jamesliveinhope says...

@porridge_time I think I can speak for myself - I didn't respond to your previous post because it was so obviously intended to start this tired old debate all over again. I'm certainly not going to get drawn into it now. Please take it to another thread where someone might be interested. (I believe that there are a few political sites which share some views on racial pure breeding)

To clarify my remark, I was referring to CLUB rugby which doesn't suffer the constraints of player acquisition that international rugby does and why the fact would make it impossible, in my opinion, for Scotland to turn their situation around in the time-frame suggested.

Posted 09:04 04th July 2012

RATHK says...

First up, Scotland are not going to win the 2015 World Cup! I think the head boys at the SRU have been smoking crack or drinking a wee bit too much of their sponsor¿s products ¿.. A Six Nations Grand Slam in the next 4-8 years is however possible. They have to be ambitious but a WC in 2015 is taking the piss!

Ireland are well past their best and their ¿golden generation¿ of perennial under achievers BOD, POC, ROG, DOC et¿all are all near retirement at which point I predict their form will suffer a bit of a dip. England should be better than they are with the playerbase and money that they have to throw at the game and Wales are obviously back to dominating the home nations, the Frogs can be beat and Italy have a way to go before they are more than the tournament bogey team that everyone hates to play.

Scotland are capable of beating any of the teams in the six nations and anyone who writes them off isn¿t giving them the credit they deserve. Have a closer look at the recent performances/score lines and you can see there is a measurable improvement. Southern Hemisphere teams whoop all the northern teams arses on a regular basis anyway so a world cup is fantasy land not just for Scotland but Ireland, Italy, Argentina, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga and probably England and France in 2015. Wales and the SANZAR teams are the only ones in the running. Scotland need to concentrate on continuing to make progress and perform consistently against the other northern hemisphere teams. A six nations grand slam is an achievable goal.

Posted 21:09 03rd July 2012

APV1 says...

@ porridge_time - are you just an objectionable berk, or do you have a point? Your poorly made point about international "imports" is old hat and, quite frankly, boring. If you've nothing original or sensible to say, just don't.

And, just for openness and clarity's sake, where are you from and which team do you support? Then have a wee look at the list of names and see whether they're all born and raised in that country, or are some players eligible for other reasons?

Twerp!

Posted 14:53 03rd July 2012

porridge_time says...

leinster_goy says...

Going by what Ireland offered up in NZ, Irish fans are deluding themselves if they think their side is well in front of Scotland. Going by the trumpet bowing after the second test in Christchurch you would have thought the Tattie Bogles had actually won... which they did not. It would not surprise me if Scotland are ranked above Ireland come the start of the Six Nations... going on to complete the championship with their best finish in years.

I've no issue with Chris Paterson aiming high... but like many others I do think it very unlikely.

Posted 13:51 03rd July 2012

APV1 says...

Management School.

Lesson 1.

How to set objectives:

They must be SMART:

S pecific

M easurable

A chievable

R ealistic

T imebound

Now, Chris. Do you want to think again? Ambition is great and high standards are one thing, but delusion is another.

Posted 12:28 03rd July 2012

RiverBlues77 says...

People forget that Scotland had quite a solid side during amateur years, and even the early 1990s. Their big problem has been the transition to professionalism, and even now while their sides were doing well in the Heineken Cup and Magner's League the crowds didn't show up.

To make this even remotely viable, Scotland are going to need another professional side. Australia managed to be very competitive with just three 'clubs' for a long time.

People are being very uncharitable given some of the talent that came through this year. Richie Gray is an automatic pick for the Lions, Hogg's got some talent, Laidlaw looks good, and Tim Visser would be a pick at wing on any 6 Nations team. The main thing that needs to happen now that they finally have some decent backs is to overcome the losing culture and build some self-belief.

The people who're making fun of the Scots are ignoring that they have beaten England consistently over recent years, beat South Africa in 2010 and Australia in 2009 and 2012. The fact that they win in the rain so often shows that despite a lukewarm backline their forwards have had some real class and have made it count in those conditions.

Of course, none of that really matters, the team that puts down the most cash at the ref auction ahead of RWC 2015 will win it.

Posted 11:33 03rd July 2012

leinster_goy says...

@atg77 you have to be one of the most deluded fans i've ever heard. i recall during the last six nations you told me that if ireland picked anything less than their first team against scotland, they would lose. ireland ended up putting 32 points on scotland even when not at full strength. there are even some scotland fans here who think that scotland are better than ireland, despite the fact that murrayfield is always a banker for the men in green, no matter what their form

Posted 09:59 03rd July 2012

jamesliveinhope says...

@kinkster agreed but if the targets are perceived as unrealistic by those expected to achieve them then they are pointless.

And who's heads will roll if they're not achieved.

The trouble is this isn't club rugby, you can't just sell your squad and buy the New Zealand fist XV you need to get the grass roots numbers, coach them and train them to top elite standard and get them playing against other top elite players week in week out. I just can't see that happening in the time-frame that they've set themselves.

Posted 08:58 03rd July 2012

ArmchairGeneral says...

Caladonia Dreaming.

Go Scotland.

Posted 21:13 02nd July 2012

zambokke says...

Shame!! The men in white coats will be knocking on his door soon. Win the 6 Nations first and then start fantasising.

Posted 19:15 02nd July 2012