WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT FINN
AI squad announced, Goose defeats the Zebra, Women rinsed by NZ and plenty more
WELCOME: a fall out between coach and player, the absence of a rare world class talent a year before a World Cup, the reins handed to an untested stand in - it could only happen in Scottish rugby right? This week’s newsletter is dedicated mainly to Finn v Toonie, the clash of the mavericks that is threatening to tear Scottish rugby apart. What has happened to their relationship? Will we ever see Finn play again under the current coaching ticket? Just what the fuck is going on?
Amidst all the drama it is easy to gloss over an eventful week in Scottish rugby, that saw a 100% win rate for the pro sides in the URC (admittedly thanks to a bout of e-coli), the Women exiting the World Cup, Super 6 reaching the semi-finals stage and plenty of Scots abroad. Enjoy!
FANZO: we are absolutely delighted to be once again working with the guys at Fanzo (formerly MatchPint) ahead of the Autumn Internationals, with the return of the Thistle Predictor League. For the chance to win free pints of Guinness and other great prizes - including a signed Six Nations match ball for the overall league winner - follow the instructions below and get involved!
FINN-GATE: Gregor Townsend sent shockwaves through Scottish rugby this week by leaving Finn Russell out of his squad for the upcoming Autumn international series. Barely a year after Russell was picked to tour for the Lions by a selection panel that included Toonie himself, he finds himself cast into the wilderness - just a year out from the 2023 World Cup.
Rumours had reached Thistle HQ overnight that Russell was set for the chop, but we couldn’t quite believe it. Surely Scotland could not afford to leave out such a world class talent? We then reasoned that, with his partner soon to give birth, Finn had been given special dispensation to miss the series. But there was no mention of that in any official SRU press release either.
Rather, the head coach put it down to “form” and “consistency”. Let us take the head coach at his word and break this statement down. In Townsend’s defence, Russell was underwhelming in the Six Nations past. Even the year before, his form in the tournament was mixed (although Scotland recorded historic wins over England and France, let us not gloss over the fact that Finn received a yellow and red card in these respective fixtures). However, his form for Racing in the last few years has been reportedly solid, and he has made a good start to the current season, as indicated by his exploits at the weekend for his club side.
Adam Hastings deserves his recall to the squad, having helped turn Gloucester into Premiership play off contenders since his move down south (can anyone really say why he has missed out previously?), while Kinghorn has made more than a decent fist of his switch from fullback to stand-off, but he has blown hot and cold in the big matches. It is not his fault, but he does not give the impression that he is yet ready for the international stage, let alone a make or break World Cup group match. Young Ross Thompson has not let anyone down in a Glasgow shirt, but he is simply no match for Russell’s talent or experience at present. It should be noted that Kinghorn and Thompson would likely still have been in the squad even if Russell had been picked due to the Australia games sitting out the international window.
So what is the real issue then? Finn and Toonie have had a difficult relationship in recent years, dating back to the Calcutta Cup draw in 2019. Although both parties claimed to have had some sort of rapprochement since, we have always had our doubts. Russell in particular seemed lukewarm about working with his former mentor - it is difficult to come back from his claim that the two had “no relationship” whatsoever. His part in the ill-advised night out during the most recent Six Nations was perhaps the final straw for both parties.
It is difficult to take sides when we don’t really know what is going on behind the scenes. On the one hand, it would appear that Townsend has failed to manage a once in a generation talent. Our World Cup draw is brutal - does he really think that Kinghorn can guide us to victory over either South Africa or Ireland (or the bloody Tongans for that matter)? Binning your world class starting 10, and a seemingly popular squad member, just twelve months out from next year’s centre piece seems negligent at best. Finn doesn’t come across like the kind of individual to take kindly to a rocket up the arse, so why does Toonie continue to act like school master?
On the other hand, no single player is bigger than the team. If Russell is no longer willing to play to Townsend’s tune, perhaps he is better off twisting. Hastings has never let Scotland down, while Kinghorn has shown his ability in fits and starts. Maybe Toonie has tried the shoulder round the arm, but found it ineffective?
But let’s call a spade a spade. This is a bit of a shit show really.
A World Cup calls for a generally settled squad, a consistent spine of experience and quality, particularly in the key positions of 2, 8, 9, 10 and 15. There is always space for a bolter (think Milner Skudder for the All Blacks in 2015) but rarely in these key decision making positions. Russell is undoubtedly a ‘maverick’, but Scottish rugby simply cannot afford to cast out such world class ability. As long as it doesn’t entirely alienate the rest of the playing group, surely Toonie and the coaching group can hold their noses enough to accomodate Finn. Maybe he will make a heroic return to the fold, but it seems like the relationship may be beyond help.
And all of this in a week when we thought we had enough problems at no. 10…
WHAT ABOUT US? Sadly amidst all the Finn drama, the rest of the squad talking points were rather glossed over. Here are the men chosen to take on Aus, Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina over the next few weeks:
Newcomers include young prop Murphy Walker (who we have confirmed actually is the nephew of Sean Lineen), Glasgow centre Stafford McDowall, and perhaps most intriguingly, former Antipodean Jack Dempsey.
It had been widely suspected that Dempsey would be named in a Scotland squad sooner rather than later, such has been the impact he has made during his time at the Warriors. There will be much gnashing of teeth over eligibility rules etc - especially given Dempsey could make his debut against Australia, for whom he won 14 caps - but he has Scottish blood (via his grandfather) and rules are rules - we cannot afford to ignore such talent when upcoming World Cup opponents Tonga will soon be able to select the likes of Charles Piutau and Malakai Fekitoa. Matt Fagerson still appears to be the man in possession of the no. 8 shirt, but Dempsey will push him hard and adds depth to a position we have historically struggled in. Still not quite sure how Haining gets in ahead of Bradbury, who has started this season well at Bristol…
Elsewhere, Richie Gray returns to the fray after some decent performances for Glasgow this year, Ewan Ashman will push hard to unseat Turner at hooker, and McLean and Hoyland get a chance to impress from the wings.
What would be a good outcome across the Autumn? Scotland will be weakened against Australia, yet we have made a good habit of beating the Aussies in recent years. Fiji should be reasonably straight forward, and we really should be confident of taking Argentina down at home. New Zealand are likely to be a step too far, especially without Finn in the driving seat (although this is the weakest All Blacks in recent history - we should have been targeting a historic victory here). So 2 wins minimum, 3 at a push?
How about this for a starting line up against the Aussies (bearing in mind only Scottish-based players will be available for selection)? Not too shabby on paper:
CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN: the other major talking point of the squad announcement was the appointment of Jamie Ritchie as captain for the first time, replacing incumbent Stuart Hogg as expected. Ritchie has long been touted as a leadership candidate, dating back to his under 20s days, and has already co-captained both Edinburgh and the national side. On paper it seems like a good fit - Ritchie is almost guaranteed a starting slot in the back row, he appears calm under pressure, and as a forward is close enough to the firing line to influence matters (in a way that is difficult to achieve from fullback).
Hogg clearly gutted, but hopefully freedom from the demands of captaincy will allow him to focus on being the world class talent we know he is.
WORLD CUP WHITEWASH: Scotland Women slipped to their third defeat in as many matches as they exited the World Cup with a crushing 57-0 defeat at the hands of tournament hosts New Zealand. Bryan Easson’s charges never had any realistic chance of claiming the miracle victory that would have taken them through to the quarter finals stage, and New Zealand demonstrated why they are right at the top table of the women’s game with a comfortable victory in the end. It was an ominous start for Scotland, their opponents crossing for their first score of the day after just 100 seconds, and quite quickly the scoreboard read 45-0 by half time. Credit to Rachel Malcolm and co for making the second half far more of a battle, and in doing so avoiding a record defeat - not much solace, we know.
Scotland will look back on the tournament as a whole and wonder ‘what if?’. Had they taken just a few more chances in defeat to Wales and Australia (particularly kicks at goal), we would be looking forward to a quarter final, and be waxing lyrical about recent progress of the women’s game. Would anyone have thought this was a realistic outcome a year ago? Obviously the scoreboard tells the true story, but the fact the side were in both games up until the last minute is definitely some sign of improvement. The next step should be converting these brave losses into consistent wins (although try telling that to the men’s side). This should be accompanied by frank discussions of future professionalism and funding levels, including building a strong club game in Scotland (only one of the squad does not ply their trade out with our borders).
Full highlights below for any masochists out there:
GOOSE > ZEBRE: Edinburgh recorded their second consecutive win over Italian opposition in the URC, securing a 38-19 win over Zebre in Parma. Despite the absence of several Scotland stars ahead of the AIs, Mike Blair was still able to name a strong squad that included Bill Mata (on his 100th appearance for the club), Boffeli, Skinner and Crosbie, alongside a maiden appearance for summer signing Wes Goosen.
Unlike in recent weeks, Edinburgh started the match well, the front row to the fore in particular, and it was no surprise when McBurney crossed the whitewash after a smart pick up from the base. Hodgson then dotted down at the back of a rolling maul, before debutant Goosen (insert animal/Top Gun-based joke) finished well in the corner. Zebre were then reduced to 14 men, allowing McBurney to cross for his second score and securing the BP early doors. To their credit Zebre got themselves back into the contest in the second half, but Edinburgh did enough to seal a comfortable victory - Matt Currie adding another score late on to put the matter to bed.
Match highlights below:
SUPER 6: as expected, this year’s two strongest sides Watsonians and the Ayrshire Bulls will contest the Super 6 final next weekend, with both sides prevailing in tricky semi final ties. Firstly on Friday night in the capital, the Soney-Bums dispatched a stuffy Nails for a comfortable 32-12 victory, try machine Dom Coetzer and scrum half Rory Brand with the pick of the scores. Then on Saturday evening the Bulls defeated the Bears 17-0 in a scrappy match played on a heavy pitch at Millbrae, veteran Blair McPherson driving on his charges as per.
Highlights from both matches below:
SCOTS ABROAD
Gallagher Premiership
London Irish v Gloucester: Ben White (9) and Isaac Miller (16) v Charlie Chapman (9), Adam Hastings (10) and Jack Singleton (16) - eventual man of the match Adam Hastings sealing victory with a disgustingly clutch drop goal. Finn who?
Bath v Northampton: Josh Bayliss (6), Cam Redpath (12) and D’arcy Rae (18) v Fraser Dingwall (12) - good day out for the Scots on show at the Rec, with Josh Bayliss picking up man of the match and Cam Redpath scoring one and setting up another. The latter timing his run for the autumn very nicely…
Exeter v Saracens: Jonny Gray (5) and Stuart Hogg (15) v Callum Hunter Hill (19) and Andy Christie (20) - Hogg went off in the second half for an HIA assessment but returned to action later in the match.
Sale v Harlequins: Ewan Ashman (2), Tom Roebuck (14) and Gus Warr (21) v - Roebuck disappointingly called up to the England squad today; still ain’t capped though eh?
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