[2021 Six Nations] Scotland Squad

[TRF_Olyy]

 

[Tigs Man]

Oly who is Ashman?
Redpath gone is a bit of a gut punch.

 

[BPM]

I’m annoyed about Redpath too but at least he has a legit claim to be Scottish unlike a good chunk of that squad.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Oly who is Ashman?

Scotland's u20 hooker,
Think he's originally from Canada but has a Scottish dad, and moved to the North-West as a nipper

Looks really promising tbh - had a big u20s Six Nations and scored a few tries as well.
Came up playing centre and openside, but converted to hooker in the academy and has taken to it well - very strong darts, which is usually the big concern for converts.

 

[Scotty]

Surprised at no Sam Skinner in the squad.

 

[AlRums]

I would have to say on today's performance all featured players have justified their inclusion

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Josh Bayliss called up

 

[noah_jo]

Josh Bayliss called up

It's a joke at this point.

I would legitimately be embarrased if I was the SRU, absolute joke.

Congrats to him tho

 

[TBeastT]

It's a joke at this point.

I would legitimately be embarrased if I was the SRU, absolute joke.

Congrats to him tho

Yep. Happy for Bayliss but its absolutely gotten to the point now where the SRU is actively seeking out and capping anyone they can, regardless of whether that player is actually good enough for international rugby. Bayliss is a fine player but when you see that he’s in the squad over the likes of Bradbury and Haining, both of whom already have caps, are better players and are far more like-for-like replacements of Thomson and Graham than Bayliss is... it definitely is a joke at this point.

 

[Old Hooker]

Bayliss is one of 21 forwards in the squad. He’s eligible and they want a look at him which is fair enough.

If they think he’s good enough they’ll play him, but they won’t if they don’t. It’s not like there a potential tug of war with Eng - he’s just not on our radar.

Sco have used the Granny rule more than most. But given they only have 2 pro teams and a smallish player base it’s unsurprising that they cast their net further and wider than others. I don’t like it, but blame the rules.

At least Bayliss has a smidge of Scottish blood in his veins which may give him at least a degree of natural affinity to Sco. Personally I prefer that to someone like van der Merwe who’s beetling out of Sco within 30 seconds of completing his residency.....to the might of Worcester no less.

Bayliss I’d say was opportunistic, and at face value it’s hard to conclude that vdM has been anything other than mercenary.