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bingo70
29-01-2008, 11:54 PM
who do you reckons going to win the 6 nations? IMO france are going to win it but imagine theyll be pish value for money at the bookies :agree:

also how do people think scotland will do? before answering that you might be interested to know that rumour has it chris paterson isnt starting on sunday, on the bench which indicates tactical reasons :hmmm:

hibsboy90
30-01-2008, 09:09 AM
who do you reckons going to win the 6 nations? IMO france are going to win it but imagine theyll be pish value for money at the bookies :agree:

also how do people think scotland will do? before answering that you might be interested to know that rumour has it chris paterson isnt starting on sunday, on the bench which indicates tactical reasons :hmmm:

I don't think that France will be as good this year as everyone expects, the coach has picked a few players who normally wouldn't be near consideration for the squad. He's done this to make his mark on the team, to make a statement; so i really don't know what sort of France will turn up on Sunday.

As for Scotland, If mossy has been left out it is a huge shame, he has the potential to be a great scotland no 10, yes parks is a good professional player, but not international class. And Godman isn't ready. The thing is, we have a few good wing options at the moment, and leaving a strong contender like Nikki Walker out so that CP can kick goals wouldn't be a good use of players. So it's best for scotland to have mossy at stand off, or nowhere at all (this is from me, a guy who watched him develop at Gala)

England will always be strong, even with new faces in the team, these new guys are good. Players like Cipriani are looking very good at a youngf age. The academy system down south is so strong that even an inexperienced England team will have quality. France or England to win IMO, though the game between these two is in Paris, and if the french start early then it could be a convincing win.

Wales, the coach has named 13 Ospreys players in the team for Saturday's game, a big gamble, but Neath are a strong side. And this knowledge of each others games could easily translate into success on the international front.

Ireland, lots of contentious decisions about their lineup, with the majority of the country thinking that Eddie O'Sullivan has no clue. Triple crown at best for these guys.

Italy, don't know much about their club game, apart from that where the game is popular, it is Really popular. most of the team play ion france or England however, and so all their matches will be contested by the forwards. Don't bet against them beating the scots in Rome though, it has happened before :wink:

I'll be at the France (don't worry i'll be at ER first), england and Italy (first time in Rome for me, can't wait) games this year.

euan moran
30-01-2008, 03:22 PM
I think we'll struggle badly this year along with Wales. I wouldn't be too surprised to see Italy in 4th spot.

I think France will just about have too much class for England, but it could go either way IMO.

Monts
30-01-2008, 04:00 PM
I think Ireland will win it and we will do better than expected.

I see it finishing:

Ireland
England
Scotland
France
Wales
Italy

West Upper
30-01-2008, 04:27 PM
This is what i think will happen

Ireland
France
Scotland
England
Wales
Italy

hibsboy90
30-01-2008, 06:06 PM
who do you reckons going to win the 6 nations? IMO france are going to win it but imagine theyll be pish value for money at the bookies :agree:

also how do people think scotland will do? before answering that you might be interested to know that rumour has it chris paterson isnt starting on sunday, on the bench which indicates tactical reasons :hmmm:

Who was your source :wink:

Golden Bear
30-01-2008, 06:29 PM
who do you reckons going to win the 6 nations? IMO france are going to win it but imagine theyll be pish value for money at the bookies :agree:

also how do people think scotland will do? before answering that you might be interested to know that rumour has it chris paterson isnt starting on sunday, on the bench which indicates tactical reasons :hmmm:


The rumour has proved to be correct then!

IMO it indicates that the selectors are a bunch of numpties - Paterson is by far and away the best and most natural rugby player that we have.

Apart from anything else, who could possibly match his goalkicking abilities?

Unbeleeeeeeeeeevable!!

:brickwall

Hibby D
02-02-2008, 06:20 PM
Go Wales - great result :thumbsup:

ooops I don't like Rugby :hide:

hibiedude
02-02-2008, 06:22 PM
Well done Wales on a 26-19 win over England :thumbsup:

Raymond
02-02-2008, 06:24 PM
Go Wales - great result :thumbsup:

ooops I don't like Rugby :hide:



:woohoo:




oooops me neither:doh: :greengrin

fife hfc
02-02-2008, 06:32 PM
I like rugby and I loved it:thumbsup:

As for Scotland Nikki Walker is a big huddie and how Ally Hogg isnae playing i'll never know. But c'moan Scotland.

cleanyman
02-02-2008, 06:50 PM
Lets all laugh at England hahahaha! :hahaha::hahaha:

Ants
02-02-2008, 06:51 PM
Austin Healy GIRUY.
Did anyone see this smug English git on soccerAM?

Sir David Gray
02-02-2008, 10:23 PM
I hate rugby but that result brought a smile to my face!

Mon the Welsh! :thumbsup:

Now all we need tomorrow are 2 home wins in the Scottish Capital and it'll have been an absolutely fantastic weekend for me personally! :thumbsup:

skyehibee
03-02-2008, 03:27 PM
3-17 to France just now... Pretty poor stuff so far.

cabbageandribs1875
03-02-2008, 03:49 PM
french first try was a forward pass :brickwall 2nd one was the keystone cops failing to clear(parks and lamont) thank gawd the french missed two fairly easy penalties in front of the posts :agree:

cabbageandribs1875
03-02-2008, 04:06 PM
parks :brickwall deary me:bitchy: cant even find touch with a penalty

hibee_girl
03-02-2008, 04:22 PM
Another french try :brickwall

cabbageandribs1875
03-02-2008, 04:43 PM
we looked good for 5 mins :agree: the next 75 mins were rather embarrassing tho :bye::brickwall

Hibs FC No 1
07-02-2008, 04:44 PM
I had a good time at Croke Park watching the Irish just beat Italy last weekend (me managing to get enjoyment out of a tough weekend which saw me get my wallet stolen in broad daylight in Dublin) Superb result for the Welsh as well. All being well they should beat the Scots on Saturday, while Ireland will get smashed by France barring a freak change in form.

--------
08-02-2008, 09:45 PM
I had a good time at Croke Park watching the Irish just beat Italy last weekend (me managing to get enjoyment out of a tough weekend which saw me get my wallet stolen in broad daylight in Dublin) Superb result for the Welsh as well. All being well they should beat the Scots on Saturday, while Ireland will get smashed by France barring a freak change in form.


If the Scots manage to hold Wales to a 12 point margin on Saturday I'll be surprised.

If the SRU are going to play Aussies and Kiwis in the alleged 'Scotland' team, can they at least try to find some second-raters? The ones they've got right now are truly the scrapings off the bottom of the barrel. They were a national embarrassment against the French.

Malthibby
09-02-2008, 04:03 PM
No need for surprise then , Mr. Doddie. 3 - 0 in tries & relying on penalties to keep us in the game. Grim indeed.
Anyone know what Hadden's Scotland record looks like? I can't believe it makes good viewing. I predict we will defeat england & lose to everyone else.
Daft game.

cabbageandribs1875
09-02-2008, 04:25 PM
No need for surprise then , Mr. Doddie. 3 - 0 in tries & relying on penalties to keep us in the game. Grim indeed.
Anyone know what Hadden's Scotland record looks like? I can't believe it makes good viewing. I predict we will defeat england & lose to everyone else.
Daft game....


won 14 lost 16 (with a few of the victories coming against under 12's teams):bitchy: pains me to say that watching scotlands comical handling errors are now common place + totally embarrassing, daft hoofs up the park just giving away posession constantly, total lack of imagination in any attacking play(assuming we even get out our own half in the first place) relying on paterson too kick points from the scraps we get and making the the results look closer :bitchy:

--------
09-02-2008, 05:25 PM
No need for surprise then , Mr. Doddie. 3 - 0 in tries & relying on penalties to keep us in the game. Grim indeed.
Anyone know what Hadden's Scotland record looks like? I can't believe it makes good viewing. I predict we will defeat england & lose to everyone else.
Daft game.


I don't LIKE rugby, but I used to watch the 5-nations (as it was then) for the sake of the national team.

That was in the days when the players were either Scots or Anglo-Scots, cared about the jersey, and every now and again pulled off some decent results.

Since then the SRU has done everything it can to destroy the popular club roots of the game. Rule changes have made it less of a spectacle, IMO - some of the games in last year's World Cup (at least the bits I saw before turning over to something more interesting, like Monty Don dgging out his herbaceous borders) seemed to be nothing more than 30 overstuffed thugs running into one another and then stamping on the guy at the bottom of the resulting heap.

The Anglo-Scottish-Antipodean-Rejects XV are, as I say, an embarrassment to Scotland. Wooden Spoon, anyone? :cool2:

And if we're going to play Australians in the team, why does one of them have to be Dan Parks?

Danderhall Hibs
09-02-2008, 08:53 PM
I don't LIKE rugby, but I used to watch the 5-nations (as it was then) for the sake of the national team.

That was in the days when the players were either Scots or Anglo-Scots, cared about the jersey, and every now and again pulled off some decent results.

Since then the SRU has done everything it can to destroy the popular club roots of the game. Rule changes have made it less of a spectacle, IMO - some of the games in last year's World Cup (at least the bits I saw before turning over to something more interesting, like Monty Don dgging out his herbaceous borders) seemed to be nothing more than 30 overstuffed thugs running into one another and then stamping on the guy at the bottom of the resulting heap.

The Anglo-Scottish-Antipodean-Rejects XV are, as I say, an embarrassment to Scotland. Wooden Spoon, anyone? :cool2:

And if we're going to play Australians in the team, why does one of them have to be Dan Parks?

Yes we've been pish but to say we're non-Scottish is also pish.

How many out of the squad today are you counting as "non-Scottish"?

--------
09-02-2008, 09:53 PM
Yes we've been pish but to say we're non-Scottish is also pish.

How many out of the squad today are you counting as "non-Scottish"?


How many of them never get near a microphone because of their Anglo/Aussie/Kiwi accents?

It's a waste of time, mate. :cool2:

Danderhall Hibs
09-02-2008, 10:04 PM
How many of them never get near a microphone because of their Anglo/Aussie/Kiwi accents?

It's a waste of time, mate. :cool2:

I reckon there were 3 - Parks, Hines and Hamilton. Although I'm not 100% sure on Hamilton but I do think he is English born.

In the case of Hines - he showed as much passion if not more than any of the "real" Scots out there. IIRC he wasn't shipped over here to play rugby either. I think he came over for a while (as Aussies do) joined Gala Rugby Club and it went from there.

bingo70
09-02-2008, 10:05 PM
How many of them never get near a microphone because of their Anglo/Aussie/Kiwi accents?

It's a waste of time, mate. :cool2:

scotland team today:-

Southwell, Walker, De Luca, Henderson, Paterson, Parks, Blair, Jacobsen, Ford, Murray, Hines, Hamilton, White, Brown, Barclay.

could be wrong but think im right in saying only 2 of them are from australia or new zealand.

hibsboy90
10-02-2008, 12:30 AM
How many of them never get near a microphone because of their Anglo/Aussie/Kiwi accents?

It's a waste of time, mate. :cool2:

Emm, there are 2 non-scots in the team today. And there were a lot of interviews with Hines this week, in the lead up to his 50th cap.

And it is wrong to compare someone like Hines, a guy who came over to play amateur rugby and ended up reaching the national team, to someone like Brendan "chainsaw" Laney who got capped 2 days after jetting into the country.


I reckon there were 3 - Parks, Hines and Hamilton. Although I'm not 100% sure on Hamilton but I do think he is English born.

In the case of Hines - he showed as much passion if not more than any of the "real" Scots out there. IIRC he wasn't shipped over here to play rugby either. I think he came over for a while (as Aussies do) joined Gala Rugby Club and it went from there.

Yes Hines came over from Wagga Wagga in Oz to play for gala (I go to their games when hibs dont play at ER, he was a great player for us.)


scotland team today:-

Southwell, Walker, De Luca, Henderson, Paterson, Parks, Blair, Jacobsen, Ford, Murray, Hines, Hamilton, White, Brown, Barclay.

could be wrong but think im right in saying only 2 of them are from australia or new zealand.

Hamilton was born in England, son of a guy in the Army - kind of like Steven Fletcher, we call him scottish.

Danderhall Hibs
10-02-2008, 10:01 AM
Emm, there are 2 non-scots in the team today. And there were a lot of interviews with Hines this week, in the lead up to his 50th cap.

And it is wrong to compare someone like Hines, a guy who came over to play amateur rugby and ended up reaching the national team, to someone like Brendan "chainsaw" Laney who got capped 2 days after jetting into the country.



Yes Hines came over from Wagga Wagga in Oz to play for gala (I go to their games when hibs dont play at ER, he was a great player for us.)



Hamilton was born in England, son of a guy in the Army - kind of like Steven Fletcher, we call him scottish.

Spot on with all that mate. I'm sure I played against Hines when he was at Gala in the late 90s. We scored first then got hammered (Paterson ripped us to shreds - when he was a stand off)

:hahaha: "Chainsaw" Laney

Hibs FC No 1
10-02-2008, 11:06 AM
Very happy I must say with Wales display yesterday, tho it must be said the Scots are piss poor and it's difficult to see where they'll score tries from. I've been a particular admirer of James Hook for a while and it's easy to see why, he'll go a long way in international rugby I'm sure. The Irish also showed encouraging signs in defeat to France that things'll get better for them. Today I don't really see England having too many problems in Rome, Italy'll make a fist of it, but England'll be far too strong.

Hibbie_Cameron
10-02-2008, 05:58 PM
I find the Scotland rugby team cringeworthy to watch. I went to the Italy game last year when they scored 3 tries in the first 4 minutes, never seen anything like it:brickwall

Watched most of the French game and some of yesterday and Scotlands handling and passing are piss poor and never really look like scoring a try.

Correct me if im wrong but the only teams Scotland score tries against are against the likes of Romania or other such minnows, who are only in the World Cup to boost the numbers.

Would not be shocked if Scotland finish last:brickwall

Hank Schrader
10-02-2008, 08:25 PM
I find the Scotland rugby team cringeworthy to watch. I went to the Italy game last year when they scored 3 tries in the first 4 minutes, never seen anything like it:brickwall

Watched most of the French game and some of yesterday and Scotlands handling and passing are piss poor and never really look like scoring a try.

Correct me if im wrong but the only teams Scotland score tries against are against the likes of Romania or other such minnows, who are only in the World Cup to boost the numbers.

Would not be shocked if Scotland finish last:brickwall

Neither would I. We have still to play England at home and Ireland and Italy away. Our only real chance of points is England at home and that is going to be very touch. Ireland will more than likely beat us at Croke Park and Italy seem to be a much improved nation year upon year, if last years Murrayfield hiding is anything to go buy then the Italians should be favourites on their home turf. England are way off form so that is our more realistic chance of points this year.

The Wooden Spoon is definitely on the cards this season. Can see Hadden getting his jotters if so.

Ants
10-02-2008, 09:07 PM
The main problem with the rugby is that there is still the obvious money talks scenario.
Good local lads are being omitted due to the cult class in preferrence to private school well to be lads.

Hibbie_Cameron
10-02-2008, 10:49 PM
Neither would I. We have still to play England at home and Ireland and Italy away. Our only real chance of points is England at home and that is going to be very touch. Ireland will more than likely beat us at Croke Park and Italy seem to be a much improved nation year upon year, if last years Murrayfield hiding is anything to go buy then the Italians should be favourites on their home turf. England are way off form so that is our more realistic chance of points this year.

The Wooden Spoon is definitely on the cards this season. Can see Hadden getting his jotters if so.

It still beggers belief how Hadden was so sought after, after the World Cup. Ok he got to the stage that we expected but the rugby was dross and it basically came down to winning one game in the group, as the All Blacks are superior and the others outwith Italy were pub team standard.

As i said Hadden took as to where we expected but the rugby on show is tripe and the aim for every manager should be to better yourself. If scotland only look like scoring a try against non minnow nations and not our rivals, then i dont see how they can improve.

Dont get me wrong im not a huge rugby fan, but i despair at seeing Scotland underperform at anything and the fact they cant handle or pass well is a woeful trait.

England may be pish but id still tip them to win.

Bring Back Gavin Hastings

hibsboy90
10-02-2008, 11:27 PM
The main problem with the rugby is that there is still the obvious money talks scenario.
Good local lads are being omitted due to the cult class in preferrence to private school well to be lads.

Back up this bold statement?

Yes, rugby is more commonly found in private schools - in certain areas of the country. Are there many private schools in the borders? No! Are there many rugby players in the Borders? YES! That is an area of the country that is often viewed as the traditional rugby heartland, yet economically it doesn't exactly shine.

You also make out that players are picked based upon what school they come from....... have you had a loom at the national U16, U17 squads etc, there seem to be more players from state schools than private schools. So your argument that players are picked on their school means litle in that context.

Look at scottish prem 1, of the 12 teams, 4 are based upon private schools. BUT, these teams have only got better since they have been opened up to non FPs.

You don't hear people at the private schools complaining at a lack of opportunity to play for scotland at football?

Maybe i'm judging you wrong, but you seem to have just come out with a "Bah, rugby is only for the rich, no-one else gets a fair crack at it" which is a silly mentality that doesn't ring true these days.

Danderhall Hibs
11-02-2008, 09:31 PM
Back up this bold statement?

Yes, rugby is more commonly found in private schools - in certain areas of the country. Are there many private schools in the borders? No! Are there many rugby players in the Borders? YES! That is an area of the country that is often viewed as the traditional rugby heartland, yet economically it doesn't exactly shine.

You also make out that players are picked based upon what school they come from....... have you had a loom at the national U16, U17 squads etc, there seem to be more players from state schools than private schools. So your argument that players are picked on their school means litle in that context.

Look at scottish prem 1, of the 12 teams, 4 are based upon private schools. BUT, these teams have only got better since they have been opened up to non FPs.

You don't hear people at the private schools complaining at a lack of opportunity to play for scotland at football?

Maybe i'm judging you wrong, but you seem to have just come out with a "Bah, rugby is only for the rich, no-one else gets a fair crack at it" which is a silly mentality that doesn't ring true these days.

That's good to hear mate because I know in my day of representative rugby it was dominated by the Old School tie. In the Lothian Schools side I was in there were only 3 of us from State Schools out of the squad of 22 with only 1 from the starting 15 (Allan Jacobsen and I were sat on the bench for the whole season and that was in the days of replacements only - no subs for the sake of subs were allowed).

I know I might be a bit biased but there were guys in that squad purely because they had Stewart's Melville/Heriots/Watsons after their name. The majority went on do little in the game - there were exceptions like Gordon Ross, Marcus Di Rollo but the rest barely played 1st XV senior rugby.

bingo70
11-02-2008, 09:49 PM
That's good to hear mate because I know in my day of representative rugby it was dominated by the Old School tie. In the Lothian Schools side I was in there were only 3 of us from State Schools out of the squad of 22 with only 1 from the starting 15 (Allan Jacobsen and I were sat on the bench for the whole season and that was in the days of replacements only - no subs for the sake of subs were allowed).

I know I might be a bit biased but there were guys in that squad purely because they had Stewart's Melville/Heriots/Watsons after their name. The majority went on do little in the game - there were exceptions like Gordon Ross, Marcus Di Rollo but the rest barely played 1st XV senior rugby.

:agree:

by the sounds of it my brother might have played in the same lothian schools side as you, possibly the age group below though, anyway he used to talk of having a similiar experience to that of yours.

hopefully scotlands pish performance in recent years might get to the root of the real problem which definately isnt the coach, scottish rugby's been a mess for years, however no chance of it changing as the most influential people in the game are in the commitees that need replacing, turkeys voting for christmas springs to mind

hibsboy90
11-02-2008, 10:50 PM
That's good to hear mate because I know in my day of representative rugby it was dominated by the Old School tie. In the Lothian Schools side I was in there were only 3 of us from State Schools out of the squad of 22 with only 1 from the starting 15 (Allan Jacobsen and I were sat on the bench for the whole season and that was in the days of replacements only - no subs for the sake of subs were allowed).

I know I might be a bit biased So am I:wink: (see below) but there were guys in that squad purely because they had Stewart's Melville/Heriots/Watsons after their name. The majority went on do little in the game - there were exceptions like Gordon Ross, Marcus Di Rollo but the rest barely played 1st XV senior rugby.

I actually attend one of the schools you mention:wink:

But i agree with what you have said, and it was definately a bad selection policy at the time. However what Ants said was completely unfounded these days.

You would be better qualified to tell me, but when you were in the Lothian Schools side, how many schools in and around edinburgh were playing rugby (state schools)?

I watched Scotland v Wales U20 on friday night (there were a few ex Private school players mind, though if they are in the newcastle academy or playing in the Harlequins academy then they are probably good talents, no matter the school). And one of the prime differences was that the majority of the welsh team were getting game time in the Celtic league, in comparison with Scotland where most of the boys were just playing amateur rugby every week.

That is why having the Borders still around would've been good, they could have acted as a development side, the likes of Cusiter, kelly Brown, De Luca (i know his international experiences haven't been great so far) etc wouldn't have got a pro contract elsewhere. So having a pro team giving these guys a stage has allowed them to hit the scotland scene.

It would also give me a chance to go watch them every week, as i cba with empty murrayfield.

Good to have a rugby thread on here without the normal pish being spouted (except from above :wink::greengrin)

Danderhall Hibs
12-02-2008, 08:25 AM
I actually attend one of the schools you mention:wink:

But i agree with what you have said, and it was definately a bad selection policy at the time. However what Ants said was completely unfounded these days.

You would be better qualified to tell me, but when you were in the Lothian Schools side, how many schools in and around edinburgh were playing rugby (state schools)?

I watched Scotland v Wales U20 on friday night (there were a few ex Private school players mind, though if they are in the newcastle academy or playing in the Harlequins academy then they are probably good talents, no matter the school). And one of the prime differences was that the majority of the welsh team were getting game time in the Celtic league, in comparison with Scotland where most of the boys were just playing amateur rugby every week.

That is why having the Borders still around would've been good, they could have acted as a development side, the likes of Cusiter, kelly Brown, De Luca (i know his international experiences haven't been great so far) etc wouldn't have got a pro contract elsewhere. So having a pro team giving these guys a stage has allowed them to hit the scotland scene.

It would also give me a chance to go watch them every week, as i cba with empty murrayfield.

Good to have a rugby thread on here without the normal pish being spouted (except from above :wink::greengrin)

I don't know exactly how many there were but my school team mainly played against other State Schools (probably due to the gulf between the Private and State teams) - maybe 10-15* in Edinburgh and Lothians? The thing is though just because you play in a team that's not that great doesn't mean there aren't good individuals in that team. It's similar to the football in that no matter how good a player for Hibs is he will always struggle to get into the Scotland squad/team until he joins Rangers/Celtic. He's no better a player when he plays for them it's just that he's more in the selectors eye.

My mum's still got the team sheets in her house somewhere - I'll need to have a look again but I reckon there were about 5/22 of my Lothian Schools team that went on to play rugby at a reasonable level, i.e. Prem 1 or 2. And 3 out of that 5 were the State Schools guys! Given those stats I just think that if the State School kids were given more encouragement then they'd stick at rugby for longer. Maybe the Private boys get bored with rugby quicker because they play it every day at school?

And I agree it's good to read a rugby thread on here that's got (at the moment) some sensible chat in it.

* off the top of my head: PL, Trinity, Musselburgh, Lasswade, Porty, Craigmount, Leith, North Berwick, Dunbar, Ross High, Currie, Haddington

legends of 73
12-02-2008, 11:45 AM
I don't know exactly how many there were but my school team mainly played against other State Schools (probably due to the gulf between the Private and State teams) - maybe 10-15* in Edinburgh and Lothians? The thing is though just because you play in a team that's not that great doesn't mean there aren't good individuals in that team. It's similar to the football in that no matter how good a player for Hibs is he will always struggle to get into the Scotland squad/team until he joins Rangers/Celtic. He's no better a player when he plays for them it's just that he's more in the selectors eye.

My mum's still got the team sheets in her house somewhere - I'll need to have a look again but I reckon there were about 5/22 of my Lothian Schools team that went on to play rugby at a reasonable level, i.e. Prem 1 or 2. And 3 out of that 5 were the State Schools guys! Given those stats I just think that if the State School kids were given more encouragement then they'd stick at rugby for longer. Maybe the Private boys get bored with rugby quicker because they play it every day at school?

And I agree it's good to read a rugby thread on here that's got (at the moment) some sensible chat in it.

* off the top of my head: PL, Trinity, Musselburgh, Lasswade, Porty, Craigmount, Leith, North Berwick, Dunbar, Ross High, Currie, Haddington


at last something you know about cos you know **** all about football:duck::duck::duck::wink::tin hat::tin hat:

Danderhall Hibs
12-02-2008, 11:56 AM
at last something you know about cos you know **** all about football:duck::duck::duck::wink::tin hat::tin hat:

Just spotted your age and suddenly feel a lot better about turning 30! :greengrin

Especially considering it's only a couple of weeks until your next birthday. :wink:

legends of 73
20-02-2008, 02:53 PM
Just spotted your age and suddenly feel a lot better about turning 30! :greengrin

Especially considering it's only a couple of weeks until your next birthday. :wink:


and don't forget it:wink:

Hamish
20-02-2008, 07:37 PM
That's good to hear mate because I know in my day of representative rugby it was dominated by the Old School tie. In the Lothian Schools side I was in there were only 3 of us from State Schools out of the squad of 22 with only 1 from the starting 15 (Allan Jacobsen and I were sat on the bench for the whole season and that was in the days of replacements only - no subs for the sake of subs were allowed).

I know I might be a bit biased but there were guys in that squad purely because they had Stewart's Melville/Heriots/Watsons after their name. The majority went on do little in the game - there were exceptions like Gordon Ross, Marcus Di Rollo but the rest barely played 1st XV senior rugby.

How Dan Parks even gets in the squad is beyond me. Gordon Ross is a far superior S/O. He is also an excellent cricketer.
When I played for Boroughmuir many centuries ago, the Edinburgh Schools team consisted solely of Heriots Watson Stew Mel Merchiston lads.
That's how I never got a mention.
Well that's how I remember it.:greengrin

fife hfc
20-02-2008, 10:04 PM
parks has been nowhere near the best stand off in Scotland this season. I go to edinburgh games and Godman deserves a chance to make up for his **** ups against Italy last year.

Hadden has shown his desperation now with the selection of paterson at stand off. As most ex players have screamed over the last few years for Chris to be played at 10, hadden has stuck his head in the sand. now he is up ***** creek without a paddle he brings Paterson in to a team struggling for confidence and likely to be on the end of another heavy defeat.

Haddens time is up and I'm surprised he has changed his philosophy from his days with edinburgh when the ball got thrown out wide. scotland will lose by 20+ points on Saturday:boo hoo:

Danderhall Hibs
20-02-2008, 10:19 PM
parks has been nowhere near the best stand off in Scotland this season. I go to edinburgh games and Godman deserves a chance to make up for his **** ups against Italy last year.

Hadden has shown his desperation now with the selection of paterson at stand off. As most ex players have screamed over the last few years for Chris to be played at 10, hadden has stuck his head in the sand. now he is up ***** creek without a paddle he brings Paterson in to a team struggling for confidence and likely to be on the end of another heavy defeat.

Haddens time is up and I'm surprised he has changed his philosophy from his days with edinburgh when the ball got thrown out wide. scotland will lose by 20+ points on Saturday:boo hoo:

Paterson should have been playing stand off for Scotland for the last 7 years or so. He was given the pro contract based on being a stand off but as soon as he went pro they stuck diddies like Laney, Parks and others in ahead of him.

The only time he got a run at stand-off was a couple of years back (and enven then it was only 2 or 3 games) was when they made him captain as well and stuck all the weight of our pishness on his shoulders in one go. It might to be too late for him now to make his mark at stand off unfortunately.

bingo70
20-02-2008, 10:41 PM
parks has been nowhere near the best stand off in Scotland this season. I go to edinburgh games and Godman deserves a chance to make up for his **** ups against Italy last year.

Hadden has shown his desperation now with the selection of paterson at stand off. As most ex players have screamed over the last few years for Chris to be played at 10, hadden has stuck his head in the sand. now he is up ***** creek without a paddle he brings Paterson in to a team struggling for confidence and likely to be on the end of another heavy defeat.

Haddens time is up and I'm surprised he has changed his philosophy from his days with edinburgh when the ball got thrown out wide. scotland will lose by 20+ points on Saturday:boo hoo:

used to be really good mates with phil godman so was disgusted by the way he was hung out to dry after that game, ok he made mistakes however he's a young inexperienced guy and what he needed after the italy game was his manager to pubicly back him in order to not completely shattered his confidence, instead the SRU got him dropped from his club side :bitchy:

in that game although the excecution of his play was poor he was playing in this high risk way as that was his instructions before the game, would love PG to get another chance to show he's good enough.

duncs
21-02-2008, 08:29 AM
To be fair, Dan Parks had a very good World Cup, and has been outstanding for Glasgow this season - he has kicked well for them in Magners and Heineken Cup games as well as contributing with tries. He can only be judged on those games, hence why he was been playing at 10.

It's amazing how quickly people forget things about people they really like (Paterson's performance at 10 during the World Cup anyone?) and how quickly they are prepared to have a go at one player after making one single mistake (Parks in the game against France for example, the crowd sounded almost pleased that he'd ****ed up).

Certainly I don't think Parks is the complete 10, nor is Paterson and Godman has a lot to prove. I just think all three should get the same standard of praise and criticism from all fans.