Embra v Trrrrrrreviso

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Re: Embra v Trrrrrrreviso

Postby Crichton Gunner on Sat Dec 20, 2014 9:46 am

Only the most bah humbug curmudgeons could be complaining after that (48-0 and they're still girning). It was a really good performance from start to finish; we played a lot of running rugby, kicked the ball at (mostly) the right times, gave away hardly any penalties, mauled well, destroyed them in the scrum, and didn't just stop them in the tackle, more often than not we knocked them backwards. This, along with our scrum dominance, prevented them from getting into the game, and enabled us to dominate throughout. It wasn't faultless, but no team, not even the All Blacks, produces 80 minutes of faultless rugby in a game.

I thought the whole team played well, but Santa hats off to the forwards, who destroyed their opposite numbers. Our backs were fine, given the players we are missing in the centre. All in all a very good performance and ideal preparation for taking on a faltering Glasgow side.
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Re: Embra v Trrrrrrreviso

Postby The Feral Goat on Sat Dec 20, 2014 10:08 am

Good win, pretty good performance as well.

I continue to be impressed with Toolis thought he had another good match gets through a lot of work and could teach some of the backs how to pass. I think he was calling the lineouts as well.

The much criticised Mr Visser looked more involved than he has done for a while but the open game maybe suited him more and Mr Strauss even managed to make some passes.

Happy with the win can only beat what is in front of us and we did that pretty well this week.
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Re: Embra v Trrrrrrreviso

Postby biffer on Sat Dec 20, 2014 10:11 am

Bah humbug curmudgeons are around 80% of our crowd aren't they?

Good solid performance against a poor team. Should / could have scored more, but I'll take six tries and was glad we bagelled them.

Good momentum into the Glasgow double header.
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Re: Embra v Trrrrrrreviso

Postby Tichtheid on Sat Dec 20, 2014 11:04 am

This was Treviso's heaviest defeat this season, I'm not sure what else we could have done last night - what Embra can take from the game is that the scrum is functioning well, we need to be more accurate at the lineout, but the Weedgies fling it all over the shop there at times, so we can can attack their throws like we did Treviso's.

I actually saw what Strauss brings to the team last night, he had a good game defensively, although he'll be tested more next week. Tonks started well but fell away a bit I thought, and I thought Cuthbert looked a yard short of last season, more game time will sort that, though.

Hopefully Ford and Scott will be back next week
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Re: Embra v Trrrrrrreviso

Postby GaryIPA on Sat Dec 20, 2014 11:15 am

Scott said last night he would have been fit if game had been today
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Re: Embra v Trrrrrrreviso

Postby bignose on Sat Dec 20, 2014 11:57 am

Tichtheid wrote:I actually saw what Strauss brings to the team last night, he had a good game defensively, although he'll be tested more next week.


Straus might be struggling to make next week - I'm fairly sure he was hooked for a concussion and he's played pretty much throughout the season so far.
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Re: Embra v Trrrrrrreviso

Postby The Party Line on Sat Dec 20, 2014 12:24 pm

I'm sure I read somewhere that Burleigh will be available next week, a midfield of Scott and Burleigh with Beard to come off the Bench I would really like to see :eek:
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Re: Embra v Trrrrrrreviso

Postby Tichtheid on Sat Dec 20, 2014 12:40 pm

The Party Line wrote:I'm sure I read somewhere that Burleigh will be available next week, a midfield of Scott and Burleigh with Beard to come off the Bench I would really like to see :eek:



Now you're talking!


Fingers crossed, though obviously I hope Strauss is not injured.
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Re: Embra v Trrrrrrreviso

Postby Weegie on Sat Dec 20, 2014 12:45 pm

So I am a troll / curmudgeon /whatever insult you like because I saw a lot in that performance last night that worries me. Instead of playing the man perhaps some of you would like to address some specific issues that make me thing that we will still struggle against better sides. In no particular order.

The p ck dominated the scrum and maul. No question a good performance last night. Edinburgh have improved in that area, but I simply do not believe we will dominate one of the better teams. Since that was where the success was built last night I see Edinburgh having problems if that is cut off. Glasgow are not one of the better scrummaging team, but I still think we'll only get parity there.

The backs showed very little ball in hand. Visser did look more interested than he has in ages, but generally speaking Edinburgh had tons of possession and did very little with it. The first and last tries apart, lots of motion but very little progress. Against a better side Edinburgh will not have anything like that much possession and will have to be much more effective ball in hand. Perhaps having Scott back may change that, but great admirer of his that I am I'm not very expectant of him making a big impact given his lack of game time, and the slow ball the backs have.

One of the reasons the backs did nothing was the ball from rucks was generally slow. Sometimes it was just not made available quickly, but too often it was there and the SH either had to wait for the support to get in place, or spent time organising them. If we can't even get fast ball when we are so dominant up front then what will happen against better sides?

I was very surprised we did not give away more turnovers. Far too often a player was isolated but we got away with it. This will not always be the case.

The lineout malfunctioned and lost scoring opportunities. That there were late changes was neither here nor there. This at least is one are where there is a clear way forward as there are players to come back.

A lot of the passing was poor. Passes behind players or to their heads / shoulders taking the pace out of the move. Conditions were not great, but if we execute basic skills quite poorly when under little pressure, it does not bode well for when we are under pressure.

Happy to discuss those views with anyone who dissents and is prepared to actually offer a counter argument.
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Re: Embra v Trrrrrrreviso

Postby Tichtheid on Sat Dec 20, 2014 1:26 pm

Weegie wrote:
Happy to discuss those views with anyone who dissents and is prepared to actually offer a counter argument.



I don't think there is anything wrong with what you say apart from the context. Edinburgh haven't been playing slick, coherent rugby since, well, I can't actually remember, and since I'm nearly 500 miles away I don't get to see the team play "in the flesh", so others might have a different view on that.

There is nothing wrong with being brutally honest in your assessment, and what you are looking for is exactly what we should aim for, but we are starting from so far back it's a welcome relief to be able to celebrate six tries and total forward dominance.

We had, what, 18 players on the physio's table or in plaster a month ago? That's including guys like Watson who had really put his hand up in the early part of the season.

We have to make what we can from where we really are, as opposed to where we think we should be. If we get a good run and make the top six from here we can consider that a success, I think.
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Re: Embra v Trrrrrrreviso

Postby doedin on Sat Dec 20, 2014 2:14 pm

Poor game of rugby but we eventually got the BP victory. Watched it from comfort of the pub and glad I did. Eyties were very poor and were saving a few of their A team for the games v Zebre which will essentially decide which of them get into the proper Euro Cup. However we beat them easily - forwards destroyed their pack and won the game for us. Difficult to judge the game as there wasn’t really any proper opposition but there again you can only beat what is in front of you.

Forwards looked good against a very ragged italian pack. I have been very impressed with Dickinson this season who has quietly got on with his work at LH. He was always good in the loose and has pace for a big man however his scrummaging was his weak point - however now he is the complete LH, his scrummaging has come on leaps and bounds. I don’t think I have seen anyone get the better of him either in the set piece for us or Scotland this season. Top player!

I share the frustrations of others about our backs and the lack of guile we show in attack. We don’t seem to have many well rehearsed moves and become very lateral with no idea of how to break down defences and end up resorting to kicking the ball away. I don’t know what happens on the practice pitch but you would think that there would be a range of prearranged plays that could be implemented of different phases or different set pieces. After about 3 or 4 phases we seem to run out of ideas and get lost with the ball! We don’t seem to be able to even try let alone execute anything different of exciting in our back play and against better teams struggle to make line breaks and try scoring chances. All very conservative and safe.

We also don’t seem to have the ball skills for quick passing, off loads etc - although quite often last night it was the support runner who was at fault lying too flat or not keeping their depth and coming on to the ball. We really need to make better use of Fife and Visser and bring them into the game to use their pace and power, Visser used to do this a lot coming in at an angle off short/pop passes from 10 or 12.

I still think that Tonks needs more time at 10, he has better hands and acceleration than Heathcote. He needs some game time now but he is our best option. Similarly whilst Strauss is solid defensively he is not the quickest nor has the fastest hands and I don’t think defences worry about him as he will rarely try anything different other than take it into contact whereas they worry about Scott cause of his pace, step and willingness to beat a man. I would like to see Scott at 12 and either Beard (who has lots of potential) or Burleigh who made a brilliant break to set up a try in the game he got injured in. With SHC and Tonks at 9 and 10 and Scott and Beard/Burleigh at centre then you really make the oppo defend all across the backline, with Heatcote and Strauss at 10 and 12 they pose little threat of a break and the oppo just drift out wide and close down our space.

The Weegies will be 5 or 6 steps up from last night and we will struggle. However lets hope we try and attack them and not resort to the normal Solomons SA ultra safe boring game plan of keeping it tight, hitting it up the middle then kicking it away. If we do that we will inevitably get beat cause they have guys like Hogg, Seymour, Russell et al who will run it back and destroy us. I would rather we tried to keep possession, go through phases, off load and attack them wider and give it a real good go. Lets try and play rugby and go for it, we will probably still get beat but at least we will go down fighting.
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Re: Embra v Trrrrrrreviso

Postby Tichtheid on Sat Dec 20, 2014 2:46 pm

I get the impression, and I'm sure someone must have mentioned it here, so apologies for any repetition, but I get the impression that Visser was at his most dangerous when NDL was teeing him up - would that be a fair thing to say?
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Re: Embra v Trrrrrrreviso

Postby GaryIPA on Sat Dec 20, 2014 3:04 pm

Tichtheid wrote:I get the impression, and I'm sure someone must have mentioned it here, so apologies for any repetition, but I get the impression that Visser was at his most dangerous when NDL was teeing him up - would that be a fair thing to say?


Yip Scott ndl visser
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Re: Embra v Trrrrrrreviso

Postby Crichton Gunner on Sat Dec 20, 2014 3:30 pm

Tichtheid wrote:
Weegie wrote:
Happy to discuss those views with anyone who dissents and is prepared to actually offer a counter argument.



I don't think there is anything wrong with what you say apart from the context. Edinburgh haven't been playing slick, coherent rugby since, well, I can't actually remember, and since I'm nearly 500 miles away I don't get to see the team play "in the flesh", so others might have a different view on that.

There is nothing wrong with being brutally honest in your assessment, and what you are looking for is exactly what we should aim for, but we are starting from so far back it's a welcome relief to be able to celebrate six tries and total forward dominance.

We had, what, 18 players on the physio's table or in plaster a month ago? That's including guys like Watson who had really put his hand up in the early part of the season.

We have to make what we can from where we really are, as opposed to where we think we should be. If we get a good run and make the top six from here we can consider that a success, I think.

Couldn't put it any better.
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Re: Embra v Trrrrrrreviso

Postby doedin on Sat Dec 20, 2014 5:15 pm

GaryIPA wrote:
Tichtheid wrote:I get the impression, and I'm sure someone must have mentioned it here, so apologies for any repetition, but I get the impression that Visser was at his most dangerous when NDL was teeing him up - would that be a fair thing to say?


Yip Scott ndl visser


100% agree - NDL had the odd brainfart but he was a skilful and underrated centre for us and I can’t for the life of me understand why we shipped him. He would still do us a job!
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