Southern Comfort At Twickenham, But, Up Here The Scotch Isn't So Bad

WE KEN NOO - either Quantas or Air New Zealand will have to reserve a first-class seat for "Bill", on a flight out of Heathrow on either Sunday or Monday of next week. The Webb Ellis Trophy will head to the Antipodes at the conclusion of Saturday's little neighbourly battle at Twickenham.

 

We will be watching events in the final with, deep in the back of our minds, the feeling that: it could have been us, but, it wasn't to be. One bit of me wants the Australians to win - it would be nicer to be able to say, we lost, controversially, to the eventual winners. However, that said, I still think the All Blacks are the men who matter. It would be something of a shame if such a fantastic dominant run by this squad were to end in defeat. After all, Saturday will be the swan song for so-many wonderful world-class New Zealanders. It has to end in victory.

 

Meanwhile, back here in Scotland, we have much to look forward to. I think, well though the stand-ins have performed, Gregor Townsend has to get most of his World Cup Warriors back onto the paddock ASAP. If they are to successfully defend their Pro12 crown, they have to start putting together a run of bonus-point wins, and that means getting the big guns firing.

 

Edinburgh are, I think, in for a heavy week. Coach Alan Solomons was not a appy bunny in Italy at the weekend, he will be demanding a much-better performance to make amends this week.

 

In the BT Premiership, Ayr have suddenly opened-up a six-point gap at the top, and, the way they are racking-up bonus-point wins, they will not be easily caught. The Millbrae men have the outstanding half-back/midfield pairing in the division, and pace and flair out wide - even with the Gossman brothers injured. They are going ominously well.

 

The rest are beating each other up on a weekly basis. Aside from poor Selkirk, who for all the good rugby they produce, are finding the step-up from the National League to the Premiership just too big a step, anything can happen on any given Saturday.

 

I repeat something I have said before - the BT Premiership is a wonderfully-competitive league.

 

Right now, life on the rugby pitches of South Ayrshire is good, with Marr continuing to head the National League, who'd have thunked it. 

Another Taqele Brainfart

TAQELE NAYARAVORO might yet turn out to be a masterly signing for Glasgow Warriors, but, after a yellow card - which might have been a red - on his debut, and a "brainfart" which coughed-up a penalty try and earned him a second yellow in his second outing, well, early doors, he is proving to be something of a liability to Warriors.

 

Against these, the Fijian/Australian does know where the try line is and how to get there, but, if "Toony" had simply wanted a big lump with nae brains who would run through a brick wall, well he could have got one of those in Barlanark, far less Brisbane.

 

Mind you, I always get the impression, watching Ian Davies referee a match involving a Scottish team, he is simply looking for the next excuse to penalise the Sweaties.

 

I still say, we will never get a fair deal from the referees until we have one, or better still more Scottish referees operating at elite level. It is easy to penalise Scottish sides, when you know, Scottish referees cannot similarly handicap sides from your country. Or, am I simply being paranoid? Which doesn't mean they aren't out to get us.

 

I watched the Scarlets v Munster game on the red button on Friday night. A good game it was too, with Scarlets snatching it right at the death with a monster of a penalty goal. A nice birthday present for the watching Phil Bennett, who is 67 today. Enjoy your day "Benny".

 

 

 

OF COURSE, two matches overshadow all others this afternoon, with the Rugby World Cup semi-finals at Twickenham.

 

Leaving aside the feeling, it should have been us, rather than Australia, facing the Argentinians tomorrow, let's enjoy the games as the spectacles we hope they will be.

 

Mind you, semi-finals in any competition are rarely stand-out games, there is too-much at stakes for the fancy stuff.

 

Today's encounter between the All Blacks and Springboks will be a true clash of giants. This is a 15--a-side Ali v Frasier all the way. They don't like each other, each side is capable of inflicting real harm on the other; no quarter will be asked or given and, while we may have favourites, the outcome is far from obvious.

 

I still feel, the All Blacks have that X-factor which the Bokke lack, but, they will know they have been in a game by the end. The All Blacks to win, narrowly.

 

Tomorrow's game is also hard to call. Past form tends to favour the Wallabies, but, Los Pumas have shown themselves to be a much-more-rounded sides than Argentinian XVs in the past. Both sides have a good "all-court" game. I find it difficult to separate them, but, in this instance, I am leaning, just, towards the Pumas.

 

 

 

 

A Third Pro-team - Now

IN the past year, no less than 52 different players have represented Scotland in capped rugby internationals. Of these players, Euan Murray and Jim Hamilton have since announced their retirement from international rugby, leaving us with 50 current internationalists.

There are also a further 16 players, capped by Scotland in the past three seasons, or still getting a regular game for either of our two professional teams, Edinburgh and Glasgow, playing top-flight rugby. Of these 66 players, 15 play outwith Scotland, which, regardless of the fact, as things currently stand, Glasgow has the greater proportion of the home-based players, we should have enough guys playing in Scotland to not need Exiles.

 

That, of course, overlooks the fact that, quality will always attract big money, and we have to accept, we will always have special players who will be attracted away by big-money offers from the cash-rich French and English clubs, able to offer them wages which the SRU and the two home-based teams cannot.

 

However, surely, with Scottish Rugby riding high in the wake of our good Rugby World Cup showing, Glasgow being reigning Pro12 Champions and Edinburgh at the sharp end of that competition, now is the time for the SRU to consider restoring a third professional side.

 

The cheap option might well be for Murrayfield to strike a deal to make London Scottish the de facto third professional side, however, given the Aviva Premiership, to which Scottish aspire to play in, requires that something like 75 per-cent of any competing side's squad must be "England-qualified", this would be well-nigh unworkable.

 

Unless, of course, the guys who run Scottish could be persuaded to switch to an extended Pro 12.

 

I maintain, if the three Celtic Unions got together and got London Irish, London Scottish and London Welsh to switch to a larger Pro15, it would be to the benefit of the three nations.

 

I reckon, between the current internationalists, plus the former Under-20 caps in their ranks, plus one or two exiles who might fancy coming back home, if the SRU could put together the right player welfare and development processes, we have enough players to put three competitive teams into the Celtic/Italian League set-up; or even, do what the Irish did with Connacht and, until the club finds it feet, make the new team a Development side - a "spine" of experienced capped players as on-field coaches to our best young talent.

 

Every player wants to play, every week. Of course they have to be protected from this, and player-rotation is an inexact science; but, the day cannot be too far-off when we see players we would prefer to keep inside Scotland, inside a system, managed by the SRU with the aim of putting the best-possible Scotland team on the park is put in jeopardy. We could see players who feel they are not getting enough game time, going out of Scotland. Perhaps to clubs whose attitude is: "we are paying you well, so you will play when we tell you" - and to hell with player welfare.

 

These are interesting times and I hope, once the SRU's post Rugby World Cup de-brief is concluded, they seriously consider a third pro team for next season. The talent is there.  

 

 

We Wuz Robbed - So Let's Not Get Fleeced Again

OK - it's official: We Wuz Robbed, by an incompetent/corrupt (delete according to your prejudice or lack thereof) referee.

 

Does it make me feel any better? No - we're still oot on our earses.

 

Where do we go from here? Well, in 15-weeks' time, we will open the 2016 Six Nations against England. That is something to look forward to. Given their awful Rugby World Cup campaign, we may well find our oldest international rivals still in turmoil.

 

They will probably be bedding-in a new coach; fine man though he is, I cannot see Stuart Lancaster surviving the English mainstream media's strident demands for his head. This could mean a change of direction and emphasis.

 

Any way, the RWC has shown, under Vern Cotter, we are more-ready to play a modern, high-tempo, off-loading brand of attacking rugby than England. At club level, for all the example being shown by Bath, England is still wedded to having eight white Orcs up front, grinding down the opposition, before they trust the backs.

 

If we cannot beat England, at Murrayfield, on 6 February, we might as well chuck it in. We will seldom have a better chance to send them homeward to think again.

 

Ireland will face the huge task of replacing Paul O'Cnnell, and maybe one or two others, while, I feel "Warrenball" was exposed badly in the RWC. Sure, Wales will probably have most of their injured stars back, but, with a half-decent referee, we would have beaten them in the 2015 Six Nations, why not in 2016?

 

France and Italy also face major rebuilding jobs. Aye, maybe we are in-line for a Golden Age of Scottish Rugby, to equal the 1920s.

 

 

 

IT WAS good to see John Hardie signing for Edinburgh. The prospect of a back row with twin sevens, in Hardie plus one from Hamish Watson or Roddy Grant, is an intriguing one. Add Mike Coman, David Denton and Cornell du Preez and the "Gunners" have tremendous back row resources.

 

I was thinking, after the World Cup, that, it is maybe time the SRU splashed the cash and put a third professional team in place.

 

My ideal scenario would be for the SRU, IRFU and WRU to lock the CEOs of the three London-based "Exiles" clubs in a room, and didn't let them out until they had agreed to transfer from the Aviva Premiership to the Pro12.

 

Sponsors Guinness, would surely love it if they had these three teams on-board for their league, and the Celtic Diaspora in the Sudetenland could surely be coaxed into getting behind the teams.

 

Failing that, we could have a third team in Scotland. I am not sure if Aberdeen would be the ideal location, maybe Dundee. Certainly, if we were to try again in the Borders, any professional side based there would have to be prepared to move around the grounds, to deter the suggestions that Gala was being favoured which, to some extent scuppered the Reivers.

 

They would also have to have, a core of Borders-reared Scottish players.

 

We now have too-many international-class players for just two pro clubs. If we don't get a third going, and have the players SRU-contracted, they will be picked-off by the cash-rich English and French clubs, to the detriment of Scottish Rugby.

 

We hear the Irish government has come up with some novel tax incentives to keep the top Irish players playing in Ireland, maybe, with Income Tax being devolved to Holyrood - John Swinney could come up with something similar to help the SRU keep our big names playing at home.

Why Does It Always Rain On Us?

Management - she of the cupboard for nothing other than her shoe collection; the woman who shops for Scotland; well, even she got caught-up in Sunday afternoon's little bun fight at Twickenham.

She was in tears at the end, asking me: "Why do you put yourself through that every week"? If the occasion could get to her, well, it was special.

And, in the end we were left singing Scottish Rugby's theme song: 'Why Does It Always Rain On Us?' - again.

Now closer to 70 than 60, I have suffered more "Disasters for Scotland" than most. In football, I can recall - 7-0 to Uruguay, 7-2, 9-3 and 5-1 at Wembley, Argentine in 1978, winning at Wembley but failing to qualify in 1999.

In Rugby - the try that wasn't given at Twickenham in 1955, Hancock's try, same venue, Gavin Hastings' missed penalty, 'the hand of Andrew'; these still hurt. Craig Joubert now joins the likes of George Clancy and Glenn Jackson on my list of referees the SRU should immediately tell World Rugby: "No offence chaps, but, if he's appointed to officiate at one of our matches, we will not be playing".

But, even after all that, the stark fact, which we have to acknowledge, sooner or later, is - in the final analysis, we weren't good enough.

The late Jock Stein always maintained, it was a good idea to take the referee out of the equation - by NOT giving him the chance to make poor decisions against you. This we didn't do yesterday.

I do not blame the players, I have no idea of the particular mental pressure they are under in such big games, but, (and here I have my usual 20:20 hindsight) whoever called that last line-out long, boobed; when under pressure, don't call the risky play, play it short and safe, is always good advice.

That error having been made, it was compounded by a combination of a misjudged throw/jump/lift, or combination thereof. These factors we could have controlled, rather more than Joubert missing the two knock-ons (one each side) as the ball bobbled around prior to his fateful penalty call.

If, as we should have, we had got our kick reception problems solved before the semi-final, we could have lessened some of the pressures we were under prior to some of the Aussie tries.

Yes, Joubert was probably the worst man on the park, but, collectively, we probably made more mistakes than he did on his own, and, some of our mistakes allowed him to make his. So, in a way we were the architects of our own downfall.

Still, let's be positive - I fancy our chances in the Six Nations. I reckon we have come out of the World Cup in a better place than we went into it. We are well-placed to be the best in the Northern Hemisphere, so, onward and upward.

After the World Cup quarter-finals, we can look forward to two excellent semi-finals. Clashes between the All Blacks and the Springboks are always worth watching. The "Nigels" are in for a shock, I don't think they will ever have seen the sort of intensity at Twickenham that the two Southern Hemisphere giants will bring to their clash.

And, given the level at which Argentine played in beating the Irish, I don't see the second semi-final being any less hard-fought.

I can see the final coming down to yet another New Zealand v Australia battle, before the future Sir Richie McCaw collects "Bill" - the Webb Ellis Trophy - for the second World Cup in succession.  

Cotter - More Stein Than Ferguson

JOCK STEIN, a big, somewhat dour Lanarkshire miner turned centre-half, has tended to have been over-shadowed of late by his disciple, Alex Ferguson. However, he made one or two utternaces a lot more profound than: "Football, bloody hell".

 

Take, for instance, the Stein philosophy on management: "It's about making sure the five players who love you have more influence on the team than the five who hate you". Thus sprake a man whose attitude to team-work was influenced by the very real requirement for the entire team to be reading off the same hymn sheet, when they were working hundreds of feet below Lanarkshire in a coal mine.

Big Vern Cotter, more I think a Stein than a Ferguson, needs all 31 of his players to be reading from the same hymn sheet at Twickenham this afternoon. But, before he sends out his chosen XV, he has to decide - does he leave well alone, and dresses the 23 guys he named on Friday, or, does he restore Ross Ford and Jonny Gray to the starting XV, or the match-day 23?

 

How he answers that question, could have a major bearing on whether Scotland's Rugby World Cup journey ends this afternoon, or is extended into the last four, or even the final.

IF, as we sincerely hope it does - #AS One is more than an advertising slogan, then he will be able to sit down with Fraser Brown, Tim Swinson, Kevin Bryce and either Al Strokosh or Josh Strauss and say: "Ok guys, it is all-change after the appeal was upheld, I want Ross and Jonny stripped this afternoon so, you and you will be in the stand and they will be stripped".

 

The players who will be stood-down will accept their fate and Scotland will go out, with the cited two restored, to beat the Aussies.

That is what I think, and hope, will happen.

 

 

 

OK, so Ford and Gray are back, and rightly so. But, World Rugby still has to address the very real fact, their disciplinary systems are in a mess. Indeed, I would go as far as to say, the game has an awful lot of issues to sort-out, which have been ignored in recent years.

 

The question is - does the desire exist to sort-out the way small issues have become big issues?

 

Are we going to see squint feeds ended; the mess that is the break-down sorted-out; are we going to see a fairer deal for the Tier Two and Tier Three nations, something which the governing body has to address, if rugby is to thrive and grow?

 

Is the game, at global level, going to become a true world-wide game, rather than a former Empire game, struggling to make ground in non-post-impreial countries?

 

At this stage, we need strong leadership - I don't think we have it.

 

Finally, having been "torn a new one", by the decision to immediately reinstate Ford and Gray, will Christopher Quinlan QC consider his position. Certainly, given the way he treat Ford and Gray, and his ridiculous decision not to uphold the Finn Russell citing, I feel this Bristol QC's credibility in rugby is shot to pieces.

 

 

A Time For Cool Heads And Clear thinking

I took my time, I sat back, reviewed the evidence, now I feel I can comment. The suspensions handed down to Ross Ford and Jonny Gray stink to high heaven.

But, there is no use ramping-up my blood pressure, spitting vitriol an spleen and moaning about "them" stitching "us" up. Shit happens, and this stuff was produced by a prize bull.

If there is a loser in all this, it is the credibility of World Rugby's disciplinary systems. In discussing the considerable short-comings in the disciplinary protocols, can I immediately kick one point into touch - the fact Ford and Gray were cited by an Australian, Scott Nowland.

No blame or abuse should be directed towards Mr Nowland - he merely did his job: he flagged-up an incident in which he thought the referee had been lenient or had missed something - that's what citing officers are there to do.

Yes, it was unfortunate that an Australian was asked to do a job which might reflect on his nation's net opponents. However, it wasn't a given, at the time of the Scotland v Samoa match that Scotland v Australia would be the quarter-final. When they appointed Mr Nowland to be citing officer in Newcastle, World Rugby could not be sure Scotland's next match would be against Australia.

So, let's leave conspiracy theories to the Celtic Family.

As to the incident, I feel for Ross Ford. He was doing his job correctly, attempting to dislodge Jack Lam, from his position over the ball. Jonny Gray, I have less sympathy for. To my mind, he entered the ruck at an angle, rather than through the gate, he lifted Lam off his feet an turned him around. Most-certainly, Lam's feet went above the horizontal - but - given he was already bent over Dave Denton, in reality, his feet didn't go above the horizontal. In any case, when Gray hit him, Lam's head was only about six inches off the ground, so, it could and (SRU lawyers please note) should be argued that, in this individual case, the normal circumstances of feet going above the horizontal do not apply.

By all means, yellow card Gray. I have no problems with that, had it happened, but, I would argue, under the specific set of circumstances, pertaining to this single incident - a three week ban is too much.



THE bigger question is, in a week of citings and disciplinary overkill, it appears, that World Rugby's disciplinary procedures are in a mess.

Three weeks for Ford and Gray - for a clumsy/over-zealous ruck clear-out
One week for Sean O'Brien - for what looks like a pre-meditated act of thuggery.
Pocock cleared - for what looked like a knee-drop on a prostrate Welsh player - no action.
One week for Marcello Bosch - for what was a far-worse act of dangerous play than that involving Ford and Gray.
Hooper cleared - for a clear shoulder charge which knocked Mike Brown into the middle of net week - no action.
Samoa - 20 penalties conceded v Scotland - no yellow cards.

There is no consistency about the sentences handed down.

Mind you, when you see the way in which World Rugby polices the game, is it any wonder.

When last did you see a straight scrum feed?
When last did you see a crooked scrum feed penalised?
There was a flurry of activity on this in pre-season 2014-15, over a year ago, but, it wasn't carried through into the actual season. I remember the look of sheer horror on the face of Edinburgh's Sean Kennedy, when his first scrum feed in a pre-season match at Franklin's Gardens, Northampton, was penalised. It seemed to say: "When did a crooked feed become a penalty"?
Have you noticed how line-out throws are now going the way of scrum feeds, and a wee bit squint is allowed? Where now for Nigel Owens' priceless quip: "I'm straighter than that".

World Rugby MUST sit down after this World Cup and have a look at the Laws, how they are enforced and where the game is going. Because, I, and other commentators are uneasy about where that destination might be.



ANYWAY - Christopher Quinlan QC, the Disciplinary Officer who banned Ford and Gray, just wrote Big Vern Cotter's pre-match spiel, and, gave Scotland all the motivation they need to beat Australia.
      

Those Who Can Sneak Below The Radar Can Inflict Real Damage

JUST about the best thing about Scotland's Rugby World Cup campaign is - the way we have sailed into the quarter-finals, under the radar. Perhaps only Argentine, of the other seven survivors have attracted less media coverage than us.

 

Of course, the fact the 2015 tournament was being held in England meant that as far as the mainstream United Kingdom media outlets were concerned, their approach was going to be at the default setting of: all about England, with the other Home Nations, particularly those rebellious Scots, very much an afterthought.

 

Indeed, in the Guardian, just one London-based paper, to whom Scotland is a small, far-away, unimportant country - of which they know nothing and care even less, Vern Cotter and his squad have received less coverage than several of the no-hoper Tier Two nations who are now packing their bags for home.

 

Certainly, now we have switched our base from Newcastle-on-Tyne to Guildford, the metropolitan media just might find their way out to leafy Surrey to write something about us. However, I do not expect what they write to be in any way encouraging and anything less than condescending.

 

If we beat Australia, at Twickenham, on Sunday: and I accept this is a big ask of our squad, the Wallabies will surely, and rightly, start as favourites, the likelihood is that the mainstream media (msm) will view this as more a case of Australia losing than Scotland winning. There will also, if we win, be various articles of the "it should have been England" variety. We will be damned by faint praise, if praised at all.

 

But, we have beaten Australia in the recent past. An antipodean win is not a given. It is a huge ask of our guys, but, we are far from being no-hopers.

 

Australia were mightily-impressive in beating Wales. Their defence for those seven or eight minutes when, deep in their own 22, they were 13 v 15 against a fired-up Wales, was truly heroic. The defence of Rorke's Drift is rightly a high-point in Welsh military history. Saturday night was a similar action (without the bullets), but, this time - the Welsh were the Zulus.

 

Of course, Wales, under Gatland, are schooled in Route One Warrenball. Biff, bang, bosh is their creed. I would expect Scotland, in similar circumstances of possession and position, to find a way to get the likes of Hogg, Maitland, Bennett or Seymour dancing into what little space there was. Or, to see WP Nel making a successful ultra-low-level assault on the Aussie line.

 

Our exit in the quarter-finals is not a given - we can go further.

 

 

 

SOME commentators are stupidly saying, quarter-finals three and four: Ireland v Argentine and Australia v Scotland is the "easy" half of the draw. This overlooks the fact, there are no easy games at this stage in a global tournament.

 

Also, given the fact the winners of the Six Nations - Ireland, and the winners of the Rugby Championship - Australia, the best teams this season in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres are in this half of the draw - how can it be the "easy" half?

 

Ireland paid a heavy price in beating France; for all their undoubted strength-in-depth, they would surely rather have Paul O'Connel and Jonny Sexton playing against Argentine, without these two very-influential players, they will find it a lot tougher to beat the South Americans, who gave the All Blacks a searching examination and have improved since.

 

The other half of the draw is like a heavyweight boxing elimination competition. South Africa, Wales, France and New Zealand will knock lumps out of each other in the quarter and semi-finals.

 

You still have to give massive and correct respect to the All Blacks, but, that impossible dream of mine - of Scotland finally posting that first win over the men in black - in the final, at Twickenham. Well, it is still there.

 

 

 

FINALLY, in bidding adieu to the sides who failed to get out of the pools, we should pay tribute to the heroic under-dogs, in particular to Japan and Fiji, and to the players such as DTH Van der Merwe and  Leone Nakarawa, who showed, you don't have to play for a big country to be a superstar.  

Sure - We Underperformed, But, We Won

OFF the top of my head, I can remember covering Scottish international teams in Athletics, Basketball, Bowling, Cricket, Football, Golf, Hockey, Judo, Karate, Lacrosse, Netball, Orienteering, Rugby and Volleyball - plus perhaps a couple of the more-esoteric sports which I have forgotten about.

 

A common denominator across all these sports has been an ability: to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

 

This is a long-standing Scottish tradition, which we perfected during the centuries-long Wars of Independence, between Bannockburn in 1314 and the eventual Union of the Crowns in 1603.

 

For instance, I can still remember a Scotland v England basketball international, at the old Coasters Arena, in Falkirk, in the mid-1980s. Midway through the second-half, we were 20-points up (in football - think leading 4-0); the game was effectively over.

 

Then, big Bobby Archibald, (the best lock forward Scottish rugby never had), broke away for an unopposed score. A simple lay-up would have sufficed, but, no, Bobby. being a Paisley Buddie, went for broke and tried a spectacular, one-handed, overarm, windmill dunk. He miscalculated and rattled the ball off the metal arm which fixed the hoop to the backboard; the ball rebounded the length of the court, was grabbed by an English forward, who scored.

 

Galvanised by this, England hit back, wiped-out our lead and went four points ahead themselves. Thankfully, however, we had the better team and we hit back to win narrowly, but, it was a far-closer match than it ought to have been - we should have buried them.

 

Therefore, hardened by such prior experience, I was relatively unconcerned as we staggered to half-time at St James Park, on Saturday. I always sort of knew, we would prevail, but, my confidence was sorely stretched at times during the game.

 

Let's be honest, plenty of previous Scotland teams would have panicked and found a way to lose to Samoa. Thankfully, between Vern Cotter's half-time talk and Greig Laidlaw's calm captaincy - we came through and, by the end, for me there were more than three points between the two sides.

 

Winning ugly is not something we do too-well. We are much better at losing ugly - we have had a lot more practice, but, this was one ugly win which I welcomed. We can play better, indeed, we MUST, or Australia will murder us in the quarter-final.

 

Still, we are alive and in the last eight. To quote the great Andy Cameron: "We're representing Britain, and here's the reason why England cannae dae it, fur they couldnae qualify".

 

Sorry - couldn't help myself there.

 

We might even beat them, stranger things have happened, but, let's wait and see. After all, although they were wrapped-up in the Union flag at the time, Scotland's Jamie and Andy Murray did beat Australia in the recent Davis Cup semi-final.

 

Well, what  the Murrays have done, Richie and Jonny Gray will surely want to replicate.

 

Can we beat the Aussies and keep our Rugby World Cup dream alive? I don't know, but, I live in hope and leave the final word to Kenny Dalglish: "Maybes aye - maybes naw". 

 

 

 

FINALLY - anent Saturday. Can somebody please tell me: what did a Samoan have to do to be yellow-carded in the match?    

Yes - I Think This Is Our Best XV

Scotland team to play Samoa Africa at St James' Park in Round 4 of Rugby World Cup Pool B

Saturday 10 October (kick-off 2.30pm) - live on ITV

15 Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors) – 36 caps; 9 tries, 2 pens, 51 points 14 Sean Maitland (London Irish) – 18 caps; 3 tries, 15 points 13 Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors) – 11 caps; 5 tries, 25 points 12 Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby) – 32 caps; 4 tries, 20 points 11 Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) – 20 caps; 9 tries, 45 points 10 Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors) – 13 caps; 2 tries, 3 cons, 1 pen, 19 points 9 Greig Laidlaw CAPTAIN (Gloucester) – 44 caps; 3 tries, 52 cons, 94 pens, 401 points 1 Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby) – 50 caps; 2 tries, 10 points 2 Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby) – 92 caps; 2 tries, 10 points 3 Willem Nel (Edinburgh Rugby) – 6 caps; 1 try, 5 points 4 Richie Gray (Castres) – 49 caps; 2 tries, 10 points 5 Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors) – 17 caps; 1 try, 5 points 6 Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors) – 14 caps 7 John Hardie (unattached) – 3 caps; 1 try, 5 points 8 David Denton (Edinburgh Rugby) – 30 caps Substitutes 16 Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors) – 13 caps 17 Gordon Reid (Glasgow Warriors) – 13 caps 18 Jon Welsh (Newcastle Falcons) – 10 caps; 1 try, 5 points 19 Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors) – 15 caps 20 Josh Strauss (Glasgow Warriors) – 3 caps 21 Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors) – 17 caps; 4 tries, 20 points 22 Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors) – 13 caps, 1 try, 1 con, 1 pen, 10 points 23 Sean Lamont (Glasgow Warriors) – 99 caps, 14 tries, 70 points

THAT Big Vern Cotter should name the above team for Saturday afternoon's crucial Pool B game, at St James Park is hardly surprising. On current form, that's the team I'd have picked.

Yes, I would have been tempted to bench Stuart Hogg, just to re-focus him, and, because I reckon he could well bring an additional X-Factor as an impact sub, after an hour - but, I will not argue with BVC's choice.

It is great and reassuring to see John Hardie and Finn Russell back in harness, while Sean Lamont will surely get on to double our number of caps centurions. I think we are in a good place.

I Have A Dream

IN AN ideal world, we Scots would not be paying too-much attention to the on-going breast-beating and hair-tearing, as the Master Race south of the Rivers Tweed and Solway rake through the wreckage of their failed Rugby World Cup campaign.

Nigel - ye're oot - live with it, is my advice to those loveable Orc-followers and would-be chariot drivers.

The Common Enemy might be out, but, we Scots are still in there. In my heart of hearts I accept we will not win the damned thing, but, hey - a man can dream.

Assuming we beat Samoa, at St James Park, Newcastle, on Saturday, we will face whichever country finishes first in Pool A - either   Australia or Wales, who meet at Twickenham in a game which will be played at roughly the same time as we are in action.

I am, for perhaps the first time in my life, hoping Wales win - for the simple reason, I believe we can beat the Welsh in our quarter-final, at Twickenham, on Sunday, 18 October. I do not believe we could beat Australia.

The country which wins our quarter-final,  quarter-final four, will then face the winners of quarter-final three. This will be between the winners of Pool C and the runners-up in Pool D.  So, IF we make it as far as the semi-finals, we will be taking-on either Ireland, France or Argentine.

I accept, we would start such a match as second-favourites in a two-horse race, but, we cannot think we might not win such a game. 

We are actually in none-too-bad a place, if we look at the other side of the draw.

South Africa, who will win our Pool B, will face either Australia or Wales, in the quarter-final. The winners of that match will meet either New Zealand, Ireland or France in the semi-final.

I can see New Zealand, the holders, emerging from these two matches, still a very-hard team to beat, but, somewhat beaten-up.

OK, maybe I am havering, perhaps I have let wishful thinking overrule common sense, but, is not a New Zealand v Scotland Rugby World Cup Final at Twickenham, the perfect stage on which to finally, after all these losses (and the odd draw), the ideal time and place to finally beat the All Blacks.

It will not happen - but, hey - a man can dream.

John Hardie, who is set to return to the Scotland team, if not for the Samoa game, then certainly for the quarter-final, is in a good place.

Hardie quit the Otago Highlanders for Scotland; he is technically "unattached", a free agent. Given his performances thus far in navy blue, he is surely a hot ticket for those clubs seeking an out-and-out foraging number seven.

I can already see his agent fielding inquiries from the big Aviva Premiership clubs, with whom he can virtually write his own salary cheques. The even-richer French clubs in the Top 14, are also surely looking to sign him up post World Cup.

In an ideal world, the SRU would have him on a contract aready, but, that may not happen.

CAN I commend an article in today's Guardian, by former Wales player Jonathan Thomas,  who has been forced to retire due to contracting Epilepsy, after taking too-many knocks to the head. With Head Injury Protocol such an important issue today, as is player protection, Thomas's story is required reading.

A FINAL word on the on-going introspection in English rugby.

In Australia, Wales, South Africa, Scotland, New Zealand, Ireland and Argentine, domestic rugby is organised with a view to having the strongest-possible national team.

Only in England and France does domestic rugby focus more on the clubs. The clubs in these two nations buy-up non-French and non-English mercenaries, they appear to be continually at war with their own Rugby Union, yet, these two nations have probably the greatest record when it comes to under-performing in the Six Nations and the Rugby World Cup.

English Rugby, in particular the Aviva Premiership, is getting to be a wee bit like the FA Premiership, awash with money and non-English players, but, doing little to help an under-achieving national team.

Just saying like.     

Will Benching Him Leave Scotland Hogg-tied Against Samoa

TO THOSE few of us journalists who can multi-task, covering games other than fitba, there has always been a difference between covering the Scotland football and Rugby Union teams.

BOTH teams are occasionally guilty of tripping up and consigning even those of us in the Tartan Army's Information Corps ino troughs of despair, but, when the chips are down in qualifying games, our Rugby players, unlike our footballers, tend not to stumble over lesser teams.

It is this pattern which leads me to believe, we will see-off the challenge of Samoa, at St James Park, Newcastle, on Saturday, to qualify for the Rugby World Cup, quarter-finals.

However, as always with Scotland, to achieve our goal, we need all our big guns firing on all cylinders. Rest assured, Mark Bennett will be back in the number 13 shirt; we must all offer up prayers to our God , that Finn Russell recovers from his sair ankle to fire the back line, while, a wee mention for Ross Ford and John Hardie will not go amiss when we are on our knees in prayer.

Here, I must ask a hard question - should we field Stuart Hogg on Saturday?

Not so long ago, this would have verged on blasphemy; was not Hoggie one of our few contenders for Galactico status? Maybes aye, maybes naw - but, it has to be admitted, when he's good, he is very good, but, when he isn't good, he can be average and infuriating.

And, sadly, we have to concede, in the Rugby World Cup 2015 games thus far, he has been more average and infuriating than sizzling. His passing, both in timing and execution, has been off, then, there was the "big reddie" he copped last Saturday with that "dive" when challenged by Brian Habana.

He was lucky the excellent Nigel Owens was on the whistle. A football referee such as oor ain William Collum would surely have flashed his yellow card for such a piss-poor example of play-acting.

It is not as if we MUST select Hogg. Scotland is in the fortunate position o having two British and Irish Lions full-backs in their squad. Sean Maitland may not have played much rugby in 2015, but, he is fit, he is there and he is available. We could start with Maitland rather than Hogg and not suffer.

If I was Big Vern Cotter, this is what I would do. The last time Hoggie went a wee bit flaky on us, during the run-in to season 2013-14, Gregor Townsend left him out of the Glasgow Warriors. Hogg came back from his spell on the sidelines a better player. Might this tactic work a second time?

I would start with Maitland at 15, Hogg on the bench, against Samoa.



JUST in case you missed it - there hasn't been a lot of publicity about it, but, Australia beat England on Saturday. England is OUT of the RWC.

The English mainstream media has treated this minor inconvenience with the calm, measured response which makes them so loveable. They went ape-shit.

Until, that is, this morning, when Brian "Pit Bull" Moore came up with a wonderful piece in the Daily Torygraph.

It is indeed, a sair fecht for our southern neighbours, when Moore is The Voice of Reason. Actually, I find the former hooker from Hell a refreshing commentator. Like his football equivalent - before illness silenced him - Jimmy Hill, Moore has been there, got the t-shirt and the DVDs, not to mention the caps.

He is not a paid-up member of the Little Englander Tendancy. I like him and feel in the matter of "Where Next"? his response has been a lot more measured than we oldies might have expected from a previous voice of Reason - the late and unlamented (in Scotland) John Reason, one of Moore's predecessors on the Torygraph sports pages.    

For Sale - One Chariot. Long-Term Restoration Project

IT IS almost enough to convert me from supporting Independence, to becoming a "BritNat", or to wrapping myself in the "Butcher's Apron".

I refer, of course, to the host nation's untimely and premature exit from the Rugby World Cup. Last night, I almost felt sorry for an England XV, hyped beyond their abilities. I did say "almost".

You see, once we Scots go our own way and win our Independence, the belief is - we will become Internationalists; we will grow up and cast aside the petty tribalism which sees us, as we are this morning, able to suppress our sadness at Scotland's loss to South Africa, as we revel in the Schadenfreude of the wheels coming off the English chariot in such spectacular fashion at Twickenham.

Aye Right!!!

Sadly our southern neighbours will probably never get it - just how much the rest of the world, particularly in sporting matters, relishes seeing the people who invented or codified so many games and sporting pastimes being humbled, particularly when their expectations are at their highest.

England are oot, gone, snookered, toast, history - call it what you will, but, there will be no open-topped bus tour through central London; Jerusalem will once again only be heard at the Royal Albert Hall on the Last Night Of The Proms, or at Women's Institute meetings. And, the world is a better place for this.

RIGHT, back to the Rugby World Cup. Unless France can perform their usual trick of rousing themselves, and put their string of near misses behind them to win the damned thing, I can only see The Webb Ellis Trophy being taken south of the equator once the 2015 Rugby World Cup ends.

Much as I respect their coach, I don't see Ireland's veteran warriors being able to sustain their challenge all the way to victory, especially since, while both Australia and South Africa demonstrated at the weekend - they are beginning to motor, ominously, the All Blacks are struggling to get out of second gear. Once they do, however, beware.

Sadly for us, Scotland 's limitations were all too cruelly exposed by the Bokke at Newcastle. We played badly, both individually and as a unit, while our opponents were brutally ruthless in squashing us.

I still can see us reaching the last eight - if we took a hammering, both physically and mentally, from South Africa, it was nothing compared to the beating Japan inflicted on Samoa, our next opponents. I think the Brave Blossoms did us a favour and expect us to clinch the second qualifying spot in Pool B, when we return to St James Park on Saturday.

LOOKING ahead to the quarter-finals, I will be supporting Wales, when they take on Australia, in Cardiff, on Saturday. Why? Simples, I honestly believe we can beat the Taffs, I don't think we can beat the Wallabies. I would rather we faced the Welsh than the Chain Draggers, in the last eight.

TO DOMESTIC matters, and another cracking round of fixtures in the BT Premiership. Not a single home team won in yesterday's sixth round of matches, the closest host team to victory being Stirling County, who bounced back from the previous week's hammering at Ayr to hold high-flying Melrose to a 21-21 draw at Bridgehaugh.

Everywhere else, the visitors triumphed, with the result of the day going to Ayr, whose 29-25 win over Heriot's at Goldenacre, saw them displace their hosts at the top of the table. However, Heriot's and Boroughmuir, who themselves beat Gala 32-12 at Netherdale are one fixture behind, because of their Charity Shield clash at Murrayfield on the opening Saturday of the league season.

They will meet at Meggetland on Friday night and the winners, should there be one, will go top of the table. 

Beating Samoa Is Now Our Primary Target

Scotland team to play South Africa at St James' Park in round 3 of Rugby World Cup Pool B

Saturday 3 October (kick-off 4.45pm) - live on ITV

15 Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors) – 35 caps; 9 tries, 2 pens, 51 points 14 Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors) – 19 caps; 8 tries, 40 points 13 Richie Vernon (Glasgow Warriors) – 22 caps 12 Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby) – 31 caps; 4 tries, 20 points 11 Tim Visser (Harlequins) – 22 caps; 10 tries, 50 points 10 Duncan Weir (Glasgow Warriors) – 20 caps; 2 tries, 6 cons, 9 pens, 1 drop, 52 points 9 Greig Laidlaw CAPTAIN (Gloucester) – 43 caps; 3 tries, 51 cons, 92 pens, 393 points 1 Gordon Reid (Glasgow Warriors) – 12 caps 2 Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors) – 12 caps 3 Willem Nel (Edinburgh Rugby) – 5 caps; 1 try, 5 points 4 Richie Gray (Castres) – 48 caps; 2 tries, 10 points 5 Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors) – 16 caps; 1 try, 5 points 6 Josh Strauss (Glasgow Warriors) – 2 caps 7 Blair Cowan (London Irish) – 13 caps, 2 tries, 10 points 8 David Denton (Edinburgh Rugby) – 29 caps Substitutes 16 Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby) – 91 caps; 2 tries, 10 points 17 Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby) – 49 caps; 2 tries, 10 points 18 Jon Welsh (Newcastle Falcons) – 9 caps; 1 try, 5 points 19 Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors) – 14 caps 20 Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors) – 13 caps 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh Rugby) – 7 caps 22 Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors) – 12 caps; 1 try, 1 con, 1 pen, 10 points 23 Sean Lamont (Glasgow Warriors) – 98 caps; 14 tries, 70 points   What that XV tells me is - Big Vern Cotter views the final Pool B game, against Samoa, is the more-important of the two remaining matches.   The absence of the likes of Mark Bennett, Alasdair Dickinson and Ross Ford from the starting XV, not to forget the decision not to rush Finn Russell and John Hardie back for the Boks, I would suggest, points towards the final pool game being seen as the more-winnable.   This is not to suggest that we will "lie down" before the Bokke. We will, I am sure, be aiming for the best-possible result at St James Park on Saturday, but, if we have to settle for a losing bonus point (provided the Saffers fail to get a four-try bonus), I don't think BVC will be too-bothered.   If we lose this match by enough to garner a losing bonus, we will retain top spot in the table. We do not need to beat South Africa to qualify, but, if we could, we would all but guarantee topping the pool.   We are in a good place, so, there is no need to put out all our big guns for this one.   I am delighted to see Gordon Reid getting his first outing of the competition at loose-head - he will not let us down. Pleased too for Richie Vernon, who is being given a run in the centre to rest Mark Bennett.   BVC has picked a good squad.        CAN I draw your attention to the Australian website Green & Gold Rugby. This site has come up with, in the course of its Rugby World Cup coverage, a nice investigation into the goings-on at the scrum in the England v Wales match, in Pool A of the Rugby World Cup.   Their feature in an in-depth dissertaion on the difficulties facing referees in today's high-profile, high-pressure rugby at the top level. Most-illuminating.   I did like the suggestion put forward by one of the SRU's Refereeing Department's senior figures when we discussed the hotch-potch which is today's scrums, before a recent BT Premiership gme.   His suggestion - do away completely with scrum penalties. If a side is pinged for illegalities, give the opposition possession from a tapped kick, with the opposition required to be ten metres back.   This move, just might result in scrums again being all about restarting play after a technical offence, which is what scrums are supposed to be all about. Worth trying, I would say.