Tournament report card

Well that is another 6N over until next year and imho, it was a mixed tournament but imho I'd say a successful one because we all said the aim would be 3/5 and we delivered that.

Against England we were excellent and probably should have won by a lot more than we did. We also capped Cameron Redpath, he had a great debut so is certainly the biggest capture of the Townsend era, he could become a huge player for us in years to come.

Then in to Wales: That was one that got away from us, first half we were excellent and in control despite not taking the points on offer (which would turn out to be crucial in the end) but a needless red card cost us for the rest of the match as Wales ran in tries to snatch the bonus point win, much to fans annoyance, supposedly we were denied a last minute penalty for a trip on King Duhan.

Then we moved onto our second away match in Dublin which was probably our worst performance of the tournament, yet we still kept fighting and will rue a silly last penalty which was avoidable.

Then onto Italy at home, a match that many still see as a potential banana skin (despite every team getting to over 40pts against them). These fears probably intensified when Bigi put Italy into a shock lead but that was as good as it got for them as they were blown away after that, Scotland running in 8 tries to win 52-10, despite having Hoggy out of position and a relative rookie at 9.

Then onto tonight where we eventually got to play France, a month after the original date. To say it was dramatic would be an understatement lol. France were eyeing up the 4 try bonus point first and foremost and tbh, looked like reaching that target by the hour mark (they only needed one more) but falling short of the required 21pt margin. But with the clock in the red and Dulin stripping the ball, all he had to do was kick it into touch for the win, but for reasons only known to him, he kept it in play, in which Scotland scored the winning try, much to the delight of Hogg on the touchline.

It's remarkable that we ended 2 long hoodoos in the same tournament, both away from home yet lost 2/3 home games yet are delighted with how our 6N panned out.

Negative aspect of the tournament was the discipline which was great in round 1 but then became appalling from there so work definitely needed there.

I don't really want to single out anyone as a player of the tournament so I'll let you guys debate that lol.

But I will say that we have captured a gem in Cameron Redpath and managed to cap 2 players that could be classed as talismen, Van der Merwe and David Cherry.

Now onto the Summer and/or Autumn tests to see who will be our next uncapped players to be picked in a squad, my money is on Josh Bayliss or Ben Vellacott.

Highland Shaun wrote:

Then in to Wales: That was one that got away from us, first half we were excellent and in control despite not taking the points on offer (which would turn out to be crucial in the end) but a needless red card cost us for the rest of the match as Wales ran in tries to snatch the bonus point win, much to fans annoyance, supposedly we were denied a last minute penalty for a trip on King Duhan.

Sorry, that bit never happened.

The Oracle wrote:

Highland Shaun wrote:

Then in to Wales: That was one that got away from us, first half we were excellent and in control despite not taking the points on offer (which would turn out to be crucial in the end) but a needless red card cost us for the rest of the match as Wales ran in tries to snatch the bonus point win, much to fans annoyance, supposedly we were denied a last minute penalty for a trip on King Duhan.

Sorry, that bit never happened.

I'm just saying what was said on this forum after that game. I definitely didn't scream for a penalty at the time because I never noticed the apparent trip.

There was no trip on Duhan - a last minute tap tackle which just put him down

It was the off the ball tackle on Hogg and the potential holding the ref refused to look at that was the discussion

The tap tackle was very good

Worst 6 nations for years. I would be embarrassed to celebrate winning like Wales where we all know the Ref made massive unforgivable mistakes. He should never ref a top flight game again. Missed out on a Slam too. Ouch.

Yes Scotland did well but still finished 4th!

France were arrogant and for me act like a football team.

Ireland were just dull to watch and were just meh!

England got what they deserved by picking players from the Championship and ignoring form players in the Premiership. The Autumn Nations cup was a warning.

Italy need to go, make it the five nations again or invite a different team to take part each year, Japan, Fiji, Georgia maybe even SA?

TightHEAD wrote:Worst 6 nations for years. I would be embarrassed to celebrate winning like Wales where we all know the Ref made massive unforgivable mistakes. He should never ref a top flight game again. Missed out on a Slam too. Ouch.

Yes Scotland did well but still finished 4th!

France were arrogant and for me act like a football team.

Ireland were just dull to watch and were just meh!

England got what they deserved by picking players from the Championship and ignoring form players in the Premiership. The Autumn Nations cup was a warning.

Italy need to go, make it the five nations again or invite a different team to take part each year, Japan, Fiji, Georgia maybe even SA?

This is a decent candidate for most ungracious post of the year!

It's factual.

Sorry I do not fit in the new world order of not offending anyone.

If the Scots are happy with 4th then good luck to them. Well done.

Bitter much? Its not even remotely factual its just your one eyed opinion

 what did you watch these past few weeks

I think the Six Nations was utterly fantastic.  To pull this off despite Covid is still amazing.  I know sport is being played, but here we are pulling off an international tournament with the world painfully trying to pull itself together.  It is likely some or maybe all of the games would have been different with people in the stands, but it was still a great watch.  And a lot of games were pretty tight and not over until really over.  I also think there is not much between any of the original 5 Nations so better games and more stress for teams supporters.

Scotland and France seem to me to really be on the up.  France with what could be the next truly great halfback combination.  Scotland, in my opinion, held back only by their halfback combination.  

Wales got some luck early on, but showed great fundamentals and solid play across the board built on strong leadership, a terrific back row, and young talent.  Ireland showed they can always grind out wins even when not at the top of their game.  Which also goes back to leadership and character.

Italy needs their young talent to simply play and hope they can get back to a competitive level.

And, finally, my England.  My f*cking England.  All I can say is whilst I wanted them to win, I did find a rather perverse enjoyment in watching them all squirm after losses.  The team needs a shake-up and I hope that comes now.

Just need Finaly Christie to give up his All Black dreams and help build the squad heading towards the next world cup

Christie would be a great add for Scotland. Haven't seen any Super Rugby this year due to the confused broadcast/streaming rights issues, but last season he was quite good.

The Six Nations was the best in a while because there were five teams who were evenly matched. It is near impossible to win a Slam without the rub of the green normally and with good France and Scotland sides, the task has got that much harder.

Before the tournament, I had us (Scotland) down for 3 wins as a minimum goal. We have achieved that in strange fashion considering expectations in January.

I would score us a B+.

We should have beaten Wales and took Ireland to the wire whilst playing poorly. We went away and won in England and France. One of the frustrating things with Scotland is we lacked the grit to stay in when the game was getting away from us. We fought four tight games to the end and ended up splitting them.

In terms of players, our front five has become far more cohesive. M Fagerson is slowly turning into an international 8 and Ritchie is becoming an excellent blindside (Watson has been fantastic for years). Johnson has returned to form and with Redpath/Hutchinson snapping at his heels we have a genuine selection headache. Harris and H Jones are two distinct options at 13 who have worked on their weaknesses to become better rounded players.

In terms of negatives, our lineout was a shambles in 2 of the 4 main games and the halfback pairings were generally below the par we expected to see from them (Price - average, Russell - sublime). Price really fell off and that may be due to Toonie demanding 80 minutes from him. Russell was below his usual standards but he controlled games far more effectively. Our back-three has plenty of talent but Graham has failed to grab Maitland's spot on the wing and Maitland is getting on.

https://youtu.be/Kkz_uLrGs9Y

A very good report card video by the YouTuber Rugby Analyst . Well worth a watch, I really like him, I have watched all his videos since Wales game, he's not biased either.