Scotland’s lack of depth in the front row is the most concerning. The gulf between schoeman and Fagerson and the rest is quite large. We simply can’t afford to have either of them injured.
I think this is disrespectful to what Townsend has achieved taking Scotland from no where, to its current position where all teams now respect Scotland. The grass is always greener for some else where, when they fail to appreciate what they have got. Franco Smith is doing a brilliant job building a pool of players at club level. We need the same to happen at Edinburgh. Then judge Townsend.
@@explorepitlochry5292 I honestly disagree re townsend. Vern Cotter was the man who turned scottish rugby around. He made it further in a world cup than GT ever has, and GT has a far better selection of players now than Vern ever had
I actually agree but I also wouldn't mind Clark Laidlaw if he fancies a new challenge over here in NH but tbh I don't think we should sack Townsend unless we have a dreadful 6Ns like last year where we only won 2/5. 3/5 would be acceptable and keep GT in hotseat for another year 👍.
Cracking video, I'm obviously biased but love your Scotland videos. I think our biggest weakness generally is lack of forwards oomph. Teams like SA and Ireland are too powerful for our lads to compete usually, leaving our backs with little to work with. That said, I believe we have the best squad depth we've ever had possibly, so who knows....this could be our year? (Lmao)
Feel like our physicality has increased drastically this year in the pack. A big example being the Glasgow performance against the Bulls in the URC final. Does feel like a turning point. Here’s hoping it is!
Man I have been thinking "this is Scotland's year" for about 4 years now... not even a 6N title necessarily, but a proper final game of the championship chance...
I think we are a second row away from being a world class team. Cummings and Gilchrist are good rugby players but when you look at Eztebeth, Barrett, Beirne, Flament, these guys are amazing athletes, great ball carriers and could fill in the back row. I hope this becomes a part of their game and we become unbeatable 🙏 A little bit of depth would be nice also 😅
Great video. Think withoutbthe tour to the americas the starters would have had closer to the 60 % game time mark. But i think we needed this year to build the depth. You touched on it but theres a lot of guys like Hutchison, Christie and Mcdowall who are seriously good rugby players but jist havent had the international game time. Andy Christie would have been a lot higher if he didjt keep breaking bones, he is seriously world class
Cheers man yeah the tour allowed a bit more experimentation. Be interesting to see if more coaches will shift things up (I mean the French don't care who they're playing mid-year, they always switch it up)
Scotland’s an odd one - even though they’ve played a huge number of players, in about 90% of the positions it’s pretty clear cut who the first choice is, even if they’ve not got the most minutes.
Because the Scotts are forever playing a team equal or slightly stronger than themselves, which raise expectations of sneaking a win, I notice from you depth chart that the best players get the bulk of the game time. I do feel the Scottish B team will be less competitive. This is not that different from the initial 2019 Springboks, though.
Jonny Gray is coming back! He didn’t show in the autumn as he said he wanted to get confident with his body and game again after 2/3 years of long term injuries and family concerns with his new kids. Also Ollie Smith is back playing after a long term injury which adds to that back 3 depth
He suffered a big injury in his last game for UBB, so is likely out through the Six Nations now. Gregor has made it pretty clear he won’t be bending over backwards to accommodate him following the Autumn decision. I’d be surprised to see him in a Scotland jersey again now.
Think with Jonny Mathews people don’t realise he only started playing pro at 26. Think his body probably isn’t as battered and bruised and will probably have a longer career. Hope he starts getting some Scotland game time.
It’s a no brainier man - yeah parts of his game not perfect sometimes but he’s got gears for a guy his shape, and he’s smashed it the last two seasons for the URC champions. Maybe he dented Gregor’s car in the Murrayfield car park or whatever.
I think Townsend has done a great job for Scotland, from where the team started under his stewardship. Dropping the likes of Russell, Hastings, Hog showed good man management when these important players thought they were bigger than the team. As a result we have seen Scotland step up another level. Townsend bringing in players, especially the likes of Freddie Douglas who hadn't even played for his club, shows how he is trying to build depth. We have to remember that Scotland is only a two professional club nation. Townsend has been working very hard to build the team. By the way is he currently the longest serving International team coach?
Yeah I hope he's able to push Scotland on to that next level. For a few years they were one of the few teams to give the French trouble. I really want to see a proper Scottish title challenge in the 6N
Great info as always. For a long time traditionally Scotland coaches seemed to be stuck with playing the same guys over and over again, even though results perhaps didn't merit it. Maybe it was lack of options, or lack of trust in abilities when results were needed. That is not something you could accuse of Gregor. He has over a number of years, given opportunities to a number of guys to play for minutes. I have wondered occasionally if it was a little desperate in the push to compete with the depth of Ireland. There have been occasions where are a player was getting no minutes for their club and still getting in the squad. Was the merit always there? There does seem to be a little bit of tweaking of the minutes lately, and how he gives out those opportunities. He certainly seems to have matured in his approach. Money is always going to be an issue for Scottish rugby. It's tight and there is always so much to do with very little. If though the money could be found to include annual mini tours against nations of lower ranked sides, (say Portugal, Georgia, USA, Canada and the island nations) giving those teams much needed competitive games against a higher ranked nation whilst giving the players 3rd and 4th in the depth chart minutes it might be a way of getting that next generation ready to take over when this generation of players gets to age of replacement. With just two fully funded professional teams in the Scottish game, it is otherwise hard to see how Scotland can get up to Irelands level depth chart on the long term If we really want long term depth in the Scottish game, the SRU needs to find a way of introducing rugby at all secondary schools and not just rely on the 'posher' schools who have traditionally included it in their sporting curriculum.
Cheers man and yeah good insights. One of the things here in NZ is we have pretty much every secondary school has a team. The big schools will have a 2nd XV, 3rd XV etc. But I think many places (England, Australia etc) are in the same boat that it's mainly the flash schools that play rugby union
Jare (look up his Toulon game) and Williamson are the future - height and aggression, along with Cummings. Potentially very special and what Scotland have been missing. Think you’ve initially mixed up Ritchie Gray who’s now in Japan with Jonny who’s at Bordeaux. I am fully on the Oguntibeju bandwagon.
I feel the Fagersons, Russell, Tuipulotu, Darge and DVDM are the core of the team. If we are missing more than two of them it gets a bit lightweight. Kyle Steyn is Mr Consistent when he’s picked also. People love to dislike DVDM, and there’s a lot of comment that he’s very overrated, but I know you’re a stats guy and he regularly beats more defenders than everyone else in the 6 Nations. Needs to run them in behind the goals more often mind you, and less of the photo finish dives in corner for the cameras!
I actually didn't realise we've used over 60 players this year 😱 but I suppose it was necessary with us playing tier 2 nations during the summer. In terms of number 3, we have high hopes for Ollie Blyth-Lafferty so he could be second choice behind Zander in a couple of years 🤔. And I also see Tom Jordan challenging Kyle Rowe as the 2nd full back behind Blair Kinghorn so by this time next year he will likely be the grey bar 👍👍. Really looking forward to seeing how we do during 6 Nations because I truly believe we have a genuine shot at the title this year if we can sort our abysmal discipline out!!
Scotland's played really poor oposition in the summer test series (Americas), so they were always going to use it to blood in new talent. Their Autumn tests vs a weakened Fiji and a plucky Portugal were also quite underwhelming opposition. Meanwhile, an aweful Wales team were given a test series in Australia (Summer) and faced nothing but top tier opposition in the Autumn. Other more poorly ranked nations were given a shot against the big boys too. Why? It makes no sense, and something smells fishy with the way in which these test matches are pulled together. Scotland definately hard done by there. Seems Gilpin still hasn't gotten over Dodson's Storm Haggis press interview lol.
Yeah I think there are a few things at play with who plays who, but Scotland often seems to get a few "lesser fixtures" (for want of a better term). Scotland hasn't toured NZ in 20 odd years or something
@@TwoCentsRugby A Scottish test series in NZ would be brilliant, and is much deserved! I for one would fly over for it and I know a lot of my pals would too. Hopefully we could catch you for a pint/coffee there if we did mate :) What do you think the factors are at play that determines these fixtures, both in general and in the case of Scottish "lesser fixtures"? Can't figure it out other than they might be pushing down on us due to our expanded use of foreign born players maybe? Thanks again for your work on Scottish rugby!
Mark, used to watch the 10-14 on the channel. I found them different and interesting, just like you. Did they not get taken up by southern hemisphere Sky? What happened to them?
Yeah man they made great content. They got snapped up by Sky in 2018 I think and had a weekly show with them (only on Sky's channel, not TH-cam). Sky didn't get the 2019 RWC rights so the lads jumped ship to another broadcaster called Spark Sports - who got the 2019 RWC rights. Sadly that deal didn't seem to work out as Spark hardly used them. I had Spark's 2019 RWC package and all the 1014 stuff was buried at the bottom of their playlist and not promoted at all. During Covid they had to pivot as there was not much going on in the sporting world. So now they run a sports analysis company - I think it's the kind that uses AI, can show 3D scans of players moves to see where they can get a few extra percent in their form etc
The SRU missed an opportunity years ago to do a deal with the Newcastle Falcons to effectively create a 3rd pro team on the cheap - maybe that Newcastle would have 50% of their squad being Scottish qualified. The opportunity is still there but the SRU would never think that far outside of the box. They really need 3 complete front rows, and they do not even have 2. Second row is an even bigger problem because neither Cummings or Gilcrest are brilliant, they do a decent job, they are good players but no better than an average international standard. It probably would not work but I would like to see Darge and Hamish Watson playing 6 & 7 as an experiment. You would lose a bit at line out and bulk but at break down and carrying ability you gain. The backs have plenty of strength in depth, the forwards not so much
@@justinstephenson9360 Why would the SRU want to spend millions funding an unsuccessful club in the Premiership? Can’t really see how that would be beneficial - would just take money away from the URC pro clubs.
@@Zveebo Lot cheaper than setting up a 3rd pro team (which is definitely needed), exposes players to a different competition and would definitely be popular in the borders, the traditional heart of Scottish rugby.
What does Scotland in 2028 look like? There are lot of players 30 years old or older. At the last under 20s six nations Scotland got the wooden boot or whatever it is called when every team hammers you including Italy running 48 points past you. 😢
Potential 2028 team through to 2031 WC is very strong Jack. Schoeman will still be going - Nathan McBeth really good will be hitting his prime, Boan Venter will be Scots Qualified and is playing better than Schoeman for their club Edinburgh. All our hookers are relatively young right now - Expect to see Ashman, Harrison, Richardson and Hiddleston (very impressive) + some talk of Tuipolotu’s other brother Octavio being brought up. Tighthead will be stronger than we are at now: Fagerson will make 2031, Will Hurd and Murphy Walker will be solid pros. Ollie Blyth Lafferty (17/18yr old) is 130 kg + and will be world class, exceptional talent playing levels above his age. Locks: Chaning of the Guard, Cummings/J.Gray/Skinner should be around but some really exciting talents emerging: Max Williamson and Jare Oguntibeju (Very exciting upcomer, Watch his Toulon game) could become our best ever lock pairing. Alex Samuel, Cam Henderson, Rob Carmichael and Marshall Sykes all have potential also. Backrow: Ritchie, Christie, Fagerson, Bayliss, Darge, Douglas, Brown, Muncaster, Mann: Arguably slightly weaker than our current options but not by much. SH: White/Dobie/Afshar/Warr/Horne FH: Tom Jordan (Looks exceptional) Hastings, Russell (probably makes 2031), Perhaps Healy & Thompson offer solid back-ups in emergency. Still holding out hope Fergus Burke is available for Scotland also. Centre: Tuipolotu x2, McDowall, Redpath, Hutchinson, Currie (will be interested to see how they replace Huw Jones). Back Three: Kinghorn, Graham, Rowe, Reed, McKay (SQ), Goosen (SQ), Ollie Smith, Harry Paterson. Steyn/VDM probably too old at this point. Overall: Forwards should be Stronger. Backs may lack the world class finishing ability all over but have the potential to be extremely strong.
@@jacklav1 Scotland’s average team age is not particularly high. Several years younger than South Africa, for instance. So a 2028 team will likely look pretty similar to the 2025 team, with just a few changes. Success at U20 is just not that important - you only need two or three top new players coming through each year, not 15 of them.
as years go for scotland i was pretty unimpressed.. as you say at the end, they didnt beat anyone higher than them on the rankings and lost a few games they really should have won. as an irish fan i will forever hate them and wales for voting against us hosting the world cup but sometimes i do wish they could string together a few good wins
@@nathan._.h Still at least they beat the English, unlike some teams… Having the World Cup in France was a lot better than having it in Ireland would have been, so sounds like Scotland made the right choice there!
I am a Irish 🇮🇪 fan and I would like to see Scotland 🏴 do well this six nations they deserve some success for their outstanding play recently 😊
Scotland’s lack of depth in the front row is the most concerning. The gulf between schoeman and Fagerson and the rest is quite large. We simply can’t afford to have either of them injured.
There are high hopes for Ollie Blyth-Lafferty though 😉🏴🏴👍.
@@shaunmahon3415 then maybe he needs a game for Edinburgh haha
what happened to Ollie Kebble?
@@tilmanvondelft got old and is in D2 in France I believe. There was a view that he wasn't good enough at TH to make the Scotland team.
Nice shoutout to the 1014. First TH-cam channel I saw that really explained the game well.
Yeah man wish they were still making vids!
Thanks Mark. That's looking good for the Scottish squad
Give the Glasgow coach a shot at Scotland he would make them a winning team. Go franko
The SRU would be stupid to not already be trying to line this up, but then again when has anyone ever said the SRU are smart
I think this is disrespectful to what Townsend has achieved taking Scotland from no where, to its current position where all teams now respect Scotland.
The grass is always greener for some else where, when they fail to appreciate what they have got.
Franco Smith is doing a brilliant job building a pool of players at club level. We need the same to happen at Edinburgh. Then judge Townsend.
I kind of want Franco to stay with Glasgow tho
@@explorepitlochry5292 I honestly disagree re townsend.
Vern Cotter was the man who turned scottish rugby around. He made it further in a world cup than GT ever has, and GT has a far better selection of players now than Vern ever had
I actually agree but I also wouldn't mind Clark Laidlaw if he fancies a new challenge over here in NH but tbh I don't think we should sack Townsend unless we have a dreadful 6Ns like last year where we only won 2/5. 3/5 would be acceptable and keep GT in hotseat for another year 👍.
Cracking video, I'm obviously biased but love your Scotland videos. I think our biggest weakness generally is lack of forwards oomph. Teams like SA and Ireland are too powerful for our lads to compete usually, leaving our backs with little to work with. That said, I believe we have the best squad depth we've ever had possibly, so who knows....this could be our year? (Lmao)
props main problem . Hookers ok big shout for Mathews
Feel like our physicality has increased drastically this year in the pack. A big example being the Glasgow performance against the Bulls in the URC final. Does feel like a turning point. Here’s hoping it is!
I just don't get why Ireland forwards should be better, they ain't that big. SA absolutely. Scotland just bottle it against Ireland, it's sad
Man I have been thinking "this is Scotland's year" for about 4 years now... not even a 6N title necessarily, but a proper final game of the championship chance...
@@TwoCentsRugby I'd take a triple crown, just something 🤣
I think we are a second row away from being a world class team. Cummings and Gilchrist are good rugby players but when you look at Eztebeth, Barrett, Beirne, Flament, these guys are amazing athletes, great ball carriers and could fill in the back row. I hope this becomes a part of their game and we become unbeatable 🙏
A little bit of depth would be nice also 😅
Williamson and Oguntibeju are the future!
Great analysis mate , keep up the good work!
Great video.
Think withoutbthe tour to the americas the starters would have had closer to the 60 % game time mark.
But i think we needed this year to build the depth. You touched on it but theres a lot of guys like Hutchison, Christie and Mcdowall who are seriously good rugby players but jist havent had the international game time.
Andy Christie would have been a lot higher if he didjt keep breaking bones, he is seriously world class
Cheers man yeah the tour allowed a bit more experimentation. Be interesting to see if more coaches will shift things up (I mean the French don't care who they're playing mid-year, they always switch it up)
Happy Christmas to you and your family, I hope the channel continues to grow.
Cheers mate!
Scotland’s an odd one - even though they’ve played a huge number of players, in about 90% of the positions it’s pretty clear cut who the first choice is, even if they’ve not got the most minutes.
I would be interested on Gazza thoughts on Scotland depth.
He likes them
Because the Scotts are forever playing a team equal or slightly stronger than themselves, which raise expectations of sneaking a win, I notice from you depth chart that the best players get the bulk of the game time. I do feel the Scottish B team will be less competitive. This is not that different from the initial 2019 Springboks, though.
Yeah it's good to see the fringe guys get a chance against "lesser" sides - and the ones with the right stuff will make their way to the top
Jonny Gray is coming back! He didn’t show in the autumn as he said he wanted to get confident with his body and game again after 2/3 years of long term injuries and family concerns with his new kids.
Also Ollie Smith is back playing after a long term injury which adds to that back 3 depth
He suffered a big injury in his last game for UBB, so is likely out through the Six Nations now.
Gregor has made it pretty clear he won’t be bending over backwards to accommodate him following the Autumn decision. I’d be surprised to see him in a Scotland jersey again now.
@ aw no poor fella!
And that’s a shame, gregor does seem to be quite strict about who he has in sadly
Grey has great defensive attributes but added little to the attack, he's just not quick enough to be a difference maker
Well done Mark. Great analysis!
Thank you kindly!
Think with Jonny Mathews people don’t realise he only started playing pro at 26. Think his body probably isn’t as battered and bruised and will probably have a longer career. Hope he starts getting some Scotland game time.
It’s a no brainier man - yeah parts of his game not perfect sometimes but he’s got gears for a guy his shape, and he’s smashed it the last two seasons for the URC champions.
Maybe he dented Gregor’s car in the Murrayfield car park or whatever.
@ not a private school boy 🤷🏻♂️
@@Onnyji He played against Portugal, but didn’t really make an impact.
@@Zveebo brought on late and overlooked for so long it probs dented his confidence in a scotland shirt. I want to see him start a game ffs.
We need a new Coaching setup at Edinburgh. That would also benefit Scotland. Can't continue as is
I think Townsend has done a great job for Scotland, from where the team started under his stewardship. Dropping the likes of Russell, Hastings, Hog showed good man management when these important players thought they were bigger than the team.
As a result we have seen Scotland step up another level. Townsend bringing in players, especially the likes of Freddie Douglas who hadn't even played for his club, shows how he is trying to build depth.
We have to remember that Scotland is only a two professional club nation. Townsend has been working very hard to build the team.
By the way is he currently the longest serving International team coach?
But did they though?
Yeah I hope he's able to push Scotland on to that next level. For a few years they were one of the few teams to give the French trouble. I really want to see a proper Scottish title challenge in the 6N
Great info as always.
For a long time traditionally Scotland coaches seemed to be stuck with playing the same guys over and over again, even though results perhaps didn't merit it. Maybe it was lack of options, or lack of trust in abilities when results were needed. That is not something you could accuse of Gregor. He has over a number of years, given opportunities to a number of guys to play for minutes. I have wondered occasionally if it was a little desperate in the push to compete with the depth of Ireland. There have been occasions where are a player was getting no minutes for their club and still getting in the squad. Was the merit always there? There does seem to be a little bit of tweaking of the minutes lately, and how he gives out those opportunities. He certainly seems to have matured in his approach.
Money is always going to be an issue for Scottish rugby. It's tight and there is always so much to do with very little. If though the money could be found to include annual mini tours against nations of lower ranked sides, (say Portugal, Georgia, USA, Canada and the island nations) giving those teams much needed competitive games against a higher ranked nation whilst giving the players 3rd and 4th in the depth chart minutes it might be a way of getting that next generation ready to take over when this generation of players gets to age of replacement. With just two fully funded professional teams in the Scottish game, it is otherwise hard to see how Scotland can get up to Irelands level depth chart on the long term If we really want long term depth in the Scottish game, the SRU needs to find a way of introducing rugby at all secondary schools and not just rely on the 'posher' schools who have traditionally included it in their sporting curriculum.
Cheers man and yeah good insights. One of the things here in NZ is we have pretty much every secondary school has a team. The big schools will have a 2nd XV, 3rd XV etc. But I think many places (England, Australia etc) are in the same boat that it's mainly the flash schools that play rugby union
Jare (look up his Toulon game) and Williamson are the future - height and aggression, along with Cummings. Potentially very special and what Scotland have been missing. Think you’ve initially mixed up Ritchie Gray who’s now in Japan with Jonny who’s at Bordeaux. I am fully on the Oguntibeju bandwagon.
Not forgetting Cam Henderson - just back from serious injury at Leicester.
Glasgow and Franco really building the depth
Love it
I feel the Fagersons, Russell, Tuipulotu, Darge and DVDM are the core of the team. If we are missing more than two of them it gets a bit lightweight. Kyle Steyn is Mr Consistent when he’s picked also.
People love to dislike DVDM, and there’s a lot of comment that he’s very overrated, but I know you’re a stats guy and he regularly beats more defenders than everyone else in the 6 Nations. Needs to run them in behind the goals more often mind you, and less of the photo finish dives in corner for the cameras!
Yeah man Zander feels like a really key man for me if I had to pick just one
Hmmm will see how the do in the 6. Still don’t think they have enough for Ireland and France
Yes it’s great we’ve all this depth now yet GT continues to pick the same 23 in the big games.Whats the point?
I really enjoyed the 1014, what happened to them?
They have a kind of Sports AI company now which does analysis instead of content I think
I actually didn't realise we've used over 60 players this year 😱 but I suppose it was necessary with us playing tier 2 nations during the summer. In terms of number 3, we have high hopes for Ollie Blyth-Lafferty so he could be second choice behind Zander in a couple of years 🤔. And I also see Tom Jordan challenging Kyle Rowe as the 2nd full back behind Blair Kinghorn so by this time next year he will likely be the grey bar 👍👍. Really looking forward to seeing how we do during 6 Nations because I truly believe we have a genuine shot at the title this year if we can sort our abysmal discipline out!!
Yeah man it feels to me like Scotland are there or thereabouts for a proper title challenge... but I've been thinking that for a few years now....
Scotland's played really poor oposition in the summer test series (Americas), so they were always going to use it to blood in new talent. Their Autumn tests vs a weakened Fiji and a plucky Portugal were also quite underwhelming opposition. Meanwhile, an aweful Wales team were given a test series in Australia (Summer) and faced nothing but top tier opposition in the Autumn. Other more poorly ranked nations were given a shot against the big boys too.
Why?
It makes no sense, and something smells fishy with the way in which these test matches are pulled together. Scotland definately hard done by there. Seems Gilpin still hasn't gotten over Dodson's Storm Haggis press interview lol.
Yeah I think there are a few things at play with who plays who, but Scotland often seems to get a few "lesser fixtures" (for want of a better term). Scotland hasn't toured NZ in 20 odd years or something
@@TwoCentsRugby A Scottish test series in NZ would be brilliant, and is much deserved! I for one would fly over for it and I know a lot of my pals would too. Hopefully we could catch you for a pint/coffee there if we did mate :)
What do you think the factors are at play that determines these fixtures, both in general and in the case of Scottish "lesser fixtures"? Can't figure it out other than they might be pushing down on us due to our expanded use of foreign born players maybe?
Thanks again for your work on Scottish rugby!
Was it not Johnny Gray that made himself unavailable?
Yeah actually I think it was!
Mark, used to watch the 10-14 on the channel. I found them different and interesting, just like you. Did they not get taken up by southern hemisphere Sky? What happened to them?
Yeah man they made great content. They got snapped up by Sky in 2018 I think and had a weekly show with them (only on Sky's channel, not TH-cam).
Sky didn't get the 2019 RWC rights so the lads jumped ship to another broadcaster called Spark Sports - who got the 2019 RWC rights.
Sadly that deal didn't seem to work out as Spark hardly used them. I had Spark's 2019 RWC package and all the 1014 stuff was buried at the bottom of their playlist and not promoted at all.
During Covid they had to pivot as there was not much going on in the sporting world. So now they run a sports analysis company - I think it's the kind that uses AI, can show 3D scans of players moves to see where they can get a few extra percent in their form etc
In Scotland, it is pronounced 'diepte'
Johnny Gray made himself unavailable, Richie Gray is playing in Japan
Ah right got my Grays mixed up! Cheers man
The SRU missed an opportunity years ago to do a deal with the Newcastle Falcons to effectively create a 3rd pro team on the cheap - maybe that Newcastle would have 50% of their squad being Scottish qualified. The opportunity is still there but the SRU would never think that far outside of the box.
They really need 3 complete front rows, and they do not even have 2. Second row is an even bigger problem because neither Cummings or Gilcrest are brilliant, they do a decent job, they are good players but no better than an average international standard.
It probably would not work but I would like to see Darge and Hamish Watson playing 6 & 7 as an experiment. You would lose a bit at line out and bulk but at break down and carrying ability you gain.
The backs have plenty of strength in depth, the forwards not so much
@@justinstephenson9360 Why would the SRU want to spend millions funding an unsuccessful club in the Premiership? Can’t really see how that would be beneficial - would just take money away from the URC pro clubs.
@@Zveebo Lot cheaper than setting up a 3rd pro team (which is definitely needed), exposes players to a different competition and would definitely be popular in the borders, the traditional heart of Scottish rugby.
@@justinstephenson9360how is a 3rd pro team needed? Tried that
What does Scotland in 2028 look like? There are lot of players 30 years old or older. At the last under 20s six nations Scotland got the wooden boot or whatever it is called when every team hammers you including Italy running 48 points past you. 😢
Potential 2028 team through to 2031 WC is very strong Jack.
Schoeman will still be going - Nathan McBeth really good will be hitting his prime, Boan Venter will be Scots Qualified and is playing better than Schoeman for their club Edinburgh.
All our hookers are relatively young right now - Expect to see Ashman, Harrison, Richardson and Hiddleston (very impressive) + some talk of Tuipolotu’s other brother Octavio being brought up.
Tighthead will be stronger than we are at now: Fagerson will make 2031, Will Hurd and Murphy Walker will be solid pros. Ollie Blyth Lafferty (17/18yr old) is 130 kg + and will be world class, exceptional talent playing levels above his age.
Locks: Chaning of the Guard, Cummings/J.Gray/Skinner should be around but some really exciting talents emerging: Max Williamson and Jare Oguntibeju (Very exciting upcomer, Watch his Toulon game) could become our best ever lock pairing. Alex Samuel, Cam Henderson, Rob Carmichael and Marshall Sykes all have potential also.
Backrow: Ritchie, Christie, Fagerson, Bayliss, Darge, Douglas, Brown, Muncaster, Mann: Arguably slightly weaker than our current options but not by much.
SH: White/Dobie/Afshar/Warr/Horne
FH: Tom Jordan (Looks exceptional) Hastings, Russell (probably makes 2031), Perhaps Healy & Thompson offer solid back-ups in emergency. Still holding out hope Fergus Burke is available for Scotland also.
Centre: Tuipolotu x2, McDowall, Redpath, Hutchinson, Currie (will be interested to see how they replace Huw Jones).
Back Three: Kinghorn, Graham, Rowe, Reed, McKay (SQ), Goosen (SQ), Ollie Smith, Harry Paterson.
Steyn/VDM probably too old at this point.
Overall: Forwards should be Stronger. Backs may lack the world class finishing ability all over but have the potential to be extremely strong.
@@jacklav1 Scotland’s average team age is not particularly high. Several years younger than South Africa, for instance. So a 2028 team will likely look pretty similar to the 2025 team, with just a few changes.
Success at U20 is just not that important - you only need two or three top new players coming through each year, not 15 of them.
as years go for scotland i was pretty unimpressed.. as you say at the end, they didnt beat anyone higher than them on the rankings and lost a few games they really should have won. as an irish fan i will forever hate them and wales for voting against us hosting the world cup but sometimes i do wish they could string together a few good wins
Consistency is our biggest weakness. Also I didn't know we voted against an Irish WC, that's shite sorry.
@robertwhite9621 our biggest weakness is we're run by a bunch of proud-Scots-but-British, wannabee English ex public schoolboys and failed Tories
@@nathan._.h Still at least they beat the English, unlike some teams…
Having the World Cup in France was a lot better than having it in Ireland would have been, so sounds like Scotland made the right choice there!
@@Zveebo i think they actually voted for south africa in the end 🤷♀️
Irish fan desperate to be the victim, are you Tom English ahaha