honestly united Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 1 hour ago, dogmc said: Totally agree. There are huge opportunities to grow the game both in Europe n globally but the self preservation instinct of tier 1 nations has to be addressed urgently. The Pro12 is a funny one, on the one hand they have had discussions with US, Canada, Spain and Georgia about expansion and adding teams on the other they are telling Italy they are wanting to take a team off them and deny them becoming a full partner in the league! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmc Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Pretty happy with the squad....good to see harley n Jackson back in there. Slightly surprised no Jon Welsh but otherwise pretty much bang on. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swarley Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Just noticed that we're playing Australia in Sydney in June. Will definitely try to get along to that. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
come on shire Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Oz game has a 5am k/o UK time. No announcements on Italy and Fiji k/o's. Does anyone know what time the World Cup draw is at in the UK? Thinking it might be very early as it's in Kyoto. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggy Snake Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 9 minutes ago, come on shire said: Oz game has a 5am k/o UK time. No announcements on Italy and Fiji k/o's. Does anyone know what time the World Cup draw is at in the UK? Thinking it might be very early as it's in Kyoto. 9am 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingscot Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 I think Weir can be aggrieved not to be in the squad. He certainly won the head to head on Saturday and I'm less convinced about Horne every game he plays at 10. Grigg is a welcome addition, his lines are tremendous. On the Glasgow-Edinburgh game, the price rises at Scotstoun better be accompanied with better performances. Although I do question where that effort and ability was when Edinburgh were playing Zebre et al. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bully Wee Villa Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 9am UK time according to the official website. I assume there will be singing and dancing nonsense as usual at these events and it won't actually start at that time. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmc Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 I think Weir can be aggrieved not to be in the squad. He certainly won the head to head on Saturday and I'm less convinced about Horne every game he plays at 10. Grigg is a welcome addition, his lines are tremendous. On the Glasgow-Edinburgh game, the price rises at Scotstoun better be accompanied with better performances. Although I do question where that effort and ability was when Edinburgh were playing Zebre et al. Weir has been dire for two seasons now. His display a couple weeks back was one of the worst I've ever seen from a pro. As for horne he's coming back from long term injury and his last few games at ten were better than Finns recent efforts. His game management has certainly looked better. He also offers a 2nd receiver option at inside centre as well as being a lefty for defensive exits and is a reasonable goal kicker. With Jackson about weir has no place in the squad imo. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bully Wee Villa Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Seeding Groups for tomorrow's World Cup draw... Top seeds: New Zealand (holders), England, Australia, Ireland Second seeds: SCOTLAND, Wales, South Africa, France Third Seeds: Argentina, Japan (hosts), Georgia, Italy Fourth Seeds: Oceania 1st Place Qualifier, Americas 1st, Europe 1st, Africa 1st Fifth Seeds: Oceania 2nd, Americas 2nd, winner of playoff between Europe 2nd and Oceania 3rd, "Repechage" winner. Looking at the top seeds, I wouldn't fancy and of them except Ireland. We might give Australia a game, but our historic record against New Zealand and recent record against England are dismal. Among the third seeds, I'd like Italy, but by far the most important thing is DO NOT DRAW ARGENTINA. Whoever ends up with them will, inevitably, be in "the Group of Death". Indeed, the only time we have failed to progress from the Group Stage was when we were drawn alongside them and England. Among the remaining qualifiers, none of the European/American/African/Asian teams should be any threat, but Fiji, Samoa and, to a lesser extent, Tonga are all competent on their day so I'd rather avoid them if possible. Ideal draw: Ireland SCOTLAND Italy Africa 1 Repechage Winner Nightmare draw: New Zealand SCOTLAND Argentina Oceania 1 Oceania 2 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Lambies Doos Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Seeding Groups for tomorrow's World Cup draw... Top seeds: New Zealand (holders), England, Australia, Ireland Second seeds: SCOTLAND, Wales, South Africa, France Third Seeds: Argentina, Japan (hosts), Georgia, Italy Fourth Seeds: Oceania 1st Place Qualifier, Americas 1st, Europe 1st, Africa 1st Fifth Seeds: Oceania 2nd, Americas 2nd, winner of playoff between Europe 2nd and Oceania 3rd, "Repechage" winner. Looking at the top seeds, I wouldn't fancy and of them except Ireland. We might give Australia a game, but our historic record against New Zealand and recent record against England are dismal. Among the third seeds, I'd like Italy, but by far the most important thing is DO NOT DRAW ARGENTINA. Whoever ends up with them will, inevitably, be in "the Group of Death". Indeed, the only time we have failed to progress from the Group Stage was when we were drawn alongside them and England. Among the remaining qualifiers, none of the European/American/African/Asian teams should be any threat, but Fiji, Samoa and, to a lesser extent, Tonga are all competent on their day so I'd rather avoid them if possible. Ideal draw: IrelandSCOTLANDItalyAfrica 1Repechage Winner Nightmare draw: New ZealandSCOTLANDArgentinaOceania 1Oceania 2 Would agree. We are more than a match for Argentina but in the big tournaments they always raise their game and our arses invariably collapse 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophe Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Not a follower but was looking at the rankings to see who the potential qualifiers and if we are likely to see any new faces.... and see Spain are fairly high up atm, what's the chances they could make it again against the usual Euro also rans like Romania, Russia etc? Also safe to assume Namibia take their usual place as African whipping boys? Or is anyone close enough to to challenge them? Im assuming the Oceania are stick ons for Fiji, Samoa and Tonga as per? See Uruguay above Canada atm too who have made the last few as the 2nd Americas team, change there also maybe? Not sure how much stock is put into the rankings, what do you rugby fans reckon? -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Lambies Doos Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Not a follower but was looking at the rankings to see who the potential qualifiers and if we are likely to see any new faces.... and see Spain are fairly high up atm, what's the chances they could make it again against the usual Euro also rans like Romania, Russia etc? Also safe to assume Namibia take their usual place as African whipping boys? Or is anyone close enough to to challenge them? Im assuming the Oceania are stick ons for Fiji, Samoa and Tonga as per? See Uruguay above Canada atm too who have made the last few as the 2nd Americas team, change there also maybe? Not sure how much stock is put into the rankings, what do you rugby fans reckon? Dunno but I went to the Scotland v Spain game in 1999, wasn't great atmosphere 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Not really got a clue about Africa's slot but Namibia have taken it every time since 1999. Runners-up goes into the repechage. USA and Canada go straight into a playoff for 1 slot... Loser meets the South American Championship winners in a playoff for another slot. (It's being played currently and Uruguay or Chile are likely to win AFAICS)... Loser of that goes to repechage. Last 3 times running it's ended up Canada > USA > Uruguay and I imagine you'd get good odds for another repeat. Asia has no automatic slot. Winner goes into the repechage. Hong Kong the most likely I'd think. Europe's only slot goes to the aggregate leader of the 2017+2018 second level Six Nations. Romania won it this season (ahead of Georgia btw) and Spain were third. I'd imagine one will secure the slot and the other go into the playoff v Oceania 3. Oceania has 2 automatic slots; last goes into the playoff. Halfway through Fiji have won 2 games, Samoa 1 and Tonga 0 but they've played their home games in the same proportion. Nevertheless I imagine current expectation would be Fiji and Samoa secure the automatic places - then Tonga go to face Spain in the playoff, with the loser going into the repechage. There is a lower-level tournament usually won by Papua New Guinea. That would mean Namibia, USA, Canada, Romania, Fiji, Samoa, Spain/Tonga qualifying automatically. Repechage for the last place would contain either Asian winner or Oceanian lower-level winner (they must playoff to get in), African runner-up, Uruguay and Spain/Tonga. Almost certainly it would come down to Uruguay v Spain/Tonga. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honestly united Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 (edited) Most likely outcome from my perspective would be Africa 1 - Namibia or Kenya America 1 - USA America 2 - Uruguay or Canada (Canada have been dreadful since the last world cup)*** Europe 1 - Romania Oceania 1 - Fiji Oceania 2 - Samoa Europe v Oceania play off - Spain / Russia / Portugal vs Tonga The Repechage tournament will consist of the following four teams, 1. Africa 2. (Kenya or Zimbabwe if Namibia qualify) 2. Americas 3 (Canada or Uruguay) 3. Loser of Europe 2 vs Pacific Nations Cup 3rd place (Spain, Russia Portugal or Tonga) 4. Winner of Asia 1 vs Oceania Cup Champion play off (South Korea, Hong Kong, Cook Islands or Papua New Guinea) On current rankings Tonga would beat Spain in the playoff, and Spain would win the repechage with the 4 teams being Kenya, Canada, Spain and Hong Kong Edit to add how bad Canada have been, 2017 Test Record 1W 3L including losses to Brazil and Uruguay, win was against Chile 2016 4W 6L Not a single one of the wins was against a country that was ranked above them at that time. (Wins Russia, Chile, Uruguay and Brasil, 2015 1W 10L The only win was against an under strength Georgia in RWC warm up 2014 1W 5L The only win that year was against the mighty Namibians! Since qualifying for the last World Cup they have only won 8 games, and lost to Georgia, Japan x 3, Scotland, Usa x 5, Samoa x 3, Romania x 4, Tonga, Fiji, Ireland x 2, Italy x 2, France, Uruguay and Brazil (not including losing to Argentina 2nd string and the English Championship XV). Edited May 9, 2017 by honestly united Canada 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajwffc Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Vern has named the 15 players for his Barbarian team for the games v ENgland (May 28th) and Ulster (June 1st) Backs: Bundee Aki (Connacht), Adam Ashley-Cooper (Bordeaux Begles & Australia), Yann David (Toulouse and France), Will Genia (Stade Francais & Australia), Maxime Medard (Toulouse & France), Ruan Pienaar (Ulster & South Africa), Charles Piutau (Ulster & New Zealand). Forwards: Patricio Albacete (Toulouse & Argentina), Steffon Armitage (Pau & England), Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse & France), Corey Flynn (Glasgow Warriors & New Zealand), Facundo Isa (Lyon & Argentina), Census Johnston (Toulouse & Samoa), Joe Tekori (Toulouse & Samoa), Jeremy Thrush (Gloucester & New Zealand). Pienarr and Piutau will only be with the Barbarians for the England Game 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajwffc Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 I posted this in MArch Quote The draw is the 10th of May and if it the same as last time the pots should be Pot 1 New Zealand, England, Australia, Ireland pot 2 Scotland, France, South Africa, Wales pot 3 Argentina, Japan, Georgia, Italy pot 4 Americas 1, Europe1, Oceania 1, Africa 1(was Asia 1 but Asia don't have a direct place ) pot 5 Americas 2, Oceania 2, Repechage 1, Repechage 2 With Americas 1 will be the winner of a 2 leg game between Canada and USA in the end of ~June beginning of July Americas 2 will be the winner of a 2 leg game between loser of Canada and USA v winner of 2017 CONSUR Rugby Championship "A" (Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay) in 2018 Americas 3 Runner up of game between loser of Canada and USA v winner of 2017 CONSUR Rugby Championship "A" (Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay) in 2018 Oceania 1,2,3 based on combined table of 2016/2017 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup (Fiji,Samoa,Tonga) Oceania 4 winner of the 2017 Oceania Rugby Cup Africa 1 winner of Division 1A in the 2018 Africa Cup Africa 2 loser of Division 1A v winner of Divison 1B in the 2018 Africa Cup Asia 1 winner of 2018 Asia Rugby Championship(Runner up if Japan win it) Europe 1 top team of combined 2017/2018 Rugby Europe Championship Europe 2 runner up team of combined 2017/2018 Rugby Europe Championship v winner of Portugal v winner of Rugby Europe Conference 2 v Rugby Europe Conference 1 Repechage 1 winner of Europe 2 v Oceania 3 in a 2 leg game in June 2018 Repechage 2 winner of Asia 1 v Oceania 4 in a 2 leg game in 2018, runner up of Europe 2 v Oceania 3, Americas 3 and Africa 2 will enter a round robin tournament with each team playing each other once at a neutral venue. As it stands the now For Americas 2,3 the 2017 CONSUR Rugby Championship "A" has just kicked off (1 game has been played) and will finish at the end of May For Oceania 1,2,3 at the Half way stage it is Fiji in 1st place with 2 wins Samoa in 2nd with 1 win and Tonga in 3rd with no wins. Tonga are at home to Samoa (July 1st) and Fiji (July 8th) with Samoa at home to Fiji (july 15th) for the last game. For Oceania 4 the draw for the 2017 Oceania Rugby Cup has not been made yet but will take place in August. Africa 1 will be one of Kenya, Namibia, Senegal, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe with this dropping down to 4 in August after the 2017 Gold cup with the winner of the Gold Cup 2018 becoming Africa 1 Africa 2 will be the runner up of 2018 Gold Cup v winner of 2017 Silver cup (Botswana, Ivory Coast, Madagascar and Morocco) Europe 1 will be top team of combined 2017/2018 Rugby Europe Championship (Roumania, Spain, Russia, Germany and Belgium[could be eliminated on the 20th of May as they play Portugal on May 20th in a relegation playoff]) Europe 2 runner up team of combined 2017/2018 Rugby Europe Championship v winner of Hungry v Bosnia and Herzegovina(played May 20th)/ Czech Republic v Malta(played May 20th) v Portugal (played November 2017) to be played in April/May 2018 Asia 1 will winner of 2018 Asia Rugby Championship one of Hong Kong, South Korea or the winner of the 2017 Asia Rugby Championship division 1A played between 14th and 20th of May(Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Philippians and UAE) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
come on shire Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 9 hours ago, Christophe said: Not a follower but was looking at the rankings to see who the potential qualifiers and if we are likely to see any new faces.... and see Spain are fairly high up atm, what's the chances they could make it again against the usual Euro also rans like Romania, Russia etc? Also safe to assume Namibia take their usual place as African whipping boys? Or is anyone close enough to to challenge them? Im assuming the Oceania are stick ons for Fiji, Samoa and Tonga as per? See Uruguay above Canada atm too who have made the last few as the 2nd Americas team, change there also maybe? Not sure how much stock is put into the rankings, what do you rugby fans reckon? My brain could burst at all the possibilities. I think it'll be the usual suspects. Though perhaps Russia could cause a shock. We'll need to see what happens. In other news Sean Maitland's a huge doubt for June. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevieda Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 About time we found a South African full back that would like to live in Edinburgh for a few years 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honestly united Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 If Maitland is out things cold get interesting, I would assume Kinghorn would be the next choice, as I cant see Townsend picking Murchie given he has just been released by Glasgow 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajwffc Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 If Maitland is out things cold get interesting, I would assume Kinghorn would be the next choice, as I cant see Townsend picking Murchie given he has just been released by Glasgow Kinghorn is due to go to the U20 world cup so they might let him stay with the U20s. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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