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TUTORIAL 4: THE MAUL
Former British & Irish Lions flank Richard Hill explains 'truck & trailer.'
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All of the latest news surrounding the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia.
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Martin Corry, Geordan Murphy, Mark Regan and Martyn Williams' thoughts!
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- RBS Six Nations Fixtures
- RBS Six Nations Table
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | France | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Ireland | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Italy | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Scotland | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Wales | 0 | 0 |
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Comments
melkdave says...
@Scot_Rsa
I would be very surprised if Redpath left Gloucester he is building a a fantastic team imo there atm .Also there are no guareentees that Scotland would be any better under his leadership.As ive posted before i think a big clearout of players is needed and trust given to the youngsters like Scott -Hogg -Ansbro ect .With new coaches hopefully Scotland can start fullfilling their potentail .But it will be a huge job atm to get Scotland able to consistantly challange for 6Ns glory or the big 3 SH teams .I do though live in hope
Posted 13:12 29th March 2012
atg77 says...
@scot_rsa... I really think you are trying to overcomplicate matters. The biggest problem is that we have a decent coach who refuses to choose the best players available for the team, instead opting for one dimentional crash ball players with no pace and cant pass. Where is Matt Scott, Alex Grove for example? when he starts selecting a midfeild with some distribution skills I think we'll see a big difference.
Posted 12:19 29th March 2012
scot_rsa says...
No good calling for AR's head, Scotland's problems are a lot, lot deeper. He is good for Scotland in that he recognises the structural issues in Scotland and is making the most of what he has. I like Mallett but he isn't for Scotland, what does he know about our clubs, age-group and pro-teams? We can't expect a quick fix. Best solution is to allow AR to change the structures (Director of Rugby) and appoint a real playing coach who knows the players. Is that Lineen or Johnson? Maybe Chalmers or Redpath? Preferably NOT high profile. Then perhaps a short spell with a consultant's input, Eddie Jones is now occupied, Campese??
Posted 12:36 28th March 2012
atg77 says...
I have to disagree on Argentina and England, and would have to say they must be the most overated team on the planet. The reason Scotland lost to them was because our defence completely and utterly switched off for about 30 seconds after we went 12-6 up and let the agie substitute go through about five tackles... utterly inexcusable at this level. It might be worth mentioned also that the ref ignored a blantant offside by the Argie defence that should have been a penalty under the posts and the game for Scotland. As for England... we had them on the ropes until the last ten minutes so I don't think its fair to say we were "never going to beat them." having said that, I think we were beaten alot more convincingly by England than we were Argentina, who are going to get really badly shown up in the four nations this year.
Posted 12:10 28th March 2012
NHsaints says...
Ok let's be honest bringing players like Ansbro, Gray, Hogg and co. into the side with the player pool he has to deal with is impressive...not to mention the results against SH teams...he's done well with what he's got and the WC result was more down to being put in a group with England and Argentina...they were never going to get the England result and Argentina was a major ask especially considering they competed with the All Blacks for all of 60 minutes in the quarter finals...
Posted 20:47 27th March 2012
quietbrit says...
Scotland have to be realistic - they have a very small player pool and they will have good crops and bad crops as a result. To be honest everyone is going to find it harder to get out of the pools at RWCs as more and more nations become competitive.
Scotland's failing has been an excess of ambition - their imprecision more than anything has let them down. The players need to work on basic passing drills and the coaches need to get them to focus on attacks that involve a little less flair.
It is all about working with what your given... While the England Job involves a struggle to find the right 15 to suit a good tactic the Scotland Job involves finding a workable tactic with the 15 who are fit and in form.
Posted 15:39 27th March 2012
Carpelone says...
@mlbp
Spot on. AR has to go. They want to play like the All Blacks, but they lack power and pace in the backs. In addition, they are developing a losing attitude, you can see from their body language when they find themselves trailing after having produced a hell of effort.
Let's not forget that most of their weaknesses were hidden by the boot of Paterson, in the previous years.
Posted 15:11 27th March 2012
atg77 says...
I think Robbos early results ( over Oz, SA, Ire & Arg) proves he CAN coach, but I think his biggest problem is selections, especially in midfeild. He's picking one dimentional crash ball centres who can't pass, thereby stifling our wide runners. We desparetely need a change in there. Bring in Matt Scott to 12 and either Ansbro, Grove or even Hogg to 13. Tim Visser will make a big difference when available and I think Jack Cuthbert could be one to watch as well. Laidlaw isnt a a ten and needs to be moved to 9, with Jackson to fly half. Scotland needs a backline like this if we want to return to winning ways: 9.Laidlaw.10.Jackson.11.Visser.12.Scott.13.Hogg/Grove/Ansbro.14.jones/Evans.
15.Cuthbert.
Scotland has a good chance to get back to winning ways against Australia in June, who have inexplicably scheduled the match as a midweek game. It will be an understrength Wallabies in their first game of the season, so I don't see why Scotland can't win - especially having beaten them in the previous fixture.
Posted 14:55 27th March 2012
Bones7 says...
@mlbp, spot on about the centres, they either crash it straight up the middle or just get it out as quickly as possible to the wings without any attempt at moving the defence or creating gaps for them. When the likes of Graeme Morrison and Sean Lamont are playing at 12 you know you've got serious problems. Every year they apparently are on the verge of discovering a 'Scottish O'Driscoll' or something similar in the likes of Ben Cairns, Alex Grove and Joe Ansbro but without a 12 who can put pass and pass cleverly they might as well have Euan Murray out there.
Posted 14:52 27th March 2012
melkdave says...
Robinson despite his record imo has done a very good job with Scotland and i hope he decides to stay.He inherited Townsend and Steadman from the last coach and to be frank Townsend was ruibbish then while Steadman was ok but limited Despite all Scotlands problems AR has got them playing a descent style of rugby to watch and that offers the promise of scoring more tries .A complete change from last year as Scotland never even looked like scoring many .Also as has been mentioned just who would want the Scotland job atm ??Small player pool and lack of class players just one of Scotlands problems atm .The SRU have finally started imo to do the things they should have done 10yrs ago and i expect more change will happen to its structures .Like summer rugby for the youngsters ect.The appointments of S.Johnson and M.Taylor i feel is a good start both are renowned coaches and i feel AR will finally be getting the help he needs to move Scotland forward despite all their problems
Posted 14:05 27th March 2012
mlbp says...
I have seen all the last 10 matches by Scotland and to their problem has to do with their game tactics. They want to spread the ball wide but without any cutting edge in midfield. The ball reaches the wingers more often than it does in other teams but when it gets there the players are isolated and the team is stretched out, but the defence isn't, and as a result they lose ground in most plays. There is great continuity in attack but no real ground gained. As a result the defensive team can settle their defences and choke them out wide. I don't know who is responsible for these tactics, but some of the players they have could be more suited to a more direct approach in some phases of play and then combining box kicks and passes out wide with dummy runners. It looks easy on paper but I know Andy Robinson et al. are trying their best to keep this team going. They lack good players in midfield though. Nick de Luca is not as good as the French, Irish, English or Welsh centres and Sean Lamont is not in his position as a 12. He's powerful but he looks out of place. Hogg, Weir, Jackson, Evans are still learning and they are good prospects, though they lack the necessary physique to face the SH monsters and some of the other European backs. Ansbro is needed quickly in this team, if he can find his form again. The forwards are fierce and they defend hard, but at times they seem to be out of sorts. Denton, Rennie, Brown are really good players and Gray can become the most dominant lock in Europe. The B&I Lions have that position really well covered!
So, I don't know if the new personnel changes will bring the necessary tactical nous for Scotland. I love their passion and players like the Hastings brothers, Armstrong, Chalmers, Finlay Calder, John Jeffrey, David Sole are still my heroes. Let's see if the new players can at least show the same character on the pitch.
Posted 13:57 27th March 2012
APV1 says...
Only one of the "promising players at his disposal" is world class and that's Gray. the others are still just "promising". I hope they (and about 30 others) develop, as they always get so close. On current form, not many will be considered for the Lions, but there's still time yet.
Robinson is a good coach, but perhaps not good enough. Give Mallett a go - he worked wonders with Italy (some would argue otherwise, but I think he did well) and it also takes him out of contention for the England job.
Posted 12:20 27th March 2012
chinstan says...
Scotlands problem is highlighted by the fact that they will probably get several players on the Lions tour as they clearly have some outstanding individual class but just seem to be lacking in other areas which drags down their overal performance. They have had an injection of new talent this year and if they can get a few more in a few key areas then they will suddenly be a far more competitive outfit. I think they be back in the mix by next 6 Nations!
Posted 11:24 27th March 2012
Jediboy says...
I think Scotland are on the verge of becoming a decent team. They play some good rugby at times but it just doesn't click for them.
Posted 09:51 27th March 2012