England Vs. Scotland 16H00 2/2/13 6N build up and Match thread

[RuggerRadge2611]

Well I'll extend a warm welcome to our English cousins in our build up and match thread.

Let’s set the standard for these threads by not WUMing and having a good banter and an insightful discussion

The summer of 2012 was a loving affair as Scots were cheering on Ennis, Farrah and Wiggins. Whilst the English were cheering on the likes of Hoy, Murray and Grainger. All that is now a distant memory as the oldest fixture in rugby is set to be a highlight of the opening weekend.

So where are we? England coming in fresh of a stunning victory against the seemingly invincible All Blacks, whereas Scotland are coming into the match after a dire run of matches that saw Robinson fall on his sword.

Last year Lancaster's England was the unknown element and tipped to be defeated by Scotland who wanted vengeance for their 2011 RWC loss. The at Murrayfield game took an unexpected turn as Scotland butchered chance after chance and charge down Charlie showed us why Parks should have stayed in retirement.

Fast forward 1 year and it's a role reversal. Scotland with a new coach and a new attitude of Play well 1st, win games 2nd. I for one have no idea what to expect from Scotland in this tournament.

England though have set their stall out in the Autumn a convincing win against NZ but the quietly forgotten loss to the underwhelming Wallabies the week before swept, discreetly under the carpet.

No doubt England will be going in confident and the Scots will be... well going in with not many expectations at all.

Scotland have named Kelly Brown as captain and it's a well-earned accolade. The Sarries blindisde has been in excellent form all year and is the best choice for the job.

England are still sweating over the Tuilagi injury and despite saying there will be no special treatment it seems he is getting every opportunity to become match fit...




England Squad



15. Alex Goode (Saracens, 6 caps)
14. Chris Ashton (Saracens, 29 caps)
13. Brad Barritt (Saracens, 11 caps)
12. Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby, 0 caps)
11. Mike Brown (Harlequins, 11 caps)
10. Owen Farrell (Saracens, 12 caps)
9. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 28 caps)

1. Joe Marler (Harlequins, 5 caps)
2. Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 4 cap)
3. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 35 caps)
4. Joe Launchbury (London Wasps, 4 caps)
5. Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers, 12 caps)
6. Tom Wood (Northampton Saints, 13 caps)
7. Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, capt, 12 caps)
8. Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby, 9 caps)

Replacements
16. Dylan Hartley (London Irish, 42 caps)
17. David Wilson (Bath Rugby, 22 caps)
18. Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 4 caps)
19. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 15 caps)
20. James Haskell (London Wasps, 45 caps)
21. Danny Care (Harlequins, 37 caps)
22. Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers, 53 caps)
23. David Strettle (London Irish, 12 caps)



Scotland



15 Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors)
14 Sean Maitland (Glasgow Warriors)
13 Sean Lamont (Glasgow Warriors)
12 Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby)
11 Tim Visser (Edinburgh Rugby)
10 Ruaridh Jackson (Glasgow Warriors)
9 Greig Laidlaw (Edinburgh Rugby) [VC]

1 Ryan Grant (Glasgow Warriors) [VC]
2 Dougie Hall (Glasgow Warriors)
3 Euan Murray (Worcester Warriors)
4 Richie Gray (Sale Sharks)
5 Jim Hamilton (Gloucester Rugby)
6 Alasdair Strokosch (Perpignan)
7 Kelly Brown (Saracens) [C]
8 Johnnie Beattie (Montpellier)

Substitutes:
16 Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby)
17 Moray Low (Glasgow Warriors)
18 Geoff Cross (Edinburgh Rugby)
19 Alastair Kellock (Glasgow Warriors)
20 David Denton (Edinburgh Rugby)
21 Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors)
22 Duncan Weir (Glasgow Warriors)
23 Max Evans (Castres)

[RuggerRadge2611]

Soooooo it would seem Tuilagi won't be joining us at Twickenham this weekend...

Who will form the England midfield then? Joseph & Barritt? Farrell at 13 leaving flood at 10?

[Pat_Mustard]

Calum Clark's injured isn't he? And do England really only have two fit locks in the squad? Or have you scored out Parling instead of Clark by mistake?

[bluestonevedder]

There's still a few days of hoping remaining regarding Tuilagi's fitness Radge!

Without him, I'd say 12. Barritt 13. Joseph is most likely, but would like to see Twelvetrees start in either case, with Barritt or Joseph at 13.

[RuggerRadge2611]

http://www.espnscrum.com/six-nations-2013/rugby/story/176185.html

He's out Blues....

[Geordie]

Parling out???? When??

[Rinsure]

Parling's fit, it's Clark who's been ruled out.

[RuggerRadge2611]

Yeah... my bad. Ammending it at the moment.

I must confess it's been hard to get an updated Injury list for you chaps.

Although with 40000 players to pick from you'll be alright

[Rinsure]

Hahaha, that got a reaction from Farrell snr., didn't it?

Anyone know when the teams are announced?

[RuggerRadge2611]

Scotland's XXIII is announced at lunch tomorrow. I'll update the teams on the OP as and when required.

So what will your midfield look like without that big lump Tuilagi?

[George Carlin]

Real shame for England and SL - I honestly thought that Manu would make it but similarly there doesn't seem to be a lot of point risking him against (on paper) one of the weaker teams in the tournament. Is Parling really out? I didn't see that anywhere.

Marler will doubtless pick up the loosehead shirt but there's a discernible distance between him and Corbs IMHO and he will not be given an easy time by Euan Murray, who is quietly playing well.

Tualagi being out may change Johnson's midfield selection entirely. We don't need Sean Lamont's huge bulk in the 13 channel any more and it's possible we'll see Peter Horne in there instead for his much better footballing and distribution skills. Would love to see that because Scotland only stand a chance of winning if they can get the ball wide.

I wonder whether we might see Farrell at 10 and Flood at 12 now.

[EnglishReign]

That's the old England squad - Sharples, Turner-Hall etc not in the current.

[RuggerRadge2611]

That's the old England squad - Sharples, Turner-Hall etc not in the current.

Can someone post up the current Squad. I'm struggling to find it.


As for Corbs, Reverand Murray will be looking at Marler with an animalistic delight come scrum time. Corbisero is a big loss for you guys.

[bluestonevedder]

Real shame for England and SL - I honestly thought that Manu would make it but similarly there doesn't seem to be a lot of point risking him against (on paper) one of the weaker teams in the tournament. Is Parling really out? I didn't see that anywhere.

Marler will doubtless pick up the loosehead shirt but there's a discernible distance between him and Corbs IMHO and he will not be given an easy time by Euan Murray, who is quietly playing well.

Tualagi being out may change Johnson's midfield selection entirely. We don't need Sean Lamont's huge bulk in the 13 channel any more and it's possible we'll see Peter Horne in there instead for his much better footballing and distribution skills. Would love to see that because Scotland only stand a chance of winning if they can get the ball wide.

I wonder whether we might see Farrell at 10 and Flood at 12 now.

Please God NO. More than anything else in the world right now, I pray that we don't see Flood at 12. It just echoes Johnson's archaic era.

We've got 2 much better options at 12 in Barritt and Twelvetrees, Flood should be no where near that shirt!

I'd go 12. 36 13. Joseph

What I think we'll see: 12. Barritt 13. Joseph

Honestly, I don't mind seeing Joseph starting at all. He's such a talented player, he just needs a few starts in my view. The SA tests he did start were a real baptism of fire.

[EnglishReign]

That's the old England squad - Sharples, Turner-Hall etc not in the current.

Can someone post up the current Squad. I'm struggling to find it.


As for Corbs, Reverand Murray will be looking at Marler with an animalistic delight come scrum time. Corbisero is a big loss for you guys.

This is it but still a few replacements here and there!

FORWARDS (18)
Calum Clark (Northampton Saints)
Alex Corbisiero (London Irish)
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers)
Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
James Haskell (London Wasps)
Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs)
Joe Launchbury (London Wasps)
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)
Joe Marler (Harlequins)
Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby)
Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers)
Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)
Mako Vunipola (Saracens)
Thomas Waldrom (Leicester Tigers)
David Wilson (Bath Rugby)
Tom Wood (Northampton Saints)
Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers)

BACKS (15)
Chris Ashton (Saracens)
Brad Barritt (Saracens)
Mike Brown (Harlequins)
Freddie Burns (Gloucester Rugby)
Danny Care (Harlequins)
Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints)
Owen Farrell (Saracens)
Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers)
Ben Foden (Northampton Saints)
Alex Goode (Saracens)
Jonathan Joseph (London Irish)
David Strettle (Saracens)
Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers)
Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)

[Rinsure]

The English pack should be relatively simple to pick, other than at hooker, where the Youngs v Hartley debate is open.

I'd go with:

Marler, T Youngs, Cole; Parling, Launchbury; Robshaw, Morgan, Wood

The back line is wide open now, with Manu out. Flood at 10, Barritt at 12 and Farrell at 13? Solid, but unexciting.

I expect Farrell to play, at 10 or 13. Preferably 10. Barritt and Billy 36 outside him, hopefully.

Did I read somewhere that Burns is injured? Burns at 10, with Barritt and Faz outside might be another option.

[RubyGuby]

Englands backline might actually be more fluid without the big game player Tuilangi

[bluestonevedder]

Englands backline might actually be more fluid without the big game player Tuilangi

The dynamics will certainly be different.

It could be a nice change to be honest, so long as we don't see Farrell or Flood lining up at centre. We have much better options in the squad!

[RuggerRadge2611]

Up front is where this match will be won and lost.

Losing Corbs I think will give us a slight advantage in the scrum, however we will probably still need Hamilton to start.

The Lineout could be 50-50 or slightly in Scotland's favour if Kellock starts, however we would lose our advantage in the scrum if that happens.

To be honest from a Scotland point of view I would be happier with Morgan starting rather than Easter. Scotland could manage the athleticism and strength of Morgan since our backrow will likely contain 6. Brown 7. Denton and 8. Beattie. I reckon an old dog like Easter who has a much better Rugby brain than Morgan would cause us more problems.

Still the battle up front is what I am most looking forward to.

[Luckless Pedestrian]

I think Scotland will have the edge in the loose forwards, which could be key if the weather's as bad as it's forecast to be.

[Triangulation]

I have a very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach about this match.

I have read the column on espn by the scotsman and i have to agree with it a little save for the fact that when he denigrates Marler's peformance vs the wallabies he glosses over the fact that Marler was carrying a 5 week knee injury during the match.

Look at how these teams match up though and the scots match us up front. The weather will play its part and the scots and the 6N itself has this wild contrary nature which always throws up the nasty results here and there for supposed favourites.

I have also read Andy Robinson's comments about the match and they do not fill me with joy.

For once the scots have firepower in the backs in visser, hogg and maitland.

I feel very bad about this match. I can see our inexeperienced guys getting frustrated at not turning possession into points and discipline folding. I can see the scots growing into their tasks.

I see a scottish win and it makes me want to puke.

Why?

Because Johnson has already annoyed the hell out of me.

Because it has a horrible inevitability about it after the fortunes of the respective sides over the autumn.

Because knowing scotland they'll then go on to lose to every other side in the comp just to annoy the feck out of everyone.

I'm thinking about boycotting watching this fixture.

[George Carlin]

Totally agree with Radge - I think that most Scotland fans are hoping we will see Hartley (who will ideally stick to the Danny Grewcock edition of Debrett's and get himself carded) and Morgan (we have enough daisycutters to bring down youthful exuberance) instead of the superior but less fashionable Easter.

[Triangulation]

Englands backline might actually be more fluid without the big game player Tuilangi

The dynamics will certainly be different.

It could be a nice change to be honest, so long as we don't see Farrell or Flood lining up at centre. We have much better options in the squad!

Excuse me?!

What?!

What the hell do these posts mean?

"more fluid" ?? It sounds like youve been imbibing more fluid of an alcoholic variety.

" a nice change" WTF?! you mean a nice change from our winning streak of 1 match to losing??

You're bored of MT or something are you ??

Feck me. The whole world has gone mad.

[funnyExiledScot]

Pretty sure Marler will be reading the press with interest, and keen to know that's he's targeted as a weakness. Whilst Murray is a fine tighthead, I haven't seen him really destroy anyone for a couple of seasons now, and I think Cole is more than a match for Grant.

I think the scrums will be pretty even, probably decided by what side of bed the ref got up in the morning.

England will have the edge in the lineout, and if the AIs are anything to go by, the breakdown as well (Kelly Brown is going to need to have a massive game).

I'd say England edge the forwards contest, but it's in the backs that there's clear white water (see what I did there). Youngs, Farrell, Barritt and Joseph are streets ahead of their counterparts at the moment. Yes, Scotland have real potential in the backs, but as yet it's only really potential. The England backs, particularly the crucial 9, 10, 12 axis, are tried and tested.

[Triangulation]

Totally agree with Radge - I think that most Scotland fans are hoping we will see Hartley (who will ideally stick to the Danny Grewcock edition of Debrett's and get himself carded) and Morgan (we have enough daisycutters to bring down youthful exuberance) instead of the superior but less fashionable Easter.

Thats lovely.

Look ive said it on these boards a few times and ill say it again. Easter is done. Stick a fork in him. He is gone as an international force in rugby union.

English supporters (even Quins) will remember Easter getting owned repeatedly on the gainline as a ball carrier for us and on some occasions getting driven backwards. It didnt help his cause that he had the likes of Mears and Borthwick getting the same treatment in the same pack but there it is.

Strong metre gaining ball carrying is kind of job1 for an international 8 so please spare us all the nonsense about Easter playing for England ever again.

Thanks.

[bluestonevedder]

Englands backline might actually be more fluid without the big game player Tuilangi

The dynamics will certainly be different.

It could be a nice change to be honest, so long as we don't see Farrell or Flood lining up at centre. We have much better options in the squad!

Excuse me?!

What?!

What the hell do these posts mean?

"more fluid" ?? It sounds like youve been imbibing more fluid of an alcoholic variety.

" a nice change" WTF?! you mean a nice change from our winning streak of 1 match to losing??

You're bored of MT or something are you ??

Feck me. The whole world has gone mad.

Come on Triangulation, no need for the negativity!

There's no denying Tuilagi and Jospeh have extremely different playing styles, so yes, Joseph starting could be a nice change from the heavy duty running of Manu.

Of course I'm not bored of Manu!

[bluestonevedder]

Totally agree with Radge - I think that most Scotland fans are hoping we will see Hartley (who will ideally stick to the Danny Grewcock edition of Debrett's and get himself carded) and Morgan (we have enough daisycutters to bring down youthful exuberance) instead of the superior but less fashionable Easter.

Thats lovely.

Look ive said it on these boards a few times and ill say it again. Easter is done. Stick a fork in him. He is gone as an international force in rugby union.

English supporters (even Quins) will remember Easter getting owned repeatedly on the gainline as a ball carrier for us and on some occasions getting driven backwards. It didnt help his cause that he had the likes of Mears and Borthwick getting the same treatment in the same pack but there it is.
Strong metre gaining ball carrying is kind of job1 for an international 8 so please spare us all the nonsense about Easter playing for England ever again.

Thanks.

Against Ireland, 2011. We needed a ball carrier and he got driven back every time.

[George Carlin]

Totally agree with Radge - I think that most Scotland fans are hoping we will see Hartley (who will ideally stick to the Danny Grewcock edition of Debrett's and get himself carded) and Morgan (we have enough daisycutters to bring down youthful exuberance) instead of the superior but less fashionable Easter.

Thats lovely.

Look ive said it on these boards a few times and ill say it again. Easter is done. Stick a fork in him. He is gone as an international force in rugby union.

English supporters (even Quins) will remember Easter getting owned repeatedly on the gainline as a ball carrier for us and on some occasions getting driven backwards. It didnt help his cause that he had the likes of Mears and Borthwick getting the same treatment in the same pack but there it is.

Strong metre gaining ball carrying is kind of job1 for an international 8 so please spare us all the nonsense about Easter playing for England ever again.

Thanks.

[Guest]

Englands backline might actually be more fluid without the big game player Tuilangi

The dynamics will certainly be different.

It could be a nice change to be honest, so long as we don't see Farrell or Flood lining up at centre. We have much better options in the squad!

Excuse me?!

What?!

What the hell do these posts mean?

"more fluid" ?? It sounds like youve been imbibing more fluid of an alcoholic variety.

" a nice change" WTF?! you mean a nice change from our winning streak of 1 match to losing??

You're bored of MT or something are you ??

Feck me. The whole world has gone mad.

The argument, as far as I'm concerned anyway, is that England are too dependant on Tuilagi in attack. His injury would hopefully force England to utilise other players, like JJ or 36, instead.

Sadly, i don't think Lancaster will go down that route. He seems to have a pretty solid Defence-first mindset from what I've seen.

[EnglishReign]

Centre wise, I'll be happy with:

Twelvetrees - Joseph
Barritt - Joseph
Twelvetrees - Barritt

with Faz at 10.

With Nick Wood demolishing Bent for the Saxons, any chance of a call-up for Corbs?

[Triangulation]

MT has pace and good feet. Witness the bust he made for Ashton's try. That wasnt bulldozing.

People always make this mistake with him. Remember his try vs wales of JW pass? Just tiptoed through!

The try vs france when he scorched down the sideline?

Anyway whatever. You want to look at JJ thats fair enough.

I doubt this is going to be an exhibition of running rugby somehow.

We have to beat the scots and i dont care if its by a scragged drop goal or a penalty that should never have been given. We need to get past them and then start our 6N and leave them to their fates.

[bluestonevedder]

MT has pace and good feet. Witness the bust he made for Ashton's try. That wasnt bulldozing.

People always make this mistake with him. Remember his try vs wales of JW pass? Just tiptoed through!

The try vs france when he scorched down the sideline?

Anyway whatever. You want to look at JJ thats fair enough.

I doubt this is going to be an exhibition of running rugby somehow.

We have to beat the scots and i dont care if its by a scragged drop goal or a penalty that should never have been given. We need to get past them and then start our 6N and leave them to their fates.

Triangulation, look at any of my posts regarding Manu, and you'll see that I completely agree with you. He's not just a bosher, he's got finese and like you say, good quick feet. He's been tarnished with a brush, and it's unfair.

If we're forced into a chance to accomodate his injury, and Joseph starts, it's a great chance to look at him. Undoubtedly, it will change our backline dynamic, because Manu is very much the 'go to guy', and often provides the attacking spark.

What would your starting backline be out of interest Triangulation?

[Triangulation]

Im a supporter of Twelvetrees taking 12 but not now and not like this.

Does anyone really in all honesty think that with MT out SL is about to drop Barrit?

Get over yourselves.

It will be

Farrell
Barrit
JJ

If Flood plays centre i wont watch.

[bluestonevedder]

That will undoubtedly be the starting centre partnership and FH.

Read my posts above and you'll see that I actually said that will be the starting centres! No problem with considering all the options though.

Also, like I've said above, Flood should never ever ever play centre.

[Scrumpy]

Maybe Manu was upset by Corrys comments!

[RDW]

What do England fans think of Scott Johnson's press interviews? I think they have been fairly entertaining and have added a bit of interest to the usual rubbish that is trotted out year on year at these launches.

I think Andy Farrell needs to lighten up a bit and from what I read, the English media blew SJ's joke all over the place and made it out that he was mocking England's injury woes, when all he really said is that England won't be affected too badly by their injuries because they've got a hell of a lot more players to chose from!

But I can appreciate that SJ is pretty annoying if he's not on your side, I just think he's not said anything overly controversial yet. I'm sure the controversial stuff is still to come.

[RuggerRadge2611]

As a Scot, I'm happier Manu isn't playing.

It now free's up Johnson a little bit. Had he been facing Manu Tuilagi I think he would have gone for Lamont at 13, he might still go down that route, but I hope he doesn't.

Lamont isn't the sort of player who can make the best use of our possibly potent back 3 of Visser, Hogg and Maitland.

Maitland and Visser have also scored a combined 4 tries at Twickers... just sayin'

[bluestonevedder]

Personally RDW, I thought they were great. I've always liked the guy, since his time at the Ospreys. He's a real character.

[RuggerRadge2611]

Personally RDW, I thought they were great. I've always liked the guy, since his time at the Ospreys. He's a real character.

Is that not just a polite way of saying "he's a real dick"?

[AlastairW]

What do England fans think of Scott Johnson's press interviews? I think they have been fairly entertaining and have added a bit of interest to the usual rubbish that is trotted out year on year at these launches.

I think Andy Farrell needs to lighten up a bit and from what I read, the English media blew SJ's joke all over the place and made it out that he was mocking England's injury woes, when all he really said is that England won't be affected too badly by their injuries because they've got a hell of a lot more players to chose from!

But I can appreciate that SJ is pretty annoying if he's not on your side, I just think he's not said anything overly controversial yet. I'm sure the controversial stuff is still to come.

Meh. Press interviews; about as much use as a chocolate tea pot. Can't say i've gone out the way to pay attention to any of them, i'd rather come here and discuss tbh.

In all honesty, both sides are looking infinitly better than last year, and that can only be a good thing for us fans.

[RDW]

He has a bit of the class clown about him, but if you read his interviews and take away all the sarky remarks he does actually talk quite a lot of sense.

I also think he'll be the kind of coach that takes the press pressure off the players shoulders - kind of like what Jose Mouinho does.

[screamingaddabs]

How come Maitland is being dropped straight into the Scotland Team? He's not done much for Glasgow at all aside from fall over when he should have scored.

Is he really a shoe in for a starting place?

[bluestonevedder]

Personally RDW, I thought they were great. I've always liked the guy, since his time at the Ospreys. He's a real character.

Is that not just a polite way of saying "he's a real dick"?

Ha, well, sometimes. Depends who the opposition are

This may be a bit long winded, but I've always really enjoyed the Southern Hemisphere game commentary. The percussive and elaborate descriptions always draw me into the game and I love it. It's great. The all have a great sense of humour and clearly just love the game. I think SJ reminds me a little bit of that, and I think every sport needs a few characters, and he's certainly one.


Certainly a huge improvement on Andy "I-have-a-face-like-Paddington-Bear-after-a-mugging" Robinson.

[nathan]

Maybe Manu was upset by Corrys comments!

What did Corry say?

[RDW]

I think Maitland will come good - he has just taken a wee while to get used to the mud and rain of Glasgow on a small pitch in a team who bases a lot of their game on forwards dominance, as opposed to the Crusaders who were able to throw it about a lot more on a hard pitch.

What impresses me most is that he has outstanding basic skills, and is a great support runner.

Yes he's not torn it up with Glasgow yet as much as we would like, but I'd definitely pick him against England.

[Guest]

Maybe Manu was upset by Corrys comments!

What did Corry say?

This:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-2268818/Six-Nations-2013-Martin-Corry-Imports-damage-Engliand-rugby.html

[George Carlin]

How come Maitland is being dropped straight into the Scotland Team? He's not done much for Glasgow at all aside from fall over when he should have scored.

Is he really a shoe in for a starting place?

That's genuinely up for debate Screaming - Tommy Seymour has been playing very well and presents a creditable alternative.

Thing is, although Maitland may not have scored too many, if you watch the games, he's actually been playing well and has played a part in quite a few scores and many more good things.

Quite a few people also have him down as a big game player and he certainly seemed to score at crunch times for the Crusaders (albeit depending on getting good service from Dagg, Freuen et al). Let's see how he goes. I think to be fair to Scotland fans, they aren't hyping Maitland *too* much - just holding him up as someone with a lot of potential.

[lostinwales]

Oh yeah

'Someone like (Samoan-born) Manu Tuilagi has spent the majority of his development in England. I have no problem with that. It's the residency rule I'd like to see extended to more than three years.'

[Solid8]

How come Maitland is being dropped straight into the Scotland Team? He's not done much for Glasgow at all aside from fall over when he should have scored.

Is he really a shoe in for a starting place?

Screamingaddabs, its not like he is a 20 year old prodigy who has been playing rugby as a pro for less than a season, he has a proven track record for the crusaders and has scored in the league as well.

[screamingaddabs]

I think Maitland will come good - he has just taken a wee while to get used to the mud and rain of Glasgow on a small pitch in a team who bases a lot of their game on forwards dominance, as opposed to the Crusaders who were able to throw it about a lot more on a hard pitch.

What impresses me most is that he has outstanding basic skills, and is a great support runner.

Yes he's not torn it up with Glasgow yet as much as we would like, but I'd definitely pick him against England.

I might put him on the bench, but I don't think he has earned a start yet. Glasgow have been playing a lot like I imagine Scotland would like to play (especially the Northampton game). I was expecting Maitland to have at least a couple of moments of showing real class, but he's not really done much at all as far as I've seen. No where near the impact of Niko or DTH or Hogg. In my eyes he would be struggling to regularly start at Glasgow (admittedly foreign players in the way).

Not to say I don't think he could become very good for Scotland (he was a regular for the Crusaders after all!) but I just don't think he has earned it yet.

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