Scotland the Brave vs the New Zealand AIG All Blacks, Murrayfield, Sunday 1430

Swiwi

Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Greig Laidlaw, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Kelly Brown, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Ryan Grant.

Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Allan Jacobsen, 18 Kyle Traynor, 19 Alastair Kellock, 20 David Denton, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Max Evans.

New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Ben Smith, 12 Tamati Ellison, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Adam Thomson, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Wyatt Crockett

Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Tony Woodcock, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Ali Williams, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Tawera Kerr Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Ma'a Nonu.

In 1297 William “Braveheart” Wallace lead Scotland to victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. His countrymen will be hoping they can find the inspiration to once again overcome the odds and inflict a first-ever defeat on the Men In Black. To do so, they will need to be – like my current favourite tipple, Ardbeg 10 – smoking! Unfortunately, we all know what fate eventually befell Wallace, and most pundits predict another romp at Murrayfield for the lads from the land of the long white cloud.

For New Zealand, this match, and the next vs Italy, are being used to R&R (that would be rest & rotate, but you won’t find this combination of words in any contemporary dictionary of Kiwi lingo, following the disastrous RWC campaign of 2007), before the more meaty challenges of Wales and our very good friends the Poms. As such, and thank God, there is a reason to while away Sunday afternoon in front of the box, and let the traditional lamb roast digest: namely, how will the new boys go, and does this rejinked side give the Scots a sniff of an upset?

Wyatt Crockett will be hoping for a big game up front. He is a good, no make that very good, prop at S15 level, but the suspicion remains he isn’t quite up to international level. His career was just about prematurely terminated against Italy at the San Siro in 2009, when a series of scrum penalties almost saw NZ suffer the ignominy of conceding a penalty try. Paddy O’Brien might have publicly castigated Stuart Dickinson after the game, but NZers know their rugby, and we knew that Castrogiavanni had rogered our Wyatt. Crockett will hope he can emulate his namesake at the O.K. Corral, and go out all guns blazing.

Adam Thomson and Victor Vito are another 2 players who will be looking to make a statement. Thomson has yet to sort out his playing future for next year, and much like Crockett, has been excellent at S15 level, without ever convincing at higher levels. He needs a big game, to avoid it being his last on the tour. Vito is playing at 8, a position he excelled at with the Hurricanes this year. He might as well push **** uphill, he is not going to displace Kieran Read as the ABs premier No. 8, but a good game here could secure him a bench spot for the later games.

Fatboy slim has shed the kilos, we are told, and is all set for what he hopes will not be his last hurrah. The lad from the Hutt has been ponderous this season, and remains a contentious AB selection. The new 5-second rule should ensure Piri forgets about reading the paper and making a cup of tea before delivering the pill to our Awesome Backs. TJ Perenara will be watching this game with interest, and no doubt Andy Ellis has a picture of Weepu stuck on the garage wall he uses to practise his dart throwing.

Tamati Ellison and Ben Smith make up a brand spanking new midfield combination. Ellison got tired of eating raw fish, and returned from Japan to play impressively for the Highlanders, and earn himelf an AB recall. He will relish the chance of a starting berth. In this writer’s opinion, Ben Smith is a most talented footballer, and I look forward to seeing how he goes at 13. He has mostly played at fullback for the Highlanders, where he was at times sublime, and less impressively for NZ on the wing.

Finally, Dane Coles and Tawera Kerr-Barlow await their debuts from the bench. Coles, in particular, has a golden opportunity to show he’s the longterm replacement for the ageing Hore & Mealamu.

For the Scottish, aside from the obvious carrot of an inaugural victory over NZ, there is a first opportunity to lay down a marker for the upcoming Lions Tour to Australia. Several players have been suggested as tourists, most commonly perhaps lock Richie Gray and wing Tim Visser. However, several others could play themselves into contention with big Autumn internationals. The last time Scotland seriously challenged the ABs (1990), they had a raft of Lions players in Gavin and Scott Hastings, Finlay Calder, John Jeffrey, Derek White, Gary Armstrong and David Sole.

The ABs will look to continue their form and style from the 4N, with fast phase ball, and effective offloads. Look particularly for the quick transfer from the first receiver, which has reaped rewards on more than one occasion this season. NZ has also mastered the restart, although for this match Carter will not have Read to aim for. Most of all, though, the men in black will look to continue their secret weapon this season, namely über-stingy defence, which has seen them concede on average less than one try per match.

For Scotland to have any chance, they will have to start well. Last time the sides met, the Scots came out all verve & vigour, but silly turnovers lead to soft early tries, and the game was over after 20 minutes. A forward display in the manner of France 2007, or Ireland 2012 (Test 2 only!) will be required.

Prediction: Scotland do not have the players, gameplan, and most importantly self-belief (with the exception of Ross Ford), to win this game. Unless NZ are utterly complacent, hopelessly inept, and woefully off their game, I can’t see anything else than a comfortable NZ win. Cheers!

Tox56

If the weather is good I fully expect Scotland to get spanked

irishbucsfan

Scotland to win by 49 points

Swiwi

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Scotland to win by 49 points

Dreams are free, my friend. I guess that's worth something in these tough economic times...

thomond2006

Why is the Burger King starting this? Where's Aaron Smith?

Kiwibrasileiro

Hehe, Fatboy Slim. Thomson has shown some promise at test level, but has not been helped by untimely injuries and selection policies. I think he'd be a first-choice selection in almost any other team, but unfortunately for him the ABs want a Kaino-type hard man at 6. The Dane Coles experiment will be interesting. Long labelled a future AB, the future is at hand.

Swiwi

thomond2006 wrote: »

Why is the Burger King starting this? Where's Aaron Smith?

He's the Burger King on diet coke & low-fat fries. No kidding, he was given a very hard talking to after the 4N, and according to the NZ press he is slim & ready to fire. I think this time it really is his last chance - either he has a blinder and stays, or he continues his average form, and the NZ public finally get their wish.

Cosmo Kramer

It's the same story for Scotland really as the last 10 years - there is a smattering of genuine talent throughout that team, Hogg, Visser, Blair, Rennie, Gray and Ford are all strong international players with varying degrees of Lions hopes, but there are some real weaknesses too, particularly at prop and centre.

Surprised to see David Denton off the starting team, he stood out a mile in the 6 nations last year and I would have thought he'd have Lions prospects as well.

thomond2006

Denton has been very quiet since the Six Nations, even in the later Six Nations games I felt his performances tailed off a bit.

If he regains some form he is definitely a Lions contender.

Swiwi

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

It's the same story for Scotland really as the last 10 years - there is a smattering of genuine talent throughout that team, Hogg, Visser, Blair, Rennie, Gray and Ford are all strong international players with varying degrees of Lions hopes, but there are some real weaknesses too, particularly at prop and centre.

Surprised to see David Denton off the starting team, he stood out a mile in the 6 nations last year and I would have thought he'd have Lions prospects as well.

Yeah, I agree. The Scottish midfield is pies. I was impressed with Denton, too, but reading boards.ie it seems he is out of form at present.

thomond2006

Swiwi wrote: »

Yeah, I agree. The Scottish midfield is pies. I was impressed with Denton, too, but reading boards.ie it seems he is out of form at present.

Ansbro picked up a serious neck injury in a pre-season game against Munster (I was at that game). He's a decent player and would be there ahead of De Luca, who is no more than a Pro12 standard centre.

twinytwo

Swiwi wrote: »

Dreams are free, my friend. I guess that's worth something in these tough economic times...

In light of recent events i would like to respond to this comment with
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Tony Watt casually walks down the tunnel, whistling the "Celtic song", completely unfazed by the superstars to his right. They maybe all stood wondering "Who is this kid?" before the match but by the end of the night, they all knew.

Swiwi

twinytwo wrote: »

In light of recent events i would like to respond to this comment with
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I take your point. However, as you know in soccer the score increases by multiples of 1, which is not the case in rugger. Realistically, Scottish scores are most likely do divide into multiples of 3, while NZ is most likely to increase theirs by 5 or 7. Even if Richie does get pinged a few times, NZ would need to be giving away a lot of penalties, and Scotland kicking at 85% plus I would think. But I like your confidence!

ScissorPaperRock

Is this match being shown on any non-subscription channels?

razorblunt

I'll be there, tickets are a bit ****e, bit I'll crack out the Scottish jersey anyway seeing as the next time I'll be there will be the 6N vs us!

Great weather so far this weekend, Scotland will probably be hoping for a bit of rain before tomorrow.
Can't see anything except a positive 10 mins, sing song at half time for Loch Lomond and a NZ win by 25.

totallegend

ScissorPaperRoc wrote: »

Is this match being shown on any non-subscription channels?

Bbc

ScissorPaperRock

totallegend wrote: »

Bbc

For some reason I thought this was on today, and could only see the Wales - Argentina game.

Funk It

Looking at the rankings, is there a chance of Scotland overtaking Ireland should they win this game and another of their AI's and should we lose ours?

IRB World Rankings - 05 November 2012
Position Rating Point
1(1) NEW ZEALAND 92.91
2(2) AUSTRALIA 86.37
3(3) SOUTH AFRICA 84.69
4(4) ENGLAND 83.09
5(5) FRANCE 83.03
6(6) WALES 82.26
7(7) IRELAND 79.85
8(8) ARGENTINA 78.63
9(9) SCOTLAND 77.97

As much as I would love to see Scotland win this, with a concern regarding the rankings, and making sure that Ireland can stay in the top 8 for the World Cup draw, should we be all shouting for NZ today even more so?

Fishooks12

Funk It wrote: »

Looking at the rankings, is there a chance of Scotland overtaking Ireland should they win this game and another of their AI's and should we lose ours?

IRB World Rankings - 05 November 2012
Position Rating Point
1(1) NEW ZEALAND 92.91
2(2) AUSTRALIA 86.37
3(3) SOUTH AFRICA 84.69
4(4) ENGLAND 83.09
5(5) FRANCE 83.03
6(6) WALES 82.26
7(7) IRELAND 79.85
8(8) ARGENTINA 78.63
9(9) SCOTLAND 77.97

As much as I would love to see Scotland win this, with a concern regarding the rankings, and making sure that Ireland can stay in the top 8 for the World Cup draw, should we be all shouting for NZ today even more so?

I wouldn't worry about it!

Tox56

I think we're in serious trouble if Scotland win this game, but lets just say I would rather be on the side of the All Blacks for this one.

Funk It

Fishooks12 wrote: »

I wouldn't worry about it!

Ha, I know, I know.

tolosenc

Fishooks12 wrote: »

I wouldn't worry about it!

If they do the unthinkable, Ireland v Argentina becomes winner takes all. Scary.

ThirdMan

Is there anywhere I can watch this online legally? I have a Sky GO account, but I don't think they carry BBC.

.ak

I wish Scotland all the best. We shouldn't be worrying about other people's results. We only have ourselves to blame regarding our ranking.

irishbucsfan

For the sake of rugby I do hope Scotland manage to win a game. Just to make the Ireland-Argentina match a cracker.

Fishooks12

irishbucsfan wrote: »

For the sake of rugby I do hope Scotland manage to win a game. Just to make the Ireland-Argentina match a cracker.

Pants cacker more like it!

Swiwi

OK, 10 or so minutes to KO. I picked Wales & Australia to narrowly beat Argentina & France respectively, and was wrong on both counts. Can Scotland create a new bedtime fairytale for legions of young Scottish lads & lassies?

For those who watched the Irish game last night, keep an eye on how Carter plays at 10.

Enjoy!, I know most of ye are rooting for the Scots, even if a victory for them would drop Ireland to 9 in the IRB rankings.

goreyguy

not rooting for the scots, hope the AB's show up and show the NH how rugby is really played.

duckysauce

goreyguy wrote: »

not rooting for the scots, hope the AB's show up and show the NH how rugby is really played.

france showed us last nite

Swiwi

duckysauce wrote: »

france showed us last nite

Indeed they did! Doesn't Weepu look slim?

goreyguy

ball is presented so cleanly and well. its amazing

duckysauce

Swiwi wrote: »

Indeed they did! Doesn't Weepu look slim?

must be laying off the pies

.ak

Swiwi wrote: »

For those who watched the Irish game last night, keep an eye on how Carter plays at 10.

In fairness Swiwi we all know how a 10 should play. We also know they don't play like they should for Ireland.

Wouldn't be surprised if Dan comes off second best to Freddie's performance last night imo.

.ak

Flower of Scotland sounded great before the game. I wish Ireland's call was sang like that, i.e; without a backing track.

.ak

What's with all the booing? Is that a new thing in Murrayfield?

keith16

What the hell is the booing about?

irishbucsfan

Swiwi wrote: »

For those who watched the Irish game last night, keep an eye on how Carter plays at 10.

Neither you nor I have any idea how he would play for Ireland though. Completely different kettle of cod.

goreyguy

Ireland's Call? id much rather Amhrán na bhFiann.

EEm

Scotland jersey is unreal. Between them and the Argies yesterday, they have the nicest jerseys.

Swiwi

.ak wrote: »

In fairness Swiwi we all know how a 10 should play. We also know they don't play like they should for Ireland.

Wouldn't be surprised if Dan comes off second best to Freddie's performance last night imo.

Ok that was crap from Carter!!!

irishbucsfan

VISSER FOR PRESIDENT OF THE SCOTTISH REPUBLIC

EEm

Visser. TRY SCORING MACHINE.

keith16

VISSER!

Burgo

Tim Visser!

nc6000

Is it just me or do Scotland end up playing on Sundays quite often? A bit unfortunate considering Euan Murray won't play on Sundays.

duckysauce

.ak wrote: »

In fairness Swiwi we all know how a 10 should play. We also know they don't play like they should for Ireland.

Wouldn't be surprised if Dan comes off second best to Freddie's performance last night imo.

Dan messed up there well done Visser

goreyguy

sloppy

ScissorPaperRock

Try by Visser!

Stheno

nc6000 wrote: »

Is it just me or do Scotland end up playing on Sundays quite often? A bit unfortunate considering Euan Murray won't play on Sundays.

They do seem to.

Great try there for Scotland.

Who is fat boy slim?

.ak

Hahah I love the way Visser was just like 'Just give it to me, I'm only in 2nd gear here...'

Super speedster...

Swiwi

Odds on Scotland to score first try?