Way too early RWC Squad

[hugh_woatmeigh]

Very one dimensional back row too. I think it should have been one of Wilson or Barclay & then one of the carriers.

[General Zod]

Very one dimensional back row too. I think it should have been one of Wilson or Barclay & then one of the carriers.

Yeah, the centres I can understand. But I really think Bradbury should have gone as another option for carrying and also to get him RWC experience for next time.

Anyway, that’s not the coach’s concern and I don’t get to see training.

I wonder - could Fraser Brown count as a last 20 minute back row “finisher” in that he can truck it up fairly well? Means McInally playing 80, which I’m sure he can do.

[Big D]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/49563533

BBC suggesting what we've all been hearing. ie. cutting all our carriers from the backrow (except the brain damaged Kiwi) and our two best attackers from midfield. Sounds so obvious now I've written it like that.

Can't quite tell from this if Graham/Kinghorn both made it?

Genuinely baffled by the centres in this suggested squad (and I now believe there must be truth to it). Johnson and Taylor is a good potential partnership although they have never played together. Rarely seen Johnson or Horne play 13 so if Taylor misses a game we are playing a world cup game with Chris Harris as our starting 13! This is at a time when we have some of the best centres I have seen playing for Scotland.

Taylor has only played 50 minutes in the last year too!

Any combo of they 4 have 1 cap as a unit. The 13s have about 6 starts at 13 in international rugby. It is a mess.

[General Zod]

Has anyone else got the announcement stream working, or have the SRU comms team got stuck in the Black Bitch after a liquid lunch?

[Mikey Brown]

I've now got a miserable looking Paterson, Kellock and some woman standing in the pissing rain, saying nothing much at all into a very distorted microphone. It's only really Graham/Kinghorn I'm concerned about as the rest seems confirmed.

[Mikey Brown]

The audio guy has woken up now. Real edge-of-your-seat stuff.

[Mikey Brown]

God. Turned it off now. I hadn't realised how long-winded this would be.

[General Zod]

Just got it working. Surprised Toony doing the MC role!

The players look cold and a little awkward.

[Mikey Brown]

Just got it working. Surprised Toony doing the MC role!

The players look cold and a little awkward.

That made me interested enough to open it again.

Not very good at reading out loud is he.

Graham/Kinghorn and 4 locks so far. Nothing else of note so far?

[Mikey Brown]

I'd really overlooked how young a lot of these guys are.

[Mikey Brown]

Kinghorn has to stand next to the locks. Either he is more than 6'5" or they're all lying about their heights.

[Stones of granite]

[Stones of granite]

Spot the blooper.

[Mikey Brown]

Ha. What position will Graham play? Hooker? Openside?

[General Zod]

Spot the blooper.

Good spot. Can see him doing a job at 8.

[sharvey44]

Can someone with some smarts please post a list of players cut from the squad. I'm too lazy to figure it out for myself

[Mikey Brown]

Bhatti, Stewart, Swinson, Bradbury, Strauss, Fagerson, Hutchinson, Jones, McGuigan. Any more?

So basically half the good carriers and half the exciting runners.

[AL.]

Well, its pretty much what we got. Surprised by Hutchinson and Ritchie/Fagerson, otherwise par for the course I would say.

Bradbury has bad ribs, that hurts and he cant be that fit.

Hutchinson is green but in a good way as far as I am concerned, the Irish have seen all the rest before......

Ritchie is hard working but to me looks like he is running in treacle all the time (its an impression I have anyway) I would have had the injured Skinner in his stead.

[AL.]

Pressed submit early, obviously I cant pick injured players......

[Stones of granite]

Bhatti, Stewart, Swinson, Bradbury, Strauss, Fagerson, Hutchinson, Jones, McGuigan. Any more?

So basically half the good carriers and half the exciting runners.

I'm not devastated about Swinson, Strauss or Jones, though.

[sharvey44]

I honestly don't think Jones deserved to go on recent form. Swino, McGuigan and Strauss I'm not that bothered about either.
Bradbury, Fagerson and Hutch are my disappointments

[Stones of granite]

I honestly don't think Jones deserved to go on recent form. Swino, McGuigan and Strauss I'm not that bothered about either.
Bradbury, Fagerson and Hutch are my disappointments

With you on that.

[Mikey Brown]

We just seem to be banking everything on Taylor showing real game-breaking quality at 13.

This popped up just as I was posting this. Not that I'm defending his form, he's been average, but also seems to be a big game player.

[switchskier]

No real issue with Ritchie/Fagerson, it's a coin toss as far as I'm concerned. Personally I'd have taken both and made the hard choice on Barclay but can understand that one. On Bradbury he's had very little rugby so can also understand that one, his time will come next 6N.

The one that I don't get is Taylor. What do we think he does particularly well? I know what Jones is great at (picking lines and finishing chances) and what Hutchinson brings (a great step, speed and good distribution to the wings) but it's been so long since I saw Taylor. The irony is that four years ago one of them (Jones) would probably have played on the wing.

[hugh_woatmeigh]

The main take out for me is with the 50/50 calls he's opted for the players least likely to play "the fastest rugby in the world"