Ou est Fabien?
WELCOME: say what you want about the cancellation (and we do in this edition of the newsletter) but you can’t dispute that this weekend was more relaxing for not having a Scotland game. Instead we got treated to a brace of pro team losses and the prospect of Wales (and THIS Wales team in particular) going for their fourth Grand Slam in 12 years. Imagine if we even won a triple crown? Dream on…
WAFFLING HELL: where to start on the French/Scotland saga? First things first, the state of play as we write is that the French clubs and FFR have suggested a re-scheduled game on Friday 26 March, 6 days after “Super Saturday”. The SRU are now considering this proposal, which will hinge on whether English Premiership sides will release their Scots for the match. “Sources” seem to be suggest that the English sides are prepared to do so, meaning Scotland will not be shorn of the likes of Hogg, Gray, Harris and Redpath (if fit).
MONEY TALKS: despite it becoming clear that the French camp are squarely at fault, the chance of a 28-0 walkover was always unlikely. With around €3 million of broadcast cash on the line for each union fulfilling the entire fixture list, you can understand why it is being forced through. The SRU has been battered by COVID, so as much as we would have loved (LOVED) a bonus point walk over that could set us up for a tilt at the title, you can see why it is going ahead. That being said, it does feel like France are essentially avoiding all punishment, which is bullshit.
FABIEN IN PARIS: rumours are swirling in the French media that the man at the centre of the crisis is head coach Fabien Galthie. The squad are now widely believed to have broken the bubble to go and get some waffles, and that Galthie attended a rugby match his son was playing in. There are also some more salacious rumours around that Galthie broke the bubble to see his girlfriend in Paris.
NOT ON, GOV: the French Government have demanded an investigation, with Sports Minister Maracineanu calling out waffle gate in the press.
ROBMAC: they may no longer be our undefeated sponsors, but we continue to be proud to work with sponsor RobMac throughout the Six Nations. RobMac are an independent financial advisor specialising in mortgage management, financial planning and investments. We know the team at RobMac well and they are just as keen on Scottish rugby as we are so it makes a great fit.
You can check them out at robmac.co.uk
DEATH, TAXES AND PRO TEAM LOSSES: there has been a real groundhog day feel in recent months. Work from home, Zoom meetings all day, maybe a walk at lunch, watch TV in the evening, witness a Scottish pro team loss.
While the challenge of Leinster away was always likely to be too much for a young and inexperienced Glasgow side, this Edinburgh team really should be beating the likes of the Scarlets at home. Cockerill’s men appear to be in some sort of rugby purgatory at present, going through the motions in anticipation of next season. Whilst this is understandable given the disjointed nature of recent months, it is hard to see sides like Munster or Leinster adopting a similar mindset.
Highlights are here:
Although the scoreboard doesn’t look pretty, there were plenty of positives to take from Glasgow’s 21-40 defeat to Leinster at the RDS. Despite going down to 14 men when Hastings came over all Kung Fu Fighting, the young bucks of Jamie Dobie, Rufus MacLean, Cole Forbes and Gregor Brown all showed promise and a willingness to take the game to their more feted opponents while under the kosh. Conversely, it was the more seasoned players who were struggling to get into the game, with the exception of Huw Jones, who looked excellent in his favoured position of outside centre - who would have thought?
Highlights here:
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BEN VELLO-SCOT: Edinburgh have concluded the signing of Wasps 9 Ben Vellacott. The scrum half played age grade rugby for Scotland, before briefly becoming Eddie Jones’ “next cab off the rank” for the England shirt. That was a few years ago now, and Vellacott has suffered a bad knee injury since then, but this is a high quality signing who will offer Edinburgh something completely different in attack . The highlights below are a taste of what is to come in burnt orange and, likely, the Scotland jersey soon.
BIG IN JAPAN: the much vaunted SQP scout in Japan has finally come good, with the news that former Australia U20 centre/wing Sione Tuipulotu will be joining the Warriors next season from Japanese side Yamaha Jubilo.
Tuipulotu is far from a household name, having played most of his rugby for the the Melbourne Rebels feeder side, the Melbourne Rising, before making the move to Japan. However, he is young, Scots qualified courtesy of a Scottish gran, and his highlight reel makes him look quite sweet. We have got our Aussie sources on the case to see if there is anything important we’re missing.
BAY-GONNE: Tuipulotu’s signing followed the news that Glasgow have failed in their attempts to keep Huw Jones at the club, who is moving instead to Bayonne in the summer. For whatever reason Jones’ time at the club hasn’t really worked out for either party, which is a shame given his undoubted talents. Perhaps the continued attempts to shoehorn him into the fullback jersey were the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Jones doesn’t seem to be moving to win trophies or further his Scotland ambitions. Bayonne are currently in a relegation dogfight, with the bottom placed side automatically sent down and the 2nd bottom entered into a playoff with the runners up of Pro D2. However, we don’t blame him for making the move. Rugby careers are short and he has every right to cash in, and who could begrudge anyone wishing to experience the summer climes of the south west of France.
PLAYER CONTRACTS: the Edinburgh and Glasgow pro squads for next season continue to take shape.
Edinburgh ‘utility forward’ Nick Haining has signed a contract extension, for an (obviously) undetermined period. While injuries have restricted him to just 19 appearance since joining from Bristol Bears, his ability to cover back row and lock makes him a handy squad player. We wonder what this might mean for Magnus Bradbury, who most recently has been lining up in the second row for Edinburgh.
Meanwhile down the M8, Glasgow have secured the full-time signings of promising youngsters Ollie Smith and Cole Forbes. Both men were on show against Leinster and showed plenty to get Warriors fans excited for the future.
RWC 2023 DRAW: the pool fixtures for the 2022 RWC in France have been announced. South Africa, Marseille, end of summer - need we say more?
FAGERSON APPEAL: very few seem to understand the arcane laws behind the Six Nations disciplinary process, but what we do know is that Zander Fagerson has lost his appeal against the 4-week suspension handed out by the panel after his red card against Wales. However, Glasgow games will count - maddeningly, club matches didn’t feature in Peter O’Mahony’s ban - towards the suspension, meaning Zander could return for the tail end of the tournament. Clear as mud.
SEVENS HEAVEN: it was great to see Scotland 7 caps Alex Coombes, Jamie Farndale, Robbie Fergusson, Paddy Kelly, Ross McCann and Max McFarland all named in the men’s GB 7s training squad, while there was also strong representation from their female counterparts, with no less than 6 players (Megan Gaffney, Rhona Lloyd, Helen Nelson, Chloe Rollie, Hannah Smith and Lisa Thomson) making the first cut of Scott Forrest’s squad.
AOB
We all know how well Hoggy has been playing this season, but this chart is off the…well, charts. Lions selection has become far more open given the questionable form of previously locked on starters such as Maro Itoje and Owen Farrell, but it increasingly looks like Hoggy is one of the first names on that test teamsheet.
We also loved incoming Glasgow prop Jamie Bhatti showing us what he’s all about:
SCOTS ABROAD: we’re trying to build up a summary of all the Scots playing abroad - please feel free to send us any requests if we are missing someone (which we doubtless have)
Sale vs Exeter
Byron McGuigan (14), Ewan Ashman (16) vs Sam Skinner (5)
Newcastle vs Harlequins
John Hardie (20) vs Glen Young (19)
Wasps vs London Irish
Ben Vellacott (21) vs Alan Dell (1), Blair Cowan (20)
Gloucester vs Worcester
Alex Craig (19), Charlie Chapman (21) vs Isaac Miller (16), Tom Dodd (20)
Northampton vs Bath
Rory Hutchinson (13) vs Josh Bayliss (6), Jamie Bhatti (17)
Coventry vs Saracens (Pre-Season)
vs Callum Hunter-Hill (4), Tim Swinson (5)
Richmond vs Ealing Trailfinders (Pre-Season)
vs Bobby Beattie (13)
Cornish Pirates vs Jersey Reds (Pre-Season)
vs Jack McFarlane (16)
Bedford Blues vs Ampthill
vs Devante Onojaife (8)
Shining Arcs - Grieg Laidlaw (9)
Yamaha Jubilo - Murray Douglas (5)
Toshiba Brave Lupus - Sam Thomson (5)
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