Scotland v Australia, 23 November

tigertattie wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:

.

is that the Edinburgh pack?

Riskysports wrote:

tigertattie wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:

.

is that the Edinburgh pack?

No - the middle one knows how to hook

George Carlin wrote:Maybe Bsando could have a stab? I'll start with the front row:

1. Ewen MacKenzie's security guard
2. Wallabies scrum coach
3. Some fat bloke from Perth who happens to be in Edinburgh on holiday

tigertattie wrote:To give Scotland a chance of winning we could give the Ozzies Ross Ford!

Riskysports wrote:

tigertattie wrote:To give Scotland a chance of winning we could give the Ozzies Ross Ford!

Add in Jackson at 10 and Lamont at 12...

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:Folau, Ashley-CooperHarris, KuridraniTomane, Toomua, CumminsChris Feauai-Sautia, Cooper, Genia, Slipper, Moore, Kepu, Simmons, Horwill, Fardy, Hooper, Mowen.

tigertattie wrote:Leonard is as poo as wacko jacko and wee duncy combined!

Also, anyone else agree that ASBO has made far too many posts on this site? I think an enforced one year holiday is required for him!

He is a sad sad man  

21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:Right !   No more crap on here!  I want Wee Dunky and  back to play the Dragons on Friday night.    SJ will just have to get on with it against a scratch Oz 15.

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:

21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:Right !   No more crap on here!  I want Wee Dunky and  back to play the Dragons on Friday night.    SJ will just have to get on with it against a scratch Oz 15.

you can have him and Jackson back. Our fly halfs did more more for the Bokke backline than they did for ours! Matt Scott to 10 with Horne, Dunbar, Bennet or Vernon forming the midfield.

Riskysports wrote:

tigertattie wrote:Leonard is as poo as wacko jacko and wee duncy combined!

Also, anyone else agree that ASBO has made far too many posts on this site? I think an enforced one year holiday is required for him!

Posts: 12446


He is a sad sad man  

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:

21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:Right !   No more crap on here!  I want Wee Dunky and  back to play the Dragons on Friday night.    SJ will just have to get on with it against a scratch Oz 15.

you can have him and Jackson back. Our fly halfs did more more for the Bokke backline than they did for ours! Matt Scott to 10 with Horne, Dunbar, Bennet or Vernon forming the midfield.

Exiledinborders wrote:-

Captain_Sensible wrote:

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:

21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:Right !   No more crap on here!  I want Wee Dunky and  back to play the Dragons on Friday night.    SJ will just have to get on with it against a scratch Oz 15.

you can have him and Jackson back. Our fly halfs did more more for the Bokke backline than they did for ours! Matt Scott to 10 with Horne, Dunbar, Bennet or Vernon forming the midfield.

How many minutes of pro rugby has Matt Scott played at flyhalf?

Scotland beaten for brawn and brains

On the surface, there's not much to be positive about after the 28-0 loss to South Africa.

The negatives were certainly more obvious; 26 handling errors, a malfunctioning line-out and the unfortunate habit of doing all the hard work in defence, only for it to be undone with four "soft" tries.

Who can tell me which of the two teams had the better line-out statistics? Well, both sides had the same 71% success rate.

The problem with Scotland was the timing of their poor line-outs, with the vast majority of losses taking place in the first 20 minutes - when you're trying to get a foothold in the game and trying to take the momentum out of the constant waves of South African power.

And the reason for those first five or so going pear-shaped were varied; a steal with the first, a lack of concentration from Alasdair Strokosch at the second, a crooked throw from Ross Ford to follow. It was tough to watch.

Handling errors seemed to be contagious in the Scottish ranks. Jean de Villiers, South Africa's captain and defence leader, was utilising the 'one-out spot blitz' (coming out of line on the edge of the defensive line, forcing the ball carrier back inside or having to throw a long pass over the top) with great results.

In the wet conditions Scotland didn't have the speed of thought, attacking shape or execution of skill to manipulate this defensive strategy.

It should be noted that of the 26 turnovers, 15 of them were unforced errors - so the South African defensive press was not the only factor causing this problematic statistic. Most of them were basic individual errors, admittedly in very tough handling conditions.

Scotland's defence was good. A 93% tackle completion rate is pretty acceptable but statistics don't always tell the whole story.

At the start of the game, the Scots defended for over three minutes and were solid in shape, technically sound in the tackle and not over-committing at the breakdown. South Africa were going nowhere.

So why, 30 seconds later, were they under the posts? Because patience and discipline gave way.

Jim Hamilton, who'd had a poke at a few previous rucks, gave away a penalty for coming in from the side and taking the scrum-half out. Kick to corner and it was 7-0, after a clever shift drive.

Former All Black captain Todd Blackadder used to say that "it's all about the little things" and an example of this was the work of Bakkies Botha at the line-out which created the channel for the shift by driving Moray Low into the original maul.

These actions don't happen by accident. South Africa knew Scotland would come at them on that first defensive line-out. A simple change in point of attack negated this defensive onslaught. Brains and brawn.

If you were to ask most spectators, the vast majority would point to the first half-hour as the area of concern. But after 30 minutes and a woeful start, Scotland were putting together some nice phases, keeping the ball, challenging the edges and getting momentum. They had weathered the storm and frustrated their opposition - who must have felt incredibly disheartened to only have been 7-0 up - and were applying some pressure.

But Ruaridh Jackson popped the balloon by coughing up possession trying a miracle ball, and 10 seconds later Willie le Roux was scoring from an intercept. If you didn't think the game was over then, it was two minutes later, as Le Roux exposed a huge whole between Duncan Taylor and Alasdair Dickinson to put JP Pietersen in for the score straight from the kick off. 21-0.

Scotland had done the hard work in the first 30 minutes. They were just finding their feet when those two tries killed the game.

You don't want to gloss over the negatives, they need to be addressed - and I'm sure they will be - but Scotland don't have time to dwell on this performance as they have Australia to play after only a six-day turnaround.

There were positives in the game. As I've mentioned already, the fact that the score was only 7-0 after a fairly shambolic opening 30 minutes shows the resilience that the Scotland side have. The straightening out of the underperforming line-outs in the first 20 minutes showed adaptability and perseverance. The attacking kicks of Jackson (cross kicks) and Duncan Weir (angled grubber for Max Evans) showed the best defences can be unlocked with the boot.

With the exemption of some clever, attacking kicking options, I was disappointed that Scotland weren't boxing clever. They were hindered with the quality of ball but I would have liked to see a dummy drive and break out into the midfield or a peel around the tail of the line-out.

Scotland attack best when they play with tempo and do the unexpected - Sean Lamont's quick tap for example. These actions give the side impetus. Scotland needed someone to take the game by the scruff of the neck and impose themselves on South Africa, because you're not going to win an arm-wrestle against these behemoths.

During the game, someone sitting behind me (who was a glass half-empty kind of guy) said: "We're getting thumped and South Africa aren't even playing well." I don't agree with that.

South Africa are a pressure team who suffocate their opponents of possession, build their game on set-piece domination, physically hammer sides in attack and defence and take their chances when they are presented.

They simply played to their strengths, controlled the game and won comfortably.

Experiments to continue as coaches seek formula which blends x-factor with mass

Stuart McAllister
Wednesday 20 November 2013

SCOTLAND will not necessarily contain the strongest available players when the side to face Australia is announced later today.

According to Jonathan Humphreys, the forwards coach, the selection will reward form but not at the expense of sticking to the pre-planned experiments the coaches believe are essential to broadening the playing pool.

The main beneficiaries would appear to be Mark Bennett, the 20-year-old Glasgow centre who signed a three-year contract extension with the Warriors this week. He is expected to make his debut at some point, as should Pat MacArthur, the hooker who missed last week's defeat by South Africa. It also looks as though Kelly Brown is going to get a run at blindside flanker, his best positon, and will likely reclaim the captaincy.

"There will be changes," said Humphreys. "We have gone down a path of not necessarily picking for these games on form. We have to increase our depth and have to make sure we know exactly where we are. We may compromise a bit in terms of outcome to make sure that process is right. We are [seeking] the betterment of Scottish rugby; to make it consistent. That is what we will stick to.

"We came to this third game [of the series] and there will be three or four positions where we pick on form because we have to reward the integrity of some of the things we are trying to do. We are in a process of wanting to give people games, we want to see where we are. The idea is that we go forward and are stronger for the experience."

Humphreys feels the side is very much a work in progress. So, for example, while he was annoyed at the way they lost five of the first six line outs, he drew comfort from the way the players conquered their problems on the pitch, winning 15 of the next 16. He admitted, however, the breakdown remains a problem, and action is needed before Australia's speedy back row arrive.

"It is something we have to work on," said Humphreys. "There is a slightly different philosophy about how we are trying to play and maybe there are a couple of steps back before we go forward. We are not after mini peaks and troughs, we are after consistency. We have to go down a certain route. Some players are not suited to the way we want to play but we have to find out what depth we have, which players we are taking forward in the next 22 matches [before the World Cup].

"We are looking at ourselves in terms of the areas we need to improve. We understand the threat Australia have in terms of being very potent when they get the ball, especially in broken-field areas. We have to make sure we are structurally sound and don't give them opportunities to put a really good backline on the front foot."

21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:"We are looking at ourselves in terms of the areas we need to improve."   Right Humphreys how about starting with the woeful line out and scrum - i.e. play someone at 2 who can trow the ball to his jumpers and hook the feckin put in at scrum time.   That is get rid of Ross Ford and play Pat MacArthur.   And heres a wild 'out there' suggestion.  How about playing people in their best positions at this level.   Yes thats right Kelly Brown at 6 ffs!   Also Denton brings very little to the party so give Johnny Beattie a run at 8.  He looked back to his mischievous best in his 10 minute cameo on Sunday- in fact he was the best thing on that pitch all day for Scotland.   Best I have seen Hamilton play so more of that please.
 

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:

Exiledinborders wrote:-

Top post of the thread, light year's beyond tattie's normal contribution

tigertattie wrote:

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:

Exiledinborders wrote:-

Top post of the thread, light year's beyond tattie's normal contribution

if you've got nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all

PS - ASBO is a jobby

EWT Spoons wrote:Here’s my team for Sat,

Grant
McArthur
Murray
Swinson
Hamilton (someone needs to call the lineouts and apparently only Hamilton and Kellock are capable, Gray Jnr can apparently as well, but would be looking at him as a sub)
Brown (c)
Barclay
Beattie
Laidlaw (to be replaced by Cusiter sharpish if his passing continues in the same form from last week)
Weir  - Jackson had some crazy moments last week and whilst his cross field kicks were all well and good, his passing and general handling over the two games so far haven’t been great.  Not sure if Weir is going to make a difference, but worth giving him a shot.  Heathcote isn’t playing enough to justify starting this match in my opinion
Lamont – Made some ‘interesting’ decisions last week, but is still a reasonably safe pair of hands and will try his hardest.  Given the lack of other options just now he has to play.
Taylor – Not a great starting debut, with a number of balls dropped, but deserves to have another shot as no one really played well last week and again we have limited options here with Matt Scott -12 out.
NDL – Would have him starting as I think he’s done pretty well over the two games, and his experience would be useful to help Taylor, but would have Bennett replacing him in the 2nd half.
Seymour – Showed against Japan he can score, didn’t really get much of a chance against RSA.
Maitland – Would prefer him on the wing as I think he’s wasted at FB, but I don’t think Tonks is ready to come in at 15 as he’s not played for Edinburgh much this season due to injury and not sure Cuthbert is an International quality FB.

Dickenson, Ford, Welsh/Low (whoever is on TH duty this week in the weird rotation system that’s going on with them), J Gray, Fusaro, Cusiter, Heathcote,….I don’t want to put him in, but Evans I guess takes the last spot.

Not totally sure on the Lock combo, I would like to have seen Swinson & Gray Snr getting a run together, but if neither of them are capable of calling the lineout then that could be a recipe for disaster.

Also I really didn't want Evans in there, but he can in theory cover a number of positions so probably useful to have.