Teams of The Tournament
Our teams of the tournament and the winners and losers of the RBS 6 Nations 2010, as compiled by the whole Scottish Rugby Blog team in our “infinite” and possibly blinkered wisdom…
Monthly Archives: March 2010
Edinburgh Team for Scarlets
We’ll be back in the next few days with our teams of the tournament and other Six Nations round-uppery, but time waits for no man and the Edinburgh boys are straight back into the action this weekend.
Edinburgh: Jim Thompson, Mark Robertson, Ben Cairns, Nick De Luca, Tim Visser, Phil Godman, Mike Blair (captain), Kyle Traynor, Andrew Kelly, Geoff Cross, Scott MacLeod, Steve Turnbull, Alan MacDonald, Ross Rennie, Roddy Grant.
Replacements: Ross Ford, Allan Jacobsen, Jim Hamilton, Scott Newlands, Greig Laidlaw, David Blair, John Houston.
Murrayfield, Friday night ko 1930. Not on TV as far as I can see, this one.
A Win At Last
Ireland 20 – 23 Scotland
Wandering the streets of Dublin on sunny Saturday afternoon amidst a sea of green shirts, hats and scarves and a pleasing number of kilts there did not seem to be much that would disrupt the confidence evident in the Irish Press. The consensus was (to paraphrase): without wishing to do a disservice to Scotland, we should win the Triple Crown pretty easily ‘cos they are okay but lets face it we’re better (insert bejesus here for comic effect). Some of the fans we spoke to were a little more uncertain, wishing us luck (but not too much) but wary Scotland could still upset the party.
Event in Dublin for Scotland Fans
Just had this in the inbox, might be of interest to any of you going to Dublin this weekend:
Fans get to question international legends in free event Former Scotland scrum half Andy Nicol heads up a list of rugby legends speaking at the Arlington Hotel, Dublin, ahead of Scotland’s game with Ireland at Croke Park on March 20th.
Scotland Team for Ireland
Scotland Team to face Ireland: Southwell, Lamont, De Luca, Morrison, Evans, Parks, Cusiter, Jacobsen, Ford, Murray, Hamilton, Kellock, Brown, Barclay, Beattie
Replacements: Lawson, Dickinson, Gray, MacDonald, Blair, Godman, Danielli
Rory Lawson and Nathan Hines will count themselves unlucky, although Hines is ruled out through injury. Still, I would have liked to see a bit more inspiration on the bench given the difference between a wooden spoon and second bottom is negligible to us as a nation with plenty oak in the cutlery drawer but the difference to younger or non-regular players (Gray, Jackson, Cairns) between having played a bit in the 6N and not having played could be considerable in their development… Hope you all enjoy the game, I am fortunate enough to be winging my way there at the weekend and seeing what Croke Park and Dublin have to offer.
Oh, and exiled Number 8 and former Lion Simon Taylor has signed for Bath, who now have two Scots on the books following the news of Mark McMillan’s move there next season.
Glasgow Team for Leinster
Glasgow Warriors team to play Leinster in the Magners League at the RDS tomorrow (kick-off 7.30pm): Stortoni, O’Hare, Murchie, Horne, van der Merwe; Jackson, McMillan; Welsh, Hall, Kalman, Barker, Turner; Eddie, Forrester, Vernon. Substitutes: Thomson, Low, Harley, Fusaro, Gregor, McCall, Kinloch.
So no Dougie Hall for penalty machine Scott Lawson then. No sign of Richie Gray either. Could there be a Hines at 6, Gray on the bench type shuffle on the horizon if Brown doesn’t recover from his head knock in time?
Ireland Team to Face Scotland
Ireland: G Murphy; T Bowe, B O’Driscoll, G D’Arcy, K Earls; J Sexton, T O’Leary; C Healy, R Best, J Hayes; D O’Callaghan, P O’Connell; S Ferris, D Wallace, J Heaslip.
Replacements: S Cronin, T Buckley, L Cullen, S Jennings, E Reddan, R O’Gara, R Kearney.
Would any of them make it into the Scotland team? Woops, I meant that the other way round. Any Scots you would pick ahead of this lot? The Scotland team announcement has been delayed until tomorrow.
Scotland Injury Report
Flanker Kelly Brown is under the care of the Scotland medical team following the blow to his head that he sustained in the Calcutta Cup clash at Murrayfield two days ago.
Scotland team doctor James Robson said today: “Kelly is now subject to the usual return to play protocols that are in place following such an injury. He will be monitored on a daily basis.”
Dr Robson noted that prop Euan Murray and centre Nick De Luca (both shoulder bruising), wing Max Evans (leg bruising), full-back Hugo Southwell (calf) and stand-off Phil Godman (shoulder joint/chest wall bruising) were also receiving treatment from Scotland physiotherapists Dan Moore and Stephen Mutch.
Points on the Board
Scotland 15-15 England
Usually in recent years it has been the case that Scotland are thumped by an England team, or manage to doggedly grind out a win against them with penalties despite their try line having been under severe pressure for most of the match (similar in style to the recent wins in ’06 and ’08, or the win against Australia). So the result on Saturday was an odd one, and yet in some ways curiously satisfying.
So Slack I Forgot The Title
Sorry I’ve been a bit slack folks, I put up a preview of the Scotland England match at:scrum.com Fanzone.
Come on the boys! Score-wise, what do you reckon? I think it could be close. My gut says it will be a slog but still winnable. If both teams play some rugby I wouldn’t like to think what could happen….
Calcutta Cup Teams
What have Alex Grove and Ben Cairns got to do to get a shot in this Six Nations? And for that matter Ben Foden? What does Graeme Morrison have to do to get dropped?
Prem 1 roundup
A delayed roundup of last weekend’s premier 1 matches. Things are getting tight at the top as Hawks beat Dundee, Melrose got the win they had needed and every top half team is ravenously hunting for a top four spot rumoured to earn the highest placed teams a station in next years British and Irish Cup. Of course this is all supposition right now. Something that is true, however, is that Watsonians are staring into the relegation abyss after losing to Selkirk. It could come to the wire between them and fellow strugglers Accies but with two of their remaining games against Melrose and Hawks, things aren’t looking good for the men in maroon.
Here are Saturday’s results:
Who Won’t Line Up Against Scotland
Phil Godman was last seen limping about during Edinburgh’s very impressive victory over the Ospreys on Sunday (anyone spot Clancy whistling up 20 seconds before time?!), but no word on troubles with any other Scotland players. So in the meantime here, lukewarmish off the presses and in the interests of fair reporting, an injury report on players in England’s EPS who may not feature against us next weekend:
(now updated with Scotland news)
A Seat At The Table
Rumours are bouncing around the media this week that there is some secret SRU conspiracy afoot to block Italian entry to the Magners League, and so in return a counter-conspiracy to boot the Scottish pro-teams out of the Magners has been mooted by the Welsh press.
“Scottish teams Edinburgh and Glasgow could be kicked out of the Magners League by their Welsh and Irish counterparts, Scrum V understands” is the quote. Key word being could. I could be a millionaire by next week, Scrum V, but it’s bloody unlikely. Would you write about that?
Oops. I think I just dignified it with a response.
A Quick Chat With The Future: Part 2- Richie Vernon
On the 21st of November 2009 Scotland recorded a magnificent result. A win against Australia thought to be nigh on impossible in the days leading up to the fixture. It was some day. Yet while this day was special for everyone lucky enough to see such a spectacle it held extra significance for one young man.
