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Post by smudger on Feb 10, 2007 8:41:01 GMT 10
Right ye are Elly , after last week a wee victory wuid be nice #saltire#
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Post by krystal on Feb 10, 2007 19:09:51 GMT 10
give me a break #saltire#
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Post by helene on Feb 10, 2007 19:12:09 GMT 10
Rugby is a beautiful game because teams have respect for each other# #love#
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Post by neil6147 on Feb 11, 2007 5:40:57 GMT 10
Scotland 21 Wales 9
Well done Scotland . Awaiting for report on the match before writting.
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Elly
Administrator
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Post by Elly on Feb 11, 2007 11:51:05 GMT 10
oh good, thanks Neil
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Post by neil6147 on Feb 11, 2007 12:25:28 GMT 10
Scotland under 20s 8 Wales under 20s 56
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Post by neil6147 on Feb 11, 2007 21:46:48 GMT 10
Scotland once again punched above their weight at home, sending Wales packing 21-9 in an abysmal Six Nations game on Saturday and maintaining an impressive Six Nations record at Murrayfield.
Seven penalties from Chris Paterson put paid to the Welsh, who simply could not find any cohesion and were left steam-rollered by some crunching Scottish defence.
All week this has been billed as a game to thrill, with both sides opting to go for an attacking approach and throw caution to the wind, which was blowing strong at a wet Murrayfield.
Yet it transpired into a poor and frustrating encounter that Scotland deserved to win on two counts, Chris Paterson's kicking and the shocking standard of play produced by Wales.
Wales were poor, verging on the brink of abysmal, the fact Scotland were only marginally better afforded them a shaky platform from which Paterson was able to win the game with his flawless kicking display, the only area of the game that was mistake-free.
The rest of this dour affair was infested with basic errors and needless infringements, made increasingly more by Wales as the game wore on and kick by kick slipped from their grasp.
Credit must be given to Scotland for the way they bounced back from their demoralising defeat against England, but one can only think that a performance better than that which Wales offered would have been enough to beat Scotland.
Only one area of the Welsh game will come away from Edinburgh with any credit and that was there defence, but for the most it was only when they were under severe pressure that they started defending with any intent. Too often in the middle of the park Wales were left wanting in the tackle.
Yet when their line was under threat the defence picked up several notches as a handful of players earned themselves some credit for their efforts, notably Martyn Williams and Mark Jones.
Whereas Wales never once looked like scoring a try Scotland at least had chances, but were sadly unable to take them. After leading 6-0 with a quarter of the match gone, through two Paterson penalties, Rob Dewey made the first telling break leading to Paterson coming within inches of scoring.
Dewey brushed aside the half-hearted attempt at a tackle from Dwayne Peel and thundered into the 22. As the ball was moved wide it seemed as if Scotland must score with a two-man overlap, yet their backs drifted across the pitch eating up what room was left before Paterson took the ball. But for a monstrous tackle from Mark Jones, one of the game's highlights, Paterson would have scored.
Stephen Jones finally got Wales on the scoreboard with a simple shot at goal, but that was soon cancelled out by Paterson's third effort, this time Wales were guilty of being offside in the backs.
As half time approached Jones added a second penalty to pull Wales within three points, the closest they would come to Scotland for the remainder of this encounter.
The second half was slightly better than the first, as Scotland mounted several raids on the Welsh line, the closest resulting in Allan Jacobsen being held up over the line by a heroic double tackle from Tom Shanklin and Alun Wyn-Jones.
Chris Paterson, who was at the heart of the few bright moments in the game, came agonizingly close moments before Jacobsen was held up after gathering a poor Jamie Robinson pass. Having chipped and gathered he seemed certain to score but a slight stumble and a brave tackle from Stephen Jones denied the Scottish captain.
As it was it was left to the boot of Paterson to add the nails to the Welsh coffin, one by one. Stephen Jones, for the record, did add a third Welsh penalty moments before Rhys Thomas gave Paterson his sixth, which earned Thomas a spell in the sin-bin.
With the game up and Scotland assured of victory it was only fitting that Paterson put the final nail in the coffin with his final penalty, a kick that leaves Wales floundering at the bottom of the Six Nations pile, while Scotland have restored some pride after their opening day defeat.
The fact that the game's main highlights were a series of bone-crunching hits from Mark Jones, as well Paterson's kicking, goes a long way to accentuating just how poor the skill levels were.
Wales will need to rethink and focus on their basics heavily, and to be fair Scotland will need to do the same. Their only saving grace was the ability to string phases of play together when it was needed to give Paterson his chances.
Man of the Match: It is hardly surprising that this game produced only a few candidates for this award. Mark Jones and Martyn Williams were prominent for Wales in defence, with Williams single handedly keeping Wales in the contest at times with his work at the breakdown. Even Scotland failed to provide too many more candidates, Simon Taylor and David Callam worked valiantly in the back-row throughout. But it was Chris Paterson for his kicking and near-try who takes this award.
Moment of the Match: There were few to mention but for us it was Paterson's chip and chase that almost brought him and his country a much deserved try.
Villain of the Match: There was no real villain on this occasion. RhysTomas was given the game's only yellow card but it was hardly a villainous moment, rather the culmination of a series of idiocies.
The scorers
For Scotland: Pens: Paterson 7
For Wales: Pens: Jones S 3
Yellow card: Thomas (Wales, 58, hands in the ruck)
The Teams:
Scotland: 15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Marcus Di Rollo, 12 Rob Dewey, 11 Chris Paterson (c), 10 Phil Godman, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 David Callam, 7 Kelly Brown, 6 Simon Taylor, 5 Scott Murray, 4 Jim Hamilton, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Dougie Hall, 1 Gavin Kerr. Replacements: 16 Ross Ford, 17 Allan Jacobsen, 18 Nathan Hines, 19 Allister Hogg, 20 Rory Lawson, 21 Simon Webster, 22 Nikki Walker.
Wales: 15 Kevin Morgan, 14 Mark Jones, 13 Jamie Robinson, 12 James Hook, 11 Chris Czekaj, 10 Stephen Jones (c), 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 Ryan Jones, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Alix Popham, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Robert Sidoli, 3 Adam Jones, 2 T Rhys Thomas, 1 Duncan Jones. Replacements: 16 Matthew Rees, 17 Gethin Jenkins, 18 Ian Gough, 19 Jonathan Thomas, 20 Michael Phillips, 21 Ceri Sweeney, 22 Tom Shanklin.
Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland) Touch judges: Chris White (England), Federico Cuesta (Argentina) Television match official: Rob Debney (England) Assessor: Douglas Kerr (Scotland)
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Post by helene on Feb 12, 2007 1:11:05 GMT 10
# A beautiful game !
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Elly
Administrator
Posts: 29,887
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Post by Elly on Feb 13, 2007 14:11:30 GMT 10
Thanks Neil for the report. #wave# Glad you enjoy it Helene #wave#
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Post by smudger on Feb 25, 2007 10:26:45 GMT 10
Hadden blames himself
Scotland coach Frank Hadden took "full responsibility" for the shock 37-17 home defeat to Italy in the RBS 6 Nations.
Hadden revealed it was his plan to start the game by trying to be creative in midfield and disrupt Italy's blitz defence.
He said: "As you can imagine, the dressing room is shell-shocked as a result of what happened out there today.
"I've already talked to the players about the situation and I take full responsibility for the situation. I wanted a fast tempo at the start to get the crowd on the edge of their seats and start the game in a way which would make the game difficult for their rushing defence.
"You have to chip, you have to slow down the rushing defence - but sadly the execution went absolutely pear shaped and that created a surreal atmosphere from there on in.
"But I thought we regrouped well and got ourselves back into the match. When Chris Paterson scored his try, I felt that we were going to go on and win the game.
"When we let that restart bounce into touch, though, it was a decisive point and gave them the chance to kick a penalty and go on and close out the game."
Hadden also defended his decision to ignore kickable penalties and instead try to claw back the deficit through tries alone.
The former Edinburgh coach said: "It's a very difficult thing to get the balance right when you are 21-0 down after six minutes.
"We had opportunities to kick penalties but I felt it was better to kick for the corner, keep the pressure on and look for tries.
"When you are 21-0 down, reducing their lead by three points at a time is a long way back. And if you take the penalties then you are back in your own half from the restart.
"We wanted to keep them down there and look for tries and it worked for Rob Dewey's try."
Italy coach Pierre Berbizier described his side's victory as a "dream".
The France legend said: "It was important to get this victory. We work a lot and for the fans and the players this [an away win] was a dream. Now it is a reality.
"Now we have to keep working and try to build on this win in our next too games in the Six Nations. This win is a consequence of the work we have done and we must continue.
"We now look to our final games in this tournament and then prepare for the World Cup. It is a long way away and it will be a different game against Scotland then.
"I know how Scotland will react from this and we must keep improving as we have done from the game at Twickenham against England.
"We will have to wait and see what this does for Italian rugby but today it was an important step and the players played their hearts out for their country."
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Post by smudger on Feb 25, 2007 10:31:00 GMT 10
Groan....Where is the Team which put in them tries and put the kicks between the posts ...sorry lads . Still i am a Supporter , never will be anything else
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Post by smudger on Feb 27, 2007 7:46:32 GMT 10
The game i am looking forward to is Scotland against France , because a workmate from me has everytime Scotland lost , taken the mickey ..he is French . Still a great guy , we talk about Rugby etc the last while , everytime we meet at work . This upcoming game i hope the lads win , because then i win my bet .... #saltire#
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