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plunkit

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Everything posted by plunkit

  1. I remember going to see Scotland v Wales at Murrayfield in 1981 and was probably just as excited at seeing JPR in the flesh as the Scotland victory. It was his last cap as he retired from international rugby to focus on his medical career. I think he played for his local team well into his 40s though. A truly wonderful attacking full back.
  2. Fifth guy from that team to have died. Quite remarkable as it was only 1995 when they won.
  3. SA have 4 wins but only scored 2 tries in the finals they have played in, both in 2019. Winning ugly works
  4. Could Scotland win the RWC? I actually don’t see why not. If you consider this year’s draw, which World Rugby acknowledge was carried out too early to fairly represent present performance, we definitely were handed a raw deal. That said, had we played with a bit more composure against SA, the red card which was merited issued and/or we had a different bench against Ireland and hadn’t lost a try so quickly, things may have been different. I don’t suppose these teams were thrilled having us in the group, but they are better and were always favourites. It was a huge ask for us to get out of that group. Not dissimilar to Mexico 86 where the football team had W Germany and Denmark in the group- a hiding to nothing. Once you get to KO rugby though anything can happen. I actually think England had a reasonably difficult group given their present ranking, but they ground out a tremendous result in the first game against Argentina which gave them that wee bit of confidence they needed to get out the group. Lose that game and they would have probably lost at least one more. Confidence is a huge factor. However, In Scotland we have such a limited talent pool to call upon, we really need to perform well when we get a sniff of a golden generation. The grassroots set up in Scotland is confused, complex and, probably, quite poor. Super 6 is a strange thing, albeit the concept could and should work. The amateur game sits immediately below that and clubs are often denied really good players who get tied into the semi-pro game with no realistic prospect of moving up as they are not getting game time. They would develop better at an amateur club in the present set up. The Futures XV is a joke as is the awarding of semi-pro contracts to players who are either retired from, or no longer good enough to be in, a full-time pro team. Yes, they need to make a living, but as the Super 6 is a Scottish Rugby initiative it is remarkable that focus on genuine player development is not greater. Perhaps insist on at least 50% of a matchday squad being made up of U23 players? Coaching is also an issue. Gregor is a very good and highly thought of coach. I’m not convinced he got it right against Ireland as the early injury to Kinghorn knackered his bench tactic. However, that’s the luck, or not, of the game. The problem is that there are not enough Scottish coaches being given a chance in the pro-game beyond assistant roles. However, there are a good number of decent specialist coaches involved. As with the players, succession planning is poor and many of these specialist coaches are in the role because they are recently retired top players. I’m not convinced they are deep thinkers of the game, as Gregor is, and don’t want to move into the top roles. We’ll hopefully keep a steady improvement over the next few years. Cotter and Townsend have taken us out of the international doldrums and we consistently perform better than we did under Williams, Hadden and Robinson. 5th or 6th in the rankings is good for us and we are capable of doing well in 6N. Glasgow and Edinburgh have both been in Europa League equivalent finals in recent years – it’s not all doom and gloom. Finally, on the England thing. Like the football team, it’s the media that is the problem. I have been lucky enough to be in the company of and get to know a number of England players from the 90’s and 00’s and can honestly say they are really good guys. Would I rather they didn’t win the RWC again? – I’ll reserve judgment ☺️
  5. A stroll for Arsenal. What would they have done to Sevco?
  6. Was at the game in Marseille. Saffa sitting next to me said' Can't believe we got away with that' on the head clash. A few minutes later ' I can't believe we got away with that' as their guy came in offside and blocked Schoeman from a crucial tackle. I had to admit to him that Finn was perhaps not binned as a result of the officials realising they had got a couple of things wrong earlier mind you. I think Tom Currie should be more annoyed with the lack of action on the head clash in our game than we should be. Fully agree with player welfare, but common sense is required as to body position, speed of play and any subsequent injury. Darcy should have passed, our line outs were woeful, we should have been a bit more streetwise and not getting a losing bonus point may prove crucial at the end of the day. However, we were probably always going to lose that one and need the Saffas to beat Ireland so we have a cup final in Paris against them rather than requiring snookers. because of that bonus point miss. Was a brilliant day though......
  7. Who ultimately owns the club is not the issue. The issue is who runs the club. Those against fan ownership always default to the financial impact of an owner or owners suggesting this is key to raising external funding. This is only true if that funding comes from themselves or they act as guarantors to a lender. If the business model is robust then neither of those scenarios should be an issue as the club should run itself in a sustainable, viable manner. What people mean when they talk about fan ownership being bad is that it cannot necessarily fund their own ambitions for the club. These ambitions may far outstretch the reality of where the club can be in a sustainable way. All the bomb scare clubs generally trade outwith their means and that can only work by pumping external funds in. Should that result in healthy improvement in cash generation and profit over a long period of time then it can work. If it doesn't, which is often the reality of sport, then it is very thin ice. Thsi is how busienss works. BTW, in simple terms, every stock exchange listed company is fan owned.
  8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Learmonth
  9. As El Presidente of Kilmarnock & District History Group I think this is magnificent. Great nod to the history of the district.... A truly global legacy... and the educational and charity elements of this jersey give me great pride in our club. Congratulations to all involved.
  10. Williams going is great news...pity we dropped Raza maybe ?
  11. Greig Oliver (58) former Scotland scrum half who coached Kilmarnock Rugby Club 1998-1999. Died in a tragic paragliding accident in South Africa 3rd July whilst in the country for the U20 World Cup where his son Jack is representing Ireland.
  12. Posted missing in defence for their first try and made the wrong choice for their second, but cannot deny both his own tries were excellent. A great team performance where we continually pulled them all over the pitch, and the usual wee funny line out tactic which took them by surprise before our first try. Can we follow up in Round 2 for a change?
  13. Worked in Princes House for a few years and often went in for lunch on a Friday and attended comedy nights - even spoke at a Burns Supper ! Shame.
  14. Robust debating skills there
  15. Keep him. Back him in next two windows to a) survive b) build a strong foundation c) progress. When we came up under TB we had much the same squad who got us up. We survived on last day of the season and got to a cup semi-final. We built on that, albeit under different managers, and won The Cup within a few years and played in Europe. This season can be the same platform. The players, however, are not as good as the squad we had then and certainly don't show the passion. This has to change, but let's not look for miracles.
  16. He either played for Meadow or Pollock because I saw him play at Meadow Park in a cup game. Pretty sure I met you in the Turf that day
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