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On 22/03/2021 at 17:53, Genuine Hibs Fan said:

The most plausible reason I can think for that is Harris will be starting 13. Otherwise you surely take Maitland, Graham on the bench and Russell can slide into centre if you really need it?

I suppose it depends which way Townsend will want to approach it. Does he want our best defensive 13 (Harris) against the best attack in the tournament, or does he see the space and count-attacking opportunities France will present as they have to go for it and play a better attacking threat like Jones. I'd go for Jones personally but think Harris is bound to start.

 

On the Lions front I see LRZ seems to be in nearly every pundit's starting XV. As good as he's been in the six nations, SA are a very different proposition physically and do you not get the feeling they would eat him alive?

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54 minutes ago, AngusTheBull said:

I suppose it depends which way Townsend will want to approach it. Does he want our best defensive 13 (Harris) against the best attack in the tournament, or does he see the space and count-attacking opportunities France will present as they have to go for it and play a better attacking threat like Jones. I'd go for Jones personally but think Harris is bound to start.

 

On the Lions front I see LRZ seems to be in nearly every pundit's starting XV. As good as he's been in the six nations, SA are a very different proposition physically and do you not get the feeling they would eat him alive?

It's a big call either way at 13 and tbf I wouldn't like to be making that decision. I think with Johnson at 12 there's room and arguably an imperative for a more attacking/pacey outside centre. Vakatawa is a big threat but hasn't been at his best this 6N the odd moment aside.

It depends how ambitious Townsend is as, unlikely as it maybe is, we can get second with a big win here, and worst case scenario is 4th. For me that means going out and attacking them but I imagine we'll be here on Friday evening listening to Townsend talking about learning lessons etc after a narrow loss where we've played nowhere near our best. 

LRZ should go and tbh with a couple of tour games he could easily force his way in. I'd imagine Williams will play in the back three either at wing or FB (Scotland fans calling Hogg a stick on have clearly forgotten that he was looking unlikely to start in 2017 even before his injury, and that was after successive player of the 6 nations awards) and while they haven't played in a long time so it's hard to say, if the Boks squad is like the WC then they aren't monsters in the back 3 so having someone like LRZ could work. Was hoping that despite how clearly excellent he was that he would flop at test level but nope, class.

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34 minutes ago, peasy23 said:

And the Scotland team. Cherry a bit unfortunate to drop out imo.FB_IMG_1616591882449.jpg

Agreed on that. While not perfect, I think Cherry's line out throwing is a definite upgrade on Turner. Also think given how dynamic he is in the loose that Turner is a great bench option to have.

Harris can cover wing as well right? That's a pretty strong backline even without Redpath - would have gone Jones over Harris personally but can see the arguments for both.

Just worry about the second row - you'd think Le Roux would be fancying his chances up against Skinner and Gilchrist (though I admittedly don't know much about Rebbadj). Would be a good time for Skinner to bring some of his domestic form to the international stage. 

Edited by AngusTheBull
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Agreed on that. While not perfect, I think Cherry's line out throwing is a definite upgrade on Turner. Also think given how dynamic he is in the loose that Turner is a great bench option to have.
Harris can cover wing as well right? That's a pretty strong backline even without Redpath - would have gone Jones over Harris personally but can see the arguments for both.
Just worry about the second row - you'd think Le Roux would be fancying his chances up against Skinner and Gilchrist (though I admittedly don't know much about Rebbadj). Would be a good time for Skinner to bring some of his domestic form to the international stage. 
Just on the basis that the line-out functioned properly against Italy I would have kept Cherry in the team. We need to be doing basic set piece stuff properly. I would always have Jones in the team tbh, but with his pace he could be another good sub if France are chasing it in the second half.
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I can't wait to see Chris Harris nearly make a break, almost catch a pass to put him through and be unlucky with an offload. Given that he wasn't much cop defensively against Ireland and Wales I think this is a bad choice. 

If Turner melts down again it's all on GT. 

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The way I see it is that Harris is a more conservative defensive centre which will be useful as France will attack at home considering what's at stake too. A solid defender is important to manage Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack too. I'm hoping Huw Jones will come on for Harris when the French may tire later on. 

Johnny Gray is a loss but I'm looking forward to Sam Skinner in there. Grant Gilchrist is a penalty machine unfortunately. David Cherry is perhaps a bit unlucky not to start but I think Toony's going with what he knows. Playing Italy at home isn't the best platform to impress tbh. 

We'll need to play well to win but I won't be too surprised if our organisation goes to pot when France throw the kitchen sink at us which will mean they might run away with it. 

Then Pie and Bovril will be the best place to discuss the game. If you show negativity on the Scottish Rugby FB page then you get blocked by the mega fans and get a row for being negative... 

Edited by come on shire
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1 hour ago, John Lambies Doos said:

Unbelievable Cherry doesn't start.

Really?  He’s not very good.  He’s like that Daryl Marfo character who had three good games a while back.  Make the most of it now, because he’s nowhere in the world an international hooker.  

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1 hour ago, come on shire said:

The way I see it is that Harris is a more conservative defensive centre which will be useful as France will attack at home considering what's at stake too. A solid defender is important to manage Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack too. I'm hoping Huw Jones will come on for Harris when the French may tire later on. 

Johnny Gray is a loss but I'm looking forward to Sam Skinner in there. Grant Gilchrist is a penalty machine unfortunately. David Cherry is perhaps a bit unlucky not to start but I think Toony's going with what he knows. Playing Italy at home isn't the best platform to impress tbh. 

We'll need to play well to win but I won't be too surprised if our organisation goes to pot when France throw the kitchen sink at us which will mean they might run away with it. 

Then Pie and Bovril will be the best place to discuss the game. If you show negativity on the Scottish Rugby FB page then you get blocked by the mega fans and get a row for being negative... 

I like it best when after 7 minutes Scotland have conceded two tries and have a yellow card coming for a flagrant foul in the ruck.  Pie and Bovril at its finest.

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36 minutes ago, Savage Henry said:

I like it best when after 7 minutes Scotland have conceded two tries and have a yellow card coming for a flagrant foul in the ruck.  Pie and Bovril at its finest.

Not to worry because they'll take learnings and lessons from it. They'll also appreciate the positives. 

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35 minutes ago, Left Back said:

Other than Maitland who else do we think would have been in the squad for Friday if we weren’t restricted to 5 England based players?

I think it was only Bhatti that would have been on the bench if we didn't have to stick to 5, along with Maitland - maybe Lang, but Jones has been in fine form though

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9 hours ago, AngusTheBull said:

Harris can cover wing as well right? That's a pretty strong backline even without Redpath - would have gone Jones over Harris personally but can see the arguments for both.

I'm much happier with Harris facing Vakatawa than Jones. Harris is excellent defensively and was a big part of us beating France last year - that was probably his best game in a Scotland shirt. We're going to be on the back foot a lot and Harris is a better choice for this game.

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Does anyone happen to know if Edinburgh Rugby run supporters' travel to Pro14 away matches? 
(Not this season, obviously)
Thanks
ian
I think they and Glasgow have done some in the past with sportsbreak. Mainly for the European games and the games v the Italian sides.
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