This squad, announced today, is to be rejigged after the (what could be potentially disastrous) All Blacks match for the remaining matches against South Africa and Tonga. Sorry if that sounds negative but my feelings on the matter are pretty well known and this article aside, recent weeks have given me little succour to aid my weary rugby-watching soul.
Still, I’m off to watch Edinburgh play the Scarlets at the weekend so everything’s looking up, right?
Plenty of new faces as Robinson faces up to the World Champs without plenty of his first choices – and with plenty of the ones that remain in poor form. Henry Pyrgos gets a first call up as the only scrum half in the squad playing Heineken Cup rugby (unless you count Lee Jones) while sometime correspondent for this site Peter Horne gets his first call too.
Scotland squad for training camp at St Andrews 29-31 October in preparation for the EMC Test against New Zealand at Murrayfield on Sunday 11 November (kick-off 2.30pm)
Backs: Mike Blair (Brive), Nick De Luca (Edinburgh Rugby), Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors), Max Evans (Castres), Stuart Hogg, Peter Horne and Ruaridh Jackson (all Glasgow Warriors), Lee Jones, Greig Laidlaw (both Edinburgh Rugby), Sean Lamont (Glasgow Warriors), Rory Lawson (Newcastle Falcons), Peter Murchie, Henry Pyrgos (both Glasgow Warriors), Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby), Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) and Tim Visser (Edinburgh Rugby)
Forwards: John Barclay (Glasgow Warriors), Kelly Brown (Saracens), Geoff Cross, David Denton, Ross Ford and Grant Gilchrist (all Edinburgh Rugby), Ryan Grant (Glasgow Warriors), Richie Gray (Sale Sharks), Dougie Hall (Glasgow Warriors), Jim Hamilton (Gloucester), Allan Jacobsen (Edinburgh Rugby), Alastair Kellock (Glasgow Warriors), Scott Lawson (London Irish), Stuart McInally and Ross Rennie (both Edinburgh Rugby), Tom Ryder (Glasgow Warriors), Alasdair Strokosch (Perpignan) and Kyle Traynor (Bristol Rugby).
Of course there as always a number of names left out, with Glasgow providing much of the squad but also much of the injured roster.
Not considered due to injury:
Backs – Joe Ansbro (London Irish), Ben Cairns (Edinburgh Rugby), Chris Cusiter, Rory Lamont, Graeme Morrison (all Glasgow Warriors), Nikki Walker (Worcester Warriors) and Duncan Weir (Glasgow Warriors). Forwards – Alasdair Dickinson (Sale Sharks), Ed Kalman (Glasgow Warriors), Stevie Lawrie (Edinburgh Rugby), Moray Low, Pat MacArthur and Jon Welsh (all Glasgow Warriors)
Not considered due to Jesus:
Euan Murray (Worcester Warriors)
Other notable although perhaps not unsurprising absentees:
Johhny Beattie (Montpellier), Mark Bennett (Clermont Auvergne), Alex Grove (Worcester Warriors), Rob Harley (Glasgow Warriors), Fraser Mackenzie (Sale Sharks), Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors)
Surprising absentees:
Chris Fusaro (Glasgow Warriors)
If someone put a big black gun (with a silver fern logo on it) to my head, here’s the team I’d most likely pick from this group:
Hogg
Seymour
Dunbar
Scott
Visser
Jackson
Laidlaw
Grant
Hall
Cross
Gray
Kellock
Brown
Rennie
Denton
Yes, I know, Greig hasn’t, etc. I’m not saying they will beat the All Blacks or anything.
What about you?