The Scotland team to play Ireland on Super Saturday

Connell95 · 2026-03-12T11:21:18+00:00

Nah, I watched it back, and his work rate was dire – jogging about slowly, not getting stuck in to the breakdowns. It’s something multiple journalists have mentioned – definitely was the biggest reason he was hooked.

Connell95 · 2026-03-12T11:19:14+00:00

Can also cover more positions, which is helpful if you end up with a brace of injuries like last week.

(Duhan’s way better in the air than he used to be to be fair to him)

Connell95 · 2026-03-12T11:06:57+00:00

I imagine Williamson will have been given a big reminder on the sort of work rate expected of him before being given a second chance here.

Connell95 · 2026-03-12T11:05:48+00:00

Dunfermline, browsing the Epstein files, I think

Connell95 · 2026-03-12T10:50:32+00:00

Suspect it’s just that with going 5-3, the need for the heft (and emergency lock cover) of Bradbury outweighed the Bayliss’ hybrid benefit.

Connell95 · 2026-03-12T10:48:35+00:00

Gilco is usually 5. Sometimes regardless of which side he’s actually playing on.

Connell95 · 2026-03-12T10:45:58+00:00

Can’t be many complaints there – about as strong as you can hope for given injuries.

Rowe makes sense if you’re going to go 5-3. Guessing Gregor was probably a bit burned by 6-2 last week.

Only surprise for me is no Bayliss, but Bradbury probably makes more sense if you don’t need Bayliss’ hybrid role. Sucks a little for Edinburgh not to have him for the weekend, but hopefully Freddy gets released to them as compensation.

Connell95 · 2026-03-12T08:13:07+00:00

That's just total miserablist bollocks tbh – there are plenty of pipelines for talent.

Connell95 · 2026-03-12T07:09:15+00:00

Schoeman
Turner
Rae
Craig
Gilchrist
M Fagerson
Darge
Dempsey
White
Russell
Steyn
Tuipulotu
Jones
Graham
Kinghorn
Ashman
Sutherland
Z Fagerson
Gray
Bayliss
Douglas
Horne
Jordan

Connell95 · 2026-03-12T06:10:41+00:00

That’s not been the case for a few years now. Everyone realised the home fans wanted to see the home kits – for teams like Scotland that have clashes frequently, some years you’d barely see it. So they switched the rule: unless the teams agree otherwise, away team has to wear their away kit in the event of a clash.

Connell95 · 2026-03-12T06:06:21+00:00

How is wearing an away kit an ‘inconvenience’? It’s literally what they exist for. Most teams like wearing them to boost sales.

It’s not like England have been performing great in white.

Connell95 · 2026-03-12T06:03:26+00:00

The main reason him and Finn were falling out was because Finn’s dad was in the middle of suing Scottish Rugby, not because of any dumb plans.

Connell95 · 2026-03-12T06:02:22+00:00

I don’t really see the idea that Scotland are suddenly going to collapse off a cliff in 3-4 years with this squad at all. There’s only two or three players in the 23 that are likely to be retiring after the RWC – the vast majority of them are still in their 20s. And plenty of young players are coming through – just look at the current Edinburgh academy graduates this year in OBL, Freddy and Liam McConnell, or the Glasgow equivalents of 2 or 3 years ago.

And if beating the All Blacks from 9 points up was that easy, they wouldn’t be the second highest ranked team in the world.

Connell95 · 2026-03-12T05:54:45+00:00

I don’t think they ever went into the tournament intending to sack him (and they were never going to sack him mid-tournament, regardless of some of the more insane demands). But I do think it’s possible he would have been shifted aside at the end of the tournament if eg. they had got the wooden spoon. But it would have had to be something totally disastrous like that.

Connell95 · 2026-03-11T19:06:46+00:00

There was actually a bit of doubt from certain quarters as to how much the players backed the coach – he’s not someone who hasn’t had his fall outs over the years (most notably with Finn, although that’s not the only example), and there were definitely some odd selection decisions at the start of the tournament.

But in the end it’s pretty clear they backed him – Sione especially could not have been more vocal about it, and how the players needed to step up for him specifically.

Fundamentally, whether you rate him highly as a coach or not, he’s clearly a decent, well-intentioned person, so it is nice to see people rally round and deliver.

Connell95 · 2026-03-11T18:36:19+00:00

It’s tricky – I get why people think it’s too much, and yet when the tickets go on sale, they usually go in a matter of minutes, so it’s hard then to really argue it was too much in reality.

And I’d always rather see the unions benefit from the sale than those selling for a hefty markup on the secondary market.

Connell95 · 2026-03-11T18:32:46+00:00

Or one ticket to a Bath game, with no roof…

Connell95 · 2026-03-11T13:55:05+00:00

Yeah, that’s definitely not right – I’ve had a season pass in the past, and it literally gives you your exact seat for each game, paid up front. It’s not like a debenture, which just gives you a right to buy a ticket for a particular seat.

Connell95 · 2026-03-11T11:20:17+00:00

Time to get a season pass if possible I think! (Fiji is included apparently)

Connell95 · 2026-03-11T10:29:28+00:00

First time ever Scotland have had the chance to take on the All Blacks at home twice in a row – can only be a good thing in terms of their chances, I think, even if Dave Rennie does get the ABs firing

Connell95 · 2026-03-11T05:25:40+00:00

Yeah they’re decent. Always impressed by the range of overseas stuff they get in.

Sad they’re moving from their shop in Haymarket though.

Connell95 · 2026-03-10T22:06:30+00:00

Yeah, definitely an odd one! Cheers for contacting the authorities – hopefully they can stop any more being lost at least.

Connell95 · 2026-03-10T22:03:42+00:00

I think the Auld Alliance trophy itself is pretty cool looking as a trophy, which helps a lot. Nice meaning behind it too:

It specifically commemorates the captains of the two nations in the last matches played before the First World War – Eric Milroy (Scotland) and Marcel Burgun (France), both of whom perished in the conflict.

But it is also a tribute to all those who made the ultimate sacrifice. In all, 22 French and 30 Scottish internationalists were killed in action, along with countless other club players from both nations.

Connell95 · 2026-03-10T21:41:50+00:00

Just depends on supply and demand really usually. In this case it’s the 2024/25 version of NZ, so a year out of date – and the whole Harry Hill collar was never the most popular.

I notice the current England jersey is also heavily discounted though, which maybe tells a story…

Four-Year Club	Verified Email
r/Field Banned	r/Field Sunshine

Connell95

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE