1972 Cup

[dolf_lundgren]

Just thought I would kick things off.

Any injury updates? Having Kinghorn in particular makes a huge difference to our chances, Rambo would also be a big miss and has to be unlikely if it is concussion and a 6 day turn around, I have been pretty impressed with Cruse though. Sam Skinner being available again would be a big boost.

Having said that we have seen the likes of Savala, Crosbie and Lang all stepping up in the past couple of weeks, so we should still be competitive.

I would make us favourites, but probably 51/49 chances!

[Weegie]

Yes, but what about the 1872 Cup?

[The Feral Goat]

15. Emiliano Boffelli (24)
14. Wes Goosen (6)
13. James Lang (18)
12. Chris Dean (130)
11. Duhan van der Merwe (70)

10. Charlie Savala (20)
9. Ben Vellacott (28)

1. Pierre Schoeman (91)
2. Tom Cruse (2)
3. WP Nel (180)
4. Glen Young (17)
5. Grant Gilchrist (182) CO-CAPTAIN
6. Jamie Ritchie (91) CO-CAPTAIN
7. Connor Boyle (25)
8. Viliame Mata (104)

Replacements

16. Patrick Harrison (8)
17. Boan Venter (36)
18. Angus Williams (17)
19. Marshall Sykes (31)
20. Ben Muncaster (24)
21. Henry Pyrgos (77)
22. Jaco van der Walt (92)
23. Cammy Scott (1)

Unavailable: Mark Bennett, Dave Cherry, Matt Currie, Darcy Graham, Nick Haining, Damien Hoyland, Cammy Hutchison, Henry Immelman, Blair Kinghorn, Adam McBurney, Stuart McInally, Hamish Watson.

[dolf_lundgren]

Bit odd that Skinner arent ncluded or listed as injured? They would both normally be in the 23 when fit.

We are down to the bones in the backs now, I really dont like Lang at 13, I think he looks a bit lost there and he has been very good at 12 recently. The Glasgow attack looks like it will largely be crashing through the centres and Steyn coming off his wing, we need to be solid defensively, which we largely have been. Im glad Huw Jones isnt playing, he has looked pretty sharp.

I think we can attack them out wide and with a good kicking game. They have picked a big pack but not the most mobile, I can see the logic of Connor Boyle for this one and really hope he can come back in the form he was in.

[doedin]

I suspect we will see Dean and Lang interchanging between 12 and 13 depending on whether we are attacking or defending. I agree that Lang has been good at 12 and has helped Savala settle into the 10 role, he takes a bit of the decision making from Savala and he has also been instigating back moves from 12.

I suspect there is some game and player management going on here - the likes of Skinner and Crosbie will play in the 2nd leg. I think we might do ok in the scrums however our line out has been dodgy recently and I suspect Gray will create problems for us. They also have a big back row with some good carriers in it (Dempsey, Fagerson and Vailanu) whereas with Ritchie and Boyle we look to have opted for a more mobile and faster back row. I suspect they will be looking to attack us around the breakdown with Horne looking for offloads and sniping off the carriers whereas we look more like we want to attack further out wide via Lang and Dean? Should make for an interesting game and too difficult to call. Playing at home might be the key advantage?

[liveinhope]

I had missed Skinner.Perhaps,like Crosbie,strictly he's no longer injured but just getting back up to speed .Hopefully suggests both him and Crosbie will be available for next Friday.
Some big guns missing-by my reckoning Graham,Bennett,Kinghorn,McInally,Cherry, Skinner,Watson and Crosbie are missing from what would likely be our first choice 23.
Agree that Lang and Dean would be better switching round in the centre.Perhaps like Jones and Tuipolotu for Glasgow last week they won't always play as per the number on their jerseys.

[bigparahandy]

Heres my match column for this game.

https://theburghwatch.substack.com/p/gl ... 1222?sd=pf

[The Feral Goat]

Watson apparently stood down indefinitely following series of headknocks latest being against NZ. Not good although still running and doing weights etc.

[Trophyhunter]

Some posts clearly from forwards . Dean is an out an out 12 who calls the play . Savala will take calls from Dean as does Kinghorn . You can hear him if you are close to play at Dam . They will interchange left and right depending on pattern of game on decoy and wide loop to VDM. Big job in defence for both tmrw.

[dolf_lundgren]

Really poor performance, wasn’t quite as bad but a bit like the Munster game where we just got outfought.

Injuries a real worry now in the backs. We just looked clunky in everything we did. Really disappointing after the 2 euro games.

[Martin Bell]

Some thoughts here: http://www.edinburghgunners.org.uk/matchday/reports

Not quite at the races tonight, I thought, but all to play for next week. Thought young Paterson played well.

[artie fufkin]

That was poor. We are carrying a few injuries but really struggled in all areas. Vellacott seemed to be box kicking a lot and Savala when he got the ball, made little good use of it. Forwards were dominated for much of the match but seemed to get a spark with substitutions around the 60min mark. Hopefully some players will return from injury for the Murrayfield leg otherwise I have a fear it could go the same way

[doedin]

As feared their back row dominated the game and carried well over the 80 mins. We couldn't make inroads up front and as a result our backs were playing off slow ball behind the gain line. Apart from Big Bill we didnt really carry well into their defensive line and Boyle and Ritchie are too similar, both spoilers and tacklers rather than carriers. We needed Crosbie tonight!

[Pitfitter446]

Not the best display but it’s not like we have good previous record against the warriors, plus it’s not a huge points difference to overcome at MF, we can win there, get the trophy and back in the lead of our own wee league.

[sammy]

6 points difference, 6 left on the pitch.