Scotland Autumn Internationals

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Scotland's autumn internationals

Wales v Scotland - Saturday, 3 November (14:45 GMT)

Scotland v Fiji - Saturday, 10 November (14:30 GMT)

Scotland v South Africa - Saturday, 17 November (17:20 GMT)

Scotland v Argentina - Saturday, 24 November (14:30 GMT)

2018 Form

Argentina 14 - 44 Scotland

USA 30 - 29 Scotland

Canada 10 - 48 Scotland

Italy 27 - 29 Scotland

Ireland 28 - 8 Scotland

Scotland 25 - England 13

Scotland 32 - 26 France

Wales 34 - 7 Scotland

Squad

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DpsoE0CXUAA5jID.jpg

Berghan playing over McCallum too so looks like McCallum will be playing against Wales.

RDW_Scotland wrote:Berghan playing over McCallum too so looks like McCallum will be playing against Wales.

Could be right on that one as well. Bergs has not really hit top gear yet, other than that tackle from another planet last weekend. You can see Toonie's attraction to to McCallam as not only is he a decent player, but he covers both sides. Being able to take only 5 props to the WC would free up another spot for someone else. It won't be easy to get the squad down to 31!

BigGee wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:Berghan playing over McCallum too so looks like McCallum will be playing against Wales.

Could be right on that one as well. Bergs has not really hit top gear yet, other than that tackle from another planet last weekend. You can see Toonie's attraction to to McCallam as not only is he a decent player, but he covers both sides. Being able to take only 5 props to the WC would free up another spot for someone else. It won't be easy to get the squad down to 31!

I really hope that boys who don't make the sqaud decide to go on a boys "holiday" to Japan just in case there are any injuries.

tigertattie wrote:

BigGee wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:Berghan playing over McCallum too so looks like McCallum will be playing against Wales.

Could be right on that one as well. Bergs has not really hit top gear yet, other than that tackle from another planet last weekend. You can see Toonie's attraction to to McCallam as not only is he a decent player, but he covers both sides. Being able to take only 5 props to the WC would free up another spot for someone else. It won't be easy to get the squad down to 31!

I really hope that boys who don't make the sqaud decide to go on a boys "holiday" to Japan just in case there are any injuries.

So true - imagine Gordon Reid's Instagram posts: "Awwright, it's wee mental Gordie here, and I'm in Yokohama learning about the ancient honour code of Bushido... #SamuraiFraeAyr #KenWatanabe"

Harley, Fagerson, both Hornes, and Johnson released for Glasgow.

Allan, Turner, Brown, Ickle Jonny, Wilson, Price, Hastings, Dunbar, H. Jones, L. Jones and Seymour not on teamsheet, so presumably Toonie keeping hold of them (slightly less sure on last two, as Glasgow have a lot of options in the back three).

Suprised Fagerson has been released, as expected him to be very much involved vs Wales.

So on the basis that whoever starts this weekend, won't play next week, that leaves us:

Dell
McInally
Nel
Gray
Gilchrist
Ritchie
Watson
Wilson
Price
Hastings
Seymour
Dunbar
Jones H
Jones L
Kinghorn

Subs a bit more open, but probably something like:

Allen
Brown
McCallam (though Bergs could play his way in with a good game this weekend)
Toolis (unlucky not to start)
Fagerson
Horne G
Horne P
Fife

I wonder if McCallum will be given a start - we know what Nel can do at this level and he'll likely be front line tighthead for the big games coming after.

Gee, you are aware that Gatland reads this Forum every morning over his Frosties?

You remind me of the true story of the Scottish regiment on the D-Day beaches; the Colonel decided to rally the troops and boost morale so he called the Pipe Sergeant and requested, "Play something Pipey"

"Sir? Play something?" As the shells exploded and bullets flew.

"Yes, sergeant. Just march up and down there for a bit and play something so people can hear you."


"Oh! Right you are, sir. Any particular tune you had in mind, like?"

"The Black Bear. The men like that one."

After three our four minutes of marching back and forth across a strip of French sand the Pipe Sergeant felt a none too gentle hand on his shoulder. Turning round he gazed into the eyes of the Rgimental Sergeant Major,


"What are you doing you daft barsteward? Now every German in France will know we're here!"


Some things are best kept quiet.

Gatland may not even be in charge for this one, he had to fly back to NZ a few days ago as his father suddenly passed away.

Very unfortunate circumstances and you might think he would just let Howley take the reins for this one before easing himself back in for the following games. Much as he will want to be there and in control, you just can't rush back from these things to quickly and I would be very surprised if there was any pressure on him to do so.

John Hardie has signed for Newcastle - great to see him with a club. He could make his debut against Edinburgh!

Yes very good news Re Hardie! It was obvious he’s been chomping at the bit to get back into it and he’s got plenty of motivation now. Hope he does well at Falcons. Certainly makes Edinburgh and Falcons Heineken Champions Cup fixtures a little more spicey!

Is Russell going to be available next weekend?  He didn't play for racing today

TJ wrote:Is Russell going to be available next weekend?  He didn't play for racing today

No, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Let Hastings have this start and maybe one of the Fiji or Argentina games. He has played well enough to deserve it and certainly needs the experience.

They probably left him out as he has been training with the Scotland squad all week and he had played the two hard euro games prior to this weekend.

Sam Johnson with a bad looking knee injury today

Shame about Johnson, was looking forward to see how he'd get on. Looked good in the short time he's been back.

James Lang has been called up to replace Sam Johnson, and Darcy Graham has been elevated to a full squad member. Wonder if he'll make his debut this weekend!

Matt Scott currently confused, so looks like Dunbar at 12 this weekend.

Denton being sent back to Tigers with a head injury as well, joining Bradbury and Crosbie out of the squad.

Graham may well debut off the bench this week. Doggie Fife did not look like an international player on Friday!

Confused?

RDW_Scotland wrote:Confused?

If I was Matt Scott 10/12/13/15, I'd be pretty confused too.

BigGee wrote:

Graham may well debut off the bench this week. Doggie Fife did not look like an international player on Friday!

Fixed that for you. Can't understand what went through his head to let the ball bounce

EWT Spoons wrote:

BigGee wrote:

Graham may well debut off the bench this week. Doggie Fife did not look like an international player on Friday!

Fixed that for you.  Can't understand what went through his head to let the ball bounce

Guaranteed he's never going to do it again though given the public shaming Cockers gave him!

RDW_Scotland wrote:

EWT Spoons wrote:

BigGee wrote:

Graham may well debut off the bench this week. Doggie Fife did not look like an international player on Friday!

Fixed that for you.  Can't understand what went through his head to let the ball bounce

Guaranteed he's never going to do it again though given the public shaming Cockers gave him!

Players are so well drilled with tactics and defensive and attacking models that I certainly notice at times they behave a bit robotic and forget that it's still a game and the ball is oddly shaped and opposition players are unpredictable. It seemed like one of those moments, where you'd expect the ball to carry on out of play and Fife was already thinking about the lineout. Wilson's excellent counter ruck vs England in the 6N was a good example of thinking outside of the box and taking the game to the opposition rather than going through the motions. A turnover from nowhere and suddenly all the momentum was with Scotland that day, likewise with Zebre after that try.

tigertattie wrote:

BigGee wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:Berghan playing over McCallum too so looks like McCallum will be playing against Wales.

Could be right on that one as well. Bergs has not really hit top gear yet, other than that tackle from another planet last weekend. You can see Toonie's attraction to to McCallam as not only is he a decent player, but he covers both sides. Being able to take only 5 props to the WC would free up another spot for someone else. It won't be easy to get the squad down to 31!

I really hope that boys who don't make the sqaud decide to go on a boys "holiday" to Japan just in case there are any injuries.

I have always wondered where the rules stand with that. What would be there to stop Scotland bringing 15 players along to cover injuries and basically take part in the squad? There's unlimited call ups so are there rules regarding training participation?

on the full squad - could we take 5 half backs with Laidlaw for either 9 or 10 therefore freeing up another spot?

TJ wrote:on the full squad - could we take 5 half backs with Laidlaw for either 9 or 10 therefore freeing up another spot?

That is entirely possible. Some players will get into the squad ahead of others because they have the added value of being versatile. Laidlaw, Lang, Horne P, McCallam, Swinson, Carmichael, Thompson all come into this category. We also know that most of the hookers can play in the back row.

Toonie as a coach is probably more inclined to this kind of approach than others might be.

Blade Thomson has just been stretchered off - doesn't look good. Hope he's ok.

Taken a good 7 or 8 minutes to get home off - hopefully just precautionary but doesn't look good .Head/kneck injury I think.

Just for a change I think I'll focus on rugby matters.

If any of you ne'erdowells have time to kill feel free to compile a video of the tries England scored at Twickenham last time and the AB's tries in the most recent Murrayfield fixture along with the two from yesterday.

Both Welsh tries yesterday came from pre-planned moves where they "held" Alex Dunbar by putting decoy runners in his channel and then flooded the 13 channel and left Huw Jones looking so bewildered and flat-footed we may be calling him Plod from now on.

Certainly the second try yesterday was almost an exact copy of the three, or was it four?, that England ran in off first phase possession last time we visited Twickers. Their first try yesterday bore more than a passing resemblance to Damien McKenzie's decisive try at Murrayfield.

Have opposition coaches spotted a flaw in his game? Can Toonie, or his coaching team, work out a defensive system which will allow us to keep him at 13? Certainly against some sides he is not a luxury: the balance sheet will always be in credit against "weaker" sides as he'll score more than he'll concede. But against really mean defences, in matches were he may not get a sniff of a chance he will still be asked to defend. In these matches he could very well provide a point of difference in coach speak. I know you can argue that there was a huge gap between Jones and his winger and that the full back was nowhere to be seen when JD2 scored so Jones had at least three red jerseys to be looking at. But that's the problem, for me at least, he seems to be looking at the jerseys in front of him instead of putting a tackle in.
If Taylor and Johnston were fit then I think there is a very good argument for putting Dunbar at 13 and either of the other two at 12. For the Fiji game I might be tempted by Scott-Dunbar, if both are fit. Then again, the Tombola may very well give us Hastings-Russell- Dunbar.

Well folks if we were ever in any doubt about the roller coaster of emotions that we would go through these AIs then this weekend will certainly have served as a stark reminder. Things won't be any easier this weekend where we face the team who are just built to be bloody good at rugby.

I have serious worries about how we're going to cope physically now - that is where we really struggled against Wales and we have lost our 3 most physical back rowers in Bradbury, Thomson and Denton. Usually you can make up for this by picking a beefier front 5 but we are lightweight in that departments too - Dell and Allan are small looseheads by international standard and Berghan seems to have lost his mojo since shedding 10kg in pre-season. Sam Skinner will add a hard edge at lock but he is yet to be capped.

In the backs we simply must keep Dunbar at 12 especially if Scott still isn't fit. If Horne is picked I'm just not going to watch! We are going to have a physical onslaught against us and we need our big physical players to cope with it. Likewise as much as Grigg has been playing well for Glasgow he has been found wanting in defence at international level when he's played for Scotland - I would fear the worst if he was lining up against Fiji.

I'm not in full Private Fraser mode yet but I think this game is going to be a highly stressful one to watch!

If Scott is fit, would it be worth getting the old band back together with Dunbar at 13 and Scott at 12, to try and add some defensive/physicality to the centre of park?

I like Jones (Huw) but arguably he was at fault for a couple of Wales' tries. I guess it probably comes down to how Toonie sees this game going. If he thinks we'll dominate, then having Russell and Huw linking up again and causing havoc could be great as we'll be forcing Fiji to think about their defence rather than attack. However, the prospect of Mata running at him does concern me slightly.

Really hope Horne isn't brought in as he'll get destroyed.

See that in the post-match press conference Toonie said Huw Jones held his hand up and apologised to the team for BOTH tries.

Toonie went on to say, and I paraphrase, "IF he gets the chance again he will make those tackles."


Interestingly ambiguous. Does he mean if he ever plays again? Or, if he's in a similar situation he will act more decisively?


Personally, I think Jones gets caught back on his heels looking at the runners and trying to decide who to take. Whether it's his fault or the defensive systems adopted somethings gotta change PDQ.

To be fair to Jones, he's generally fine in head on tackles but he struggles when he's defending in space and having to make decisions.

He has my sympathies as 13 is the hardest position on the pitch to defend, as you're so reliant on your inside defence helping you out and you have to make split second decisions all the time.