Misery at Murrayfield

Oct 05, 2020

WELCOME: Well, well, well if it isn’t the feelings we have been trying to avoid. Frustration, abject disappointment and a lingering feeling like nothing has changed: the Pro14 (12 soon to be 16) is back and Edinburgh and Glasgow have kicked off the new season with two disappointing losses. In this week’s newsletter we will begrudgingly look back at the opening day fixtures as well as some other bits and pieces from the last seven days in Scottish rugby. It is also now less than a month until international fixtures return, so the countdown is on and as ever the Thistle is here for you. Subscribe below if you haven’t already to get us in your inbox every Monday morning.

BOX OFFICE BOTCH JOB: With news that the latest James Bond franchise is set to be delayed again, fans of the Pro14 were hoping for some blockbuster rugby to tide them over at the weekend. Well, they were left disappointed as the critics posted their reviews for the return:

“Soulless Stuff”: Alasdair Reid, the Times

“Disappointingly similar”: Mark Palmer, The Sunday Times

“We just couldn’t catch the ball”: Richard Cockerill, Edinburgh Head Coach

GIANTS CAUSE-FOR CONCERN: Irish beast Bundi Aki took all the plaudits as Connacht beat Glasgow 28-24 at The Sportsground. While Glasgow showed some nice touches at times, they were ultimately far too sloppy to deserve the win. Connacht were clinical and took points when they were required. Sound familiar of Scottish team vs Irish teams? We have been here before people.

THAT BEING SAID: Huw Jones looks to have found a spark of his old form playing at 15 and after all the negative feeling that seems to have followed Glasgow around in recent months, we were pleasantly surprised with how the side fronted up at a difficult venue. Check out Jones’ classy finish here and another lovely score from Grigg here - the angle from behind shows some nice running lines.

JONESING FOR HUW: Jones’ try wasn’t his only contribution, with this spicy offload another highlight. No wonder journalists have re-kindled their love for Huw. Jamie Lyall is front of the kissing booth in a recent article for newly formed The XV. Find yourself a man who talks about you like this:

Ahem. The full piece is worth a read and the XV looks like it will be serving up some nice content (first month free): https://www.thexv.rugby/2020/09/30/the-forgotten-man/

BUT BUT BUT: with Hogg continuing to tear up trees for Exeter, the chance of Jones playing at fifteen for Scotland in big games is slim to none. With Kinghorn probably nailed on as the second cab off the rank, does the positional move take him out of the running for the national side? We personally would like to see him given game time at his natural 13 slot to try and regain that scintillating form of 2017/18.

HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY: Sloppy and undisciplined performance versus Irelands 4th best pro team or a good first performance against a strong side who are tough to beat at home? We think on balance Danny Wilson wont be overly upset with the overall performance and will be happy to see some key figures looking good early on - Fagerson continues to look strong in the loose, Cummings ran and rucked with gusto and Brown was abrasive in the tight.

STAT ATTACK: Walking Excel sheet Kevin Millar pulled out some great stats from the weekend about Tommy Seymour. Hard to overstate how consistently good he has been for Glasgow and Scotland.

MONSOON MURRAYFIELD: Edinburgh were back at Murrayfield in the pouring rain on Saturday evening and, well, it wasn’t great. You would have been forgiven for thinking that rain is rare in the capital the way the boys in Burnt Orange and Blue™ were handling - or not as the case may be - the ball. Everything started well and Edinburgh were ahead through regular 2019/20 try scorer “penalty try” after a Chris Dean (our lord and saviour) pass was deliberately knocked down by Justin Tipuric. At 20-10 down at half time, Edinburgh conspired to not score another point in an abject second half, ultimately going down 25-10.

INSULT TO INJURY: To add to the misery, Luke Crosbie and Magnus Bradbury also left the field injured in the first half.

FOUR ON THE SPIN: Edinburgh have now slipped to four consecutive losses and will need to stop the rot soon, particularly with internationals around the corner when Townsend will come for 20+ members of the squad. They look to still be hungover from butchering their shot at the Pro14 final and shellacking from Bordeaux.

ONE SIGNING FORWARD, TWO SIGNINGS BACK: Glasgow announced the signing of Tongan international back row Fotu Lokotui this week. Lokotui was swiftly drafted into the starting 23 for the weekend, perhaps highlighting the need for immediate reinforcements in the Glasgow back row stable. Warriors fans have been desperate for signing news in recent months, however Lokotui is not exactly a household name, having capped out at the Mitre 10 cup in New Zealand and the Championship in England (albeit earning 12 caps for Tonga in the process). However, it was comforting to read he had been signed post a successful trial period with the club and Glasgow do have a good record of Moneyball-type signings, most notably fellow Pacific Islanders Nakarawa and Matawalu (let’s just forget about David Tameilau). If an excessively long highlight reel that cuts to black for the last three minutes are your thing…click here

Now for the bad news: back row Jale Vakaloloma has now left the club after suffering numerous injuries and playing the sum total of 0 minutes - not exactly an unexpected development, but a real shame as he was considered a raw but very real talent. The other player to leave Scotstoun (temporarily) is Bruce Flockhart who has been granted an extended break from rugby to deal with a personal matter. We are huge fans of Flockhart and felt this year was an opportunity for him to nail down his place in the starting 23, however there are things that are more important than rugby and we hope he comes back better than ever once he’s ready.

CONNOR McDe BRUYN: Thistle sources spied on Instagram a South African schoolboy donning the light blue, black and white (is that correct?) of Glasgow Warriors.

Whilst no official announcement has been forthcoming from Glasgow it appears they have plucked him post-finishing school earlier this year. With several promising Scottish centres (Cam Hutchison for instance) plying their trade in the Super 6, it appears strange that we would be harvesting SA school rugby for not one but now two players still in their teens. De Bruyn’s highlights reel notes he has ‘dual nationality - South African and British’ - yet this still feels like a kick in the teeth for domestic talent.

REVENGE OF THE GILPIN

Brett Gosper and Alan Gilpin have had twelve months to plot their revenge on the SRU post Hagabis. Three years out from the next Rugby World Cup, World Rugby have decided to draw the groups and have based it on the seedings on World Rugby Rankings as of 1st Jan 2020.

With Scotland’s ‘poor’ showing at the Rugby World Cup, no Autumn Internationals and the Six Nations coming after the 1st Jan 2020…Scotland have well and truly been shafted. New Zealand and France appears to be the short straw and Thistle HQ will be praying to the rugby gods that Wales and Japan are slotted next to Scotland.

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SCOTS ABROAD:

Exeter’s victory over Toulouse last week continues to provide some golden nuggets for Scotland fans, with Murray Kinsella posting this banging little break from Stuart Hogg and then an uncharacteristic missed tackle from Jonny Gray. Having not missed a tackle in what seems like 5 years, ESPN is reporting that Gray missed two in one match - surely a glitch in the matrix
The Saracens’ exile contingent were out in force once again, with Maitland, Swinson, Hunter-Hill and Hislop all involved in their 17-17 draw with Bath. There are doubts over how the Championship will proceed next season due to financial difficulties at several clubs, leading to speculation that the North London club will be allowed to stay in a ring-fenced Premiership. It will be very interesting to see where the likes of Maitland end up playing their rugby in the coming months. While Saracens punishment is deserved, arguably from a Scottish perspective, exposure to top flight rugby for these players is a better outcome
Leicester Tigers continue to struggle in the Premiership, going down in a tight battle versus Harlequins. Matt Scott had the unenviable task of marking giant South African centre Andre Esterhuizen but coped well and got himself on the scoresheet, while James Lang has quietly impressed in the Quins midfield in recent months, bagging a try for his troubles this week
Finn Russell’s Racing 92 returned 9 (!) positive Covid tests this week, leading to their fixture against La Rochelle being postponed. Fingers crossed this week’s testing doesn’t show similar results, with just under a week until their Champions Cup final against Exeter at Ashton Gate
Blade Thomson announced his return to action with a bang, this weaving run showcasing his undoubted talents. Given no 8 remains a problem position for Scotland, hopefully the Scarlets back row can string together some consistent performances and put himself back in the selection picture

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