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Rugby Autumn Tests


vanderark14

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Scotland played well on Saturday, ran the All Blacks close. The drama at the end was superb, when Hogg made that break it was a maybe this will be our day moment. Alas not to be. Can't believe how many times we set the table but then didn't eat. The offload from SB Williams for what turned out to be the winning score was worth the ticket price alone, kept him quiet in the main but that one split second was the difference.

 

Looking forward to the Australia game next week now. Hopefully we can play at the same level, they will be looking to make a statement after their hounding at Twickenham.

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Just for a second it looked like Hogg was clear. Raised the level of intensity and performance several notches from the Samoa game. Feared the worst when Nel went off and the replacements required mounted. When the ABs destroyed our scrum it felt like the same old same old. Compete for 40 minutes, end up losing by 20+. Considering some of the players we had on the field at the end it was a brilliant effort.

Watching Gray, Watson, Barclay and Hogg match if not outperform their AB opppnents made me think of the Lions party in the summer and how many (including on here) talked our players down in that context. Hogg not good enough to play against the ABs according to some. Anyway, looking forward to another day out at Murrayfield this Saturday.

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1 hour ago, Pool Q said:

Just for a second it looked like Hogg was clear. Raised the level of intensity and performance several notches from the Samoa game. Feared the worst when Nel went off and the replacements required mounted. When the ABs destroyed our scrum it felt like the same old same old. Compete for 40 minutes, end up losing by 20+. Considering some of the players we had on the field at the end it was a brilliant effort.

Watching Gray, Watson, Barclay and Hogg match if not outperform their AB opppnents made me think of the Lions party in the summer and how many (including on here) talked our players down in that context. Hogg not good enough to play against the ABs according to some. Anyway, looking forward to another day out at Murrayfield this Saturday.

And even now if you listen to the prevailing view in the media and on social media, Scotland got close because the ABs weren't at their best or had an off day. Ireland England or Wales playing the same game would be portrayed as having neutralised the All Blacks, with little mention of an off day. Fact is they didn't play at their best because we didn't let them. You could see it in the first fifteen minutes and in the last ten, New Zealand were holding on by their fingernails and were genuinely rattled. We put them in that position and their class shone out by the way they resisted (and cheated) and held out for the win. 

It's noticeable that the difference was made by two or three genuinely world class players, in particular Sonny Bill and Beauden Barrett, making critical plays in attack and defence. Very few players in the world would have made the tackle Barrett mad on Hogg at the very end - if McKenzie had still been at fullback I believe Hogg would have scored. 

Edited by biffer
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12 hours ago, Pool Q said:

Watching Gray, Watson, Barclay and Hogg match if not outperform their AB opppnents made me think of the Lions party in the summer and how many (including on here) talked our players down in that context. Hogg not good enough to play against the ABs according to some. 

Seriously? 

Whoever said that needs their head read. Or shot.

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Plenty, as Biffer says. Hogg is suspect in defence and under the high ball according to them. David Barnes (a Scottish journalist) was prominent, saying Scotland were lucky to have two players in the original Lions party, citing the England game and Glasgow’s humping by Saracens as evidence that their players weren’t up to it. Gatland and Farrell wittered on about wanting payers that were ‘winners’ who weren’t happy with just being in the team, and that Scotland had overachieved as a team which didn’t have many good players etc. Plenty swallowed this guff.

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1 hour ago, Pool Q said:

Plenty, as Biffer says. Hogg is suspect in defence and under the high ball according to them. David Barnes (a Scottish journalist) was prominent, saying Scotland were lucky to have two players in the original Lions party, citing the England game and Glasgow’s humping by Saracens as evidence that their players weren’t up to it. Gatland and Farrell wittered on about wanting payers that were ‘winners’ who weren’t happy with just being in the team, and that Scotland had overachieved as a team which didn’t have many good players etc. Plenty swallowed this guff.

yet the lions squad was prominent with welsh player who got their arse handed to them against us.

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8 minutes ago, Toepoke said:

Romping ahead v Oz....

I’m always afraid to say this when it comes to Scotland in any sport but we are pretty feckin good at rugby nowadays 

queue the implosion :lol:

Edited by vanderark14
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35 minutes ago, fringo said:

Can I replace my last comment with "wow!" ?

Nae need really. FFS still fits OK.:lol:

One of Scotland's best ever results. If we could cut down on some the basic mistakes, I think we could be a force to be reckoned with.

 

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Tremendous result. Great effort and coherence from a lot of players who would normally be considered second or third choice. Plenty still to work on as well. Tough six nations coming up with France and England at home, Ireland Wales and Italy away, but potential to put pressure on for the title. First game, away in Cardiff, is huge; another watershed - can we win away from home when it matters? 

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Great day out on Saturday. Scotland playing a high tempo, attacking game was great to see. It was clear from about the 49th minute onwards that we had the game sown up, it was just a case of how many so it was a delight to see up rack up 50+ points. Atmosphere was superb and so many players who prior to these game would've been considered reserves have put their hands up to start in the 6 Nations. Depth in the squad is improved, reasons to be optimistic looking ahead to Feb/March.

 

On another note does anyone know when tickets for the France game will go on sale or will they all be snapped up already. I fancy this one but there isn't much info on the SRU site. 

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1 hour ago, morrie21 said:

Great day out on Saturday. Scotland playing a high tempo, attacking game was great to see. It was clear from about the 49th minute onwards that we had the game sown up, it was just a case of how many so it was a delight to see up rack up 50+ points. Atmosphere was superb and so many players who prior to these game would've been considered reserves have put their hands up to start in the 6 Nations. Depth in the squad is improved, reasons to be optimistic looking ahead to Feb/March.

 

On another note does anyone know when tickets for the France game will go on sale or will they all be snapped up already. I fancy this one but there isn't much info on the SRU site. 

Already sold out I think. You can add your name to a waiting list on the SRU ticket site.

 

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Managed to get to NZ and Australia games. Absolutely fantastic games.  Hogg rightly getting praise all over, however, Hamish Watson!!  If he was anything other than Scottish, people would be going crazy about him.  Terrific player.  Plenty of other stand out performances too.  Also, when you start thinking of the players that weren't involved through injury it's pretty exciting times for Scottish rugby.  Really looking forward to 6 Nations.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 27/11/2017 at 4:28 PM, biffer said:

Already sold out I think. You can add your name to a waiting list on the SRU ticket site.

 

Got a France ticket on Thursday. Not sure how many were on sale but waited in the queue about half an hour and got a good seat. I'm not sure if England tickets are all sold or if there will be a sale for them at a later date. Didn't register interest for that game as have work that day. Mind you not sure I could've afforded it anyway. Those prices, Sacre Bleu!!!

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