Rory B.

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Edinburgh Name Strong Backline For Ospreys

Rory B. posted an article on - Feb 9, 2012, 7:47 am
Head coach Michael Bradley has made eight personnel changes to the Edinburgh Rugby squad for the club’s return to the RaboDirect PRO12 against Ospreys at Murrayfield this Friday (kick-off 7.35pm). Just three weeks after booking a home Heineken Cup quarter-final with a 34-11 win over London Irish,...
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Wales v Scotland: Tactics In Brief

Rory B. posted an article on - Feb 9, 2012, 7:05 am
It is only a week in, but the 6 Nations rollercoaster may well be doing its third loop-de-loop. Scotland go in to their second game, at the Millennium Stadium, with a line-up almost identical to the one that played England except for two major omissions. Euan Murray takes his usual religious sabbat...
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Scotland Team To Face Wales

Rory B. posted an article on - Feb 8, 2012, 8:30 am
Looks like Andy didn’t take my advice about the big wingers but otherwise the team is largely as expected. Scotland Team to face Wales in Cardiff: Rory Lamont, Lee Jones, Nick De Luca, Sean Lamont, Max Evans, Greig Laidlaw, Chris Cusiter, Allan Jacobsen, Ross Ford (c), Geoff Cross, Richie Gray, J...
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International Stars Fired Up for Six Nations

Rory B. posted an article on - Feb 8, 2012, 8:12 am
GUINNESS® ambassadors Sean Lamont (Sco), Jamie Heaslip (Ire), Jamie Roberts (Wal) and  Ben Foden (Eng) have joined forces to promote GUINNESS, the Official Beer of the RBS 6 Nations, with a rousing and passionate video. The four rugby rivals star alongside fans in an epic video to celebrate the ...
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Parks and Beyond

Rory B. posted an article on - Feb 8, 2012, 6:37 am
Dan Parks, an enigma and a divisive character – the Marmite (or should that be Vegimite?) of Scottish Rugby, a true love or hate character.  In my time following rugby I can’t think of a Scottish player who has created in me such schizophrenic opinions. Dan Parks is one of the primary reasons ...
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Dan Parks Calls It Quits. Right Now.

Rory B. posted an article on - Feb 7, 2012, 11:53 am
Scotland stand-off Dan Parks today announced his retirement from international rugby with immediate effect. In his eight year international career, Parks won 67 caps for Scotland, scoring 266 points, including a Scottish record 17 drop-goals. He was the pivotal figure in Scotland’s successes in ...
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Action Jackson's Back, Son

Rory B. posted an article on - Feb 7, 2012, 9:53 am
Glasgow Warriors begin a key phase of their RaboDirect PRO12 campaign when they take on Scarlets at Firhill on Thursday night (kick-off 7.05pm, live on BBC ALBA). The match is the first in a series of fixtures that will be crucial to the Warriors’ bid to make the end of season tournament play-off...
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Bring On The Understudies?

Rory B. posted an article on - Feb 6, 2012, 11:30 am
Everyone likes picking their fantasy team, but at the end of the day – potential prizes aside – it means very little, so it’s easy to just pick a bunch of guys you like, or who have played for your club. The weight your team selections carry at international level is a lot greater. How do you...
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RBS 6 Nations: Scotland 6 – 13 England

Rory B. posted an article on - Feb 4, 2012, 2:03 pm
It goes without saying that any Calcutta Cup match will be keenly contested. This time, though, despite Scotland succumbing to an out of sorts Rose in RWC ’11 and England having a new look, a new coach and a new ethos Murrayfield still expected something historic. Scotland went in with the unfamil...
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A Team Video Highlights

Rory B. posted an article on - Feb 4, 2012, 2:48 am
Scotland A 35-0 England Saxons Yes, you did read that correctly. Scotland A smashed up England’s second string last night and there is a wee highlights reel below from the folks at Borders Rugby TV who caught the action. From the sound of things on the radio, everyone had a good game but the nam...
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And So It Begins…

Rory B. posted an article on - Feb 2, 2012, 8:20 am
It is not quite Michael Bublé telling us it is a new dawn; a new day; a new life, but it is the start of something and we are, it must be said, feeling pretty good about it. The 6 Nations starts on Saturday and already we are in danger of running out of superlatives. The most vivid and malleable w...
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Al's Ill Informed Calcutta Cup Preview

Rory B. posted an article on - Feb 2, 2012, 8:14 am
Ah, the sweet smell of 6 Nations is in the air. Two days from now and the competition will have kicked off in earnest and the plethora of questions which have been raised by squad and team selections will begin to be answered. Have the right players been picked in the right positions? Is youth getti...
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Front Up Competition

Rory B. posted an article on - Feb 2, 2012, 7:13 am
As the Six Nations competition draws ever closer, Front Up Rugby launches a limited edition range of “Home Nations” inspired t-shirts. The range takes its inspiration from rugby heritage and rivalry using National emblems and “Anthemic” rugby songs. The collection features a range of “Bloo...
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A Trip Down Murrayfield Lane

Rory B. posted an article on - Feb 2, 2012, 2:00 am
At this year’s Six Nations match between Scotland and England I will be there watching from the stands. That’s not unusual in itself, I’ve been to Murrayfield dozens of times over the years, but for the first time ever I will be watching over a bunch of teenage school pupils at the same time...
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Scotland Team for Six Nations Opener

Rory B. posted an article on - Jan 31, 2012, 8:58 am
Andy Robinson has gone with a blend of youth and experience for his first team of the 2012 RBS Six Nations, but perhaps not in the quantities or areas we had imagined.The pack features the front five that everyone expected to see along with a back row with a nice blend of aggression, athleticism and...
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Scotland U20s and Women's Teams Announced

Rory B. posted an article on - Jan 31, 2012, 7:53 am
Scotland under-20 head coach, Peter Wright, today named his team to play against England under-20 at Firhill on Friday night (3 February) in their RBS 6 Nations opener, kick-off 7.30pm. Four players return to the under-20 set-up hoping their experience will help the new blood at this age-grade leve...
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Join Our Fantasy Rugby (Union) Leagues

Rory B. posted an article on - Jan 31, 2012, 6:39 am
Anyone wanting to play the ESPN Six Nations Fantasy Rugby game this year is welcome to join our league. The link is: espnscrum.fantasyleague.com Once you have created a team you should click on “Enter Private League”. If you prefer you can play on the Guinness Fantasy League at: (must be 18+)...
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9s and 10s: Learning from the French

Rory B. posted an article on - Jan 30, 2012, 11:43 am
It was while watching the young Toulousain, Jean-Marc Doussain, who came off the bench to win his first cap in the World Cup final, that I begun reflecting on the French tradition of inter-changeable half-backs, and wondered why the Anglo-Saxon nations had never adopted this way of looking at the ga...
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Is England's Velvet Revolution Myth or Reality?

Rory B. posted an article on - Jan 30, 2012, 7:53 am
Clearly, when Voltaire said that “we look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation” he had never heard of deep fried pizza, but this idea has always marked the Scottish approach to international rugby and seems to have struck a chord with Andy Robinson. Of course we are always quietly hopef...
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Should Scotland Rename The 'A' Team?

Rory B. posted an article on - Jan 30, 2012, 7:18 am
Having flicked through the channels all Friday evening looking for something that wasn’t a faux documentary about fake tanned vajazzlists learning a dance routine or a harrowing political report about our economy I stuck on Sky Sports. Trusty old Sky Sports. It was there that I saw it. The Saxons...
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Club Players: Fancy A Different Rugby Experience?

Rory B. posted an article on - Jan 27, 2012, 6:08 am
Are you a young fella that has played rugby this season, but are looking for something else this summer; something more interesting? I have recently been contacted by London Rugby Club in Canada asking if I could possibly locate some exciting, young, creative players to go and play in Ontario, two ...
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The Captains' Captain

Rory B. posted an article on - Jan 26, 2012, 8:06 pm
For three months last year I locked myself away and watched every single episode of the Sopranos. I was hooked. Tony, the capo di tutti capi, was a masculine force. He took charge, but he was willing to delegate. His ‘industry’ worked because everyone had a specific role and loyalty meant someth...
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Jackson Is Still In, But Out For Now

Rory B. posted an article on - Jan 26, 2012, 8:16 am
The Herald is reporting that Ruaridh Jackson will not be considered for selection for the opening matches of this year’s RBS Six Nations for Scotland. This could take Scotland’s stand-off debate back to the rivalry we thought we had all seen the last of: Phil Godman vs Dan Parks, but hopefully ...
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Initial Scotland A Team Squad

Rory B. posted an article on - Jan 25, 2012, 8:22 am
Scotland A will seek to maintain their fine recent run at Netherdale when they face England Saxons at the Galashiels ground in a mouth-watering Calcutta Cup curtain raiser on Friday 3 February (kick-off 7.30pm, admission FREE). Inspired by large Borders crowds, Scotland A have won their last four f...
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Less Revving With Ford As Captain

Rory B. posted an article on - Jan 24, 2012, 7:53 pm
In a brief but candid announcement in St. Andrews Andy Robinson sat beside his new captain, Ross Ford, and let him address the press. There was an open admission that Kelly Brown had been intended to captain the side for the entire tournament but Robinson made it clear that his leader would be, unl...
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Ford Is The First Name On The Team Sheet

Rory B. posted an article on - Jan 24, 2012, 8:34 am
Ross Ford, the 27-year-old Edinburgh Rugby hooker, was today appointed Scotland’s new captain for the opening match of the RBS 6 Nations Championship – against England at Murrayfield on Saturday week. Ford, the 53-times-capped product of Kelso High School, a British and Irish Lion in South Afri...
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The Comedown

Rory B. posted an article on - Jan 23, 2012, 12:45 pm
As the Scotland squad assembles today in St Andrews for Six Nations training camp, the vicious final weekend of the Heineken Cup pool stages has thrown up a few injury worries for Andy Robinson. David Denton caused momentary worry with a post-warmup withdrawal from the Edinburgh team, as did Al Kel...
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The Wonderful Adventure Continues

Rory B. posted an article on - Jan 23, 2012, 9:40 am
Edinburgh Rugby 34-11 London Irish A cold, crisp Sunday and a perfect day for rugby, and a perfect day for an ever improving Edinburgh team to take the next step on the most unlikely of adventures.  If you were to go back several months and ask even the most optimistic of Scottish rugby fans I do...
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Win Tickets To Edinburgh vs Ospreys

Rory B. posted an article on - Jan 23, 2012, 7:48 am
Scottish Rugby Blog, in association with RaboDirect, the straight talking online bank, are giving five lucky readers a chance to win a pair of tickets to watch Edinburgh Rugby vs. Ospreys in the RaboDirect PRO12 on Friday 10th February. Round 14 in the RaboDirect PRO12 sees the newly-minted Heineke...
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Heineken Cup Tweetathon

Rory B. posted an article on - Jan 20, 2012, 2:30 pm
Survey the magnificence: new TWTR.Widget( { version : 2, rpp : 30, interval : 6000, theme : { shell : { background : '#212443', color : '#FFFFFF' }, tweets : { background : '#FFFFFF', color : '#888888', links : '#0066CC' } }, width : 'auto', height : 400, features : { live : true,...
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New Sevens Squad for Welly and Vegas

Rory B. posted an article on - Jan 20, 2012, 11:17 am
Scotland 7s head coach, Graham Shiel, has made four changes to the squad which will travel to Wellington and Las Vegas next week, in the next two legs of the HSBC Sevens World Series. Hamish Watson, Sean Kennedy and Byron McGuigan all come into the side with the chance to earn their first World Ser...
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Club Select Warm Up Against U20s

Rory B. posted an article on - Jan 19, 2012, 10:05 am
The finest Scottish Club rugby talent (and Alan Dymock) have been selected for a warm up tonight at Murrayfield against Peter Wright’s Under 20s squad, ahead of a series of matches shadowing the Six Nations, including matches against similar sides from France and Ireland. Whilst often seen as a r...
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2012 Six Nations Referee Appointments

Rory B. posted an article on - Nov 1, 2011, 1:18 pm
It’s our old mucker George. And yes, we do have Alain Rolland as well… 4th Feb Scotland vs England Ref: George Clancy (Ire) Assistants: R Poite (Fra) & L Hodges (Wal) TMO: T Redmond (Ire) 12th Feb Wales vs Scotland Ref: Roman Poite (Fra) Assistants: P Fitzgibbon (Ire) & S McDowell (Ire) TMO:G ...
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Watched From a Western Perspective: Edinburgh 28 – 36 Leinster

Rory B. posted an article on - Oct 31, 2011, 7:31 am
On Friday night at Murrayfield the capital side swapped the lead with Leinster seven times. In a free and easy game where tackling was not at a premium it was the hand-over that was evident. You attack; then we’ll attack. You get a head start; then we will cover, and recover. They lost by 8points,...
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Edinburgh 28 – 36 Leinster

Rory B. posted an article on - Oct 31, 2011, 7:16 am
Both Edinburgh and Leinster struggled after the recent three week break but there was a willingness to chuck the ball about that made it interesting for the neutral, if not the respective defence coaches. Despite decent playing conditions it was a patchy first half from both teams, with ruckside d...
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RaboDirect PRO12 Restarts

Rory B. posted an article on - Oct 27, 2011, 8:15 am
If you’re a little depressed by the fact that discussion of the World Cup Final – which should really be the pinnacle of our game – has degenerated into tit for tat claims about foul play and the IRB stepping in to fine one group of men for holding hands while watching another group of men dan...
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Out On His Jones

Rory B. posted an article on - Oct 27, 2011, 6:08 am
No matter how your season is going it is nice to be recognised for your achievements, Even if you didn’t know you were being watched. Humble Borderer Lee Jones, upon hearing of his award of Hotel Du Vin/Malmaison Player of the Month, simply afforded himself a sheepish smile. “I’m pretty pleas...
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Contracting But Not Shrivelling

Rory B. posted an article on - Oct 25, 2011, 8:17 am
If you are on social networking sites your timeline will currently be clogged. In fact plugged or dammed are probably more fitting descriptions. Everyone is bleating about the weather. Somehow it has come to everyone’s attention that we are entering Scotland’s lengthy rainy season and we are rea...
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Winter Is Coming

Rory B. posted an article on - Oct 24, 2011, 1:40 pm
And with that, we’ve decided to take a look at the future of the Scottish Rugby Blog, and how we can use it to help grow interest and awareness of Scottish Rugby, to keep you entertained and all the other things we attempt on a regular basis. We’ve called in the banners (sorry, reading Game of ...
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Brian Moore's Thoughts on the Scrum

Rory B. posted an article on - Oct 20, 2011, 6:50 am
Whilst trawling the web last week I found this piece which I thought might be of interest, in which Brian Moore proposes a series of ideas to have scrums refereed properly. http://www.rugbyrefs.com/content.php?151-Scrum (note: contains much technical scrummaging chat) It’s well worth a read, an...
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Changing The Curriculum

Rory B. posted an article on - Oct 19, 2011, 9:30 am
Some instances in the last few weeks have got me thinking. Then something that came to my attention last night got me to get it down in script. After seeing the performance of David Pocock against South Africa I got to wondering about what brought an individual to be the type of player capable of p...
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Cup In The Air, Feet On The Ground

Rory B. posted an article on - Oct 18, 2011, 1:59 am
Humility is an attribute that is getting rarer in contemporary professional sport. With football players refusing to play so they can get big money transfers and NFL MVPs obligated to say they are “going to Disneyland!” you are unlikely to see the best of the best refusing to celebrate or a last...
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Who To Pick for the Semis

Rory B. posted an article on - Oct 14, 2011, 12:36 pm
It’s not the RaboDirect PRO12 on a week where BBC Alba has deserted you, or even the LV Cup (although that is on this weekend). Nope, no matter how hard you look, there is no Scottish involvement in the Rugby World Cup Semi-finals this weekend. Not even a touch judge to root for. So who are you go...
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The Ramblings Of One Man

Rory B. posted an article on - Oct 11, 2011, 6:29 am
A few months back, before this whole sordid World Cup thing started, I was at the Scotland team hotel to do some interviews alongside the rugby writers corps. After all of the official stuff, I tried to get as much free coffee as I could, being a student who cannot afford a Starbucks or a packet of ...
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Lessons From South America

Rory B. posted an article on - Oct 10, 2011, 8:02 am
As I dragged myself out of bed at 6am yesterday to watch the World Cup Quarter finals, splashing warm tea on my face and enjoying a mug of bacon, I was surprised by some of what I saw. Actually, that is technically not true. I was more surprised by something that I heard. The Australia and South Af...
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Fostering Future Caps

Rory B. posted an article on - Oct 7, 2011, 1:45 am
This summer we witnessed Scotland’s worst attempt at a World Cup. We only scored four tries, in total, and all of them were against Romania. Indeed the general consensus is that with the players we sent to New Zealand, only a handful showed any guile or flair. Twelve of those Scottish players wer...
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World Cup Round Up

Rory B. posted an article on - Oct 6, 2011, 11:00 am
So that’s the trip of a lifetime over, and I’m home and back at the coalface. So what to make of Scotland’s World Cup campaign? Let’s take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly of New Zealand 2011 from our perspective.The Good: Hey, we scored 4 tries against Romania, right? Ruaridh Jacks...
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Win Top Prizes with McCoys and Scottish Rugby Blog

Rory B. posted an article on - Oct 5, 2011, 11:38 am
McCoy’s are giving you the chance to win a once in a lifetime road trip around New Zealand. Having just been over myself it’s well worth a trip, especially with summer just around the corner…just watch out for the jet lag coming back. Plus there’s an exclusive Scottish Rugby Blog competition...
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The Aftermath

Rory B. posted an article on - Oct 3, 2011, 6:01 am
So how do we summarise our Rugby World Cup? In order to be as impartial as a slighted Scot can be, I would strive to review this World Cup on its merits. I would not make grandiose comments about the state of our game at home just yet. Not before I do some more research, at least! Our obvious struc...
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England And Scotland: Pt 3

Rory B. posted an article on - Sep 30, 2011, 2:10 pm
As the first 2 parts have stated, England have a pack with runners, a midfield that can crash and whippets out wide.  Scotland have picked a team with a need and runners of their own. They have abrasion and risk in equal measure in their selections. Scotsmen think they can win this. Englishmen hav...
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