come on shire

Edinburgh got a BP win tonight and have played ok in spells so far this season. They were also very unlucky in Belfast. However they're a lot less clinical and savvy than last season with white libe fever creeping into their game. With a large chunk of the Edinburgh pack with Scotland isn't it concerning heading into the autumn? I'm hopeful that they'll raise their game when Toony gets fired into them in Scotland camp though...

Refs for the 1st 2 rounds of Europe have been announced. When Saracens come to visit us, Mathieu Reynal will be the ref. Then when we go to Cardiff, Luke Pearce is reffing. For Edinburgh fans, their 1st game away to Montpellier will have a guy called Wayne Barnes reffing... Their 2nd game at home to Toulon has JP Doyle reffing.

I wonder what Dave Rennie did in the dressing room at f/t? "Hard lines lads, better luck next week" I hope NOT...

Shame to have missed the Huntly trip as it would have been a good day out. However away to Gala in R2 means I can take my gf for a day trip to her homeland and she can catch up with her old school mates etc.

Not a total disaster as Munster lost on Fri night and we managed a try BP today. I'm confident that we can get 2 winning BPs when the Dragons then Zebre visit too. However we lost by losing avoidable, pedestrian tries early. I don't buy the idea that pros don't get complacement as they're human. We thought we'd have 5 points bagged by h/t. This can never happen again.

Munster result great for Glasgow. We must take advantage by getting 3 wins in a row vs S. Kings, Dragons then Zebre. Preferably with a BP in each. Real banana skins though...

If that's true then that's pretty disappointing.

Kevin Bryce was a hooker. Instead of moving to back row like a lot of hookers he fancied propping lol. Solid team though. I'm looking for us to win but a BP could be tough as Ulster had issues there last week.

Our back row strength in depth is marvellous atm. To bring in John Hardie would allow for more competition which is a good thing. We also have Adam Ashe on terrific form too with Rob Harley in the mix. Anyone know what's happened to the new American lad we brought in? Has he been injured? Blow to lose Hoggy. However, Jacko stepped up and did a great job this time last season when Hoggy got injured. I think it'll be Jacko and Kinghorn that compete for the 15 shirt for the autumn tests.

He was long-term injured though Kiran McDonald was breaking through, Swinno found his form before injury, Jonny Gray and Scott Cummings are there with Rob Harley able to play 2nd row too. So I feel personally that there's better players there keeping him out. That's not good news. However fingers crossed he manages the home games in the autumn tests though just in case Blair Kinghorn is proving to be a find at 15. Very disappointing that Hoggy's out of Europe though Jacko did a great job at 15 when Hoggy was out injured last season. I'm hoping we'll have the artillery for the Southern Kings, the Dragons and Zebre game first though.

Big Brian's not the Messiah, he's just a very naughty boy. I might be in the minority here, but he looked the part but didn't really offer the same grunt that the likes of Jonny Gray and Swinno offer. Even Scott Cummings breaking through just now looks to be a stalwart. Not only that, but he was perennially injured, a bit like Sarto. Therefore I think it'll free up the wage bill. All the best to him if/when he goes though.

For Glasgow's game at the Southern Kings this Sat Ireland's Andrew Brace is the ref. The ref from the Cheetahs game, Frank Murphy, is a touch judge.

Losing Zander's a blow but hopefully Siua Halanukanuka's back soon and we have D'arcy Rae who should be looking to push on. Adam Nicol from the academy is flying out so it's an opportunity for him. As for the Autumn and/or the 6N, we'll have Simon Berghan and WP Nel competing at tighthead. So it's hopefully not a disaster yet. Hopefully Hoggy will be recovered in time for Saracens visiting in the mid-Oct. I don't mean to be disrespectful or count chickens before they hatch but if he's REALLY needed for the Southern Kings then home games v the Dragons then Zebre then we have issues.

We need to be aiming to win all our home games in Europe. This is important if you want to be serious about winning silverware. Lyon just won their 1st game of the season at home to Montpellier but still a tricky game. Barring Sarries, our away games are winnable IF we show up. Shame about Zander but this allows other players to step up in his place. Siua Halanukanuka and D'arcy Rae will compete for the 3 jersey. As for Scotland, it'll now be a battle between Simon Berghan and WP Nel for the 3 jersey.

2 great away wins in the rugby championship. Awful crowd in the Gold Coast for Oz v Argentina. Shows that AFL and rugby league cannibalise other sports. Delighted with Glasgow's win. Comfier score than last season but 1st half we didn't live with their pace. Bad travel sickness but they're possibly the quickest team in the world. I could see a few teams leaving Blomfontein with nothing again. I could see Zander's season being over sadly so Halanukanuka and Rae could be going for the no.3 jersey this season. Berghan and Nel will be doing likewise for Scotland. Ashe has started superbly and should be in the next Scotland squad IF he stays injury-free. Next Sat it's the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth. They're more pack orientated imo so our forwards will have to front up. Not as pacy so we shouldn't be run ragged at least.

The Cheetahs team could be interesting tomorrow as it's their 1st home game of the season. They lost a few of their players over summer and they also have a Currie Cup game this weekend I believe. Also, watching the Edinburgh game just now. They're still lacking a cutting edge and have wasted a few opportunities. Shaping up to be a real arm wrestle...

Fair point, but I guess that there are certain venues where getting a win is rare so focus on squad management to juggle injuries etc. Munster had a fairly strong team at Scotstoun last Fri night, albeit without Conor Murray and CJ Stander. However, we bulldozed them and they couldn't live with us. Interestingly, Bundee Aki is on the bench for Connacht tonight.

Frank Murphy from Ireland is our ref for the Cheetahs game in Bloemfontein. Edinburgh fans can enjoy Ian Davies of Wales for their home game vs Connacht.

20 points from 4 games you mean? After SA and the Dragons home game at the end of the month, Zebre visit at the start of October.

Correction. 13 men now.

Cardiff hanging on at the end defending their own try line with 14 players in Treviso. Brown shorts I think.

Literally a game of 2 halves. We were clinical in the 1st and Munster couldn't live with us. 2nd half I hardly saw anything sitting in the west stand as it was all Munster. However our defence was absolutely brilliant. Darren Sweetnam, JJ Hanrahan and Jaco Taute were joined by Joey Carberry from the bench and still our defence was solid. Would have preferred a winning BP but 9 points from a possible 10 is a great start. However we must aim to get winning BP vs the Southern Kings, the Dragons and Zebre before Europe starts.

Adam Ashe was influential when he came on last weekend so nice to see him get a start, especially on the same weekend when his brother Danny has been announced as East Stirlingshire's club captain in the Lowland League. I hate playing Munster. If we lose tonight we'll be attempting to grab 2nd place unless Munster slip-up, as I don't see us winning in Ireland. Quite simply a huge game tonight...

Pro14 review show on Free Sports just now. Very pro-Irish and Welsh...

We made our life difficult for most of the game. Galway's now a tricky place to play where wins need to be earned. However our discipline and decisions were poor and kept Connacht dominant. It's not all negative though as our pack looked stronger, more effective and less likely to get bullied like last season. Also we won in the end with a BP too. However a big week of training's needed to fix the mistakes. You can't look too much into Munster's 38-0 win as the Cheetahs have lost a few players from last season I believe, and the SA away form is still poor. However it'll still be a tough, must win game. If you want to win silver you must win at home, especially against rivals...