France v The last Scots Standing - 2019 6N round 3.

[OptimisticJock]

Well I’m glad about the backrow, was worried he was going to do something idiotic there. Hope Bradbury is up the pace and Ritchie/Strauss continue their form.

If Grigg can run some of his magic lines then fair enough. As above, Horne is very capable of having a great game at 10, I just wouldn’t like to bet on it.

I wonder how much of Graham we’re likely to see?

Fuck all barring injury unfortunately. Other than Seymour starting and to a lesser extent Laidlaw quite happy with that team.

[Big D]

9 players with under 10 caps.

Can't have done that in the 6N very often.

14 with < 20 caps.

[OptimisticJock]

Weir been released apparently.

I still remember a few years ago at Murrayfield when we were pumping France (without the scoreboard reflecting it as per) and we had a three man overlap 5m out from the French line.

Duncy I-think-I’m-a-ballplayer Weir throws a ridiculous miss pass; French interception and French win.

Good lad but neither an athlete nor with sufficiently strong distribution to break a Test defence.

2014. that was a shocker.



2016 and Finn went off after 5 mins. Pete Horne took over at 10, we all panicked. He had a great game and we stormed it.

It's funny how that mistake from Weir is remembered but Russell or Horne throwing interceptions are acceptable

[ARM]

About the best we could hope for in the circumstances. Bench is quite interesting and I like the back row blend for this game.

But as said above, massively inexperienced. We have a core of experience ripped out of the spine of the team. Also it looks like a bunch of nice lads but where is the bastard factor / ego / leadership? Pack - decent players but few leaders; introverts. Hogg, Russell and probably also Wilson make a big difference to the mood of the team as they think they are the dogs wallons (Hogg and Russell justifiably).

An away win would be a big shock.

[Mikey Brown]

I still remember a few years ago at Murrayfield when we were pumping France (without the scoreboard reflecting it as per) and we had a three man overlap 5m out from the French line.

Duncy I-think-I’m-a-ballplayer Weir throws a ridiculous miss pass; French interception and French win.

Good lad but neither an athlete nor with sufficiently strong distribution to break a Test defence.

2014. that was a shocker.



2016 and Finn went off after 5 mins. Pete Horne took over at 10, we all panicked. He had a great game and we stormed it.

It's funny how that mistake from Weir is remembered but Russell or Horne throwing interceptions are acceptable

Really? I mean A) barely anyone remembered it B) we all shit all over a lot of our players, probably far too much, and Horne/Russell get a lot of it

[sharvey44]

I still remember a few years ago at Murrayfield when we were pumping France (without the scoreboard reflecting it as per) and we had a three man overlap 5m out from the French line.

Duncy I-think-I’m-a-ballplayer Weir throws a ridiculous miss pass; French interception and French win.

Good lad but neither an athlete nor with sufficiently strong distribution to break a Test defence.

2014. that was a shocker.



2016 and Finn went off after 5 mins. Pete Horne took over at 10, we all panicked. He had a great game and we stormed it.

It's funny how that mistake from Weir is remembered but Russell or Horne throwing interceptions are acceptable

1. If that ball had been passed to the inside man it was a walk-in with a 3 on 1. Plus we lost the game.
2. Ali Price's intercepts in Cardiff have not been forgotten and were not acceptable.
3. Horne's shocker of a kick against Italy has also not been forgotten

The difference is WFD has never really set the heather alight. I've never felt he's shone in a Scotland jersey. He's been ok, but other than the last minute DG in Rome has never produced a game-changing performance. You could argue the other two have but have also had some shockers. Maybe for some fans they have credit in the bank but WFD has yet to build that credit.

Granted he put in some great game controlling performances for Ed and seems to be doing well at Worcester.

[ARM]

Yep, I just don’t think WFD is good enough for Test level.

Same could be said of Horne, particularly at 10 but at least he has been in and around the squad and plays regularly with Johnson and Grigg-is-on-fire.

[AL.]

https://www.the42.ie/duncan-weir-break- ... 9-Oct2015/

Look at his wee legs go and he didnt panic.....Wouldnt play him now though.

[Mikey Brown]

Talking of wee legs. This picture is ridiculous. https://www.scotsman.com/sport/rugby-un ... -1-4874527

[switchskier]

An I the only one that is thinking that the last time that Townsend went for experience over the inform young gun (Maitland) it didn't work out what well?

[OptimisticJock]

Didn't go that well a fortnight ago. That was a howler from Seymour.

[Big D]

Chris Dean travelling with the squad.

[Mikey Brown]

That makes sense, it’s probably Johnson or McInally next up to injure themselves for the rest of the tournament.

[Big D]

Blow for Edinburgh though.

[hugh_woatmeigh]

It's not the worst pack in the world - LH a glaring issue but we have nobody else.

The backs are a complete rag-tag unit though.

Bradbury has been out in the cold for a long time, it's been 2 and a half years since his initial cap and I think he's only had two since that. Hope he takes this opportunity to step up and show he's worthy of being in consideration every game.

[Mikey Brown]

Yep. That would be a massive plus.

Have we got anywhere at all with the bench props that we've been rotating? It doesn't seem anyone but Dell is trusted, but nobody is really crying out for the spot. It's strange to not really rate Dell (as a real top-class international, I do like him though) but be very worried about him picking up an injury.

[Big D]

Bradbury is still only 23 and was involved in the summer before boing injured in the autumn.

Time on his side and wouldn't be in a rush to condemn him if he doesn't hit the ground running, France away v Picamoles etc, England v their powerful pack and Wales is a huge step up from the Dragons shags.

[hugh_woatmeigh]

An injujry to Dell would be a total non event IMO. You really have to question Reid's ambition to have chosen to gone down to the championship with LI when it became apparent Dicko was never coming back & the shirt was his to take. Absolutely f*cking bizarre.

He's still not top class but a damn sight better than anyone else we have on current form.

[Mikey Brown]

An injujry to Dell would be a total non event IMO. You really have to question Reid's ambition to have chosen to gone down to the championship with LI when it became apparent Dicko was never coming back & the shirt was his to take. Absolutely f*cking bizarre.

He's still not top class but a damn sight better than anyone else we have on current form.

A non event in that Reid, Bugatti or Allan are good enough at the moment to step in and be just as reliable? I’m not totally sure.

I agree it’s a shame Reid went the way he did. While still not a world beater I’m sure he could have found a spot at a far better club and offered a bit of the heft/abrasion that the Scotland pack really lacks.

We really don’t have anyone that relishes getting in the opponents faces aside from Wilson, who is rarely good enough elsewhere to back it up.

[ARM]

An injujry to Dell would be a total non event IMO. You really have to question Reid's ambition to have chosen to gone down to the championship with LI when it became apparent Dicko was never coming back & the shirt was his to take. Absolutely f*cking bizarre.

He's still not top class but a damn sight better than anyone else we have on current form.

Gordon Reid was a bloke that didn’t come through the traditional pathways, was late to pro rugby and only got his chance after performing for Ayr at amateur level whilst holding down two jobs.

You can’t blame a bloke if financial security for his family was a greater consideration.

[hugh_woatmeigh]

An injujry to Dell would be a total non event IMO. You really have to question Reid's ambition to have chosen to gone down to the championship with LI when it became apparent Dicko was never coming back & the shirt was his to take. Absolutely f*cking bizarre.

He's still not top class but a damn sight better than anyone else we have on current form.

Gordon Reid was a bloke that didn’t come through the traditional pathways, was late to pro rugby and only got his chance after performing for Ayr at amateur level whilst holding down two jobs.

You can’t blame a bloke if financial security for his family was a greater consideration.

Completely understand that & the fact he didn't move his family down south and just sends a pay cheque home while living in one of those LI squad shared houses backs up what you say. It just feels like wasted potential, he certainly had the ability to hold the Scotland LH shirt for the last year and a couple more.

[hugh_woatmeigh]

Also delighted the Harris infatuation has stopped. Although it's stopped before only to resurface again. At least Graham offers some sort of impact off the bench.

[Donny osmond]

Prediction... We're fecked

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[Big D]

Pretty good steal by France there. Not much wrong with throw or jump.

[hugh_woatmeigh]

At what point does Gregor draft in a sports psychologist? Mental, just mental.