Toonie Tombola Time Again

TOONIE HAS SPOKEN and we now know the 37-man Scotland squad for the November Nations Cup games. We now have one of the more-settled international squads, with just one newcomer: Newcastle Red Bulls' Ollie Leatherbarrow, named in the squad – which is:

 

These Nations Cup games are the start of the race towards next year's World Cup, and it will be interesting to see who comes in and goes out over the next 12 months.

The breakdown of the squad is also interesting, with Glasgow Warriors providing the bulk of the party, with 19 representatives; 8 players are with clubs in the Gallagher Prem, 5 ply their trade at Murrayfield with Edinburgh; 4 joué in France's Top 14, while chasing the yen has not meant international exile for Jack Dempsey.

Ollie Leatherbarrow's selection is the interesting one. The Macclesfield-born flanker has, courtesy of a grandmother from Perth, aligned himself to Scotland from his days in the Knutsford RFC U-16s, through his time in the Sales Shark Academy and playing for Exeter University and Exeter Chiefs. He won Scotland Under-16 and Under-20 honours and his move to Newcastle has seen him gain more game time and experience, leading to this call-up.

Of course, this being a Scotland squad – thanks to our unique ability to fight amongst ourselves the named squad has not been met with universal approval. The cries of “Foul!” coming mainly from the capital, where the lieges have taken exception to the fact only 5 of the 37 – 13.5% of the squad has come from the team currently topping the BKT United Rugby Championship table.

On current form, I could make a case for one or two overlooked Edinburgh players: back rowers Freddie Douglas and Magnus Bradbury, second row Glen Young and young tight-head Ollie Blyth-Lafferty have all shone in the early games this season. For Douglas and Blyth-Lafferty, their time will come, Young has lost out in a very-crowded area of strength for us while we have to perhaps finally accept – Toonie doesn't like Big Maggie; some players suffer from this when you put selection in the hands of a single Coach.

Townsend's problem too is this, we have perhaps never had the strength-in-depth of players we have at the moment. Off the top of my head I came up with this XV of already capped players who for various reasons didn't make the 37-man squad:

Stuart Hogg; Harry Paterson, Matt Currie, Cammy Redpath, Aaron Reed; Adam Hastings, Gus Warr; Alec Hepburn, George Turner, D'Arcy Rae' Grant Gilchrist, Glen Young, Dylan Richardson, Fredddie Douglas, Magnus Bradbury.

Now I accept the chances of Stuart Hogg adding to his century and more of caps are best summed-up by reference to The Eagles' Hell Freezes Over tour, but, he is playing regularly in the top league in the world. I could also name a further XV of already-capped players who have missed out, despite regular game time in one of the top three leagues, although, one or two would have to play out of position – so, to summarise, Toonie does not lack options selections-wise and Scotland has probably never had the depth of talent we have now.

I am sure, between now and the final week of the Nations Cup, we will see players go out and come into the squad, but, our current depth means Scotland will not be greatly inconvenienced by changes.

At this stage, I would again suggest, difficult though it might be to get opposition, the SRU should be looking at playing more Scotland A games, to keep the already-capped fringe players involved and better integrate the uncapped youngsters emerging from the Under-20 team into the full team's systems.

What A Great Referee

I RECALL – back when yellow and red cards were introduced into Rugby Union, the late Alan Hosie fearing some referees would use yellow cards in circumstances where a red was the better punishment. I fear, as he so often was, Mr Hosie was correct.

I think too, at elite club and international level, where the “Bunker” or to give it its full title: “The Fair Play Review System” comes into play, referees have become over-willing to forget that old chestnut: “The Referee is the sole judge of fact” and pass the parcel of making a crucial decision to the somewhat anonymous official sitting in a television outside broadcast truck.

Thus, too often of late, challenges, particularly illegal tackles, which probably deserved a full red card were graded down to a 20-minute red.

So kudos must go, for not opting out of the big decision and trusting her own judgement, to wee Hollie Davidson, who, just 15 minutes into the Toulouse v Exeter Investec Champions Cup match on Sunday, red carded Toulouse prop Rodrigue Neti just 15 minutes into the game. Generally, such an early loss of a player would cripple the team suffering the red card, it says much about the quality and depth of the Toulouse squad that they went on to win the game.

I dare say, supporters being biased beings, had the French side lost, the post-match reaction might have been different, but, on social media, there are numerous posts, in French, from French Rugby fans, praising Hollie's control of the match – they are now realising something some of us in Scotland have known for several years – this wee lassie is a genuine star.

 

Hollie, naturally, grabbed the headlines, but over this European weekend, she was not the only Scottish referee on duty. I can remember, not that long ago, when Scottish match officials were regarded in the game as something akin to rocking horse shit, seen on the international stage with the frequency of Halley's Comet.

Well, no more, in Toulouse, Hollie led a virtually all-Scottish officiating team; she had Rob McDowell and Finlay Brown on the flags, with David Sutherland on TMO duty. Ireland's Peter Ferguson was Citing Commissioner for the game.

The match was Sutherland's second of the weekend, he had also been TMO for the La Rochelle v tenbetLions game, in which McDowell had had one flag, Johnny MacKenzie the other, with Sam Grove-White the man in the middle and England's Chris Catling on Citing Commissioner duties.

Elsewhere, Mike Adamson was in the Bunker for the Australia v New Zealand Bledislow Cup meeting; Beth Dickens was the citing commissioner for the DHL Stormers v Bristol Bears Investec Cup match; Charles Sansom was Citing Commissioner for the meeting of Dragons and Perpignan in the EPCR Challenge Cup, in which competition, Alex Logan was Citing Commissioner for the Harlequins v Vannes game.

Ten Scottish officials in action in big non-Domestic games, from Sydney to London – where not that long ago, unless your surname was Changleng you never got the call (or so it was rumoured). Maybe we should be praising the SRU's Match Officials Department a bit more than we usually do.

FAMILY MATTERS have occupied my time this week, but, I must admit, I was hoping to include the news of the Scotland squad for the upcoming Nations Cup matches in this post. However, with that announcement delayed, I thought I had better get something posted.

It has been a rather interesting week, one thing is clear – last weekend's opening European games were not good for the teams from the over-inflated Prem. Being a tight bar steward, I refuse to pay for online newspaper comment, which leaves me with only the free Guardian pages to peruse.

Even the jammiest English win in Europe will usually have that paper's Chief Rugby Writer – Robert Kitson waxing lyrical about the superiority of the Prem and the English teams. This week – zilch, indeed, he does a convincing impression of Basil Fawlty faced with a coach-load of German tourists: he doesn't mention the war.

FINALLY – with 18 Ayr and 4 Marr players involved in the upcoming Inter-District games, you might have thought the SRU might have given a Glasgow home game to Millbrae – if only to pull in a half-decent attendance of locals. However, that sort of thinking requires a working brain cell and I don't think the current Junta in EH12 has discovered where Dom McKay left that brain cell when he departed.

Good to see Bobby Beattie getting the Glasgow captaincy – proof that, for all wee Bobby's undoubted talent, it still helps to be from one of Scottish Rugby's noble families.

 

Let's Talk About Elephants

THE ELEPHANT in the room, the one Rugby Union is loath to discuss is the fact, it is only at elite international level that the game makes money. The French Top 14 – courtesy of a wonderfully lucrative television deal and, to a degree, the way local authorities help fund their local teams – makes good money for the clubs, but, the other two major leagues rely on the deep pockets of millionaire club backers (England's Prem) and the fact the clubs are de facto arms of the relevant national union (the United Rugby Championship).

I have long wondered: how much longer will the sugar daddies of the Prem continue to subsidise a financially failing league, before they cry enough and we see the only professional club league which makes sense – a club version of the Guinness Six Nations.

That said, Ah hae ma doots about the ability of Twickenham's 57 Old Farts to get a sensible English presence in any such super league, in the face of the determination of England's big club owners – with the certain assistance of the Welsh Rugby Union – who want cross-border games so badly they would sell their souls to guarantee it – to run the show to suit themselves.

The Irish would be ok – they have perhaps the closest thing to a system that works: four provincial unions with their own histories and an indulgent national union. We Scots, we would probably be cast as the honest brokers, trying to get the others to see sense; except, can you recognise much common sense coming out of Murrayfield of late?

I see the mice, having finally rid themselves of that big fat Mancunian cat, still cavorting and enjoying life without thinking too deeply of the future.

Any way, enough of this stream of consciousness, let's consider the reality of the present day. The BKT United Rugby Championship table makes excellent reading this morning: Edinburgh – played 3 won 3, topping the table on 14 points. Glasgow – played 3 won 2, drawn 1, on point behind, on 13 points. Our two clubs currently enjoy a three-point gap on their pursuers, that pack led ominously by a trio of South African sides.

The URC is a marathon, not a sprint, but, our two sides have started well. This week, however, their early season impetus could be stymied somewhat, since they have to remove their league heads and put on their European ones – with Edinburgh opening their European Challenge Cup campaign by entertaining Toulon on Friday night, while Glasgow get their Investec Champions Cup expedition underway in Manchester, against Sale Sharks on Saturday.

While a number of Scotland's few world class players: Blair Kinghorn, Huw Jones, Finn Russell, Ben White to name but a few, earn bigger money in England and France, the bulk of the national squad are with Edinburgh and Glasgow. This means, Scottish calls will impact on when they can turn out for the two clubs and in the past, when the home-based big names have been missing, the clubs have struggled.

This season both clubs have, in the early games, managed to achieve good results with teams containing as many journeymen as stars, and this bodes well for the rest of the season. Trips to Parma have proved difficult in the past for Edinburgh, but, on Saturday, a squad bereft of a few big names managed to emerge with a bonus point win and while the performance wasn't a symphony of soaring, running rugby, a win is a win is a win, with some of the lesser lights playing a big role in delivering it.

Coming, as it did, on the back of a good Glasgow win over Connacht, it completed a good weekend for the two clubs. The Glasgow win included no less than four tries off mauls for the Warriors' pack – a sign that the piano shifters are again finding their feet at the right time.

Like Edinburgh, Glasgow's cause this season has not been harmed by an early reliance on lesser lights – long may the wins continue.

OK, THE WEANS at TNT Sport will be all orgasmic about Northampton v Bath, but, for me the match of the weekend was the Bledisloe Cup clash in Auckland in which the All Blacks put Australia to the sword.

If you missed the live transmission, at seven o' clock on Saturday morning, do try to catch a look somewhere. This was a real Test Match, enhanced by a wonderful exhibition of centre play from Jordie Barrett – the one currently-active centre who is better than oor ain Sione Tuipulotu.

The All Blacks didn't always get the quick ruck ball which Attack Coach Mike Blair wants to see; however, half-back Cam Riogarde is brilliant at making good ball out of bad, and, when they did get quick ruck ball, you could see the squad flourishing on Blair's attacking ideas.

Victory also handed the ABs possession of, as well as the Bledisloe Cup, The Raeburn Shield, that under-rated trophy which goes to the lineal World Champions. It might not be “Bill” - The William Webb Ellis Trophy, awarded to the World Cup winners, but, it's still a bit of bling which is worth having.

 

Sometimes Haund-Knitted Beats Mass-Produced

TNT SPORTS' coverage of England's “Prem” attempts to convince us, this is the gold standard for professional club rugby: the biggest, brightest and best, the supreme example of club rugby play. This, of course is pure pish – the reality is: France's Top 14 is the best league in the world while, at its highest level, the BKT United Rugby Championship offers more attacking rugby than the still sometimes boring forward-dominated English brand. The URC also has more-rounded talking heads than the Prem.

Any way, on Saturday afternoon I started watching Bristol Bears v Northampton Saints on TNT Sports. Half an hour in, however, the game began to lose me and I nodded off. At half time, I woke up and fired-up my lap top to catch-up with the varioous twitter feeds in the Arnold Clark Premiership – and, by the way, the big Scottish clubs are not doing themselves any favours via this platform.

I discovered, however, that the Watsonians v Heriot's match was being broadcast on You Tube, so, off went the TV and I switched. Now, I am not going to lie and say the game at Myreside was played at the same pace and with the same precision in all aspects of the one at Ashton Gate; but, it was an awful lot more entertaining. It was a cracker of a game, with Watsons holding on to win an 11-try thriller: 42-35.

There were some stand-out individual performances. The Offside Line's man at the game gave his Man of the Match vote to Watsonians' centre Gus Godwin. He got that one right, but quite how he failed to acknowledge the contributions to the home team's win from Cammy's boys – the Mather Brothers – remains a mystery. Good too, to see Struan Cessford, who I think is almost as old as I am, still able to come on and propel a scrum forward in a bright cameo.

It speaks volume about the thinking within the bounds of EH12 that these You Tube broadcasts are not better publicised. In the last two Saturdays I have enjoyed two domestic games – the Under-18 Ayrshire Derby between Marr and Ayr and the Myreside encounter. The coverage wasn't perfect in both cases, but with a wee bit of effort, we could better sell our vibrant domestic game. What's not to like about that?

A final thought on the Myreside match, a couple of lovely spin pass ball deliveries from the ball boys demonstrated, they are being taught proper rugby at George Watson's College.

EDINBURGH v SHARKS was a kind of tough watch, with defences very much to the fore all game. In the end, however, Edinburgh found a way to win, with their bench seeing them home – a genuine case of Finishers really finishing.

South African sides have always been known for scrum excellence, their lines-out play, less so; and in this game they had problems at the touchlines all evening, which rather stymied their game plans.

To be fair, it wasn't as much a case of the Sharks getting it wrong at the touchlines, Edinburgh attacked just about every throw, with Glen Young and Liam McConnell particularly prominent in messing things up for the visitors.

The home youngsters again impressed and, after two games, Sean Everitt's men find themselves above Glasgow Warriors in the league table – this could be a very interesting season.

GLASGOW WARRIORS huffed and puffed, but, like with both sides across the water on the Garvachy Road, Saturday night in Scotstoun, neither party would yield.

Ulster. Like Warriors, still have one or two long-serving big names to bring in, but, on the night, I felt the visitors were just a tad sharper. It thus speaks volumes for Warriors' defence that they managed to scrape a draw.

This was a bit of a bad night at the office, but, they managed to avoid defeat and will be better for having got some gremlins out of the system.

Most critics reckoned the crucial moment in the match came when Stafford McDowall apparently butchered a two-man overlap after a terrific solo break. It's easy to be wise after the event, but, I felt, the way the last Ulster defender held-off tackling him, forcing uncertainty within big Staff as to when to pass, allowed the other defender who got back and made the actual tackle which stopped the big Warrior. Terrific work in not committing by the Ulsterman.

FINALLY – I hear there has been an outbreak of unexpected nose bleeds in Melrose, since Saturday night; from the realisation the 'Rose are top of the Arnold Clark Premiership table. This season is shaping-up to be a good one, rather than the procession of recent years.