Scotland. you do not deserve my time.

Thats it

I enjoyed the game. Italy carved some holes open against England and made Ireland work hard. They aren't the whipping boys anymore.

Riskysports wrote:Thats it

I agree with your Risky, our national team is an absolute shambles. Our full set up is rotten from top to bottom.

Scotland unfortunately and as so many times before, could not cope with the baggage of beating a side that they were better than and we are better than Italy. Unfortunately we never put them away when we had the chances and there were many. If it is a one score game, then you can always lose and we did.

It is massively disappointing. This is a huge step backwards, just when it looked like we might be getting somewhere and the 60.000 people in the ground believed that as well.

The Scotland team owe the fans one now, they have to get something from this competition!

Well done Italy anyway. They stuck at it admirably and kept on believing, something it looked like we stopped doing towards the end!

BigGee wrote:Scotland unfortunately and as so many times before, could not cope with the baggage of beating a side that they were better than and we are better than Italy. Unfortunately we never put them away when we had the chances and there were many. If it is a one score game, then you can always lose and we did.

It is massively disappointing. This is a huge step backwards, just when it looked like we might be getting somewhere and the 60.000 people in the ground believed that as well.

The Scotland team owe the fans one now, they have to get something from this competition!

Well done Italy anyway. They stuck at it admirably and kept on believing, something it looked like we stopped doing towards the end!

when? you apprroached our try-line twice, an interception and a forward pass, end of it

Was beginning to believe, thats what hurts the most....

Its safe to say that the performances are going to further unravel in the next two games because its clear that the other teams have worked out how to play against us. So either we continue to try and play Cotter Ball to the law of diminishing returns or we try to start playing a kicking game for territory but we don't have a stand off that can find touch, so thats fooked for a start.

My best guess is a 30 point loss to England and Ireland. Bottom of the six nations. A in-different world cup then Cotter decides that he is better off back in France and we end up back at square one.

aqualung71 wrote:

BigGee wrote:Scotland unfortunately and as so many times before, could not cope with the baggage of beating a side that they were better than and we are better than Italy. Unfortunately we never put them away when we had the chances and there were many. If it is a one score game, then you can always lose and we did.

It is massively disappointing. This is a huge step backwards, just when it looked like we might be getting somewhere and the 60.000 people in the ground believed that as well.

The Scotland team owe the fans one now, they have to get something from this competition!

Well done Italy anyway. They stuck at it admirably and kept on believing, something it looked like we stopped doing towards the end!

when? you apprroached our try-line twice, an interception and a forward pass, end of it

Agreed . as an attacking force that was about as bad as I can remember.
Italy came to play to.win we came to not lose.
Frankly had that penalty gone to touch that would cost certainly have been game Scotland. It didn't .
No other team in world rugby deserves to win less then we do; shooting ourselves in foot game after game . very very dispiriting

I think Scotland have no reasonable chance in the World Cup, but are good enough to play a part as giant slayers. They've got it in them, but just need to switch on the brain.

I think you are being a little unfair to Italy to be honest. But i guess when you see your team losing time after time. Well i could see how it would get you down a bit.

I see folk calling us sore losers for not praising Italy. I'm sorry but Italy weren't very good! They had a good maul but that was it. Scotland were just worse!

If scotland if Italy played like that against any top 8 rugby team then it would have been a 20+ spanking

Well done Italy on getting the win but don't start to think you're suddenly a good team

tigertattie wrote:I see folk calling us sore losers for not praising Italy. I'm sorry but Italy weren't very good! They had a good maul but that was it. Scotland were just worse!

If scotland if Italy played like that against any top 8 rugby team then it would have been a 20+ spanking

Well done Italy on getting the win but don't start to think you're suddenly a good team

Pretty much this, Scotland were absolutely awful. The one hope I have is that this performance hails some much needed change. Barclay and Brown in. Laidlaw and Beattie out. Also FFS get rid of our forwards coach.

I would not like it to be said that I was a bad loser. My wife is Italian and in many ways there is no other side that I would rather lose to!

We should have won it though and not just because of that missed kick to touch. We were 10 points up and never pushed on. We should have dealt with both the Italian tries much better than we did.

The Italians played smart, adjusted their tactics and stayed in the game. Their confidence grew because of that, as ours evaporated and in the end we killed ourselves.

Italy won and deserved to but I don't think they are a better side than Scotland at the moment. At the end of the day though, it is results that matter and the likely scenario is that we will come last in this years championship and that is what counts, not what I think!

cakeordeath wrote:

tigertattie wrote:I see folk calling us sore losers for not praising Italy. I'm sorry but Italy weren't very good! They had a good maul but that was it. Scotland were just worse!

If scotland if Italy played like that against any top 8 rugby team then it would have been a 20+ spanking

Well done Italy on getting the win but don't start to think you're suddenly a good team

Pretty much this, Scotland were absolutely awful. The one hope I have is that this performance hails some much needed change. Barclay and Brown in. Laidlaw and Beattie out. Also FFS get rid of our forwards coach.

We'll have Humph back at Cardiff.

Cardiff Dave wrote:

cakeordeath wrote:

tigertattie wrote:I see folk calling us sore losers for not praising Italy. I'm sorry but Italy weren't very good! They had a good maul but that was it. Scotland were just worse!

If scotland if Italy played like that against any top 8 rugby team then it would have been a 20+ spanking

Well done Italy on getting the win but don't start to think you're suddenly a good team

Pretty much this, Scotland were absolutely awful. The one hope I have is that this performance hails some much needed change. Barclay and Brown in. Laidlaw and Beattie out. Also FFS get rid of our forwards coach.

We'll have Humph back at Cardiff.

It's a deal Oh wait it's not up to me

It is not about blaming the coaches, Humphries did not tell Brown to do a squint throw as soon as he came on a we were in a good attacking position!

The players need to take responsibility for this not the coaches!

I don't see that the results of the last few years indicate that there's more than a whisker between the two sides, for all the potential that Scotland show in their outside backs. Last-minute away win for one this year,; the same in reverse last year. The year before a good home win for Scotland, the year before that, Italy beat Scotland at home. The pattern of the game, outside the first fifteen minutes, was exactly as we've come to expect from matches between the two.

Italy may not be a better side than Scotland just now; they're not demonstrably much worse, either. To me, the problem is, as it has been for a couple of years now, up front. Not enough grunt, not enough nous and consequently not enough ball. Those calling for Barclay, Brown and even Hines are bang on - experience, a touch of devil and a leavening of intelligence (which rules out Hamilton). I thought that Swinson, much derided by Scottish fans before the game, was a giant surrounded by midgets up front today. Most of the front 5, in particular, need to take a long look at themselves.

captain carrantuohil wrote:I don't see that the results of the last few years indicate that there's more than a whisker between the two sides, for all the potential that Scotland show in their outside backs. Last-minute away win for one this year,; the same in reverse last year. The year before a good home win for Scotland, the year before that, Italy beat Scotland at home. The pattern of the game, outside the first fifteen minutes, was exactly as we've come to expect from matches between the two.

Italy may not be a better side than Scotland just now; they're not demonstrably much worse, either. To me, the problem is, as it has been for a couple of years now, up front. Not enough grunt, not enough nous and consequently not enough ball. Those calling for Barclay, Brown and even Hines are bang on - experience, with a leavening of intelligence (which rules out Hamilton). I thought that Swinson, much derided by Scottish fans before the game, was a giant surrounded by midgets up front today. Most of the front 5, in particular, need to take a long look at themselves.

Swinson looked to me like the only member of the Scottish pack that carried the ball into the Italians with any venom today, I though he was the pick of a poor pack. It is especially annoying that they choose today to go missing in action, so far this season we have looked like we had a pack that could and would compete. That is why I don't blame the coaches, I am sure that they did not tell them to take it easy today!

The doubly annoying thing is that they will probably play much better in the next two games, against, on paper, much stronger opposition. We have seen this time and time again in Scottish sport, not just rugby, we never cope well with any kind of favourites tag labelled onto us. Untill we can get our heads round that, we will never be a team of any consequence!

real pity Scotland, so awesome v NZ back in the Autumn and now utter capitulation, how many times have we seen Scotland lose a game in th least few minutes? You have caught the Welsh disease and it is the old top 2 inches that seems to have deserted you. Still, Vern is the way forward and I have seen really good things from Scotland recently. Time to dig in and find some grit.

I think people underrated Italy. Ireland only scored against them when they were down to 14 men and they nearly scored a try at the end of that match to make the scoreline closer. Against England they were the better side for long periods and only for all the missed kicks and a few English breakaways it would also have been a closer score.

Zebre and Treviso are going badly but a large amount of the Italy team are playing throughout Europe.

OK, I'll admit it. I'm despondent. I'm down. I haven't yet resorted to the good lady alcohol, but I probably will. I'm currently sitting in a ball on the couch listening to my ultimate comfort album (Paul Simon's 'Graceland') over and over.

And yet, I don't think I'll ever get to the stage of regretting being a Scotland supporter. So our team loses a fair bit. I really couldn't care less. In terms of my commitment to the cause, there's nothing short of rampant cheating and gross monetarisation of the sport that will make me walk away.

Gwlad wrote:real pity Scotland, so awesome v NZ back in the Autumn and now utter capitulation, how many times have we seen Scotland lose a game in th least few minutes? You have caught the Welsh disease and it is the old top 2 inches that seems to have deserted you. Still, Vern is the way forward and I have seen really good things from Scotland recently. Time to dig in and find some grit.

Scotland have always been a bit of an AI's team though. Strange how it doesn't transfer across to the 6 Nations. I agree that Cotter is probably the right man, but he is just as guilty as Gatland in not picking on form. I read somewhere about Scotland having white line fever against us and I would tend to agree with that too and had they beaten us, they probably would've had their tails up today.

Hate to say it but I can't believe any Scottish fan is surprised, you do it every bloody year.  1 gutsy loss at the start of the tournament, then you all start talking about potential and progress, then you fall flat on your faces.

Bottom line is it doesn't matter what coach you have, you can't keep sacking them.  Scotland do not have enough quality players to beat any of the old big 8 nations.  

For the last decade you keep switching between 2 different styles, your either creative and score tries but concede more, or your solid and tight in defence but can't score any points.  

You'll tighten up next season but won't be able to score, and everyone will start talking about progress again.  

I keep saying Scotlands benchmark is Wales, historically our nations always win our home games and lose the away one, look at all the results since the late 1800's.  You can't go touring the USA and Canada and playing tier B nations and deluding yourselves your up there with the best.  How can anyone possibly think Scotland touring the USA and Canada will improve you, while Wales are touring South Africa and losing in the last minute?

Scotland are in exactly the same trap as Wales were in 2003.  Steve Hansen came in dumped all the big name players like Scott Quinell and Rob Howley, all our big names, picked a load of 20 year olds and developed a squad from the foundation up, by 2005 those kids had played in a world cup, pushed New Zealand close, and won their first grand slam since 1979.   It's a bloody big gamble, but hell your likely to finish last in the 6 nations with no wins, so either way it can't be any worse.

I saw Scotlands players smiling after losing in France, Scotland lost a game of rugby, you don't smile at that!

IanBru wrote:OK, I'll admit it. I'm despondent. I'm down. I haven't yet resorted to the good lady alcohol, but I probably will. I'm currently sitting in a ball on the couch listening to my ultimate comfort album (Paul Simon's 'Graceland') over and over.

And yet, I don't think I'll ever get to the stage of regretting being a Scotland supporter. So our team loses a fair bit. I really couldn't care less. In terms of my commitment to the cause, there's nothing short of rampant cheating and gross monetarisation of the sport that will make me walk away.

Was gonna say, it's pretty similar to being a Dragons fan with how frustrating things are and I wouldn't give up on them.

Stick with it lads.

profitius wrote:I think people underrated Italy. Ireland only scored against them when they were down to 14 men and they nearly scored a try at the end of that match to make the scoreline closer. Against England they were the better side for long periods and only for all the missed kicks and a few English breakaways it would also have been a closer score.

Zebre and Treviso are going badly but a large amount of the Italy team are playing throughout Europe.

This is the team who beat us at home


L McLean (Sale Sharks) , M Visentin (Zebre), L Morisi (Benetton Treviso), E Bacchin (Benetton Treviso), G Venditti (Zebre), K Haimona (Zebre), E Gori (Benetton Treviso); M Aguero (Zebre), L Ghiraldini (Leicester Tigers), D Chistolini (Zebre), G Biagi (Zebre), J Furno (Newcastle Falcons), F Minto (Benetton Treviso), S Favaro (Benetton Treviso), S Parisse (Stade Francais).
Replacements: A Manici (Zebre), A De Marchi (Sale Sharks), L Cittadini (London Wasps), M Fuser (Benetton Treviso), S Vunisa (Zebre), G Palazzani (Zebre), T Allan (Perpignan), G Bisegni (Zebre).

We are definitely under performing capital U

Have to admit never thought id say these two statements but: Josh Strauss eligibility cant come fast enough and we really missed Big Jim Hamilton against Italy.

At the moment Im gutted though, Realistically it looks like we will be collecting the wooden Spoon at the end of March and to end up in that position seemed so ridiculously unlikely at the beginning of the tournament.

Italy are the 2nd highest try scorers so far. They are tougher than you would think

Ohhhh, dear.
Feel so dejected. Long train journey & even longer tournament. We're going to get humped & white washed.