The Rugby Thread

[Cormack74]

Our team for the Irish.

1 Dell, 2 McInally, 3 Berghan
4 Gilchrist, 5 Gray
6 Wilson, 7 Ritchie, 8 Gray

9 Laidlaw
10 Russell

11 Maitland

12 Johnson, 13 Jones

14 Seymour

15 Hogg

I wonder if Duncan Taylor will ever be fit?

I'd forgotten Duncan Taylor ever existed TBH.

[Cormack74]

Henshaw injured also now

I'm guessing he might not have kept his place at FB though? In the centre perhaps to cover Ringrose had he been fit?

I always used to rate Kearney but I can't pretend I've seen him play this season.

[Buzzo]

I'd forgotten Duncan Taylor ever existed TBH.

Highly rated at Saracens, would be great to imagine him and Huw Jones together.

Hasn’t picked up a cap for nearly 2 years.

[Buzzo]

Looks like it will be wet on Saturday.

I think that favours Ireland also.

[Cormack74]

Highly rated at Saracens, would be great to imagine him and Huw Jones together.

Hasn’t picked up a cap for nearly 2 years.

Yes frequently excellent at Sarries whenever I watched him but with so many injuries he'd completely fallen off my radar.

I just googled his A and E attendance over the past 3 years - it reads like an episode of Holby:

Anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments in his left knee, two ankle operations, hamstring and shoulder problems topped off with some serious concussions. Ouch.

[Cormack74]

Looks like it will be wet on Saturday.

I think that favours Ireland also.

Leaving aside the obvious stuff to do with bulk and scrums in your game this w/e, I couldn't help wondering in the Ire v Eng game when that fixture was last played in Dublin on a dry day.

Ireland have been top drawer for a couple of years and beat NZ in the US sunshine IIRC.

So I'm not meaning to detract from what they've achieved on any level but I do think they're even harder to beat when it's damp. Maybe they are just so used to playing in the rain and / or it suits their style? What d'you think Nev?

[Buzzo]

Leaving aside the obvious stuff to do with bulk and scrums in your game this w/e, I couldn't help wondering in the Ire v Eng game when that fixture was last played in Dublin on a dry day.

Ireland have been top drawer for a couple of years and beat NZ in the US sunshine IIRC.

So I'm not meaning to detract from what they've achieved on any level but I do think they're even harder to beat when it's damp. Maybe they are just so used to playing in the rain and / or it suits their style? What d'you think Nev?

There has to be something in that. It should suit us, but we don’t have the squad depth.

It was interesting to here John Barclay speak after our game at the weekend, when Guscitt said we (Scotland) had to front up to the Fireard battle. Barclay agreed to a point but also said that based on the relative size of the 2 packs we would need to play to our strengths and be ‘cuter’.

We have picked a very mobile back row, I think we will be runnings some pretty interesting back row formations which is where the weather will be a real *******.

[Buzzo]

Are you English Cormack? I’m desperately trying to recall and don’t pick up any overt allegiance through the thread.

You seem far too reasonable

[Cormack74]

Are you English Cormack? I’m desperately trying to recall and don’t pick up any overt allegiance through the thread.

You seem far too reasonable

Yes, very mate but I appreciate the sentiment

If it's football (LFC) I can't be dispassionate because it's about winning and nothing else. Maybe once upon a time England winning was all I was interested in (and I do still want them to win) but I watch Rugby slightly differently these days.

This is maybe because I don't have strong allegiance to a club side so I watch loads of games where I'm not remotely bothered about the outcome only the game itself. And having done coaching and refereeing I get a bit nuanced watching games - I tend to tape stuff and watch it through the week rather than live which probably doesn't help as it nourishes my addiction In fact sometimes I spend more time watching the refs positioning or a particular player than the game itself

So all this probably feeds into the way I watch the 6N these days. Hopefully England do well but if not there are other things to enjoy in the games and it would be sad not to find stuff to appreciate when it only happens for 6 weeks a year.

[Buzzo]

Yes, very mate but I appreciate the sentiment

If it's football (LFC) I can't be dispassionate because it's about winning and nothing else. Maybe once upon a time England winning was all I was interested in (and I do still want them to win) but I watch Rugby slightly differently these days.

This is maybe because I don't have strong allegiance to a club side so I watch loads of games where I'm not remotely bothered about the outcome only the game itself. And having done coaching and refereeing I get a bit nuanced watching games - I tend to tape stuff and watch it through the week rather than live which probably doesn't help as it nourishes my addiction In fact sometimes I spend more time watching the refs positioning or a particular player than the game itself

So all this probably feeds into the way I watch the 6N these days. Hopefully England do well but if not there are other things to enjoy in the games and it would be sad not to find stuff to appreciate when it only happens for 6 weeks a year.

Thats definitely how you present yourself in this thread, I was looking back over your posts and couldnt pick any bias.

Rugby is a funny sport supporter wise, it has a totally different vibe from Football. But, contains some absolute ****ing horror shows from pretty much every nation (I very much include my own) old posh ******s, young chinless wonders to pissed up day trippers who dont get the game at all. But Rugby folk can also be incredibly precious, and weirdly dismissive of other sports.

But then due to the code of the sport I have also had more fascinating debates about the game and teams with supporters of other sides than I ever have in football. And the decent majority that go are amazing.

Impressed that you have reffed. People talk about the difficulties in reffing football, but the myriad laws in Rugby that have to be accessed instantly make it such a tough game for a ref.

[Cormack74]

Thats definitely how you present yourself in this thread, I was looking back over your posts and couldnt pick any bias.

Rugby is a funny sport supporter wise, it has a totally different vibe from Football. But, contains some absolute ****ing horror shows from pretty much every nation (I very much include my own) old posh ******s, young chinless wonders to pissed up day trippers who dont get the game at all. But Rugby folk can also be incredibly precious, and weirdly dismissive of other sports.

But then due to the code of the sport I have also had more fascinating debates about the game and teams with supporters of other sides than I ever have in football. And the decent majority that go are amazing.

Impressed that you have reffed. People talk about the difficulties in reffing football, but the myriad laws in Rugby that have to be accessed instantly make it such a tough game for a ref.

Agreed, people are generally less tribal when it comes to rugby (unless it's a night out in Cardiff and the beer has taken over), so it's always more interesting than talking about football where there are so many prejudices.

And as you say there is more diversity despite the caricature of posh blokes at Twickers which is not to say that they don't exist. I sat in front of a couple of whoppers last time I was there a several years back and they were the most tedious people, who finished off pissing into bottles as they couldn't be arsed going to the toilets

Reffing was predominantly youth so actually the chances of them picking me up on an overlooked technical point was generally slim The biggest issues I found were that you needed 3 pairs of eyes: Partly because unlike in football where offside only really becomes a thing once a team gets near goal (and it will only be one team who can be offside at that point) whereas in rugby both teams can be in offside positions at any point on the pitch, sometimes simultaneously.

And also because there are just so many people on the pitch often your view is obscured - not helped by the fact that a football is travelling in clear(ish) sight along the ground whereas a rugby ball may be in someone's hand who has his back to you. So you might go to a game (not one where there are 2 proper linoes and a TMO- something lower league or junior) and wonder how on earth the ref hasn't given a knock on when it's so obvious to all the spectators without realizing that he couldn't possibly have seen it because at that moment a big second row was moving across his line of sight.

I did quite enjoy it and whilst I did get some abuse, there is far less stick than you would get doing the same thing at a football match. Maybe if I had taken it up a bit younger I would have fancied getting to a decent level. I should imagine there's a few quid these days for the guys who do the premiership and the pro 14 let alone the ones who get to do Internationals.

[Irishnev]

I'm guessing he might not have kept his place at FB though? In the centre perhaps to cover Ringrose had he been fit?

I always used to rate Kearney but I can't pretend I've seen him play this season.

He’d have moved into the centre and Kearney to full back. The thing is Kearney is mid 30s now and we need to try others in that position and with him being injured a lot this season they decided not to rush him back.

Henshaw started as a full back and I reckon Joe say it as an opportunity to play him and then keep Bundee and Ringrose also. England exposed him ruthlessly.

Larmour has the big hype around him so if he is supposed to be the next big thing then see how he fairs vs England in a huge game. The ironic thing is that Zebo is arguably our best full back but with him playing for Racing they won’t pick him.

[Irishnev]

Leaving aside the obvious stuff to do with bulk and scrums in your game this w/e, I couldn't help wondering in the Ire v Eng game when that fixture was last played in Dublin on a dry day.

Ireland have been top drawer for a couple of years and beat NZ in the US sunshine IIRC.

So I'm not meaning to detract from what they've achieved on any level but I do think they're even harder to beat when it's damp. Maybe they are just so used to playing in the rain and / or it suits their style? What d'you think Nev?

We play an accuracy based game, long gone are the days of fighting in the wind and rain. I think Buzzo refers to there being many scrums due to handling errors which might suit us better.

We are used to rain but surely so are the Scots

Cormack - surely some Irish blood with that name?

[RichC]

I fancy the Irish will have too much for Scotland, last week we played the best I’ve seen us for a couple of years at least and the Irish were below their usual standards, I just can’t see that happening two games in a row at the moment.

Our game vs the French will be interesting the disaster last week in the second half vs the Welsh could have mentally done for them or as I expect we’ll see them bounce back a bit, not overly confident at all which is strange vs the French these days !

[Buzzo]

We play an accuracy based game, long gone are the days of fighting in the wind and rain. I think Buzzo refers to there being many scrums due to handling errors which might suit us better.

We are used to rain but surely so are the Scots

Cormack - surely some Irish blood with that name?

Rain means knock ins means scrums, our depleted front row against yours means this could be a problem. If we are accurate then I’d fancy us, but, I’m not confident. I think it will be a losing bonus point game either way.

It’s looking like it’s going to be both rainy and windy, so expecting a lot of kicking.

I fancy the Irish will have too much for Scotland, last week we played the best I’ve seen us for a couple of years at least and the Irish were below their usual standards, I just can’t see that happening two games in a row at the moment.

Our game vs the French will be interesting the disaster last week in the second half vs the Welsh could have mentally done for them or as I expect we’ll see them bounce back a bit, not overly confident at all which is strange vs the French these days !

The French are as enigmatic as ever. They were class in the first half and looked a real force to be reckoned with and then... Too many ridiculous offloads, too many expansive passes.

How you prepare to play them after a performance like that I’ve no idea. I guess you prepare for the first half team and hope for the second half one.