Scotland v Samoa, 11 November

by **George Carlin** Wed 01 Nov 2017, 5:14 pm

First topic message reminder :

Scotland v Samoa, 11 November - Page 2 Scot_f10

Scotland v Samoa, 11 November - Page 2 Samoa_12

SCOTLAND V SAMOA
11 November 2017
14:30 GMT (UTC+0)
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh

Live on BBC One, Connected TV, online & the BBC Sport app & Radio Scotland 810MW

Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)
Touch judges: [tbc]
Television match official: [tbc]

A. Head to Head

10 Played 10
8 Won 1
1 Drawn 1
1 Lost 8
254 Points 155

B. Recent Form

10 October 2015
St James' Park, Newcastle
33 – 36 to Scotland

8 June 2013
Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, South Africa
27 – 17 to Samoa

23 June 2012
Apia Park, Apia
16 – 17 to Scotland

27 November 2010
Pittodire, Aberdeen
19 – 16 to Scotland

20 November 2005
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
18 – 11 to Scotland

4 June 2004
Westpac Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand
3 – 38 to Scotland

18 November 2000
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
31 – 8 to Scotland

C. Teams

SCOTLAND
Scotland v Samoa, 11 November - Page 2 Gordon10

Scotland v Samoa, 11 November - Page 2 Gordon10

Stuart Hogg, Tommy Seymour, Huw Jones, Alex Dunbar, Lee Jones, Finn Russell, Ali Price (all Glasgow Warriors); Darryl Marfo, Stuart McInally, WP Nel, Ben Toolis (all Edinburgh), Jonny Gray (Glasgow), Barclay (captain - Scarlets), Hamish Watson (Edinburgh), Ryan Wilson (Glasgow).

Replacements: George Turner, Jamie Bhatti, Zander Fagerson, Tim Swinson (all Glasgow), Cornell Du Preez (Edinburgh), Henry Pyrgos, Peter Horne (both Glasgow), Chris Harris (Newcastle).

SAMOA
Scotland v Samoa, 11 November - Page 2 Jerry-10

Scotland v Samoa, 11 November - Page 2 Jerry-10

Ah See Tuala, Paul Perez, Kieron Fonotia, Reynold Lee-Lo,David Lemi, Tim Nanai Williams, Pele Cowley;Jordan Lay, Manu Leiataua, Donald Brighouse, Josh Tyrell, Chris Vui (capt), Piula Fa'asalele, TJ Ioane, Jack Lam.

Replacements: Motu Matu'u, James Lay, Hisa Sasagi, Fa'atiga Lemalu, Ofisa Treviranus, Mealani Matavao, AJ Alatimu, Alapati Leiua.

by lostinwales Wed 08 Nov 2017, 1:17 pm

nickj wrote:Gotta see this as a political move by Malielegaoi to pressure in the short term, the host nations this November, and ultimately World Rugby. No better way of ensuring awareness of the issue, while quite rightly rattling the tin before kick off. I've no doubt the game will go ahead, but its about time World Rugby got its house in order and looked after the lesser lights

In the cases of countries like Samoa so often it is an issue with governance (and corruption) as well. It's not simply a case of blame World Rugby

by nickj Wed 08 Nov 2017, 1:56 pm

Samoa's team's out:

Samoa: 15 Ah See Tuala, 14 Paul Perez, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Reynold Lee-Lo, 11 David Lemi, 10 Tim Nanai Williams, 9 Pele Cowley, 8 Jack Lam, 7 TJ Ioane, 6 Piula Fa’Asalele, 5 Chris Vui (c), 4 Josh Tyrell, 3 Donald Brighouse, 2 Manu Leiataua, 1 Jordan Lay
Replacements: 16 Motu Matu’u, 17 James Lay, 18 Hisa Sasagi, 19 Fa’Atiga Lemalu, 20 Ofisa Treviranus, 21 Mealani Matavao, 22 Aj Alatimu, 23 Alapati Leiua

No expert, but question marks for me are: Tim Nanai Williams at 10 and Pele Cowley for Kahn Fotuali’i at 9

by **RDW** Wed 08 Nov 2017, 1:59 pm

With Nanai Williams at 10 (a winger/fullback) I think there's going to be a lot of running!

I think Pisi and Fotuali’i are injured.

by nickj Wed 08 Nov 2017, 2:05 pm

Yeah, bringing the Nanai Williams and Lee-Lo axis closer to the action certainly suggests an action-packed, running game plan. Thought those two were the biggest threats in the RWC.

by nickj Wed 08 Nov 2017, 2:26 pm

By way of comparison, here is Saturday's team compared to the 23 for St James' Park in 2015:

2015:
T Nanai-Williams, P Perez, G Pisi, R Lee-Lo, F Autagavaia, T Pisi, K Fotuali'i; S Taulafo, M Leiataua, C Johnston, T Paulo, Kane Thompson, M Faasavalu, J Lam, A Faosiliva. Replacements: M Matu'u, V Afatia, A Perenise, F Levave, V Tuilagi, V Afemai, P Faapale, K Pisi.

2017:
Ah See Tuala, Paul Perez, Kieron Fonotia, Reynold Lee-Lo, David Lemi, Tim Nanai Williams, Pele Cowley, Donald Brighouse, Manu Leiataua, Jordan Lay, Chris Vui (c), Josh Tyrell, Piula Fa’Asalele, TJ Ioane, Jack Lam
Replacements: Motu Matu’u, James Lay, Hisa Sasagi, Fa’Atiga Lemalu, Ofisa Treviranus, Mealani Matavao, Aj Alatimu, Alapati Leiua

by **George Carlin** Wed 08 Nov 2017, 2:38 pm

I'll level with you - Donald Brighouse is not the most traditional Samoan name that I've ever heard.

Mind you, Huw Jones isn't the the most traditional Scottish name either.

by Hazel Sapling Wed 08 Nov 2017, 7:37 pm

Supposedly World Rugby gave them money for player insurance according to the other thread. Samoa PM trying to juice his pension

by Eejit Wed 08 Nov 2017, 8:00 pm

George Carlin wrote:I'll level with you - Donald Brighouse is not the most traditional Samoan name that I've ever heard.

Mind you, Huw Jones isn't the the most traditional Scottish name either.

Now whereabouts in Llandudno is this Huw chappy from?

by tigertattie Thu 09 Nov 2017, 9:46 am

If it's Huw Jones that scores the winning try vs Wales, will the Welsh be able to claim a moral victory?

by **BigGee** Thu 09 Nov 2017, 9:53 am

tigertattie wrote:If it's Huw Jones that scores the winning try vs Wales, will the Welsh be able to claim a moral victory?

An interesting thing about Huw Jones, he has qualifications to play for various countries and none of them are Wales, despite his name!

Lets not forget their is also a Selkirk branch of the McJones clan!

by nickj Thu 09 Nov 2017, 11:07 am

My surname is Jones, Welsh father, Scots Mum, born in Inverness. With two giant, rugby mad toddlers, I'm secretly hoping there will be a few more Jones Scots caps in the future.

On another note. Toonie is set to name the Scotland squad to face Samoa on the new 280 character twitter at 1.40pm, before sharing his thoughts on Facebook just after 2pm. I wonder whether the new character limit means we'll get the whole team in one tweet?

by **RDW** Thu 09 Nov 2017, 11:26 am

I'm very much looking forward to hearing how jimbo gets on following the team announcement broadcast with all this modern technology.. steam

by EWT Spoons Thu 09 Nov 2017, 12:07 pm

McGuigan is starting for Sale this weekend, so he’s not going to be involved.

by nickj Thu 09 Nov 2017, 12:36 pm

Bugger. I had him on a wing. So Jones and Seymour, with Harris, Grigg or Jacko benching?

My 23:

Possible XV: Hogg, Seymour, Jones, Dunbar, Jones, Russell, Price; Marfo, McInally, Nel, Gray, Toolis, Barclay, Watson, Wilson.

Reps: Jackson / Harris / Grigg, Horne, Pyrgos, Hamilton, Swinson, Bhatti, Turner, Fagerson

by tigertattie Thu 09 Nov 2017, 12:40 pm

I feckin hate twitter. God awful useless thing that it is! The fact that Trump is on it is enough to put anyone off in my book!

Anyway! We'll need a ~~mindless buffoon~~ volunteer who uses twitter to tell us what the team comes out as!

by **George Carlin** Thu 09 Nov 2017, 1:00 pm

Announcement is not for an hour

by tigertattie Thu 09 Nov 2017, 1:04 pm

George Carlin wrote:Announcement is not for an hour

Twitter user Mr Mod-Man?

by nickj Thu 09 Nov 2017, 1:42 pm

Confirmed XV: Hogg, Seymour, Jones, Dunbar, Jones, Russell, Price; Marfo, McInally, Nel, Gray, Toolis, Barclay, Watson, Wilson.

Reps: Harris, Horne, Pyrgos, Du Preez, Swinson, Bhatti, Turner, Fagerson

by Mad for Chelsea Thu 09 Nov 2017, 1:42 pm

nickj wrote:Bugger. I had him on a wing. So Jones and Seymour, with Harris, Grigg or Jacko benching?

My 23:

Possible XV: Hogg, Seymour, Jones, Dunbar, Jones, Russell, Price; Marfo, McInally, Nel, Gray, Toolis, Barclay, Watson, Wilson.

Reps: ~~Jackson~~ / Harris / ~~Grigg~~, Horne, Pyrgos, ~~Hamilton~~ CDP, Swinson, Bhatti, Turner, Fagerson

Almost spot on clap

by jimbopip Thu 09 Nov 2017, 1:43 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:I'm very much looking forward to hearing how jimbo gets on following the team announcement broadcast with all this modern technology..

So can I get Twitter on The Google?

I see Pele is playing at 9 for Samoa; Brazil always played him at 10, he had a lovely kicking game. drumroll

by Mad for Chelsea Thu 09 Nov 2017, 1:46 pm

No real surprises in the 23, much as expected. The fact Wilson is one of the VCs is interesting, and suggests that Toonie sees him as a very important player (Hogg is the other VC). As discussed plenty, we're rather down to the bare bones at LH and hooker, but it's still a pretty strong looking side. Slight concerns over Dunbar being thrown back in at the deep end after a few minutes off the bench only, hope he goes OK.

by **BigGee** Thu 09 Nov 2017, 1:51 pm

No real complaints about the team from me either, pretty much on form picks and should be good enough to see of Samoa.

It will be an atricious series no doubt and I would expect a few more players to get into the team/squad as a few injuries pile up. I am sure we will see Hamilton at some point but CDP played well enough last week to earn his place.

by **RDW** Thu 09 Nov 2017, 1:51 pm

Head Coach Gregor Townsend has named four uncapped players in the 23-man Scotland squad to face Samoa this Saturday at BT Murrayfield (kick-off 2.30pm) – live on BBC and BT Sport.

Around 65,500 tickets have been sold for the first of three Autumn Tests played on consecutive Saturdays this month, with the following tests against New Zealand (18 November) and Australia (25 November) selling out, in record time, in July.

Scotland head Coach Gregor Townsend, said: “We’re looking forward to playing three very good teams this autumn and Samoa will be a big challenge for us first up.

“Scotland-Samoa games have been tight affairs over the recent years and the recent Rugby World Cup game, which went right to the wire, is also still fresh in the memory.

“We have approached this game – like we will for all our games this season – knowing that to achieve success we will have to play close to our very best.

“Samoa are a very dangerous team with a number of top quality players.”

Edinburgh Rugby prop Darryl Marfo [pictured right] will start the match, while Glasgow Warriors front-row forwards George Turner and Jamie Bhatti, and Newcastle Falcons outside back, Chris Harris, could debut if called upon from the bench.

Marfo is joined by fellow Edinburgh Rugby forwards Stuart McInally and Willem Nel in the front-row, with the back-five from the summer test win over Australia earning reselection: Jonny Gray reforming the locking partnership with Ben Toolis, while number 8 Ryan Wilson is partnered with flankers Hamish Watson and captain John Barclay.

The return to fitness and recent signing of Huw Jones means that an all-Glasgow Warriors back-line will start the match: Teammates and housemates Ali Price (scrum-half) and Finn Russell (stand-off) start together for Scotland for the fifth time this year, Alex Dunbar joins Jones in midfield, with Lee Jones, Tommy Seymour and Stuart Hogg as the back-three.

Townsend added: “It’s great that four players could make their international debuts this weekend.

“They have earned this call through their performances for their clubs and the energy they have trained with over the past couple of weeks.

“All of our squad is excited by the prospect of representing their country in front of a packed BT Murrayfield this Saturday."

Scotland team to face Samoa at BT Murrayfield, 2017 Autumn Tests
Saturday 11 November (kikc-off 2.30pm) - live on BBC and BT Sport

15. Stuart Hogg VICE CAPTAIN (Glasgow Warriors) – 53 caps

14. Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) – 36 caps
13. Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors) – 8 caps
12. Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors) – 26 caps
11. Lee Jones (Glasgow Warriors) – 5 caps

10. Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors) – 29 caps
9. Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) – 8 caps

1. Darryl Marfo (Edinburgh Rugby) – uncapped
2. Stuart McInally (Edinburgh Rugby) – 9 caps
3. Willem Nel (Edinburgh Rugby) – 18 caps
4. Ben Toolis (Edinburgh Rugby) – 4 caps
5. Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors) – 35 caps
6. John Barclay CAPTAIN (Scarlets) – 63 caps
7. Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby) – 12 caps
8. Ryan Wilson VICE CAPTAIN (Glasgow Warriors) – 30 caps

Substitutes

16. George Turner (Glasgow Warriors) – uncapped
17. Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow Warriors) – uncapped
18. Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) – 12 caps
19. Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors) – 32 caps
20. Cornell Du Preez (Edinburgh Rugby) – 2 caps
21. Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors) – 24 caps
22. Pete Horne (Glasgow Warriors) – 25 caps
23. Chris Harris (Newcastle Falcons) – uncapped

by nickj Thu 09 Nov 2017, 1:56 pm

Yeah. On balance pretty chuffed with the starting 15, bar our situation at loosehead. Just hope Dunbar is actually fit and Lee Jones doesn't revert back to his former self.

Bench looks ok. Harris looks solid. CDP getting back to form. However a few, including Pyrgos and Bhatti, are there due to lack of alternatives.

Got to wonder what we'd look like with Ashe, Bennett, Brown, Dell, Dickinson, Ford, Hardie, Gray snr, Laidlaw, Maitland, Reid, Scott and Taylor fit and / or available.

by **RDW** Thu 09 Nov 2017, 1:59 pm

Exciting team given the number of injuries. A few key points:

- Nel has been fairly average this season. Need a big performance from him
- Toolis has a real chance to take the starting spot from Ritchie long term
- The backrow is very athletic but also lightweight - how will we cope physically?
- That is an incredible backline, assuming Dunbar is fit
- Dunbar-Jones have the potential to be the best centre combo in the home nations IMO. A great combination of physicality, speed and skill
- Will be good to see Chris Harris get 20 minutes or so to show what he can do

by tigertattie Thu 09 Nov 2017, 2:19 pm

Front row is a bit green for my liking but this is due to the injuries we're plagued with. It's only a "friendly" anyway so it's the best time to give the fringe players a crack at things.

Backrow is a bit lightweight but I think we're going to be playing toonie-ball. A past paced game moving the big Samoans about the place.

Lee Jones is going to need to have his defensive head on as he's giving away 10kg to Perez

Bench is a bit meh but not too concerned. Only worry is if Hogg gets injured we're looking at Horne at FB which is downright frightening.

Fingers crossed now for a good win and no injuries

by bsando Thu 09 Nov 2017, 2:29 pm

Scotland 2013 loss to Samoa in SA
Scotland: Tonks, Lamont, Dunbar, Scott, Visser, Heathcote, Laidlaw, Dickinson, MacArthur, Murray, Gilchrist, Kellock, Strokosch, Brown, Beattie.
Replacements: Lawrie, Low, Cross, Hamilton, Wilson, Pyrgos, Horne, Taylor.

Scotland 2017 XXIII vs Samoa
Scotland XV: Hogg, Seymour, Jones, Dunbar, Jones, Russell, Price, Marfo, McInally, Nel, Toolis, J Gray, Barclay (capt), Watson, Wilson
Replacements: Turner, Fagerson, Swinson, Du Preez, Pyrgos, Horne, Harris.

by **RDW** Thu 09 Nov 2017, 2:33 pm

I wonder if Horne still wakes up in cold sweats at the thought of that 2013 game.

by jimbopip Thu 09 Nov 2017, 2:35 pm

I was wondering whether Toonie would go with club front rows or mix and match; it seems he has chose to start with what many would regard as the better scrummaging front row and then close out the game with the more mobile unit.
This makes perfect sense but it does raise the prospect of Jamie Bhatti and George Turner coming on to see out the final quarter against the All Blacks. This gives last year's under 19 loose head about 40 minutes over the next two games to garner enough experience to be able to take on the world champions. Shocked

Mind you, he has more chance of doing that than George Turner has of putting on three stone before that match. (Even as I type I know that we're not too far away from Ryan Grant featuring against the All Blacks: don't bet against Bane-Me -GC's Mildly Racist Uncle Dougie as the front row that day.)

The above should not be interpreted as being critical of either player, both of whom have played very well for the Once And Future Champions this season.By either player I do not mean me or Uncle Dougie.

by **BigGee** Thu 09 Nov 2017, 2:49 pm

tigertattie wrote:

Bench is a bit meh but not too concerned. Only worry is if Hogg gets injured we're looking at Horne at FB which is downright frightening.

There are some other options there. Seymour could go to FB and Harris onto the wing.

I believe Jones H has also played there.

I am sure Horne is there to cover 10/12, he has never convinced as a FB.

by Mad for Chelsea Thu 09 Nov 2017, 3:39 pm

Doing a squad breakdown, Glasgow provide 15 of the 23, including 9 of 10 backs (and the whole starting backline), while Edimburgh provide 4 of the starting front 5, and 6 of the forwards in total (Glasgow have the same, but Edinburgh have 5 starters to Glasgow's 2), but no backs.

Glasgow could still field a backline of G. Horne, Hastings, Matawalu, Johnson, Grigg, Massaga, Jackson, mind you, which aint half bad...

by Mad for Chelsea Thu 09 Nov 2017, 3:41 pm

Also, the number of tickets sold has gone up to 65k apparently, which is seriously impressive for a Samoa game clap

by jimbopip Thu 09 Nov 2017, 3:45 pm

On the subject of tickets....
Caz the Quiet Bokkie has just let me know he has two tickets for the Calcutta Cup match for me Yahoo

by bsando Thu 09 Nov 2017, 3:49 pm

For once I am more interested in seeing how the front row shapes up. Marfo and Nel could be an awesome scrummaging combination, I've not watched a lot of Edinburgh this year so I'm intrigued.

On a side note, great to see another player of African origin earning a Scottish cap. Is Marfo now no.2 after Joe Ansbro? Scotland have to be the whitest team in professional rugby era.

by **NeilyBroon** Thu 09 Nov 2017, 3:51 pm

bsando wrote:For once I am more interested in seeing how the front row shapes up. Marfo and Nel could be an awesome scrummaging combination, I've not watched a lot of Edinburgh this year so I'm intrigued.

On a side note, great to see another player of African origin earning a Scottish cap. Is Marfo now no.2 after Joe Ansbro? Scotland have to be the whitest team in professional rugby era.

Second to Ireland ghost

by bsando Thu 09 Nov 2017, 3:53 pm

NeilyBroon wrote:
bsando wrote:For once I am more interested in seeing how the front row shapes up. Marfo and Nel could be an awesome scrummaging combination, I've not watched a lot of Edinburgh this year so I'm intrigued.

On a side note, great to see another player of African origin earning a Scottish cap. Is Marfo now no.2 after Joe Ansbro? Scotland have to be the whitest team in professional rugby era.

Second to Ireland

Good point! Only Zebo??

by **NeilyBroon** Thu 09 Nov 2017, 4:00 pm

bsando wrote:
NeilyBroon wrote:
bsando wrote:For once I am more interested in seeing how the front row shapes up. Marfo and Nel could be an awesome scrummaging combination, I've not watched a lot of Edinburgh this year so I'm intrigued.

On a side note, great to see another player of African origin earning a Scottish cap. Is Marfo now no.2 after Joe Ansbro? Scotland have to be the whitest team in professional rugby era.

Second to Ireland

Good point! Only Zebo??

Well Bundee Aki is due to get a cap, he's not white!

by **George Carlin** Thu 09 Nov 2017, 4:05 pm

tigertattie wrote:
George Carlin wrote:Announcement is not for an hour

Twitter user Mr Mod-Man?

Not on Twitter, Tattie.

So far as I can tell, the purpose of it seems to be a convenient means for people to inadvertently end their careers at 2 o'clock in the morning.

by **George Carlin** Thu 09 Nov 2017, 4:16 pm

jimbopip wrote:I was wondering whether Toonie would go with club front rows or mix and match; it seems he has chose to start with what many would regard as the better scrummaging front row and then close out the game with the more mobile unit.
This makes perfect sense but it does raise the prospect of Jamie Bhatti and George Turner coming on to see out the final quarter against the All Blacks. This gives last year's under 19 loose head about 40 minutes over the next two games to garner enough experience to be able to take on the world champions. Mind you, he has more chance of doing that than George Turner has of putting on three stone before that match. (Even as I type I know that we're not too far away from Ryan Grant featuring against the All Blacks: don't bet against Bane-Me -GC's Mildly Racist Uncle Dougie as the front row that day.)

The above should not be interpreted as being critical of either player, both of whom have played very well for the Once And Future Champions this season.By either player I do not mean me or Uncle Dougie.

Scotland v Samoa, 11 November - Page 2 Uncle_10

by tigertattie Thu 09 Nov 2017, 5:10 pm

bsando wrote:For once I am more interested in seeing how the front row shapes up. Marfo and Nel could be an awesome scrummaging combination, I've not watched a lot of Edinburgh this year so I'm intrigued.

On a side note, great to see another player of African origin earning a Scottish cap. Is Marfo now no.2 after Joe Ansbro? Scotland have to be the whitest team in professional rugby era.

I don't even think it's case of Rugby not being popular with minorities in Scotland, it's more that Scotland doesn't have anywhere near the number of diverse people as the likes of England or France. Even our football team is devoid of non-Caucasian players. Anya is the only player I can think of for the football team but I don;t follow it much so I could easily be wrong.

Why doesn;t Scotland have a larger number of minorities? I think it's simply because its too bloomin cold here!

by **RDW** Thu 09 Nov 2017, 5:37 pm

Moving to London has really made me realise how un-diverse (or is it non-diverse Jimbo?) Scotland is, especially if you had a middle class upbringing in a city like Edinburgh. Thinking back, in my year at School (which was a state school btw) the number of non-white people was in the single figures of a year of 130 or so people. Even at Uni the significant number of people in my year were white, until my Masters year at least when all the Chinese and Indian students joined us! I then went to work in Glasgow and again the vast majority of the office were white.

So it perhaps comes as no surprise that when Mrs RDW and I looked back on our wedding invite list we realised there was only 1 non-white person invited! It makes sense though when for all of our lives leading up to that point we’d been surrounded by very little diversity.

Now that I live in London all of that has changed – I have worked at two companies since I moved down and both have them are massively diverse. Indeed in my current project team of 15 or so there are only 4 Brits! London is certainly at the complete opposite end of the scale to Edinburgh.

It is still amazing though that in 2017 we’ve only capped 2 non-white players in the professional era (I’m sure Alan Massie found in the archives that the first to be capped was back in 1924 or something like that).

by RuggerRadge2611 Thu 09 Nov 2017, 6:13 pm

tigertattie wrote:I feckin hate twitter. God awful useless thing that it is! The fact that Trump is on it is enough to put anyone off in my book!

Anyway! We'll need a ~~mindless buffoon~~ volunteer who uses twitter to tell us what the team comes out as!

Feck blootered my spam filter....

by RuggerRadge2611 Thu 09 Nov 2017, 6:19 pm

Also I'm gutted that I haven't been considered as a prop replacement by Jimbo but that's life.... Sad

As for the team, as expected and reasonably strong considering most of our players are at first name terms with their hospital consultants.

by jimbopip Thu 09 Nov 2017, 7:05 pm

bsando wrote:
On a side note, great to see another player of African origin earning a Scottish cap. Is Marfo now no.2 after Joe Ansbro? Scotland have to be the whitest team in professional rugby era.

Never mind his ethnicity.... I think he's the first Darryl to play for Scotland. Shocked

RDW, the amazing diversity you find in your workplace is fairly typical of That London. But what is even more amazing is what happens when you move slightly out of the big city. At present I'm teaching in a college in Havering and the rest of the Maths department are; Zeeshan, Rashmi, Hameed, Amerjit and Tim Mazimba. The ethnic mix of the student population is exactly as you say your workplace is. However in my last post in sunny Essex, only twenty miles up the road and the number of non-white staff could be counted on the fingers of one hand (ditto the pupils). I'm not making any political point, merely saying that in many ways London is atypical of the UK as a whole.

Radge, I had you just ahead of Nathan Fowles as third choice 9. You'd look more like a rugby player and less like Barbie's boyfriend than him.

by Hazel Sapling Thu 09 Nov 2017, 7:58 pm

Reasonably happy with that team. Lightweight in the back row but do we really want to run straight at the Samoans?

Marfo, Bhatti and Turner are going to get a trial by fire this month. Sutherland may be ready for more of a role next week otherwise Allan should be looked at especially against New Zealand.

Injuries are always a shame but as long as they are not at hooker or LH we should be ok at most positions (9/10 being the next level down). Shockingly we can afford to lose a TH or a wing!

by funnyExiledScot Thu 09 Nov 2017, 8:10 pm

RDW_Scotland wrote:Moving to London has really made me realise how un-diverse (or is it non-diverse Jimbo?) Scotland is, especially if you had a middle class upbringing in a city like Edinburgh. Thinking back, in my year at School (which was a state school btw) the number of non-white people was in the single figures of a year of 130 or so people. Even at Uni the significant number of people in my year were white, until my Masters year at least when all the Chinese and Indian students joined us! I then went to work in Glasgow and again the vast majority of the office were white.

So it perhaps comes as no surprise that when Mrs RDW and I looked back on our wedding invite list we realised there was only 1 non-white person invited! It makes sense though when for all of our lives leading up to that point we’d been surrounded by very little diversity.

Now that I live in London all of that has changed – I have worked at two companies since I moved down and both have them are massively diverse. Indeed in my current project team of 15 or so there are only 4 Brits! London is certainly at the complete opposite end of the scale to Edinburgh.

It is still amazing though that in 2017 we’ve only capped 2 non-white players in the professional era (I’m sure Alan Massie found in the archives that the first to be capped was back in 1924 or something like that).

Agreed. Having gone the other way it's one of the first things you notice in Edinburgh. Diversity in Edinburgh means you didn't go to one of the private schools, and ethnic minority means you're from Glasgow or Fife. We have clients in California who often ask for our diversity stats, and it's hard to explain that the reason we don't have 50% ethnic minorities is principally because it's hard to pin down 50 people in Edinburgh meeting that criteria.

by funnyExiledScot Thu 09 Nov 2017, 8:13 pm

I like Toonie's team by the way, particularly pleased to see McInally getting a shot. He's a very promising option to develop at international level, particularly with a back row that's short of ball carrying heft. My one concern is Lee Jones. He's done a fine job since moving to Glasgow, but I don't think he's as good as Visser on the wing, or even Dougie Fife for that matter.

Hoping for a decent win here to get us going in this series. It's a hard working mobile pack, with some nice strike runners in the backs. If Russell has a good game we should see this one home.

by **BigGee** Thu 09 Nov 2017, 8:42 pm

Certainly in the back line, Lee Jones does seem like the weakest link, despite the fact that he has been consistently good for Glasgow, you do worry that he will be found short (and that is not a pun) at this level. The Fijians certainly exposed his limitations.

That he is picked suggests a lack of decent alternatives, which is also true.

Visser will score tries, but his all round game leaves a lot to be desired and could be considered a luxury.

Fife, is undergoing something of a renaissance at Edinburgh, but disappointed badly at his last shot in an international shirt and maybe is just not quite good enough at this level either.

McGuigan, would be the form choice, leading scorer in the AP must say something and it is not as if Sale are winning easy. Still he left Scotland under something of a cloud and did not exactly set the heather on fire during his Scotstoun stay. I would probably have gone with him, but easy to see why he has not been picked.

and Maitland seems to be permanently injured these days.

Basically we are just one winger away from having a potent and almost complete back line. No-one seems to want the part though!

by **NeilyBroon** Fri 10 Nov 2017, 8:43 am

BigGee wrote:Certainly in the back line, Lee Jones does seem like the weakest link, despite the fact that he has been consistently good for Glasgow, you do worry that he will be found short (and that is not a pun) at this level. The Fijians certainly exposed his limitations.

That he is picked suggests a lack of decent alternatives, which is also true.

Visser will score tries, but his all round game leaves a lot to be desired and could be considered a luxury.

Fife, is undergoing something of a renaissance at Edinburgh, but disappointed badly at his last shot in an international shirt and maybe is just not quite good enough at this level either.

McGuigan, would be the form choice, leading scorer in the AP must say something and it is not as if Sale are winning easy. Still he left Scotland under something of a cloud and did not exactly set the heather on fire during his Scotstoun stay. I would probably have gone with him, but easy to see why he has not been picked.

and Maitland seems to be permanently injured these days.

Basically we are just one winger away from having a potent and almost complete back line. No-one seems to want the part though!

Watched a couple of youtube clips of Harris playing wing. He could definitely fit the bill.

Also Taylor can do a job at wing, and a fairly decent one at that, though I'd be hesitant to put our second best centre on the wing rather than his best position, although he's shown us in the past at international level he can do a cracking job at fullback.

by EWT Spoons Fri 10 Nov 2017, 8:49 am

I'm hopeful when Graham gets back from injury he can get a run in the Edinburgh side and hopefully make the step up to international level. His biggest hurdle though is that he's tiny.

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