Glasgow and Edinburgh: Ongoing Banter Thread 17 - Almost Legal

[Hazel Sapling]

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Glasgow Warriors & Edinburgh

The Histories:

Guiness Pro 12
Edinburgh Rugby
Glasgow Warriors

Edinburgh Rugby Highlights 2016/2017
Glasgow Warriors Pro 12 Highlights 2016/2017  

[RDW]

To be fair given all that GC actually does as a Mod he might as well be named tea boy...

[tigertattie]

Ah come on now, he did do a thread at some point last season.

I believe he also wrote in red writing once when someone was saying how Gavin Henson should be picked for the lions!

[funnyExiledScot]

I wish it was a different job title - basically the role of an Admin is to be a moderator but also run the site and deal with the higher level issues. Administrator implies I do all the filing!

That's what I tell my team when I'm on here; that I'm dealing with "higher level issues".

[George Carlin]

To be fair given all that GC actually does as a Mod he might as well be named tea boy...

[George Carlin]

Ah come on now, he did do a thread at some point last season.

I believe he also wrote in red writing once when someone was saying how Gavin Henson should be picked for the lions!

Jaysus - you do every international and most Weegie club threads and this is the thanks that you get.

[RDW]

Aw GC we're just joking!

[George Carlin]

I am getting enough practice moderating two squabbling toddlers.

[cakeordeath]

Did anyone watch the Barbarians game yesterday, how did WP get on?

[jimbopip]

The scrum didn't seem to improve any after he came on, and around the field he looked like a man short on match fitness.
There are, of course, two qualifiers to the above comments; it was a hot day and he's a front row so he would be expected to look pedestrian, and by the time he came on I had attempted to stave off dehydration by steadily replacing my body fluids with a very nice Redhead ale.

p.s. Robbie Fruean did not impress when he came on. I hope he brings more when he properly becomes a Luvvie.

[RDW]

Nel wasn't great but you don't know how much support he had behind him in the barbarians scrum.

Jimbo you're talking pish about Fruean and must have had too much Redhead Ale by the time he came on - I was very impressed by him. He smashed someone in defence and broke through a tackler in the build up to their try. He is a hugely physical player in attack and defence. Yes he made a few mistakes but all the barbarians team did!

[RDW]

Skip to 2:20 - Fruean is number 22 holding off the defender to break through

https://youtu.be/DWf-y52SpVo

[jimbopip]

Ah, Admin Boy, I can't argue with you over my pishtalking.

When he came on the first thing, that I remember was he knocked on when watching the defensive line rather than the ball. After that it gets a bit blurry. To be fair I was disappointed with the Baa-baas; they had all the possession in the first 10 minutes and looked as if they would win comfortably. Then they seemed to go into cruise control and the game just drifted away from them. The player who really caught my eye was the England 14, big, strong and constantly trying to make things happen. You can see he's been understudying Tim Tacling Machine Visser at Harleyqueens.

[RDW]

Nathan Earle plays for Sarries?

Yeah Fruean did knock on there but to be fair to him the pass was near his knees!

It's not even guaranteed he'll go to Edinburgh - we surely would have heard by now.

[jimbopip]

Let's stop trying to be too specific about yesterday, I'm at a disadvantage; it was a long day. I remember telling one of the lads that he was my hero: he had gone up on the Saturday for the Aviva final, went on the lash, stayed out and then his wife came up on the coach with the kids to collect meet him at the stadium on Sunday and take him home after the game. MrsPip would kill me if I ever suggested anything a sensible as that.
Fruean may not necome a Luvvie? Mind you I hear a whisper Glasgow have one more signing waiting to be announced.

[Hazel Sapling]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/40093855

Denton off to Worcester. Backwards step but hopefully he finds his feet. I do feel like they are at risk.

[RDW]

Could be a good move for him if they stay up - Denton needs regularly gametime and preferably gametime at 8 - not, 7 or 2nd row like Bath were playing him.

He had a barnstorming world cup but has fallen right off since - hopefully he can regain his form and confidence before his career nosedives. He's still mid 20s and we're not in such a position of strength at 8 for Scotland that we can just resign him to the scrap heap!

[EST]

I think thats a good move for Denton, and probably his level. He is an amazing athlete, but a distinctly average rugby player. With a simple set of instructions, and decent game time under his belt, he can be very effective (as in in the WC). I think he will do a good job at Worcester.

[RDW]

If it wasn't for the fact that he's got hands like Frodos he could have been good for Glasgow - they certainly need a big physical ball carrier.

[EWT Spoons]

I hope the move to bath is similar to R.Gray's move to Sale, in that it didn't work out for him, but he's since gone on to bigger and better things.

Not that I honestly think Denton will achieve the anywhere near the same levels as R.Gray, but purely that his next move (in this instance to Worcester) gets him back on track and he starts performing again.

[BigGee]

Denton never had much luck at Bath, injuries ruined his time there and unsurprisingly he then fell down the pecking order. It has been fairly obvious for some time that he has been surplus to requirements and a move can only be a good thing for him.

Is Worcester the right club? it certainly could be. He should be a starter there and they are not half as bad a team as they showed at times last season, when they got dragged into a relegation dogfight. They have the potential to be mid-table and if Dents gets himself going again, then he could very quickly come back into the Scotland reckoning.

[RDW]

Edinburgh announcing a new signing this afternoon

[IanBru]

Edinburgh announcing a new signing this afternoon

I hear Nick De Luca is available.

[RDW]

Prepare to be underwhelmed.

Winger Jason Harries from London Scottish.

Is he seriously better than Farndale? Or even Fife who was let go??

He was voted in the Championship Dream Team but then I'm sure Mike Penn (who?) was too.

[IanBru]

Prepare to be underwhelmed.

Winger Jason Harries from London Scottish.

Is he seriously better than Farndale? Or even Fife who was let go??

He was voted in the Championship Dream Team but I'm sure Mike Pence (who?) was too.

??

[RDW]

This all has a sense of depressing familiarity about it - Edinburgh sign random wingers from the Championship and 2nd tier Southern Hemisphere teams who go on to hardly play and end up getting forgotten about when they leave a year later. I can't think of a single NSQ winger that has worked out well for Edinbrugh other than Visser.

Edinburgh Rugby has signed London Scottish wing Jason Harries on a one-year deal.



The former Wales age-grade internationalist, 28, moved to the Richmond club in 2015 and has made 45 appearances scoring an impressive 22 tries.

He finished the 2016/17 season as the club’s top try-scorer and was also named in the Championship Dream Team.

On penning a deal with the capital club, he said: “I’ve heard a lot of good things about Edinburgh and it seems to be an exciting time for the club, so I’m looking forward to joining up with the squad.

“There’s going to be a lot of competition for a spot in the back-three, but that’s what we thrive on as rugby players and it can only make us better.

“I can carry the ball hard, run hard and will come looking for work off the wings. I’ll be looking to bring that versatility to the team.”

Prior to joining the Exiles, he featured for Wales 7s on the World Rugby Sevens Series circuit for three years playing in 20 World Series tournaments.

Incoming Head Coach, Richard Cockerill, said:

“Jason has shown he’s a classy finisher in his time at London Scottish, so we’re looking for him to keep that going when he joins up with the squad at Edinburgh.”

[MacKnocked-on]

At least van der Merwe could become SQ in time but Harries can't, so a odd signing. As we're signing players from LS strange there's been no move for Robbie Ferguson for example.

[TheMildlyFranticLlama]

28 and hasn't made it with any of the Welsh regions. Only offered a 1 year deal. I agree, it looks like business as usual for Edinburgh.

[IanBru]

Think of it this way: with every one of these NSQ wingers that Edinburgh sign, the odds increase that one of them will win the Euromillions and want to pay for a new franchise in Aberdeen, Inverness or the Borders.

Incredibly astute and forward-thinking from the SRU, I say.

[nickj]

Weird signing. Junior Bulumakau? Farndale? Fife? Lowe?
http://www.londonscottish.com/pro/fixtures/pro_squad.php?player=62175&includeref=dynamic

[RDW]

Look like he spends a lot of time on his hair - at least he'll fit in well!

[IanBru]

To quote Moneyball for the umpteenth time this year...

"Who are you thinking for first base?"
"Scott Hatteberg."
"Who?"
"Exactly. The guy sounds like an Oakland A already"

[RDW]

Let's also not forget the likes of D'Arcy Graham who is rated as being the next big thing since Stuart Hogg - it would be a shame if he loses out over this guy.

[tigertattie]

To quote Moneyball for the umpteenth time this year...

"Who are you thinking for first base?"
"Scott Hatteberg."
"Who?"
"Exactly. The guy sounds like an Oakland A already"

Who is on first base?

[IanBru]

To quote Moneyball for the umpteenth time this year...

"Who are you thinking for first base?"
"Scott Hatteberg."
"Who?"
"Exactly. The guy sounds like an Oakland A already"

Who is on first base?

Correct.

[RDW]

Hopefully this thread will be a safe haven for Lions fans...

https://www.606v2.com/t65809-lions-2017-the-tour-begins#3573910

[tigertattie]

To quote Moneyball for the umpteenth time this year...

"Who are you thinking for first base?"
"Scott Hatteberg."
"Who?"
"Exactly. The guy sounds like an Oakland A already"

Who is on first base?

Correct.

What's the name of the guy on first base?

[IanBru]

Oh, no, no. What is on second base, and name of the guy on third is I don't know.

[tigertattie]

who's on first base?
Whats the name of the guy on second?

[George Carlin]

To quote Moneyball for the umpteenth time this year...

"Who are you thinking for first base?"
"Scott Hatteberg."
"Who?"
"Exactly. The guy sounds like an Oakland A already"

Who is on first base?

Yo' momma (etc).

[tigertattie]

Typical, having a wee laugh and a Mod comes along and ruins it eh!

[funnyExiledScot]

Rubbish signing for Edinburgh. The big Saffa has some potential, but this is completely pointless and underwhelming.

[highland_scot]

Rubbish signing for Edinburgh. The big Saffa has some potential, but this is completely pointless and underwhelming.

Agreed - has shades of the Mike Penn/Brett Thomson/Sepp Visser/Alex Northam/Nikki Walker about it.

At least Northam had a valid reason for it not working out and Walker was SQ.

[RDW]

Who was the big Canadian bloke recently? He looked promising but never got a game.

Or was that Thomson?

[George Carlin]

Typical, having a wee laugh and a Mod comes along and ruins it eh!

[EWT Spoons]

Rubbish signing for Edinburgh. The big Saffa has some potential, but this is completely pointless and underwhelming.

Got to agree with this.

I hope he proves us wrong, but a 28 year old NSQ player from the championship does not exactly sound like a great signing.

[EST]

Rubbish signing for Edinburgh. The big Saffa has some potential, but this is completely pointless and underwhelming.

Got to agree with this.

I hope he proves us wrong, but a 28 year old NSQ player from the championship does not exactly sound like a great signing.

Especially when you consider that Fife, Farndale and Nairn are SQ wingers, who would presumably be interested in joining Edinburgh, especially Farndale.

[funnyExiledScot]

Rubbish signing for Edinburgh. The big Saffa has some potential, but this is completely pointless and underwhelming.

Got to agree with this.

I hope he proves us wrong, but a 28 year old NSQ player from the championship does not exactly sound like a great signing.

Especially when you consider that Fife, Farndale and Nairn are SQ wingers, who would presumably be interested in joining Edinburgh, especially Farndale.

Cockerill describes him as a classy finisher, but what we already know is that under Hodge's attacking "system", wingers have to create their own luck as there are precious few opportunities to "finish".

Edinburgh keeps forgetting the golden rule to Scottish rugby: you only sign an NSQ player if his demonstrably better than the SQ options available. This signing falls at the first hurdle.

[RDW]

Again the only saving grace here is that he'll probably not be on much money, and that his signing doesn't leave Farndale and Fife without a job (although 7s players get paid bugger all too).

[funnyExiledScot]

Again the only saving grace here is that he'll probably not be on much money, and that his signing doesn't leave Farndale and Fife without a job (although 7s players get paid bugger all too).

Excellent. Cheap and cr^p: Edinburgh's new signing philosophy.

[BigGee]

Nairn is going to Glasgow's academy next season and the good ship Douglas Fife has well and truly sailed as a 15s player.

The surprise really is that Jamie Farndale is not worth a crack. He has tried 15s though and did not really set the heather on fire when he had the opportunity, albeit he had some serious injury issues.

Maybe he, or a combination of himself and the coaching staff just feel he may be better suited to sevens. He does seem more of an athlete than a rugby player and seems very explosive in short bursts. Standing on the wing for Edinburgh may not float his boat any more.

This new guy is no more than a squad player, who may well do a decent job if called upon. I saw him play for LS and he scored a cracking try that day.

I am sure he is not daft though and knows that he is coming to a club where he won't get much if any game time nor get paid very much for the privilege. Truth is, not many decent wingers will be queuing up for that kind of opportunity. He probably sees it as his last chance to make the break through in professional rugby which is why he will do it.

Probably a better player than we are giving him credit for, but still unlikely to break through and will probably be a one season wonder.

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