RugbyRebels

To fill the fallow week...

You can pick three and then your number one choice. I'm defining the dark period as 1995 - 2010ish (I know we won the 5N in 1999 but still). Who would most improve the current team.

My three are Tom Smith, Simon Taylor and Mike Blair. If I had to pick one it would be Simon Taylor as at his pick he had everything we could want from an eight.

This is a good one. You automatically think (& are repeatedly told by other nations 'fans') that we were crap. Results are hard to argue this with but we did have good individual players. Not that certain Lions coaches would admit or back up with selections.

Paterson probably on the list as we would have won even less than we did had it not been for his points scoring. But also for his application & professionalism. Never complained about his positional uncertainty or potential thereof. Allow's us to dispense with Laidlaws goal kicking and game management.....such as it is without sacrificing a wing spot.

Jason White next. We could do with him now even just standing in the sheds at half time to say "well, what about it boys?"

Only one more eh?
Tempted to say Armstrong Townsend Leslie &Tait and call that one unit but Russell Johnson Jones has equal potential.

I'll go for an outsider Stuart Reid @ #8. Underused & unlucky to be contemporaries with Eric Peters & Taylor.

Prime Simon Taylor. I am not sure it is even close for me as to who is my number 1.

Then probably Tom Smith.

I'll go for Tom Phillip as my 3rd. Injuries robbed him and us.

Edit. If Taylor injured then I'd bring in Hogg. Robbed of more caps.

Really tempted to go for a back row unit of Rennie, Taylor and White but I think once our injuries are cleared up we're fine at 6 & 7.

I'm going for:

1. Simon Taylor - We're screaming out for a proper 8.
2. Gary Armstrong - Doesn't really need explaining.
3. Tom Smith - Again, no explanation needed.

White and Taylor would be very hard to ignore.

To be honest I think White would edge it for me. Someone who can make massive hits in defence as well as being a real leader and a very good lineout option would be massive for this side. Admittedly I probably saw less of the young Simon Taylor than some of you did.

Loosehead I think has even poorer options than 6/8 so I'd take Smith too.

I always preferred Cusiter over Blair but I'd take either.

I could see this giving our back something of a nicer platform to work with;
Smith, Rambo, Nel, RG, GG/JG, White, Watson, Barclay/Blade/Strauss, Cusiter/Blair. It does seem ridiculous leaving Taylor out though.

Rennie, Taylor and White, all undamaged. With Armstrong..
Pleasant daydream.

Dan Parks

I'd want to add three players in the front row pretty much, but I'm struggling to think of three.

So Tom Smith for sure, I don't think I'd add Bulloch if only adding three so it's onto the locks, and then does Hines qualify? I'd have either Hines or Murray in alongside Jonny Gray

Lastly I'm a big Simon Taylor fan, but I think the team would benefit more from having Gary Armstrong

Tobylerone wrote:Rennie, Taylor and White, all undamaged. With Armstrong..
Pleasant daydream.

Chunks Baws wrote:

Tobylerone wrote:Rennie, Taylor and White, all undamaged. With Armstrong..
Pleasant daydream.

Class

Buggaluggs wrote:

Chunks Baws wrote:

Tobylerone wrote:Rennie, Taylor and White, all undamaged. With Armstrong..
Pleasant daydream.

Class

That`s all in the past, since I`ve had my op.

I`m called Veronica now..

It is bloody annoying the level of player we have had ruined. Rennie and Taylor would have been top top players. But even Tom Phillip would have been a mainstay during the Morrison/Henderson/Di Rollo, NDL years.

Phil Goldman....





....can carry on the Kicking tee.

Big D wrote:It is bloody annoying the level of player we have had ruined. Rennie and Taylor would have been top top players. But even Tom Phillip would have been a mainstay during the Morrison/Henderson/Di Rollo, NDL years.

Rory Lamont is another one it would have been great to see stay fit

Cameo wrote:

Big D wrote:It is bloody annoying the level of player we have had ruined. Rennie and Taylor would have been top top players. But even Tom Phillip would have been a mainstay during the Morrison/Henderson/Di Rollo, NDL years.

Rory Lamont is another one it would have been great to see stay fit

Ah yes. The whirling dervish. I was thinking about him but I don't know where he'd fit in the team we've got at the moment. I remember he played one Glasgow game at 12 that was incredibly entertaining though. Scotland really don't seem to produce many big, physical backs that actually have the other pieces of their game to go with it. Not that I recall anyway. When was Philip around?

Tom Philip was one of the very young guys Williams put in the team (Hogg, Blair and Cusiter too IIRC). 20 years old and starting centre for Edinburgh and Scotland. Played at 12 for Edinburgh in a side that reached the HEC quarter finals and 13 for Scotland IIRC.

Retired at 22 from injuries. Could have been a very useful player in the long term.

Got to agree with everyone that it's backrow and ball carriers that we're missing. I'd say it's between White, Taylor, Rennie and Hines but if I had to pick one it would be a peak fitness Simon Taylor. He offered everything, one of the few truly world class players from that era. White is tempting for leadership and the big tone setting hits.

Rennie is an interesting one as we're pretty set with Watson and I don't feel like we ever saw the best of him in a Scotland shirt. However he was better over the ball than Watson and ran great support lines. I think he'd flourish in this Scotland team that plays at a higher pace and with more broken play.

Ally Hogg, most under rated back rower we've ever had. Tempted to say White Taylor and Hogg as a unit.

But that leaves no room for Armstrong, so he has to be in.

Hogg, Armstrong and Tom Smith?

Dunno, take any 3 of those 5 players and thats me.

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Thom Evans for me, I love seeing a winger with raw, blistering pace. He tore some teams apart and the opposition was genuinely terrified off him. Would love to have seen him develop a bit more.

But the current team is crying out for a real top class #8 so Taylor is probably the more sensible option.