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Glasgow Warriors 52-24 Cardiff Rugby: Is the Glasgow of old back?

Rory Darge of Glasgow Warriors
Rory Darge of Glasgow Warriors - pic courtesy URC

As the Warrior Nation welcomed new Head Coach Franco Smith to Scotstoun for the first time, they had high expectations for their team and the Warriors delighted the home crowd by running in eight tries. 

Glasgow came out the blocks with a strong physical attack. A penalty taken quickly by George Horne punched a hole in the Cardiff defence, but the attack was short-lived after the Welsh side was awarded a penalty.

Scott Cummings won the first lineout of the game to reignite the Glasgow attack. The attack was cut short after a knock-on from Horne following another lineout.

There was an early and unwanted substitution for Warriors after Rory Darge awkwardly twisted his leg in a tackle and could be out injured for a considerable period of time. 

As play restarted, it didn’t take his replacement Tom Gordon long to get involved and win his first turnover. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as Cardiff won possession back. Max Llewellyn broke through the middle and Josh Adams gathered the recycled ball to dot down over the whitewash. Jarrod Evans added the extras giving Cardiff a 7-point lead after 18 minutes.

The Warriors fought back straight from the restart. Stafford McDowall slotted through a gap in the defence, and it set Richie Gray and Fraser Brown up for some heavy carries. An offload from Jack Dempsey almost bore fruit but Jordan spilled it forward. 

Glasgow broke into the Welsh 22 once again with some old-fashioned attacking play, but Thomas Young of Cardiff was sent to the bin for killing the ball close to the line. Glasgow took full advantage of the extra man and off the back of a rolling maul Brown crashed over the whitewash to score Glasgow’s first try. George Horne added the extras to bring the score level. 

It didn’t take long for Glasgow to get a second try either and it was another of the type we didn’t see so much last season. Straight from the restart Sione Tuipulotu burst through the defence and passed it out to a screaming Sebastian Cancelliere who shifted it on to Cole Forbes who rolled over the try line. Wee George added the extras again to make it 14-7. 

Glasgow were on fire. Putting on a show for the home crowd as they scored their third in as many minutes. Forbes took a great high ball, and it was shipped out wide. McDowall punted it over the top and Josh Adams returned the kick. Tuipulotu gathered and saw space in behind and nailed the kick creating a 50-22 15 meters out. Brown found Cummings at the lineout and the maul got to work. It looked like the Cardiff defence would hold but Matt Fagerson got over the line, and after a quick TMO check it was confirmed. Horne added the extras once again. 

In a game with a number of cards there was a yellow card for Glasgow in the 33rd min, as a very lucky Tom Jordan was sent for a time-out after a high tackle…should it have been a red?

After the restart Glasgow thought they had won a turnover, but the referee awarded the visitors a penalty to make it 21-10 at 37 minutes.

Forbes looked to counter from the restart and there was a chance for a fourth try before half-time. Dempsey burst through and offloaded to Horne and he chipped it over the defence but Cardiff had it covered, Cummings charged down their kick and won a 5m scrum for Glasgow. 

Zander went inches away from the line, Cardiff infringed and it was upgraded to a penalty for the home side who chose another scrum. The east stand were in full voice…

All that singing paid off!

Glasgow earned the bonus point before halftime, George Horne himself going over the line after throwing a signature dummy. The younger Horne brother added the extras to his own try.

Half-time: Glasgow Warriors 28-10 Cardiff Blues 

Cardiff came out swinging in the second half and it only took them 4 minutes to get their second try of the evening. If you asked the home crowd if it was a try it would have been a resounding no, but the officials claimed it touched the line, so the score was given.

Evans converted and it was 28-17 but the Warriors struck back right away to keep the scoreboard will in their favour.

Some great passing from Forbes, Tuipulotu and then the skipper Kyle Steyn found Richie Gray, who popped it back to Steyn who broke through the middle. Jamie Bhatti was there in support then the ball found Zander Fagerson who crashed over, making it three tries in three games for the number 3. Horne once again got the extras and Warriors were up to 35 points. 

Steyn was replaced by Ali Price and some reshuffling saw Horne end up on the wing, Matawalu style. 

Another penalty and then a second yellow for Cardiff after a high tackle from Uilisi Halaholo allowed Glasgow once again to take full advantage of the extra man. Brown crashed over the whitewash for his second try of the night. 

Glasgow had a chance for another try as Dempsey ripped the ball and galloped up the pitch before McDowall and Tuipulotu teamed up but the last pass went loose and into touch. 

There were more changes at the hour mark. On came Oli Kebble, George Turner and Lucio Sordoni for the front row and JP du Preez made his debut and Sintu Manjezi came on too. 

It didn’t take long for Kebble to get involved and carry up into the Cardiff 22 with Manjezi in support. Tom Jordan did score a try – or so it seemed – but as the teams prepared for the restart the ref took another look via the TMO and the try was disallowed. As expected, boos could be heard around the ground from a very confused Warrior Nation. 

Glasgow did, however, strike back through a Jack Dempsey break. Price fed him through the gap and Forbes sent Gordon over the whitewash to the delight of the Warrior Nation. An easy conversion for George made it 47-17 at 66 minutes.

Cardiff had a lineout in the corner that drew a huge defensive counter ruck from Manjezi and Turner. However due to some handbags after awarding the initial penalty the ref revised his decision and awarded it to Cardiff instead. 

The Welshmen managed to score from there; Liam Belcher was the man to crash over for Cardiff’s third and final of the night

Glasgow were not finished though: good passing from Kebble to Turner managed to get the Scots into Cardiff territory. Forbes hoofed on McDowall’s chip kick, but it bounced into touch. 

The lineout was stolen by du Preez and once again Dempsey impressed with his footwork before Price rallied the forwards and sent them in. Cardiff turned it over, but McDowall charged down Priestland’s clearance kick to keep the pressure on. Riding out a tap tackle the centre managed to end up over the whitewash. 

Cardiff tried to fight back but the Glasgow defence was too strong. Dempsey had once last blast with ball in hand, but it wasn’t enough the clock ran out.

Full time 52-24

SRBlog Man of the Match: George Horne was rightfully awarded the man of the match.

The Warrior Nation left Scotstoun happy and hopeful their home ground is a fortress again. This looked like the Glasgow that we all know and love and have missed seeing. 

Head Coach Franco Smith said he is “devastated for Rory Darge as he is a top player”. “It was an ankle injury, and he will be operated on in the morning”. Smith seemed hopeful it wouldn’t be season-ending, but doesn’t know when Darge will be back. 

100 Responses

  1. Good article 👍

    Interesting to see how Glasgow progress from here. I’m hoping Franco Smith does not do too much rotating yet, particularly in the forward pack (perhaps some tinkering in the back 3 and bring Thompson/Berghan on the bench. A shame to see Darge injured but a firing Thomas Gordon is not much of a drop-off.

    My Team for Ospreys

    Oli Smith – Sebastian Cancelliere – Sione Tuipolotu – Stafford McDowall – Kyle Steyn – Tom Jordan – George Horne – Jack Dempsey – Thomas Gordon – Matt Fagerson – Richie Gray – Scott Cummings – Zander Fagerson – Fraser Brown – Jamie Bhatti

    Rufus McLean – Ross Thompson – Ali Price – Ryan Wilson – JP Du Preez – Simon Berghan – Oli Kebble – George Turner

    I would have Josh McKay in, but their appears to be a rule you can only have two foreign players from outside league countries? Don’t quite understand how it works tbh

    1. I wasn’t aware of that rule, so i looked it up.

      Each European Club is permitted a maximum of two Non-European Players in any one Match squad. A “Non-European Player” is a Player who is not a European Player. A “European Player” is defined as a Player who, at the point that he is included in a Match squad:

      a) is a national of a Member State of the European Union or the European Economic Area (and the United Kingdom will, for these purposes, be treated as such a state in any event) or of a state with which the European Union (or its predecessor, the European Community) has entered into an agreement that includes directly effective provisions conferring equivalent rights of non-discrimination against that state’s nationals within the European Union; or

      b) has completed 36 consecutive months of Residence in the country of the Union which has jurisdiction over his Club; or

      c) pursuant to World Rugby Regulation 8, is eligible to play for the senior fifteen-a-side National Representative Team, the next senior fifteen-a-side National Representative Team or the senior National Representative Sevens Team (as those terms are used in those regulations) of a Union.

      So i guess the question is which countries fall under the part
      “a state with which the European Union (or its predecessor, the European Community) has entered into an agreement that includes directly effective provisions conferring equivalent rights of non-discrimination against that state’s nationals within the European Union; ”

      does anyone know?

  2. I think Tom Gordon is handy guy in the squad and it is his year to step up. I don’t fancy going toe to toe with him, he has the aura of menace about him. If he is under the wire for the Scotland Call up he could be influential in holding it together in and around the Scotland games, assuming he wants that exposure.

    1. not sure but hopefully Dempsey will be which should free up a foreigner place.
      it sounds like argentina and south africa must have an agreement with the EU msking their players not count as foreign. presumably Australia, New Zealand and the pacific islands don’t.

      1. A comment on TOL claims that the
        Argies have Italian passports, 3 out of 4 of the Glasgow players anyway, not sure about boffelli. I would assume that as south Africa are part of the league they wouldn’t count as foreign either.

      2. interesting, do you know which one doesn’t have an Italian passport? Is this the reason Miotti has seen such little game time?

  3. Team news

    Glasgow Warriors: Cole Forbes, Sebastian Cancelliere, Sione Tuipulotu, Sam Johnson, Rufus McLean, Tom Jordan, Ali Price (CAPT), Jamie Bhatti, Fraser Brown, Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings, Richie Gray, Gregor Brown, Thomas Gordon, Jack Dempsey.

    Replacements: George Turner, Oli Kebble, Simon Berghan, JP du Preez, Sintu Manjezi, Ryan Wilson, Sean Kennedy, Domingo Miotti.

    Source : Wales on Line

    1. Can hardly call a defeat to the reigning champions in their own stadium “shambolic”.
      2 Individual mistakes (Hoyland -missed tackle & Dean – poor intercepted pass) and an inability to make the most of a period of dominance in the 1st half were the difference.
      Glasgow-well that’s another matter

      1. I cannot see anyone beating the Stormers at home. Edinburgh at the Damhealth will be hard to beat as well. We will just need to calibrate our expectations, this league is going to polarise sides.

      2. Yes, a big ask to defeat the champions in their own stadium. You can add Immelman’s mistakes to the list of errors. Edinburgh weren’t terrible, but they just made too many errors and weren’t strong enough to break the Saffers defence.

  4. Glasgow: It was always going to be a tough test, away from home, the pack were practically Welsh internationals. What did not help were, continuous knock on fumbles and missing a touch penalty for the Lineout maul. They just never got any continuity. The score could have been much worse, the Ospreys were the better side and should have hammered it home.

  5. It is off topic but we may have a bit of an emerging issue I have been keeping tabs on the Worcester debacle and it looks like Wasps are in a similar state. I believe the Premiership have approached Welsh sides to plug the gap? How stable are they financially? For the long term thinkers this could be a good one to follow. Questions in my mind, 3rd side for SRU? will the premiership implode, how many other clubs in similar position? (I wonder if this is a hangover from Covid) If the Premiership steal a few Welsh teams what are the implications for the URC. Conspiracy theory: Is the real target for the Premiership the South African sides? Ok that is just a bit of a brain dump. Is this an opportunity to inject a third team for us , or to join the Premiership even (we have cash and fans) , where could this be going ?

    1. Perfect time to start a British League.Far more interest to the casual supporter and bigger crowds all round as realistic opportunities for travelling supporters which aren’t there certainly in the URC.
      That’s the way it should have gone when rugby went pro 25 years ago.

      1. Whilst I’d love a British and Irish league to replace the URC, it seems a total non-starter. Everyone is tied into long term contracts and significant compensation would have to be found for the Italian union who are shareholders in URC.

        In terms of the Welsh, I’d have thought that if two teams jumped ship there would be a rather large incentive for URC to give the other two the boot and sue the WRU for breach of contract, as they have committed to entering four sides.

        I just can’t see how this actually happens in practice without jeopardising the interests of almost all involved.

  6. didnt see where I could put this but looks like Finn may be released by Racing, presumably at end of season. His future seems to be confused by his current wage, but Japan seems an option and more likely that returm to Scotland – maybe an English/ even Irish team may be able to afford him.
    Tricky decisions ahead!

    1. Would like to see what Russell could do under Mike Blair with Kinghorn outside him at 12.

    2. He should go to Japan. I like him, what is not to like about him, I particularly likes what he did in the draw at Twickenham. But what is there to come back for. He doesnt see eye to eye with the gaffer. Take the experience and cash on offer. He will be seen as an asset in Japan, he will raise himself once again , to new challenges. Here well, he is just part of the furniture, plenty more years before he enters a nursing home back in Scotland.

  7. Given the latest sad news re Worcester Warriors I’d hope that negotiations are well underway to tempt Sutherland, VDM and maybe Fin Smith over the border

  8. DVDM just signed by Edinburgh on a “long term deal”.Welcome home!
    So a potential back three very shortly of Boffelli,Graham and Van der Merwe. Sumptuous!

  9. It is a good steal for Edinburgh. DVM was one of the few lions to get all three tests, he must be one of the most wanted players in these isles.

  10. Just looking ahead, when are we likely to see Huw Jones in the side? Does anyone know if he is training ! Match fit ! When was his last competitive match?

  11. glad Van de Merwe has returned to Edinburgh – should give Scotland a bit more control over his playing time too

  12. Its maybe a wee bit unfair to single out Kinghorn but…………he’s done nothing in last 2 weeks. Seems to be completely nullified by a strong pressing defence, no kicking game to speak just adds to pressure on others to create. VDM will make a huge difference.
    I like VDW too, maybe he should get another chance.
    Back Replacements tonight not international class.
    Crosbie, Muncaster, Venter, Schoeman/Nel did well. Graham phenomenal.

    1. Kinghorn/Pyrgos is not a good combo. Pyrgos is too slow and takes a step or two before passing

  13. Gilchrist’s arms are just too thin for this level.

    He and Cummings are both under gunned for pro level.

  14. To me Edinburgh looked tired from the start of the game, both mentally and physically, from the SA tour. I thought Boffelli also looked fatigued from the Rugby Championship.

    I would definitely be giving a bunch of players a rest next week against Benetton (despite Benettons good form).

    Team for Benetton

    Hoyland – Graham – Bennett – Dean – Van Der Merwe – Savala – Vellacott – Muncaster – Boyle – Ritchie – Sykes – Skinner – Williams – Cherry – Schoeman

    Immelman – Van Der Valt – Shiel – Mata – Hodgson – Nel – Courtney – McBurney

  15. George Horne has been incredible against the bulls first 40 minutes, 1 or 2 forced mistakes but the upside of keeping the bulls guessing is paying off. Great kicking also.

    1. Adding to this, the ruck speed/contest and ambition to attack is winning us this game.

      Gregor Brown/Gordon/Fagerson is a very dynamic backrow.

      1. Absolutely, I take my hat off to them, i did not think Glasgow could do that to the Bulls while missing Darge and Dempsey. Gregor Brown getting better and better.

      2. Big shoes to fill, however just look at the talent on the pitch. Richie Gray and Cummings won everything, even pinched their ball as well. Tom Gordon was hard as Iron. Ali Price one of our most capped Lions on the bench. Just goes to show the power of a well balanced team.

  16. Sensational by Glasgow, Fagerson x2 G.Horne, S.Tuipolota (excellent kicking game),S.Johnson, Cancelliere all superb. Very interesting to see Tom Jordan really growing into the 10 role, looks a really good player.
    Josh McKay is a tremendous player, real pity he’s not SQ
    Franco Smith must be wondering about consistency

    1. McKay is talented, modest, tackles like the crack of doom. My kind of player, no fear and no bother. No SQ ! But at least we are getting a glimpse of what right looks like.

      1. Neil, I just read that article re Tom Jordan, qualifies as a Scottish resident in Oct 2022 but not as Scottish rugby qualified until Oct 2024 (must be the 5 year rule).
        Article by Pete Horne, must be different rules re residency and playing for the country 🙄

  17. Ulster have signed Scotland and British & Irish Lions prop Rory Sutherland on a short-term contract.

  18. With the game against Australia now less than 3 weeks away, this is my team i predict Townsend will go with.

    What is your team?

    Oli Smith – Darcy Graham – Mark Bennett – Sam Johnson – Duhan Van Der Merwe – Blair Kinghorn – Ali Price – Matt Fagerson – Hamish Watson – Jamie Ritchie – Sam Skinner – Grant Gilchrist – Zander Fagerson – George Turner – Pierre Schoeman

    Sione Tuipolotu – Tom Jordan – George Horne – Jack Dempsey – Scott Cummings – Willem Nel – Rory Sutherland – Fraser Brown

  19. Hi Neil, a couple of points, Suzz might not be available and Jordan is not currently SQ as far as know.
    Forbes – Graham -Tuipulotu – Johnson – Duhan – Kinghorn – Price -M Fagerson – Watson – Ritchie – Cummings – Gilchrist -Z Fagerson – Brown – Schoeman.
    Bennett – Savala – Horne – Dempsey – Skinner – Nel – Bhatti – Turner.

    1. I am not sure on Suzz tbf, but i have only heard of issues with clubs witholding players in the prem/top14.

      An article on The offsideline from last year claims Jordan is Scots qualified in October 2o22. Although this could very possibly be incorrect with the amount of spelling mistakes and errors they make over there.

      1. Neil, I just read that article re Tom Jordan, qualifies as a Scottish resident in Oct 2022 but not as Scottish rugby qualified until Oct 2024 (must be the 5 year rule).
        Article by Pete Horne, must be different rules re residency and playing for the country 🙄

      2. yeah seems a bit confusing, OSL article defo says SQ from this month butthen how was he using up a foreigner berth? are we now back to 5 year residency? or is that short term break that allowed Schoeman to qualify still in effect.

  20. Interesting subject…..
    I still think BK cannot be trusted, very good given space but lack of control and limited kicking game nullifies his positives at the higher level. Thompson better option going forward.
    I think a team cannot be picked without a reliable kicker.
    I’d go Forbes, Graham, Tuipulotu, Johnson, VDM, Thompson, Horne
    Dempsey, Crosbie, Ritchie, Skinner, Gilchrist, Fagerson, Brown, Schoeman
    Reps – Kinghorn, Bennett, Price, Fagerson, Cummings, Nel, Turner, Bhatti

  21. Still strange that this game is outside the test window.

    I’d go with:

    Schoeman, Turner, Fagerson, Cummings, Gilchrist, Ritchie, Watson, Fagerson, Price, Kinghorn, Van Der Merwe, Lang, Bennett, Graham, Smith

    Brown, Bhatti, Nel, Skinner, Dempsey, Horne, Thompson, Tuipulotu

    – Pack is obviously pretty much full strength so no issues.
    – The constant debate about 10. Thompson hasn’t played, Jordan isn’t SQ, Savala isn’t good enough (yet) so Kinghorn it is. If we’re going with BK10 at least play Lang and Bennett outside him, who have both looked good so far, to try and get the best out of him.
    – Still not sure about Cole Forbes.

    1. Clearly Kinghorn will get the nod. He’s not a test quality 10 but I’m not sure Thompson is ready either tbh; at least Kinghorn has a lot of test experience. It’s utter madness for Scotland to play a tier 1 test outside the release windows.

      1. If it was an important game i would agree FF, but i think giving the context of everything it’s a positive.

        We can have every player bar Russell and Hogg that would be in our usual starting XV (Arguably)

        Forces us to test the quality of some fringe players against good opposition a year out from the WC. Knowing who can step up (or not) at 10/15 for example is pretty important for our depth building.

        More money for SRU extra game for the fans to watch.

        I agree the main worry is do we have a 10 who can step up against the Aussies, and perhaps a game such as Fiji or Argentina would have been better first up.

  22. I’m not convinced by BK at 10 either but one topic I haven’t seen much on recently is his defence. I always thought he was a reluctant tackler but anyone any more recent views on this? Finn didn’t shirk his responsibilities in that regard and makes a huge difference in terms of how the whole defensive line is set (Dan Parks was often AWOL when the going got rough and needed someone else to cover the 10 channel).
    In some ways crazy being outside of the test window but at least it forces looking at options at 10 & 15; Hogg is past his peak, Finn could be off to Japan apparently so really need to start finding alternatives now. Huw Jones at 15 might be useful but looks like still recovering. And of course desperate for a back up to Zander at TH; do smarties have the answer??

    1. Toonie did test Hutchinson at 15. I suspect that versatility might get him a RWC place. Toonie does Favour generalists over specialists in his squads.

  23. Given Thompson and Ollie Smith have yet to play a pro game this season strange that they are being quotes as starters/in the 23 for a big international two weeks on Saturday!
    Having said that both have had some Super 6 involvement and if they get some reasonable involvement in Glasgow’s SA tour might yet come into consideration (though both,particularly Smith) will find it difficult to break into Glasgow’s starting 15 given the form of Jordan and Mackay.

    1. Real lack of options tbh.

      The only SQ player to start at 15 for Edinburgh or Glasgow this season is Cole Forbes who’s never even been in a squad before (I think).

      Realistically the choice is between him, Smith or shifting Darcy Graham or Damien Hoyland to XV. Doesn’t look like there’s a right answer there.

      As others have said, no chance Thompson starts over Kinghorn.

  24. Correct Arden, Thompson has played 2 S6 games and I’d expect him to get game time in SA in next 2 weeks (Dempsey McKay and Jordan can’t play in same team due to “foreigner” rule – unless Dempsey declares for Scotland)
    So he should be ready to go, however likelihood is that Kinghorn will start

  25. With the world cup now less than a year away, and assuming everyone is fit, and eligible, what is the 33 player squad you would go with?

    19/14 split for me

    LH: Schoeman, Sutherland, Kebble
    H: Turner, Ashman, Brown
    TH: Fagerson, Sebastian, Williams
    L: Gilchrist, Skinner, Cummings, Sykes
    BR: Ritchie, Christie, Darge, Crosbie, Fagerson, Dempsey
    SH: Price, Horne, White
    FH: Russell, Hastings
    C: Johnson, Hutchinson, Harris, Tuipolotu
    BT: Hogg, Kinghorn, Graham, Van Der Merwe, Steyn

    Surprisingly competitive and hard to pick a year out, in particular backrow and Centre

    1. My choices-
      Bhatti in Kebble out.
      Nel in Williams out
      J.Gray in Sykes out
      Watson in Christie out
      Redpath in Hutchinson out
      Bennett in Harris out
      Jones IN Kinghorn out

    2. @Neil

      H: Mcinally in, Brown out

      TH: Nel in, Williams out – not sure I’ve ever seen Williams play.

      L: Gray in, Sykes out – I like Sykes though.

      BR: Watson & Bradbury in, Christie & Dempsey out – if it was picked today. if Dempsey steps up in the autumn then he could push out Bradbury.

      C: Redpath & Bennett in, Hutchinson & Tuipulotu out – I’d rather take both Hutch and Redpath and leave Sam Johnson but not realistic.

  26. I admire some of your selections, particularly Sykes who is showing he’s got great hands to go with his grunt but realistically i think Gray will go.
    BR surely Watson will go over Crosbie.
    TH- i like Williams but he’s even less likely to get club time
    now Luan DB is fit again. Surely this will be Nel’s swansong.
    LH -Bhatti is generally first choice over Kebble and playing both sides less relevant now 33 man squad allowed.
    Centre is a coin toss but i would say right now Tuipulotu is the must have. I’d probably take Huw Jones over Kyle Steyn but it’s 50/50.

      1. He has but not sure how well. Admittedly he had a great debut v England but not sure he warrants jumping straight into the World Cup squad on pretty much that basis alone. Still can’t believe Hutchinson wasn’t played at 12 at all during the summer tour as I suspect that currently, he’s a better option at 12 than Redpath meaning Johnson and Hutchinson for 12, which leaves a conundrum at 13. Bennett has surely shown enough to be included and Toonie obviously wants Harris as the defensive leader but that means Tuipulotu and Jones both likely to miss out, unless Jones can sneak in as an alternative FB/utility back. Hutchinson and Bennett can both kick so those 2 help out in that respect, acknowledging Tuipulotu has also shown a few skills. Still looking in the cupboard, loft and down the back of the sofa to find a tight-head somewhere…

      2. Redpath played the first and maybe second games before being dropped and I think he may have played in the game just past.

      3. Read interview with Redpath and he is being managed back – he wasn’t ‘dropped’ but it was never bath’s plan to have him come back form injury and play every game.

      4. Nomad: you are dead right. He was not forgotten, he was omitted, for obvious reasons. Common , or maybe (notso common) sense. We are not short of talent.

    1. So how did he play? So good that he is a must have? I dont expect him to play every game, I dont expect him to be back at International standard, however, I suspect his rehabilitation may take some time and that we already have players who have kicked on while he has been injured. Why are we so desperate to see this one man make such a difference. I dont get it.

  27. Toonie did test Hutchinson at 15. I suspect that versatility might get him a RWC place. Toonie does Favour generalists over specialists in his squads.

  28. I really like Hutchinson but he hasn’t had the opportunity to impress, I left Kinghorn out of the squad because Hogg, Jones, Hastings are better 15s and Russell and Hastings are better 10s.
    Hutchinson the same there are better options (IMO) available, however if Redpath doesn’t regain his form/physical health then he’s in.
    I know Harris will go and GT loves him but if I were picking the squad he’d no be needing his passport.

  29. Apparently RFU and PRL are tossing around idea of 10 team Premiership with a professional 10 team tier below it.

    That would be a great outcome for Scotland as a higher standard second tier gives far more opportunities for young Scots players at a higher level than current championship.

      1. It’s not a fully professional league though unfortunately. England are aiming for something more like ProD2 in France – a fully professional, full time tier.

        IF it comes off, it’ll be far more competitive than anything the Super 6 could aspire too. It’ll provide more opportunities for Scots to actually earn a sustainable living and get game time outside our 2 pro teams. We’ll see if the RFU can actually come up with the finance to make it work though.

      2. Scary to see what’s happening in the English top league but it’s been rumoured for years. I just think that 10 teams at the top level has got to offer less opportunities for Scottish players than 13. I get that one plan is to have a second professional division which yes, would be better than the S6 for game exposure but we need players performing at the very top and there could well be fewer chances with fewer British based squads playing at that top level. Maybe we should look to break into other Celtic teams, though I guess they will be in the same position and wanting to load up with home qualified players. Maybe this will see the end of journeyman signings as the focus would have to be on using our own two pro teams to supply the national squad. Rugby union is still a relative minority sport and has probably been over ambitious after successful world cups. Need to make sure that the SRU doesn’t make similar mistakes.

      3. on the other hand a 10 team premiership would presumably mean fewer games and so SQ players playing in it would be better rested and less clash with international weekends.

      4. I suspect it would be worse for SQ players if there were less teams in the premiership and the surviving teams were playing less games. Less of everything really, game time, development potential, greater competition for places in the condensed Premiership.

        The super 6 is in it’s early days however has turned out better than I would have imagined.

    1. Will there be 10 teams for the premiership. I think the current crisis is going to hit more sides in the premiership. My own view is that tax can be delayed in terms of payment and the time when no crowds were at the matches, the cash was not flowing. Now it is pay, no more delay, the pot is bare, cannot go anywhere, but down and out.

    2. The collapse of the Premiership is bad news for rugby in the British Isles. We need more people playing the game and more teams showcasing the professional game. The head brain injury revelations may impact the expansion of the Player base.

  30. Edinburgh look slow, is Vellacott injured? Pyrgos just kills the damage we can do out wide… never attack the defence at the breakdown either, meaning the defenders can drift.

    Get Shiel on.

  31. Slow 1st 35mins but sensational last 45mins. Once Edinburgh got in behind Benneton the tries came thick and fast. Graham is in the form of his life and VDM did VDM things. Crosbie Haining and Mata were very physical and set a platform for the backs.
    Shiel added a wee bit zip to proceedings but Pygros did his job all evening.
    Italians no bad, really good result

  32. Know this is rugby site but congrats to the Scottish cricket team who beat the West Indies in the T20 World Cup

  33. Jason Robinson had a Scottish mother and a Jamaican father he didn’t meet until he was 36: “I had been brought up with all the Scottish traditions…”

    Jeeeeeeeez, never heard that or remembered it, biggest miss ever???

  34. Let’s just get it out there early. If the rumours are true GT can do one. Surely, surely not…

      1. I’m a wrong or is there just 1 Scots based hooker in the 40?
        If so, only Turner vs Australia?
        Agree with earlier comment that ‘form being rewarded’ is nonsense when it comes to Thompson’s inclusion and Finns exclusion

  35. I’ll ignore the Russell issue for now but inside centre looking thin – really just Redpath who has only just returned and arguably Tuipulotu, though a 13 in my book. Johnson is out with a broken jaw and Hutchinson I assume is under return to play protocols after being nearly decapitated the other week. And just 2 tight heads?
    I really hope BK isn’t seen as first choice 10, put Hastings there especially as his kicking is loads better.

    1. My bad, didn’t look at full list and Murphy Walker on there as 3rd TH. Still, a v inexperienced back up or an incredibly experienced/slightly over the hill one.

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