Scotland - The Generic Moaning Thread 2024

[George Carlin]

First topic message reminder :

Scotland v Tonga
Sunday, September 24
Stade de Nice - 4.45pm kick-off.

Scotland v Romania
Saturday, September 30
Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille - 8pm kick-off

Scotland v Paddy Cousins
Saturday, October 7
Stade de France - 8pm kick-off

***

The 20 teams are divided into four groups as follows:

Pool A – New Zealand, France, Italy, Uruguay, Namibia

Pool B – South Africa, Ireland, Scotland, Tonga, Romania

Pool C – Wales, Australia, Fiji, Georgia, Portugal

Pool D – England, Japan, Argentina, Samoa, Chile

The top two teams from each pool advance to the quarter-finals. The teams who finish third secure automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Australia in 2027.

The quarter-final draw is as follows:

QF1 – Pool C winner v Pool D runner-up

QF 2 – Pool B winner v Pool A runner-up

QF 3 – Pool D winner v Pool C runner-up

QF 4 – Pool A winner v Pool B runner-up

That means if Scotland manage to progress from the group stages they would be likely to face New Zealand or France in the quarter-finals if results go as expected.

The semi-final draw is as follows:

Winner of QF 1 v Winner of QF2

Winner of QF 3 v Winner of QF 4

The 2023 Rugby World Cup final takes place on Saturday, October 28, at the Stade de France, kick-off 8pm.

[king_carlos]

Will Hurd injured and we've somehow managed to find another SQ prop in Elliot Millar Mills

F**k, first I'd seen of that. If Cole and Heyes aren't released from the pre Six Nations training camp then Tigers will be properly down to the shags at tighthead for this weekend.

[bsando]

WP Nel back in 2015

"it’ll be nice to get a few international caps"..

[Highland Shaun]

I don't want to knock the guy Elliott Millar-Mills but he's in his 30s, surely there are better youngsters than him worth calling up ?

What position is Callum Hunter-Hill because I'd have liked to have seen him called up so that's likely going to have to wait until the summer?

[Hazel Sapling]

Hunter-Hill is a lock and is out until March

[NeilyBroon]

WP Nel back in 2015

"it’ll be nice to get a few international caps"..

WP Nel in 2035. "It'll be nice to get a few international caps..."

[jimbopip]

I've just watched the first episode of Six Nations Full Contact on Neflix.

Well worth a viewing. Especially if you are Scottish.

[George Carlin]

I've just watched the first episode of Six Nations Full Contact on Neflix.

Well worth a viewing. Especially if you are Scottish.

Seriously? Or a Jim Joke? Are the makers nice to us?

[George Carlin]

Feck it:
https://www.606v2.com/t71374-scotland-6-nations-victim-support-group-thread

[jimbopip]

Morning GC

The first episode focusses mainly on Scotland's first two matches. The Twickers affair is portrayed as a shoot out between Marcus Of The Budgie Smugglers and Saint Finn The Dancer.
Spoiler alert...it's Marcus Smith who misses the tackle on Duhan for the winning try

There is a fair bit on the Toonie-Dancer relationship but it is all fairly positive.

I guarantee you'll have a Loch Lomond earworm after watching it.

Oh, and my personal highlight was Toonie addressing the troops before the Wales match, "I don't give a Frak about them. I don't give a Frak about what they might do."

[NeilyBroon]

Morning GC

The first episode focusses mainly on Scotland's first two matches. The Twickers affair is portrayed as a shoot out between Marcus Of The Budgie Smugglers and Saint Finn The Dancer.
Spoiler alert...it's Marcus Smith who misses the tackle on Duhan for the winning try  

There is a fair bit on the Toonie-Dancer relationship but it is all fairly positive.

I guarantee you'll have a Loch Lomond earworm after watching it.

Oh, and my personal highlight was Toonie addressing the troops before the Wales match, "I don't give a Frak about them. I don't give a Frak about what they might do."

Just watched it myself... mornings watching telly... Staycations are dangerous. Not sure the format works as well for rugby as it does the Playboys in formula 1. Gunther Steiner, Toonie is not.

I have to say Finn came across well, Marcus definitely spoke like a lad with inexperience in bucketloads but how much of that was clever editing we don't know!

Look forward to next season Fin Smith interviewing saying how he's more English than pie and mash, followed by him swapping camps to Scotland after not being selected the following season in the style of drive to survive.

I have a feeling England may grind out a win at murrayfield this year as for once they're the team with nothing to lose and all to play for.

[George Carlin]

Morning GC

The first episode focusses mainly on Scotland's first two matches. The Twickers affair is portrayed as a shoot out between Marcus Of The Budgie Smugglers and Saint Finn The Dancer.
Spoiler alert...it's Marcus Smith who misses the tackle on Duhan for the winning try  

There is a fair bit on the Toonie-Dancer relationship but it is all fairly positive.

I guarantee you'll have a Loch Lomond earworm after watching it.

Oh, and my personal highlight was Toonie addressing the troops before the Wales match, "I don't give a Frak about them. I don't give a Frak about what they might do."

Watching it now. Holy sh!t, Finn looks just like his mum.

[RDW]

It's interesting watching Toonie and his approach. He likes to blow smoke up the players arses telling them they're the best players, much better team, "we're going to win" etc etc.

Of course the coach needs to give confidence to the players and install a winning mindset, but given we have repeatedly failed to live up to that hype at the very highest level it all sounds a bit silly.

[NeilyBroon]

It's interesting watching Toonie and his approach. He likes to blow smoke up the players arses telling them they're the best players, much better team, "we're going to win" etc etc.

Of course the coach needs to give confidence to the players and install a winning mindset, but given we have repeatedly failed to live up to that hype at the very highest level it all sounds a bit silly.

This is where we benefitted with big VC. He was a very straight talker. I think psychologically we were in a much better place. We need an enforcer really and I don't think we have that in the coaching set up. Closest equivalent is maybe Tandy?

[jimbopip]

Not 100% sure I agree

Yes, Toonie does tell them they are brilliant and if they execute everything properly then they will win no matter what the opposition do...but that is his job, to a large extent.
More interesting was the debrief after the England match, when the players were more than a little rocked by, "That performance wasn't good enough..." Some of the players, especially senior players like Hogg looked like a child who was told there would be no Ice cream because he hadn't eaten all of his sprouts. No resting on your laurels today lads.
Similarly in the build up to Wales v England when Gatland put the Welsh team up on the board, sans Biggar, two of the front row exchanged a look which although silent sounded very like, "Well that's us Friar Tucked! No way we're winning this."
Since Gats is one of my least favourite coaches I loved that. Dwayne indeed!!!

[RDW]

The frustrating thing is we are a bloody good team, it's just that the highest level of rugby is a brutal environmental. To be able to consistently win enough games to win the tournament takes a truly special group of players battle handed after years of playing together, not to mention a bit of luck (noting that the WC could have had a very different run in if a few decisions had gone a different way).

One of the things the stood out in the Netflix series was just how seriously the opposition took Scotland, and after the game how relieved they were to win and how knackered they were in doing so. The French changing room in particular - Fickou after they beat us said he was exhausted given how physical it was, and joked he needed a career change.

So we've made great strides to actually compete (certainly compared to the 2000-2015 era) but the reality is this is the best it's potentially going to get....!

Have I inspired everyone for the upcoming tournament here?

[RDW]

Not 100% sure I agree

Yes, Toonie does tell them they are brilliant and if they execute everything properly then they will win no matter what the opposition do...but that is his job, to a large extent.
More interesting was the debrief after the England match, when the players were more than a little rocked by, "That performance wasn't good enough..." Some of the players, especially senior players like Hogg looked like a child who was told there would be no Ice cream because he hadn't eaten all of his sprouts. No resting on your laurels today lads.
Similarly in the build up to Wales v England when Gatland put the Welsh team up on the board, sans Biggar, two of the front row exchanged a look which although silent sounded very like, "Well that's us Friar Tucked! No way we're winning this."
Since Gats is one of my least favourite coaches I loved that. Dwayne indeed!!!

I think both points can be true. It was good that after the England game he was still honest about the relatively poor performance (rightly so) but his approach of massively bigging up their egos in advance of must win games (which we've repeatedly failed to turn up for under his reign).didn't get the desired effect.

I'm not saying I know what approach is better, and it's easy to say with hindsight after the tournament, but I just found it a bit cringe.

[NeilyBroon]

We can conceivably win 4 games this year. So in contention? Absolutely. I think we have a target on our backs though.

Especially England will be looking to upset us at murrayfield. It's been what... 6-7 years since they won? Anything can happen though, I was there 2 years ago when we squeaked past England with a penalty try because of a moment of madness.

Just got to keep our heads, lose against Wales and it'll be a long tournament you feel.

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