Tag Archives: Dan Parks

Everything Left On The Pitch

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Wales 31-24 Scotland

This weekend the game of rugby itself received a transfusion of energy, as finally the Six Nations lived up to its billing and provided rugby fans with sporting drama of the kind not seen since the second Lions Test last year, and before that not seen at test level for some time. The fact that the drama was created with skill in attack rather than restriction in defence was all the more heartening.

It was just unfortunate that new lifeblood was drawn from the twitching corpse of a Scotland back division battered into a wholly unrecognisable shape. Wingers in the centre, centres on the wing, half-backs on the wing, forwards on the wing. Wales’s onslaught in the last ten minutes was as physical and skilful as their approach in the first half had been inept in the face of a near perfect Scotland performance. By the time they finally came at Scotland – sensing as Scotland fans probably could too the inevitability that they would steal this game – they faced a group of players not used to defending a decent and deserved lead, players out of position: players out on their feet.

Comparisons were drawn in a BBC interview with Scotland and Lions Team Doctor James Robson with the body count in the aforementioned 2nd Lions Test and while that game had five serious injuries (and a gouge), it still seems that great sporting drama exacts a high physical toll. Scotland are now faced with the removal of the entire first choice back three, their front line place kicker and their fastest attacking player.

I should imagine the pack remains the same for the next game, having done little wrong. Once again the back row were outstanding, Brown the best I have ever seen him. At 10 Dan Parks will undoubtedly retain his place, and he will deserve it (and anyway Godman may conceivably be banned, no one seems sure if it was a red or yellow he received – more distinctly dodgy TV direction from the BBC Wales OB unit). As we’d all hoped, Dan’s tactical control allowed Scotland to show what they could do playing the game in the right areas. Cusiter too led from just the right side of the law and was outstanding in rallying the troops and defending. I’d still like to see him break more, but unless you are the size of Mike Phillips it seems increasingly hard for a scrum-half to get away from the hangers-on at the breakdown (hangers-on like Scott Lawson, who will wish to forget that particular moment of rashness).

For the next game against Italy, Robinson will have to make changes. I would like to see Grove in, Morrison will have to stay – and he wasn’t too bad anyway. Sean Lamont would move back to the wing (although he should still come inside hunting for work) and probably Max Evans on the other wing. He may look to bring in a specialist winger, but look what Evans can do with 5 minutes on the pitch and the understanding he has with Parks. Southwell is the best candidate to come in at full back and you have a back division still mostly consisting of players from the core of this team.

Because it is this team you want to preserve, this team that is restoring a little hope to Scotland and so nearly much more, and this team that will want to make sure it never happens to them again.

Things left on the “cutting room floor” of this article: showboating wingers, George Clancy, diving full-backs, Jonathan Davies’ standard of “neutral” commentary, paying attention to the clock, continually being shafted by inept Irish referees, playing running rugby with the roof open, Andy Powell and the game of golf, George Clancy. Feel free to gripe in the comments section!

When you’ve got no one else to turn to..

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Despite the differences between the two sports similar debates are currently going on amongst fans of Scottish football and rugby.

In football, Kris Boyd had become accustomed to being left out of big games by Rangers and chose to quit international football because he was not satisfied with being always on the bench. This was because he was seen by management as being a one dimensional player. He scored goals but his all round game wasn’t good enough to justify his selection particularly against higher skilled defences. In the end, Boyd altered his game and tried to become a more all round footballer. As a result he has forced his way into being an automatic starter for Rangers and is now being approached to reconsider his position for international selection.

But the debate goes on. Is Kris Boyd now a starter because of a lack of options at his club? Has he really changed his game that much? Does he still take away more from a team than he offers? One thing is sure. If Kris Boyd had Fernando Torres or Wayne Rooney in front of him in the pecking order there would be no debate. But as the players competing with him for selection are Kyle Lafferty and Nacho Novo, there’s hardly an embarrassment of riches available.

The same argument is being played out in Scottish international rugby with Dan Parks. While Dan Parks has always been recognised as a very strong kicker his tackling and delivery leave a lot to be desired. At club level his defensive weakness has led to Bernardo Stortoni alternating in at stand off in defensive situations, a scenario which we may see play out with Chris Paterson in Cardiff on Saturday.

Parks has been out the Scotland team for fourteen months, but he is a different player since the last time he played for Scotland and despite his weaknesses he has one strength over any other stand off available for Scotland in relation to his game management ability. There is no doubting that he has an arrogance and ability to take over the game with his kicking, a virtual guarantee of points scoring and an awareness to play the field position game to his teams strengths.

There seems little doubt from the pattern of recent selections that Robinson and Townsend would prefer their stand off be an all rounder but Parks’ selection for Cardiff on Saturday indicates a recognition by Scotland’s management that the other options available are either unproven or too risky – the product of thinking just too far outside the box. Phil Godman continues not to assert himself as his supporters would wish. Having conclusively lost two head-to-head duels with Parks in the Inter City matches over the Christmas and New Year period his performance against France was mixed at best. Considering Ruaridh Jackson as an option is jumping the gun dramatically. Though his day will come he’s just not ready to play at this level. The other options are Chris Paterson, previously written off by Robinson as a viable option at stand off, or Hugo Southwell, who doesn’t see number 10 as his preferred position although he has played there for Scotland A and is a talented player Scotland probably should utilise somewhere in their team or at least have available on the bench.

The final option is Mike Blair. He’s clearly seen as one of Scotland’s top players and while it’s no doubt tempting to see if both Blair and Cusiter can be accommodated in the starting 15 to date he’s untried in this position.

Scotland need to be more adaptable and urgently start exploring other options. In his article, “The Curious Case of Rory Hutton”, Kevin Ferrie of The Herald writes about the lack of adaptability of Scottish coaching. The fact that Dan Parks is now seen as Scotland’s best option in the playmaker position may be seen as a sad indictment on coaching in this country recognising as it does that no stand off available to us has been developed beyond his level.

At the very least, with the kicking prowess of Parks and Paterson, Scotland should be able to defend in the opposition half and kick the penalties which come their way but they won’t be a true threat at top international level until they have real attacking options. With Scotland being left with no other option but to turn to a player Robinson clearly wanted to discard from the international scene and who wasn’t in either the chosen 44 in August, the A team in Belfast or the 22 chosen against France there could be no better demonstration of our lack of progress as an attacking force at international level.

In the second guessing of the selection that will no doubt continue until Saturday, Scotland’s supporters should avoid being be too harsh on Parks because the simple fact is that now as never before we really need him to be playing at the top of his game. Rumours coming out of the camp suggest that Robinson expected to lose against France but that Wales is a match he believes Scotland can win. Let’s hope that in the critical selection of Dan Parks at stand off he’s got it right.

Ch..ch…ch….CHANGES!

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Change, it’s a wonderful concept that has seen men elected to the highest offices and inspired development of technology from the Model T Ford to the Toyota Prius… so not always a positive thing!

For those who watched Scotland play France this past Sunday however there must have been a horrible feeling that some things never change.  Scotland were fairly beaten by a strong looking France side but Scotland had their chances.  Early in the match we failed to capitalise on being metres from the French line and on a number of occasions men would break through the French blitz defence (particularly Beattie and Lamont) only to find themselves isolated and unsupported….a bit like Gordon Brown at a Labour Party Conference.  The French on the other hand destroyed the Scottish scrum and from that they were able to build a super-solid platform from which to attack Scotland.  In Bastareaud the French have themselves a mini Lomu who, once up at full speed, was as difficult to stop as the aforementioned Prius.  In saying that, his second try, was embarrassing for more than one Scotland player as attempts to tackle were either woeful or just plain non existent.  This is a particularly Scottish problem in the 6 Nations, where we seem to specialise in missed tackles at key moments.  All in all Sundays’ game was a game that demonstrated that some things never change; it was a typical Scottish 6 Nations story…a case of what could have been.

So, looking forward Andy Robinson has been swift to embrace the idea of change and has switched the playing staff and, undoubtedly, the way Scotland will play the game this coming Saturday against a Welsh side, who themselves, are a way off top form.  Key to Saturday will be to winning the battle up front and the reintroduction of Euan Murray should provide the Scots with a much more stable platform.  If Scotland have any aspirations of winning this game they should also be looking to target the Welsh lineout which against England was nothing short of a disgrace.  The professional era has brought us many advancements, bigger, faster player, more accurate kicking and slick BBC montages but apparently it has also ushered in an era of hookers whose ability to throw into a lineout is highly questionable.  On Saturday, time after time, the Welsh were turned over in the lineout.  I would imagine this is an area Andy Robinson will be keen to attack particularly with rebirth of Dan Parks in a Scotland jersey.  This indicates (as do comments from Robinson himself) that Scotland will try and play in the Welsh half and if we can get to the Welsh lineout if could be a good source of ball in attacking positions.  The other change, I, like I’m sure all Scotland fans would like to see is Scotland finally finishing off moves.  We are very good at getting close and then blowing it.  This needs to changes and hopefully Saturday will see the Scottish efforts get rewarded.

I want to also take a quick moment to welcome Dan Parks back to the national scene.  Parks is much criticised in the Scottish game, indeed I’ve been known to given him as a hard a time as anyone, however this season he has been largely magnificent for Glasgow in the Magners League and his tactical kicking is some of the best in the world game.  I remember sitting in St Etienne after the Scotland v Italy WC2007 match and praising Parks for being the reason Scotland squeezed out of its Group.  Indeed, Rory and I had a conversation in Paris a week later (the same night this blog was born) discussing whether Parks was a candidate for Scotland captain such was his influence that tournament.  He has his flaws but he’s not half as bad as many people make out – he became the pantomime villain for the frustrated Scotland support.  I hope that he gets the full backing of every Scotland player this Saturday and I hope that Parks put of a performance that shuts up the critics and shows his new employers (Cardiff) just how lucky they will be to have them in their squad.

Good luck Scotland – we are due a result in Cardiff!

  • Head: Scotland lose by less than a score (typical) – +5 Wales
  • Heart: Scotland win by a couple of tries after things start to click – +10 Scotland
  • Arse: Scotland start well but don’t get over the line, Wales get the luck of the bounce and Scotland leave themselves open trying to chase the game – Wales + 15

Scotland Team For Cardiff

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15 Chris Paterson (Edinburgh)
14 Thom Evans (Glasgow Warriors)
13 Sean Lamont (Scarlets)
12 Graeme Morrison (Glasgow Warriors)
11 Rory Lamont (Toulon)
10 Dan Parks (Glasgow Warriors)
9 Chris Cusiter (Glasgow Warriors) CAPTAIN
1 Alasdair Dickinson (Gloucester)
2 Ross Ford (Edinburgh)
3 Euan Murray (Northampton Saints)
4 Nathan Hines (Leinster)
5 Alastair Kellock (Glasgow Warriors)
6 Kelly Brown (Glasgow Warriors)
7 John Barclay (Glasgow Warriors)
8 Johnnie Beattie (Glasgow Warriors)

Substitutes
16 Scott Lawson (Gloucester)
17 Allan Jacobsen (Edinburgh)
18 Richie Gray (Glasgow Warriors)
19 Alan MacDonald (Edinburgh)
20 Mike Blair (Edinburgh)
21 Phil Godman (Edinburgh)
22 Max Evans (Glasgow Warriors)

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland).
Touch-judges: Alain Rolland (Ireland) and Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland).
Television Match Official: Geoff Warren (England)

AARGH he almost did exactly what was I thought was required with this selection, but Morrison is still in there and Grove is nowhere to be seen. If Morrison has a donkey adventure day again what is the plan B? Parks to kick it, I guess. Still my feeling is that there is no spark in the 10-12 axis and if you were bringing Parks in, club combinations aside I think someone at least a little tricksy in the 12 shirt would have been nice… Dan will hopefully be looking to show the Cardiff faithful he is worth a punt… Suprised to see Dickinson still in, thought Chunk did enough to bolster the front row to get his start and Murray’s return was pretty much a given.

Oh and Mossy gets his 100th cap, congratulations!

UPDATE: Wales Team: Lee Byrne, Leigh Halfpenny, James Hook, Jamie Roberts, Shane Williams, Stephen Jones, Gareth Cooper, Paul James, Gareth Williams, Adam Jones, Jonathan Thomas, Alun Wyn Jones, Andy Powell, Martyn Williams, Ryan Jones (Captain)
REPLACEMENTS: Huw Bennett, Gethin Jenkins, Bradley Davies, Sam Warburton, Richie Rees, Andrew Bishop, Tom Shanklin

Bring in the reinforcements!

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Panic seems to have hit Martin Johnson. Shontayne Hape?! Well we’re used to this in Scotland.   Every time Scotland sees a decline in talent in certain positions there seems to be a desperate snatch for anyone Scots qualified, by the SRU. While some might question Andy Robinson’s desire to put in a long term plan for Scottish youth there is almost something admirable in his declaration of interest in the long-term progress of Ayr’s Frazier Climo: a man not eligible for Scotland until 2012. Then there is Dan Parks.

The much derided stand-off has been written off more times than his motor (allegedly), but he keeps coming back for more. As Phil Godman struggled to kick himself out of his shadow and was constantly caught with the ball in his hands during the 1872 cup matches against Glasgow, his opposite man, Parks, had put the ball wherever he wanted and ran the game with metronomic rhythm.

While this may have delighted Glasgow fans you could hear the rest of Scotland groaning. Perhaps not because Parks was back in the frame for a Scotland call up but because the transitional period is set to continue at 10, for us. Parks has, at pro level, the ability to control a game but with rumours he is only interested in reaching a 50th cap and his attentions soon turning to Cardiff’s fortunes the future seems unsure.

This creates an interesting situation. Many believe that Kiwi Climo will slide into Parks’ vacated position at Glasgow while calls to sign up Hutton are increasing in Edinburgh. Every outcome suggests a few more unsure years for the fans regarding the Scottish fly-half berth. While it is obvious that the SRU have no problems bringing in a ‘foreign’ player for the two pro teams it creates a fascinating precedent. Do we really want another situation where a Matt Mustchin is called up for a Scotland tour because no young Scottish players are deemed good enough? Do we want another like Boroughmuir’s Fergus Pringle playing on tour for Scotland ‘A’, maybe the most developmental stage of Scottish international rugby, while talented, if not a little inexperienced, kids stay at home like a few seasons ago?

This situation possibly says more about the state of the pro set-up in Scotland, but it is also true that the infiltration of ‘foreign’ players is evident in all aspects of the Scottish game. Almost every premier club in Scotland has at least one player who is not Scottish qualified. Some teams have more than three every game. What this means is that a disparity occurs. If we are being honest, players like Hutton, Jackson, David Blair and even Climo are too good to play amateur rugby every week but what is coming up behind them is not encouraging. What’s more, most clubs are more interested in league positions, cups and getting one over their rivals. Some cynics can say there is not as much concern about strengthening Scotland as a nation as much as there is an internalized drive to make ‘my club’ stronger. There could be some substance to this. Of course there is the by-product of younger players learning from experienced foreigners. This helps, but it becomes much harder when the best Scottish talents are whisked away by the SRU, or worse, head down south to earn their stripes because there are no places north of Hadrian’s dyke.

The age old shocker of a question arises: what the hell do we do?!

Finally, I’ve known a few overseas players who have landed on their feet in this country. What would I do in their situation if I was asked to play for Scotland? Alex Tait is thinking about it. Even if I had a silver fern tattooed on my arse would I take the cap/pay rise/accolades? Maybe. On Tuesday Paul Tito said “If Wales were in massive dire, dire need I’d probably have a think about it [playing for them].” Doesn’t sound like a definite NO, does it?

What would you do?

Glasgow Win 1872 Cup

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Although I thought it a bit of a damp squib in terms of rugby (the weather can probably take some of the blame) the intensity was definitely there in the festive derby series, with plenty of niggle in the first leg as Glasgow set the standard for intensity, and some stupid yellows in the much better second leg. When we said “more aggression Ross”, we didn’t mean that. In the end it was that intensity mainly at the breakdown that was probably enough to see Glasgow through – they simply seemed to want it more than Edinburgh, and had a clearer plan B (which may actually be plan A) to turn to when it wasn’t on to run it (ie get Dan Parks to kick it). Perhaps with Ruaridh Jackson back from injury and getting a wee run today and Parks off to Cardiff in a few months, Plan A (as Andy Robinson might see it) will get more of an airing. While Edinburgh continue to be try-less and unfortunately not looking like changing it much, a big New Year shout out to Nikki Walker, Scotland’s top try scorer of the year so far having picked up two yesterday for the Ospreys against Cardiff.

So for now Glasgow will be happy to be leading the race for the Magners League title (as reflected on the “marvellous” new splash page where Evans is front and centre!) sitting clear at the top of the table with 8 or so games left until the all important end of season play-offs. With a steely aggressive core at the heart of the team and a solid defence, Glasgow are playing with the sort of heart Scottish fans tend to demand and hopefully it sees them well into the playoffs. As pitches dry up in the spring though I hope the backs will get more ball through the hands – a winning team needs to have more attacking options than ol’ Parko and the cross-field kick, and I get the feeling the Irish teams and Ospreys are soon going to start bringing the big guns in Magners fixtures.

For the Scottish teams it will only get harder, but we like a bit of a challenge, don’t we?

1872 Cup Preview

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It’s the first leg of the 1872 Cup this weekend as matters turn parochial. Brother on brother, blood on blood; Chris on Chris, Thom on Thompson, Brown vs Blair, DTH vs DC, Vernon vs Visser, Cross, Ross and Ross vs Dan, Dan, John and Johnnie, that sort of thing – basically civil war. That sentence would have been a lot easier with Welsh names. The first leg is in Glasgow, the second in Edinburgh and it’s hard to see past the home teams in each fixture. Still, I have a sneaky suspicion that Glasgow will come out the better over two legs.

Edinburgh are struggling (as always) to find a cutting edge and their attacking form seems to revolve around Godman who is treading water at the moment, while Glasgow now seem to play okay even when Parks is having one of his duff days – and even those have been rare recently. While Edinburgh seem to be building a team based on familiarity and combinations, Glasgow seem to be building a team based on leadership (Barclay, Kellock, Cusiter, Thomson, Gregor, McMillan and Grey have all captained Scotland at age group, sevens or international level) and the team seems to be coming together from the increased confidence that brings. Sean Lineen had seen the improvement in Edinburgh and maybe realised he might be under threat if his team didn’t start living up to the promise of the squad he was building having changed from a policy of duff foreigners to promising youngsters, and this season they seem to be repaying him. The “inconsistent” tag still rears its ugly head every so often (second half at Gloucester) but this season they have started winning away, and they just look a lot more confident when their top line-up takes the field. Gallus, you might say.

More importantly – who will the commentators be? Andy Nicol summarises for the Beeb while Scott Hastings summarises AND commentates for Sky. Given they both present on the STV highlights show, I would imagine they will be present, but as pundits, commentators or both? I would imagine it will be the two of them running back and forth between pitchside and commentary booth. Let’s face it STV is short of cash these days so I doubt they can afford to draft in the legendary Runrig soundalike Andrew Cotter (just listen to that tune Murrayfield play at half time, you know, the one about Scotland), and he is probably manacled to the BBC.

Unless STV feels the spirit of Christmas past and signs up Doddie Weir’s all conquering trousers…

Cardiff Arms Parks?

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Breaking news: rumour has it that Magners League leading points scorer, kicking machine and regular Scottish rugby/Strathclyde Police source of amusement Dan Parks is to sign for Cardiff Blues. At 31, he’s most likely a short term solution to the Blues’ issues at standoff where Sam “Two-dads” Norton-Knight has struggled to fit in (possibly because he is a full-back). Cardiff never struck me as much of a kicking side but I am sure Dan will feel right at home alongside several antipodeans, a Blair and a giant ginger chap. Is that the sound of Dai Young capitulating to aerial ping-pong?

Up this end of the country it frees up Jackson, Gregor and some other youngsters TBA for a run at the Glasgow ten shirt. Interesting, although unconfirmed…

BBC Article

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/welsh/8426303.stmBBC Article

Edinburgh Cling On, Glasgow Fall Off

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During whiteout conditions at Murrayfield on Saturday where the weather played a larger role than either of the teams for a chunk of the first half, Edinburgh managed to grab a victory against Bath. It was a pity the snow came in when it did, as both teams were showing a willingness to throw the ball about, but when the ball became invisible in a sea of white it became time for a game of Very Cold Hot Potato (mixed in with a little Dead Ants).

Mossy’s boot saved them as it has so often, and while I have often been reluctant to wade in on the whole Mossy at 10 thing, Godman’s form seems to be on the wane while Mossy seems to have gained a yard of pace, gets turned over in the tackle far less and his tactical kicking is miles better than it was and miles ahead of Godman. He’s surely done enough to be the front runner for the Scotland 15 shirt with Hugo a close second (who honestly believed he would be a regular at Stade?), but is he worth a look at 10 for Edinburgh as so many have suggested? (This is assuming Rory Lamont remains in the injury information black-hole he is currently in). While Robbo has been telling anyone who will listen about Scotland’s deficiencies in the 10 position, is Mossy finally worth a shout, having made his tactical game a bit, well, more Dan Parks-esque?

Speaking of Parks, he controlled the game against Gloucester extremely well in the first half while Barclay led the forwards in a masterclass in frustrating the opposition. For a game with so many Scot on Scot match-ups there was plenty of niggle, and no doubt a sign of what is to come next weekend (worryingly for Edinburgh, the Weej seem to excel in this area). Yet in the second half Gloucester came out and pretty much reversed the situation, bullying Glasgow off their 0-6 lead and the ball and sharpening up their attack enough to take the victory. A raft of late-term substitutions probably didn’t help Glasgow – much in the same way as it buggered up Edinburgh last week – with Cusiter going off and replacement McMillan then having to hide at the back with an injury while Gregor filled in at scrum half. This only served to rob Glasgow of Gregor’s running lines and pace from at the back, which they were already short of  with Thom Evans out. The Gloucester Scottish showed up well too with Scott and Rory Lawson and Al Strokosch showing good skills in attack, although Kellock and Gray were all over Lawson (hooker) at the lineout. And one more thing: does Graeme Morrison ever pass? You’d be as well playing Richie Vernon in the centre, who unveiled the pace that has Glasgow abuzz while the rest of us were initially wondering why Beattie was left on the bench in favour of a guy with two first names…

Top Of The Table

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After Leinster’s failure to topple the ever-improving Dragons at the weekend, the Scottish pro-teams go in to the Heineken Cup break first and second in the Magners League table. So congratulations to Glasgow and Edinburgh for that excellent bit of away points-grabbing, in particular the two oft-abused/unsung 10s David “Tony” Blair and King of Dans Parko Parks who both played pivotal roles. What’s more with only each other to play in the league between now and then, there’s a pretty good chance that one of the Scottish pro-teams will go into the half way point after Christmas atop the table, with the other in close attendance – along with the likes of Leinster and Ulster. It’s really great to see the teams doing so well and heading into the second half of the season with one and possibly both primed for at least a decent chance of a playoff spot come the sharp end.

This weekend attention turns to the Heineken Cup. Both Glasgow and Edinburgh need to win all their remaining games to have a chance of getting anywhere, including a possibly shift sideways into the latter stages of the Amlin Challenge Cup (might be a better bet there anyway!). For Glasgow that’s back to back against Gloucester, then the Dragons and away to Biarritz. All of which is in theory possible based on previous events, but still fairly unlikely for a team that has struggled so often with inconsistency. Still the way they toughed it out against Ulster gives me hope. Going out to the south of France with the weather turning a bit and all to play for could make for exciting times though. Good news for them too that Ruaridh Jackson came through an hour for Ayr (at full-back) on Saturday.

Edinburgh also face a team struggling in the GP, Bath (get Robinson on as a pundit!) before taking on Ulster at Ravenhill and Stade at home. With those wacky Edinburgh guys and their love of shirts that look like a tartan factory threw up and throwing it about in their own 22 anything is possible, but I fear “for zem ze vor is ova” and I reckon they will target the festive derbies for a clean sweep instead, maybe giving David Blair some more game time between now and then – he did pretty well against the Scarlets on Friday night. Or is that defeatist talk? On the Internet the walls have ears. Win against Bath at the Rec and I’ll probably change my mind again.

In terms of TV coverage, according to ERC rugby we get delayed highlights of Glasgow on Friday (this I think means “delayed until the round-up show on Sunday night”) and red button for Edinburgh on Sunday afternoon. What do you reckon – We Are The Champions or Mission: Impossible?

New Scotland Squad for Autumn

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Scotland squad: John Barclay (Glasgow Warriors), Johnnie Beattie (Glasgow Warriors), Mike Blair (Edinburgh), Kelly Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Ben Cairns (Edinburgh), Geoff Cross (Edinburgh), Chris Cusiter (Glasgow Warriors), Simon Danielli (Ulster), Nick De Luca (Edinburgh), Alasdair Dickinson (Gloucester), Thom Evans (Glasgow Warriors), Ross Ford (Edinburgh), Phil Godman (Edinburgh), Alex Grove (Worcester Warriors), Dougie Hall (Glasgow Warriors), Nathan Hines (Leinster), Allan Jacobsen (Edinburgh), Alastair Kellock (Glasgow Warriors), Rory Lamont (Toulon), Sean Lamont (Scarlets), Rory Lawson (Gloucester), Scott Lawson (Gloucester), Moray Low (Glasgow Warriors), Alan MacDonald (Edinburgh), Scott MacLeod (Edinburgh), Graeme Morrison (Glasgow Warriors), Chris Paterson (Edinburgh), Hugo Southwell (Stade Francais), Alasdair Strokosch (Gloucester), Richie Vernon (Glasgow Warriors), Nikki Walker (Ospreys), Jason White (Clermont Auvergne).

Suprise ins: Alex Grove, Richie Vernon, Alan MacDonald

Surprise out: Ally Hogg, Dan Parks

Gotta admire Robbo for sticking to his guns and leaving Parks out despite him being in okay form and a distinct lack of other options with Jackson out. Is he really only having Mossy as back-up? Is he putting all the weight on the slightly off-the-boil Phil Godman or is he going to throw Mossy in at 10 at last for more than bench cover? Gotta feel for Hoggy who has been playing pretty well till recently and had repaid being given captaincy with some strong performances. Then Blair came back into the armband and strangely Edinburgh went downhill… Still it gives some indication of Robinson’s admiration for Beattie that he’s willing to give him a shot back at the 8 shirt. Either that or it’s the gauntlet being thrown down to Hogg to play his way back into the squad… So now I’ll have to have a think about who would go into the 22/23 based on that. For me the back three is trickiest – Walker is in great form but he’s been there before and not kicked on. A Lamont possibly? Evans has to be there just for the pace, give him a full Murrayfield and he’d find form I am sure. Mossy – or will he be in at 10? Or comeback king Hugooooo? More thoughts soon.

Quelle différence?

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Stade Francais 31-7 Edinburgh
Glasgow 18-22 Biarritz

Ugh. Edinburgh flatter to deceive (get hammered) and Glasgow come close but fail to squeeze out the result they definitely deserved. So far, so Scottish teams in the Heineken Cup. I thought there were a few positives to be taken from the weekends defeats though.

Johnnie Beattie finally took it to the next level with a great performance level that if maintained could and should see him challenge Hoggy and Simon Taylor for the Scotland No 8 shirt. Won’t matter to Jonathan Davies who can’t tell the difference.

Thom Evans is rediscovering form with every game and was a palpable threat whenever he had the ball. He just lacks the opportunities in the right spaces without his brother inside him, but Dave McCall is also getting up to speed with each game and building on his solid defence. In the Glasgow backline, Colin Gregor continues to be a hive of activity with a wee bit of flair and Rob Dewey looked a little more at home at centre than his recent home on the wing. Still, they weren’t quite able to put it together in the midfield when needed in order to win the game.

Dan Parks is at least doing what he does very well – kick the ball around Firhill on a bit of invisble string. But he still made two silly choices when the run – and scoring opportunity – was clearly on. With the Glasgow backs’ handling skills and pace, such negligence borders on the criminal. Parks can run the backline very well but it seems his instinct is still to kick. What price Ruaridh Jackson or even Colin Gregor marshalling the onslaught on Biarritz’s try line that often went unrewarded?

Glasgow’s front row is developing into a powerful scrummaging unit, and the props are both under 24 so well off propping “peak”. Still (as with Edinburgh) the lineout was fairly abysmal and led to the slightly iffy try that in the end decided the match. With Ford and Hall both having dreadful days at the lineout, who does Robbo turn to for the Scotland No 2 shirt? (Although some of the “not straight” decisions were a mile straighter than the ones allowed regularly in the scrum. However, the Feeding At  The Scrum and Lineout Equality Group (aka FATSLEG) is yet to be convened and start its world-conquering grass-roots petition, so that will have to wait – watch this space!). Glasgow are definitely gettting there, and so to Edinburgh…

Mossy looks in good form, his work on sprinting has paid off and he seems to have developed a yard of pace to go with his eye for a wee gap – he should be back at 15 on merit. Cairns looks good but rarely saw the ball. If Houston is injured, I still reckon Cairns should be playing 12 and De Luca 13. Regardless, there was some slack midfield tackling that gave Stade an unassailable lead far too early on, and Scottish teams always struggle trying to force the game.

Umm, that’s about it for Edinburgh. Okay so they won the second half 7-3 with a well taken try but by then Stade’s foot was so far off the gas that they resembled someone dropping a bucket of paint over a traffic jam (slowly) rather than the confident riot of colour and pace from the first half. Roddy Grant looks fully at home in the 15s game, and is it just me or were Edinburgh much better when Hogg was captain? Perhaps it was just poorer opposition early on in the season. Far too many handling errors, no lineout control and lack of quick ball for/from Blair basically put the dampeners on Edinburgh’s match. At least it is a game out of the way that they would not perhaps realistically have targeted as a “Win” in their battle to escape the pool, but one wonders if it will prove a damaging blow to the confidence of a team that we felt had moved forward so much under Andy Robinson.

UPDATE: Rob Dewey seems to have broken his ankle, keeping him out well past the Autumn Internationals. DTH Van Der Merwe has also broken a bone in his hand.

Glasgow team to face Champs

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Sean Lineen announced his first Glasgow Warriors squad of the season, fresh from a narrow pre-season victory over Kelly Brook’s boyfriend and the rest of the Wasps. They take on champs Munster who may play more of their big guns early on in the season (rather than save them for Europe) now that a top four place is all that is required…  Pity we won’t get to see Max Evans match up against De Villiers till later in the season though… No, I’ve never heard of young prop Jon Welsh either but I think Scottish rugby may have finally woken up to the reality that young talent needs to be brought “on stream” earlier than was previous to keep the level of depth and competition for places strong. Chuck ‘em in at the deep end – it seems to have worked for Ruaridh Jackson last season. I’m particularly excited to see what impact Chris Cusiter can bring to a Glasgow backline with a fair amount of potential with newcomer Peter Murchie, Rob Dewey and Thom Evans (especially with the likes of Jackson, Colin Shaw, Peter Horne, Max Evans and Colin Gregor challenging  too). After many of us thought he had disappeared without contract, Dan Parks continues his career resurrection, holding off Jackson’s challenge at 10 for now. Consistency is the watchword for this season – if they can find that, Glasgow can do better than many expect.

Glasgow team to face Munster:
Bernardo Stortoni, Rob Dewey, Peter Murchie, Graeme Morrison, Thom Evans, Dan Parks, Chris Cusiter, Jon Welsh, Dougie Hall, Moray Low, Tim Barker, Alastair Kellock (captain), Kelly Brown, John Barclay, Johnnie Beattie

Substitutes: Pat MacArthur, Kevin Tkachuk, Dan Turner, Richie Vernon, Mark McMillan, Ruaridh Jackson, Colin Shaw

It’s not on TV this one, but you can catch Nathan Hines’s new team Leinster in action against Sean Lamont’s new team the Scarlets on Saturday evening on S4C (Lamont starts, Hines is rested).

UPDATE: you can now see highlights on Sunday, 5.30pm, STV though!

Parks and Recreation

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Troubled Glasgow fly-half Dan Parks may have played his last game for Glasgow after recent troubles – a meeting with the SRU next week should clear up as to whether or not his contract will be renewed or any disciplinary action will be taken. Meanwhile Glasgow trundle on with a visit from Connacht to finish off a fairly dissappointing Magners season that has seen several of their players step up to the national rank while still struggling to achieve consistency at club level. The good results they have had – away wins in Toulose, beating Edinburgh and Heineken Cup finalists Leinster – and the incoming talent (Cusiter, Dewey) auger well for next year though. There are also a few youngsters coming through the ranks, with Ruaridh Jackson now well and truly leading the way from 10 if Parks does indeed go, along with the likes of beanpole lock Richie Gray. Perhaps look for Colin Gregor to fill in less at 9 next season and more at 10. This match is I believe on Setanta.

Edinburgh have decided to rest newly-minted Lion Mike Blair in the match against Cardiff which does not mean all that much, but if results go their way they could move up into third or even second. Other than Greg Laidlaw filling in, Andy Robinson has named a pretty strong team with the replacement of Alan Macdonald due to injury the only other major change. Ally Hogg takes over the captaincy in a game that will be shown on Sunday on S4C.

The SRU have also announced a progress report on their hunt for a head coach which doesn’t say very much of anything, other than it won’t be Mike Brewer and consequently he has chosen to seek pastures new, presumably in search of a head coaching position..

UPDATE: Parks has been fined £3000 and banned for 18 months for his driving offence. Like the last time caught in a car under the influence, he was apparently screwed by one of his mates who buggered off with a bird leaving him facing a night in a car. Mates, eh? Still, taking the decision to turn the engine on this time is not a good example to set in his position as a role model for young kicking stand-offs and interception throwers everywhere, and may turn out to have fatal repercussions for his playing career here. Al will no doubt pop up shortly and point out how Parks was never the same after an encounter with me in St Etienne…

Oops He Did it Again, and Cheerio Tom

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Now that all the Lions disappointment is out of the way for a few days, back to parochial matters.

In the news today: Parko arrested for alleged car/booze related incident, according to BBC Sport (I shall try not to use the words “disappointment” and “Lions” in this sentence too lest I be accused of taking the michael).

In memories of slightly happier times, 37 year old Scottish Lions Braveheart Warrior Poet Scrummaging Genius Legend non-disappointment etc etc Tom Smith has announced his retirement from professional rugby at the end of the season – now rapidly upon us. Smith famously was the dark horse in the front row for Geech’s last visit to South Africa, and now Tom’s protege at Northampton (Euan Murray) is off on his own Lions Tour to South Africa with Geech. Smith also took part in Scotlands 1999 Five Nations tournament victory – those were the days, eh? He had 6 Lions caps, 61 Scotland caps and over 200 appearances for Saints. We wish Tom well with whatever he chooses to do next – he’s been helping out at Scottish age grade coaching I think so here’s hoping we see him rising through the coaching ranks soon, he sure has a lot of knowledge to impart to someone…

And finally, Andy Robinson has indeed announced his willingness to be Scotland coach, thereby causing bookies everywhere to breath a sigh of relief. With Gloucester losing again, could Bryan “Basil” Redpath/Carl Hogg, hell even Dean Ryan too be a good team to take over at Edinburgh if Robinson moves upstairs?