Scotland's number 10 - anyone got a clue?

First topic message reminder :

It probably isn't hyperbole to suggest that the selection of Scotland's 10 for the world cup will go a long way to decide how successful we are. In my mind every other position has a few front runners and I'd generally be happy whoever gets picked, although perhaps not the back row (which has been debated to death!).

Every successful rugby nation has a number one 10.  Someone who is pretty much an automatic pick that leads the team forward and wins them games.

A year away from the world cup and Scotland still don't have a nailed down starter at 10.  Many have had a shot, none have kept the shirt just yet.

So who are the options?

Front runners

Duncan Weir



Age - 23
Caps - 15
Starts - 10
Tries - 1
Conversions - 4
Penalties - 6
Drop goals - 1 (and what a drop goal it was!)

Strengths - Strong kicking game, relatively consistent goal kicker.

Weaknesses - Suspect defence. Very lateral in attack. Prone to the odd lapse in concentration and trying to force things (6N game vs France).

Verdict - This time last year Weir was my choice for the 10 shirt. Last season however he had a very poor season with Scotland.  He seemed to have regressed and was very shaky in possession, made worse by several high profile mistakes.  He's got competition at Glasgow now with Finn Russell but hopefully that will spur him on to raise his game back to the standards of 2 seasons ago.


Ruaridh Jackson



Age - 26
Caps - 25
Starts - 14
Tries - 0
Conversions - 3
Penalties - 2
Drop goals - 2

Strengths - Strong running game, the most creative 10 at our disposal

Weaknesses - Frustratingly inconsistent.  He can be MOTM one game and a liability the next.  Inconsistent goal kicker. Floats in and out of games.

Verdict - the most experienced 10 at our disposal, and he has had plenty chances with Scotland.  The fact that he's only taken 5 kicks at goal in his 25 caps shows how little he's trusted with the boot at that level! The fact that he has had so many chances yet failed to grasp the 10 shirt long term suggests he may never will, but he is only 26 and hopefully his time at Wasps (who look very strong this year) will teach him better consistency.


Up and coming youngsters

Finn Russell




Age - 22
Caps - 2
Starts - 2
Tries - 0
Conversions - 0
Penalties - 0
Drop goals - 0

Strengths - Good all rounder.  Calm under pressure and a wise head on a youthful body. Good all-round skillset.

Weaknesses - Lightweight for international level, but that will improve with time. Very inexperienced. Unproven.

Verdict - Russell was an absolute revelation for Glasgow last year, earning the 10 shirt for all the high profile games.  He brings a maturity and cool head that none of the other options have shown, and has a very good all-round skillset.  We have been here before though with a young 10 many, many times, so we really need to see him playing again this season to see how he is developing. Very exciting prospect, but is he too inexperienced to rely on with only 10 international games left until the WC?


Tom Heathocoat



Age - 22
Caps - 3
Starts - 2
Tries - 0
Conversions - 0
Penalties - 0
Drop goals - 0

Strengths - Solid player, suitable for a 10 many rugby game plan. Very good goal kicker

Weaknesses - Inexperienced. Unproven. Questionmarks over his all-round skillset.

Verdict - He's not had the best of starts to his rugby career - frozen out at Bath, thrown into the Lions den for his first cap in the infamous capitulation against Tonga where he was asked to kick the winning penalty (which he missed).  He's got a new start now at Edinburgh and will hopefully build on his early career promise.  He has had a solid if spectacular start for Edinburgh, but his goal kicking has been excellent.


Dark Horses


Greig Tonks



Age - 25
Caps - 2
Starts - 1
Tries - 0
Conversions - 0
Penalties - 0
Drop goals - 0

Strengths - Howitzer of a boot, strong defence, pace of a fullback so can make breaks

Weaknesses - Inexperienced at 10 (only played 10 games there recently), unproven goal kicker.

Verdict - Going to be a big season for Tonks - I think he will make a very good 10, but he needs to get regular gametime there to prove it.  In the run of games he had for Edinburgh last season I was very impressed with him, and he played a key role in some big wins against Gloucester and Perpignan. I think he basic skills are very strong, he just needs to show he can run a game at 10.


Peter Horne



Age - 25
Caps - 5
Starts - 3
Tries - 0
Conversions - 0
Penalties - 0
Drop goals - 0

Strengths - A good running 10.  Good distribution

Weaknesses - Lightweight in defence.  Inconsistent kicking game and goal kicker. Inexperienced at 10.

Verdict - Could be included in the WC squad for his versatility, but the jury is still out as to what his best position is. If you want a fast tempo, open game plan then this man ticks a lot of boxes.  Again question marks on his game management at 10 and tactical kicking.


So who will get the 10 shirt then? One things for sure - with 10 games left (3 of which are friendlies) - Cotter needs to decide very soon on his first choice and get them playing for Scotland as much as possible.

p.s. I've deliberately not included Hogg

Majestic83 wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:Centre is probably the easiest combo in the team to call - Scott-Dunbar just now with Bennet providing backup and competition.

I don't think Horne and Evans are International class centres though, and Taylor is more solid yet unspectacular, so our options outside the top 3 are a bit slim.

Does Andreas Strauss have a Scottish Granny?

I have a good story about a certain scottish centre from a night out a few weeks back with the surname of a town in East Lothian!
Funnily enough it was a town in East Lothian the night out occured as well!

Go on...

RDW_Scotland wrote:

Majestic83 wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:Centre is probably the easiest combo in the team to call - Scott-Dunbar just now with Bennet providing backup and competition.

I don't think Horne and Evans are International class centres though, and Taylor is more solid yet unspectacular, so our options outside the top 3 are a bit slim.

Does Andreas Strauss have a Scottish Granny?

I have a good story about a certain scottish centre from a night out a few weeks back with the surname of a town in East Lothian!
Funnily enough it was a town in East Lothian the night out occured as well!

Go on...

well it involved him getting lucky with one of my friends, going back to her parents house only to be disturbed by her Dad coming home. The dad kicked him out the house but not knowing where he was the player decided to sleep in the back garden on the grass. In the morning he rang the door bell to ask where he was only to be told politely by the dad to F**k Off!

Very brave of the dad to say that to a muscle clad professional sportsman!

I heard a similar story from several years ago of a certain 2nd row (known for on field discipline problems) who got lucky with a friends' friend. The problem was there was a bit of a size mis-match given he is 6ft 9 and she was 5ft 2!

RDW_Scotland wrote:

Very brave of the dad to say that to a muscle clad professional sportsman!

I heard a similar story from several years ago of a certain 2nd row (known for on field discipline problems) who got lucky with a friends' friend.  The problem was there was a bit of a size mis-match given he is 6ft 9 and she was 5ft 2!

The dad was our old 1st xv captain who you don't really want to mess with. Not the biggest guy but can pack a punch.
There was a similar size mis match as well, the girl is just over 5ft and said rugby player must be 6ft 3?
The girls brother has some very funny pics of the player sound a sleep on the grass! Cheekily even asked him for a selfie!!

Brilliant. I hope those selfies are in the public domain now!

It is a strange world pro rugby players in Scotland live in - they're not really overly famous, but I bet they do well for themselves when they're out on the town in their Scotland shirt and ties after a game.

It works the other way though - Dave Denton is constantly tweeted by several One Direction style teenage girls (which is ironic given his nickname by some on here!) and I know that Greig Laidlaw took his Twitter account down because he was getting stalked by some weirdos.

On the funnier side though, my mate was at a bar standing next to Richie Gray, who was so tall that his head went over the top of the bar, and all the barman could see was a massive torso standing in front of him! Having seen Richie in a newsagent once, I can confirm that he is just too massive for normal every day life!

A few have mentioned Geoff Cross for the autumn tests but is he injured at the moment? Not seen his name mentioned yet with London Irish but not heard about any injuries either?

Beattie set up both Castre's tries in their loss to Lyon, Gray involved in the second too.

Assuming injuries don't hamper us, we're shaping up nicely for Argentina.

Majestic83 wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:Centre is probably the easiest combo in the team to call - Scott-Dunbar just now with Bennet providing backup and competition.

I don't think Horne and Evans are International class centres though, and Taylor is more solid yet unspectacular, so our options outside the top 3 are a bit slim.

Does Andreas Strauss have a Scottish Granny?

I have a good story about a certain scottish centre from a night out a few weeks back with the surname of a town in East Lothian!
Funnily enough it was a town in East Lothian the night out occured as well!

I hope it a 'good' story - reports from Scottish players nights out haven't been entirely positive recently!

reallybored wrote:Beattie set up both Castre's tries in their loss to Lyon, Gray involved in the second too.

Assuming injuries don't hamper us, we're shaping up nicely for Argentina.  

That is good news. We need Beattie fit and on form whilst Denton is injured and before Strauss (and Du Preez) qualify.

I'd be pretty chuffed with any combination of Richie Gray, Jonny Gray and Grant Gilchrist.

Gray and Beattie are playing for Castres, but they are currently bottom of the league I think so their confidence won't exactly be very high.

Am very worried by the lack of Dr Cross in any LI line-up - he was a key player for Scotland last year, I hope this move hasn't ruined him.

I'll take him back at Edinburgh in a heartbeat!

RDW_Scotland wrote:Gray and Beattie are playing for Castres, but they are currently bottom of the league I think so their confidence won't exactly be very high.

Am very worried by the lack of Dr Cross in any LI line-up - he was a key player for Scotland last year, I hope this move hasn't ruined him.

I'll take him back at Edinburgh in a heartbeat!

I think the "having confidence" ship sailed a while back with Scotland players, despite Glasgow's best efforts!

I think given Jackson's long injury lay off he will probably be a long shot for the RWC squad. I'd expect Duncar Weir will be picked as well as Finn Russell. Then there might be scope to have Horne as centre/10 cover or Tonks FB/10 cover.

Anyone got any clue about where/what Strockosch is doing on a side note?

The Scots sicken me.  Oh they're so confident now, they're the only ones left talking here on RugbyLand 606!

The rest of us are away planning our capitulation speeches that we'z a gonna need a fair few of over the next five or six years.

I'm still trying to figure out who has an east lothian town name!!!

tigertattie wrote:I'm still trying to figure out who has an east lothian town name!!!

Glasgow and Scotland Centre - quite a big lad...

RDW_Scotland wrote:

tigertattie wrote:I'm still trying to figure out who has an east lothian town name!!!

Glasgow and Scotland Centre - quite a big lad...

I'll add another clue. He's world class.

funnyExiledScot wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:

tigertattie wrote:I'm still trying to figure out who has an east lothian town name!!!

Glasgow and Scotland Centre - quite a big lad...

I'll add another clue. He's world class.

Doesn't really narrow it down for him - could apply to the whole Glasgow squad!

RDW_Scotland wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:

tigertattie wrote:I'm still trying to figure out who has an east lothian town name!!!

Glasgow and Scotland Centre - quite a big lad...

I'll add another clue. He's world class.

Doesn't really narrow it down for him - could apply to the whole Glasgow squad!

Not sure James Downey can be considered "World Class" yet. He isn't from Ayr and hasn't spent enough time in the presence of other World Class players yet, ironing out all the bad habits he'll have picked up at Munster and Saints.

So really we're talking about Mark Bennett, Peter Horne, Alex Dunbar and Sean Lamont.

Any closer to unlocking the mystery Mr Tattie??

I do like visiting Horne personally - they have a nice Ice Cream shop.

Lamont has has a nice harbour, but the locals are a bit iffy.

Can't fault a trip to Bennett though - lovely seaside town, world class amenities!

I'll get me coat!

RDW_Scotland wrote:I do like visiting Horne personally - they have a nice Ice Cream shop.

Lamont has has a nice harbour, but the locals are a bit iffy.

Can't fault a trip to Bennett though - lovely seaside town, world class amenities!

Don't tell ASBO about your trip to Bennett. He'll explode into a jealous rage.

funnyExiledScot wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:

tigertattie wrote:I'm still trying to figure out who has an east lothian town name!!!

Glasgow and Scotland Centre - quite a big lad...

I'll add another clue. He's world class.

Bennet? a little village near haddington IIRC

I went to Vernon for an ice cream last night!

He wouldn't give me one and told me to go reproduce with myself!

Such a meanie!