posted Nov 16, 2008

Great performance just lacking a little confidence and luck. This is a squad that will give some big teams a serious shock very soon indeed. Very proud today...something I wasn't expecting to say! Ireland were very poor and Wales a little lucky. England flattered to deceive. I am genuinely looking forward to the six nations...something else I wasn't expecting to say!

One wee point though...Jason White is a great servant but he's not fit and Strokosh terrorises half backs week in and week out in the premiership. He would also have been closer to the shoulder of the ball carrier when we needed that final pass to be made too!

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posted Nov 16, 2008

Well played Scotland, you guys played really well. Unfortunate for the kicking but well played. i also think Scottish fans shouldn't get carried away though. The boks were far very far from 100%. I thought they played rubbish allowing Scot to get theupper hand. a comment on this post said it was the world cup cup team barr Percy M. That is wrong here are more plaers who were not there. Butch James, Fourie Du Preez(who was the cog in our WC)Os du Rant and of course the great Jake White(coach). But Scotland were much improved since New Zealand. Well done

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posted Nov 16, 2008

I wouldn't be proud to be scottish, they play the most boring rugby in the world! Thats why they've only scored one try in 14 months at Murrayfield. I'd be embarrassed.....

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posted Nov 17, 2008

Brilliant iam so looking forward to the six nations with a team in this kind of form who can at last challenge everyone. Yes it was dissappointing to lose however it was a different Scotland we saw out at Murryfield it was full of enterprise and the fitness was superb. The Springboks certainly new they were in a game and although they wont admit it they should have lost !!!! Come on Scotland lets show them how good we really are !!!!! Well done boys.!!!

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posted Nov 17, 2008

Kinda puts the welsh match into perspective doesn't it.

The Scots really should have put the game away. They couldn't get any closer to the try line without scoring! I feel for them.

as for the boks, I bet the SA Fans are not content with the way they are playing. The australia win over england could be the worst thing that could have happened for De Villiers.

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posted Nov 17, 2008

I dont know which team or country BaranbyHR supports or hails from but iam guessing its England. Out of all the Home Nations Scotland probably are the ones who are trying to play positive Rugby and are starting to see some success. Just because they have had a lack of trys is more a reflection of there back line and its strength. The Scotland pack can compete with almost every pack in the world however there backs are not as prolific as some of the best teams yet, but i can see that changing soon. We have had the potential to succeed for the last couple of years however the coaching has let us down but i feel that that has changed in recent months and we may see a change in the up coming six nations next year.

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posted Nov 17, 2008

they got beat.....hardly heroes......

Scotlands problem happy to lose

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posted Nov 17, 2008

I think we're in danger of getting carried away - we still look clueless in attack and until we abandon the endless close rucking game - we will remain so - the difference in watching SA use it out wide was glaring (even though they looked poor). And surely, finally, Parks is history - his 5 minute cameo on Saturday encapsulated his test career......

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posted Nov 17, 2008

I was at Murrayfield yesterday & being a Bok fan was sitting rather nervously at halftime !

The Scots played fantastic rugby for 40 minutes, their scrum was way better than the Boks, they fronted up an awful lot more than the Welsh did last week (I was there too) but the one thing the Scots lack is a leader with tatical savvy.

Your No. 9 who I believe is your captain had a brilliant game, but he should have realised you guys had the Bok pack on the back foot & scrummed instead of going for the penalty which I think would have gotten you guys a try & won you the match.

However a rugby match runs for 80 minutes & that was Scotlands problem. You guys came out in the 2nd half & tried to hard to finish the game off & made mistakes, patience also wins rugby matches.

I think that with Paterson & some decent back play the Scots can have a respectable 6N tournament & finish mid table (maybe even higher) they were way better than wooden spoon contenders from what I witnessed on Saturday.

I only have one negative point - there was a distinct lack of support in the stadium & if you cant even fill an average sized stadium like Murrayfield when the World Champions are in town, what is it going to take during the 6N tournament to get "bums on seats" ?

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posted Nov 17, 2008

So near and yet so far....

A little caution is in order here- South Africa have been surprisingly unimpressive in both their games, grinding out wins more through excellent defence than through any attacking brilliance. It was a sprited performance by Scotland but a lot of the familiar issues- an obsession with close range forward drives when near the line (admittedly this did produce a try this time but it's a rare experience), a lack of penetration behind the scrum, too much rather aimless kicking- are still unresolved.

In a funny way it's even made some issues worse, or at least brought them into clear focus. I don't think it's a coincidence that Scotland had one of their best games for years with Chris Patterson off the field. I've said before on 606 that he's Scotland's answer to Neil Jenkins- an instant selection because of his goal kicking but not quite international class in any of the positions he's played, and the balance of the team suffers from having to fit him in somewhere. The backs certainly looked better with Godman at number 10, the defence looked sounder with a proper full back at 15 and you surely have to rate both Lamonts and Tom Evans (and probably Simon Webster too) ahead of Patterson on the wings.

But who then takes the goal kicks? Parks showed that he can't do the business under real pressure (leaving aside all his other shortcomings at number 10!). Godman's miss with three minutes to go suggests he can't either, at least not at the moment. Given that he's clearly the best option at 10, the only way forward I can see would be for him to work non stop on his kicking (place and out of hand) for the next few months. Could the SRU order Edinburgh to give him all the place kicks for the rest of the Magners/Heinekin season? Patterson wasn't a "natural" kicker, after all; he got to be as good as he now is by years of hard work and Godman needs to be prepared to to put in that sort of effort if he really wants to become a regular starter.

The alternative would be to ask all the squad members to take ten shots at goal and turn the two who look most promising over to the attentions of a specialist kicking coach. You never know- Alan Jacobson might turn out to be a deadly goal kicker if he was given the chance!

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