Rugby Union

[GAD]

No Maitland, Visser, Strauss, Reid, Scott, Taylor or Ritchie Grey...  Are all these guys injured? Throw in Brown, Hardie, Bradbury and Laidlaw and that is half a good team missing. Considering the battering we will take against Samoa and the Kiwi's I dread to think what kind of team is going to be taking to the pitch against Australia.

[Savage Henry]

Magnus Bradbury stripped of the Edinburgh captaincy. Still no idea what he’s supposed to have done, other than injure his head on a night out.

Edited October 24, 2017 by Savage Henry

[dogmc]

No Maitland, Visser, Strauss, Reid, Scott, Taylor or Ritchie Grey...  Are all these guys injured? Throw in Brown, Hardie, Bradbury and Laidlaw and that is half a good team missing. Considering the battering we will take against Samoa and the Kiwi's I dread to think what kind of team is going to be taking to the pitch against Australia.

Presume savage henry maybe right about clubs not releasing some?? Its a lot of guys to be missing n some of squad looks well undercooked for this sort of level. Even Samoa is no gimme. Also think that guys like bhatti n turner being in squad will leave Glasgow really short of numbers. I had been under impression those guys n likes of Jackson would cover 6n n autumn international games but now they're in Scotland squad.... (Jacko is fair enough has done well this season)

[honestly united]

From the SRU,

"Unavailable through injury: Adam Ashe (Glasgow Warriors), Mark Bennett (Edinburgh Rugby), Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Allan Dell, Alasdair Dickinson (both Edinburgh Rugby), Richie Gray (Toulouse), Rory Hughes (Glasgow Warriors), Greig Laidlaw (Clermont Auvergne), Sean Maitland (Saracens), Gordon Reid (London Irish), Matt Scott (Gloucester), Duncan Taylor (Saracens)."

I get the impression that Townsend has had a falling out with Strauss, hence why he didn't get a new contract at Glasgow.

I have seen Marfo play for Edinburgh, but had assumed he was some foreign import, no idea he was actually Scottish.

McGuigan at 28 must have come on leaps and bounds at Sale as he was decidely uninspiring last time I saw him play. He is the leading try scorer in the Premiership though

All the new caps are mid 20's, which goes to show the problem with just 2 pro teams, unless you are a standout, you dont get game time. Fagerson (21), Cummings (20) and Ritchie (21) are the only youngsters in the squad, and when you think Marfo, Bhatti, Hamilton, Fowles and Harris are all the same age as Russell, Hogg and Gray who are the established spine of the team and Burleigh is probably the oldest player in the team at 31.

Given we are 3 centres down you can make a case for Harris being included, Cummings and Ritchie are solid picks and should go on to be good players. Hamilton has played pretty much every game the last 2 years for Leicester so should be solid.

 

[peasy23]

Here's what's left of the Warriors squad after injuries and Scotland call ups.

[dogmc]

From the SRU,
"Unavailable through injury: Adam Ashe (Glasgow Warriors), Mark Bennett (Edinburgh Rugby), Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Allan Dell, Alasdair Dickinson (both Edinburgh Rugby), Richie Gray (Toulouse), Rory Hughes (Glasgow Warriors), Greig Laidlaw (Clermont Auvergne), Sean Maitland (Saracens), Gordon Reid (London Irish), Matt Scott (Gloucester), Duncan Taylor (Saracens)."
I get the impression that Townsend has had a falling out with Strauss, hence why he didn't get a new contract at Glasgow.
I have seen Marfo play for Edinburgh, but had assumed he was some foreign import, no idea he was actually Scottish.
McGuigan at 28 must have come on leaps and bounds at Sale as he was decidely uninspiring last time I saw him play. He is the leading try scorer in the Premiership though
All the new caps are mid 20's, which goes to show the problem with just 2 pro teams, unless you are a standout, you dont get game time. Fagerson (21), Cummings (20) and Ritchie (21) are the only youngsters in the squad, and when you think Marfo, Bhatti, Hamilton, Fowles and Harris are all the same age as Russell, Hogg and Gray who are the established spine of the team and Burleigh is probably the oldest player in the team at 31.
Given we are 3 centres down you can make a case for Harris being included, Cummings and Ritchie are solid picks and should go on to be good players. Hamilton has played pretty much every game the last 2 years for Leicester so should be solid.
 

That's a brutal injury list.

[ajwffc]

59 minutes ago, peasy23 said:

Here's what's left of the Warriors squad after injuries and Scotland call ups.

Sarto is also in the Italy squad, Peterson might get a call up to the US squad and any players selected for the Barbarians 

[ajwffc]

The rules for a player being tied to a country by playing at U20 level is upto 2014 play for a country's U20 if it there capture side v another country that it is there capture side. After 2014 play in the Junior World cup or Six Nations.

Luke Hamilton has not played for Wales U20 since the rules changed in 2014 and did not play any other nation that had the U20s as there capture side before that 

[ddfg]

Pretty sure I read somewhere at the weekend that Matawalu had been selected again for Fiji

[ajwffc]

Pretty sure I read somewhere at the weekend that Matawalu had been selected again for Fiji

He has

[Bully Wee Villa]

Sarto is also in the Italy squad, Peterson might get a call up to the US squad and any players selected for the Barbarians 

Don't know much about right but is it worth backing Southern Kings at 16-1 given all Glasgow's unavailable players?

[John Lambies Doos]

Don't know much about right but is it worth backing Southern Kings at 16-1 given all Glasgow's unavailable players?

Nope. Glasgow will win with bonus, nap

[ajwffc]

Don't know much about right but is it worth backing Southern Kings at 16-1 given all Glasgow's unavailable players?

They will still have the international players for the Southern Kings and Leinster games. The Ospreys game on the 26th of November should be the only game without them.

[Bully Wee Villa]

Thanks, both.

[same_ol_g35]

Folk on the SRU Facebook page claiming Strauss has had a falling out with the SRU/Gregor. But they don't seem to be able to substantiate the rumour more than "why else wouldn't he be there?" And "why do you think he moved to Sale?".

So, might just be some yahoos reading between the lines and howling at the moon.

[honestly united]

Going back to the Scotland squad my biggest concern is how obvious the best 15 is, its like going back to the bad old days when you knew exactly who was going to play due to the lack of top quality players. Apart from who partners Grey in the 2nd row, any maybe hooker from the squad selected i dont think you can make any argument of the best 15 not being Nel, Ford, Fagerson, Grey, Swinson, Barclay, Watson, Wilson, Price, Russell, Jones, Dunbar, Jones, Seymour, Hogg

Granted you could have a team of (with a couple out of position) Dell, Brown, Dickinson, Grey, Denton, Hardie, Ashe, Strauss, Laidlaw, Scott, Visser, Taylor, Bennett, Hughes, Maitland, with a bench of Reid, McArthur, Allan, Cowan, Horne, Weir, Tonks with the players missing, but would still have a squad where there are options in all positions that dont drop the quality of the team on the pitch

[Savage Henry]

1 hour ago, honestly united said:

Going back to the Scotland squad my biggest concern is how obvious the best 15 is, its like going back to the bad old days when you knew exactly who was going to play due to the lack of top quality players. Apart from who partners Grey in the 2nd row, any maybe hooker from the squad selected i dont think you can make any argument of the best 15 not being Nel, Ford, Fagerson, Grey, Swinson, Barclay, Watson, Wilson, Price, Russell, Jones, Dunbar, Jones, Seymour, Hogg

Granted you could have a team of (with a couple out of position) Dell, Brown, Dickinson, Grey, Denton, Hardie, Ashe, Strauss, Laidlaw, Scott, Visser, Taylor, Bennett, Hughes, Maitland, with a bench of Reid, McArthur, Allan, Cowan, Horne, Weir, Tonks with the players missing, but would still have a squad where there are options in all positions that dont drop the quality of the team on the pitch

Sean Maitland would be the first pick on the wing ahead of Jones, surely?  I think you could make a case for any two of four or five centres, as well.  It's the front row where the lack of depth really is striking.  

[honestly united]

Sean Maitland would be the first pick on the wing ahead of Jones, surely?  I think you could make a case for any two of four or five centres, as well.  It's the front row where the lack of depth really is striking.  

If he was fit then yes, my point being that we have so many first choice or fairly close call back ups either injured or not selected that you look at the 37 man squad Townsend has selected and instantly know the best 15 without to much pondering on options

[Jaggy Snake]

I’m not sure I see the problem. The main reason it’s easy to pick our starting line up just now is because we have actively good players in almost every position. Whereas, in the not too distant past, the debate was more likely to be between who would cause the team the fewest issues in a match out of 3 or 4 fairly poor options.

Our back up is obviously going to be depleted when we have so many injuries but, for a country with only two professional clubs and little more than a handful of players playing top level rugby outside Scotland I’m not sure what more you could expect.

Edited October 25, 2017 by Jaggy Snake

[Mark Connolly]

2 hours ago, Jaggy Snake said:

I’m not sure I see the problem. The main reason it’s easy to pick our starting line up just now is because we have actively good players in almost every position. Whereas, in the not too distant past, the debate was more likely to be between who would cause the team the fewest issues in a match out of 3 or 4 fairly poor options.

Our back up is obviously going to be depleted when we have so many injuries but, for a country with only two professional clubs and little more than a handful of players playing top level rugby outside Scotland I’m not sure what more you could expect.

This is correct.

Glasgow on Saturday were a prime example. Ruaridh Jackson had been absolutely outstanding in the first 7 games. He was left out to allow some bloke called Hogg some game time!