeroplane provider. It was all through Thomas Cook Sport. Oryx Jets were the provider. Apparently the chartered jet had technical issues that meant it couldn’t fly today. TC organised another plane for the team but much smaller. Obviously lots of people have cancelled due to not flying with team. The reorganised flight for supporters is tomorrow afternoon but doesn’t arrive in Tiblisi until 3am local time Friday. When I spoke to them this morning only 10 supporters had agreed to go. I’ve no idea how many cancelled but I’m guessing same again if not more. At over £1k per person that’s a lot to refund plus they refunded me another £300 for the hotel and flight.

[Mikey Brown]

Team announced today presumably? Anyone know?

[hugh_woatmeigh]

Christ, that's atrocious. A refund doesn't do you much justice either as you can't put a price on an experience like that. Sorry pal.

Also it could be tomorrow lunchtime MB as it's a Saturday game, no? Suspect guys like Brown are being given as much time as possible.

[Big D]

Brown still in Scotland.

[Mikey Brown]

To be honest I never really believe Brown is 100% fit at any point. Every time he goes into contact I’m expecting that to be him done.

[hugh_woatmeigh]

Brown still in Scotland.

I really don't understand why Toony didn't get in Ross Ford's ear and said he could have a part to play at the RWC and it could well he his swansong.

His form went off a cliff in the second half of the season, clearly demotivated and knowing he was retiring. He'd still have called time on his career but a wee carrot on a stick could have changed things a lot.

A couple of years ago it was my hope that Ford and Dicko would travel to this RWC before calling it quits. Dicko's injuries were unfortunate but Ford could and should have made it. Who would you rather see coming off the bench, a 110 cap B&I Lion and absolute tank of a man vs 3 or 4 cap George Turner ... ? Or Starting against Russia for that matter? Ford every day for me.

[Mikey Brown]

And don't forget what a try machine he was lately.

[Big D]

[Mikey Brown]

Oof! Really like that team. Guessing it means Gray and Thomson aren't right, which is a big deal. But that's a pretty balanced looking team and we've actually got some players on the bench who can potentially make an impact.

[Mikey Brown]

StuMac captain ahead of Barclay/Laidlaw is interesting.

[Big D]

Bradbury injured or just bombed out?

Ritchie not getting another chance to show what he has?

[Mikey Brown]

Ah. Keep forgetting about Bradbury. If he's not injured then surely GT just isn't fancying him. Weird.

You could argue we know what we're getting from Ritchie, while Barclay needs a chance to see if his head is back on straight/redeem himself and Fagerson/Strauss are in shootout to be backup 8 if Thomson doesn't make it.

[Big D]

Now that someone elsewhere pointed it out, Taylor only getting 60min is a bit strange over the 1st 3 games.

[Mikey Brown]

There’s so many options to look at though. Imagine it might be 12. Taylor 13. Harris next week?

Assuming Taylor hasn’t picked up another injury somehow.

[Big D]

There’s so many options to look at though. Imagine it might be 12. Taylor 13. Harris next week?

Squad picked on Tuesday.

[Mikey Brown]

Ah.

[Mikey Brown]

Maybe it’s these 3 centres in the shootout then? Wouldn’t surprise me at all if GT has decided Taylor, Horne and Harris are going already. Even if I don’t agree with it.

[hugh_woatmeigh]

I mean it's a good team but it's a weird selection in the context of warm-ups.

I know we have one game left but G Horne isn't exactly being given a fair chance to stake a claim here. IMO he is a far more clever player than Price.

He's not really testing combinations - are we not going to see Hastings outside of Laidlaw for example? (Hastings could get the second half but still...)

The squad carrying so many injured/non-match fit players is hindering the selection process as well.

[hugh_woatmeigh]

I really do like the look of Hutchinson but I don't think he's got enough time to stake a claim. It's the coaches job to build a RWC team - the warm-ups are not for looking at new players. He should have been taken on tour last year or invited to train during the 6N.