Edinburgh have announced their team to face the newly Dan Parksified Cardiff Blues on Saturday (available on S4C, k/o 1830): Article continues…

Player’s Player of the Year: Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)
Coach of the Season: Paul Turner (Dragons)
Young Player of the Season: Tim Visser (Edinburgh)
Gilbert Golden Boot: Chris Paterson (Edinburgh)
Try of the Season: Ken Owens (Scarlets)
Best Disciplinary Record: Cardiff Blues
Chairman’s Award: Michael Bradley (Connacht)

Magners League Dream Team:

15 Ben Blair (Cardiff Blues)
14 Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)
13 Brian O’Driscoll (Leinster)
12 James Hook (Ospreys)
11 Tim Visser (Edinburgh)
10 Dan Parks (Glasgow Warriors)
9 Tomas O’Leary (Munster)
1 Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues)
2 Ken Owens (Scarlets)
3 Adam Jones (Ospreys)
4 Leo Cullen (Leinster)
5 Ali Kellock (Glasgow Warriors, captain)
6 Jerry Collins (Ospreys)
7 John Barclay (Glasgow Warriors)
8 Jamie Heaslip (Leinster)

Congrats to all the winners, especially Mossy, Tim and dream team skipper Al Kellock.

… and you may as well blank Mystic Meg and serve Paul the Psychic Octopus with a wedge of lemon because who knows what’s going to happen this season!

The opening weekend saw rafts of new signings, an early start, the beginning of a shiny new league and cup set-up and the champions falling at the first hurdle. Yup, Scottish Premier Club rugby is back to being unpredictable and (touch wood) exciting… well, at least for the first round of games… Article continues…

So the other night I was out in my shed, trying to finish off the bed/woodwork project I have been working on this summer (mostly while having to suffer football on the wireless) and listening to BBC Radio Scotland’s live broadcast from the Glasgow vs Sale game (which I think Gregor may have a report on for you soon).  Apologies if this turns into Dr Seuss. Article continues…

Is this really the start of the rugby season? We’re a week or two out yet but the uptake of news that one feels obliged to cover seems to be increasing daily. Still, it makes a change from endless football. Article continues…

A pretty strong squad of sevens veterans has been chosen to represent Scotland at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October. Also in the mix are the currently unattached Dave Callam and Edinburgh’s new signings Alex Blair and Stuart McInally – so we won’t be seeing them playing for the capital men too early this season one imagines.

Scotland 7s squad: Mike Adamson (Glasgow Hawks), Alex Blair (Edinburgh), David Callam (Unattached), Scott Forrest (Ayr), Chris Fusaro Glasgow Warriors), John Houston (Edinburgh), Lee Jones (Edinburgh), Stuart McInally (Edinburgh), Scott Newlands (Edinburgh), Hefin O’Hare (Glasgow Warriors), Colin Shaw (Glasgow Warriors), Andrew Turnbull (Edinburgh)

Reserve players: Struan Dewar (Edinburgh), Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors), James King (Edinburgh), Scott Riddell (Blaydon)

Well, not really, but it’s the sort of headline the Scotsman/Daily Mail would love, eh what? It seems that Wales’ Millenium Stadium in Cardiff may be the best rugby stadium in the world with the worst pitch.

After watching endless people fall, slip and stumble around out in the middle (and not just when Al and I caught The Boss in concert there), now Rocky Elsom and Richie McCaw have piled on, with criticisms of the pitch as “mud painted green” disguised as a preview of their recent Tri-Nations fixture, which was played on a pitch in Melbourne not normally used for rugby. The All Blacks went on to win the game.

Sadly, Peter De Villiers was unavailable for comment. However here is some other rubbish he has come out with, courtesy of the lovely chaps over at The Rugby Blog.

What about you – best and worst pitches you have ever played on?

Scotland will play their November international against Samoa at Pittodrie Stadium in Aberdeen on Sat 27th November, 2.30pm. Cue massive excitement from the P & J and gushing interviews with any of the following: Chris Cusiter, Jason White, Willie Miller. Anyone fancying a blustery day out in Aberdeen in November should head over to the SRU website and snap up some tickets.

Tickets are now also on sale for the Boks and the Blacks. Reckon we could be in with a shout against South Africa if Du Preez stays injured. The All Blacks are cleverly peaking in between World Cups again so I don’t fancy our chances there. And quite what Samoans will make of playing rugby in the North Sea, I don’t know…

Two of Scotland’s long lost wounded full backs, Rory Lamont and Chris Paterson, are returning to Scotland duty for Andy Robinson’s summer training camp in St Andrews. They come back into a Scotland side finally finding its winning hat and find their favourite shirt (well, Rory’s at any rate) filled by a vastly improved incumbent (Hugo Southwell) and a young tyro pushing for honours (Jim Thompson). Article continues…

Glasgow have had to pull out of the pre-season tournament they won in France last year due to a lack of fit players – apparently they cannot field a full squad of 22 able to play. Compounding this is the news that Johnnie Beattie and James Eddie both face sizeable layoffs after shoulder surgery. Couple with the loss of seasoned heads like Dan Parks and Kelly Brown in the off-season, one hopes that their season-opening run of home games does not prove disappointing to the growing Firhill faithful. Before that of course they have a number of friendly warm-ups. Here’s hoping they are injury free…

Ayr at Millbrae on Saturday 7 August (kick-off 3pm)
Sale Sharks at Firhill on Friday 20 August (7.30pm)
Wasps at Adams Park on Saturday 28 August (3pm)